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“THERE WAS AN IDEA,” said Nick Fury back in 2012. “To bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more.” That idea, aka the Avengers, turned out pretty darn well. Billions of dollars grossed, endless screaming civilians saved, portals opened to rapturous audience applause, you know the score.
Thirteen years later, Marvel is about to unveil the results of another idea: the Thunderbolts. Except this time, the heroes are a little bit shabbier, a little more chaotic, and are maybe not even heroes at all. Instead of an Iron Man, in David Harbour’s Red Guardian they have aman whose clothes need an iron. Instead of a Hulk, they have a Bob (Lewis Pullman’s mysterious tag-along). And instead of a Black Widow —well, actually they do have one of those, but Florence Pugh’s Yelena is plenty more ruthless than the model we’re used to. Will this band of seven misfits, once brought together, become something more? Head to page 48 for our cover story and some answers, with Chris Hewitt (the closest thing Empire has to a Nick Fury) reporting from the Atlanta set and beyond.