Right before the big final battle in Thunderbolts*, Marvel‘s latest entry to the MCU, David Harbour‘s Red Guardian gives his despondent daughter Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) something of a touching pep talk. He reminds her that when she was a little girl playing pee wee soccer on another Thunderbolts team, Yelena told him she wanted to be the goalie so that she’d be the one everyone could rely upon when they made a mistake. That’s ironically the position that Yelena, Red Guardian, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and the rest of the Thunderbolts* cast of characters finds themselves in after a few years of stumbles, misfires, and unforced errors for the once bullet-proof Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since the conclusion of the super-successful Avengers: Infinity Saga, the MCU has struggled to reclaim its same pole position in the zeitgeist it once enjoyed. The untimely and tragic death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, horrific domestic abuse allegations leveled at supervillain-in-waiting Jonathan Majors, and a string of critically panned Disney+ sludge are just some of the crises that have made it all the more difficult for Marvel to set the runway for their next successful crossover event. Last summer’s Deadpool vs. Wolverine was a monster box office smash, but derived its hype from heavy nostalgia for the 20th Century Fox Marvel flicks of yore. With February’s Captain America: Brave New World earning lackluster ratings, it falls to Thunderbolts*, a relatively modest story about a pack of anti-heroes banding together, to renew hype for the MCU’s future. And it sort of does? Thunderbolts* is hardly the Oscar-worthy indie flick one cheeky Marvel trailer teased it would be, what with the pedigree of many, many A24 alums attached to it. However it is a positive creative step forward for the overall brand. Its lean and mean narrative, crazy charismatic cast, and well-earned humor make for — get this — an enjoyable movie-going experience. Director Jake Schreier and cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo make each shot feel actually thoughtful, in terms of color saturation and framing. (You honestly can’t say that for most MCU fare these days!) Most of all, Thunderbolts* seems to understand what made the early Avengers movies, and the Marvel Comics themselves, so infectious in the first place: a focus on its characters’ humanity over power rankings and Easter eggs. Thunderbolts* has what might be one of the most simple and straight-forward storylines in the MCU in years. There’s no time travel or Infinity Stones. You don’t need to understand the Quantum Realm or have beefed up on every fan theory video about Mephisto. It probably helps to have watched Black Widow (2021), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) or Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but you can pull enough from context clues and commentary to get that all of the main characters of this film are b-list heroes with dark pasts. Even if they can’t fix their trauma, they can at least kill and steal for cash. A deeply depressed Yelena agrees to do one last black ops job for shady spymaster Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in exchange for a gig that’s more “public-facing.” To Yelena’s surprise, she’s been led into a tense standoff with fellow MCU assassins John Walker, Ghost, Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and… a guy named Bob (Lewis Pullman)? The misfits of the MCU soon piece together they’ve been conned by Val and will only survive if they manage to work together. Elsewhere, Bucky Barnes has retired his Winter Soldier mantle and is trying to work as an upstanding member of Congress, representing his native Brooklyn. Bucky’s moral and political agenda puts him at odds with Val, leading him to snoop around her current schemes. Naturally, you see how this puts him on a collision course with Yelena, her dad, and reluctant new “friends.” While other MCU films position the big bad as an invading force from another world, Thunderbolts* is about fighting the darkness within. There are pros and cons to this approach. It grounds the storytelling in the emotional, which is good, but the final battle becomes literally insular in a way that limits the film’s overall scope. Nevertheless, I’d take an over-the-top metaphor for heroes battling mental illness over the same ugly CGI muscle monster any day of the week. Thunderbolts* is ultimately a win for the MCU because it remembers that the characters come first before the lore. Florence Pugh’s magnetic presence is the energy that pulls this ragtag team together and yanks you in. Sebastian Stan’s Bucky finally takes his place as a real leader among the MCU’s massive cast of characters and Wyatt Russell brings depth and pathos to his dirtbag copycat Cap. David Harbour is in pure hilarious, bananas, embarrassing dad mode and Geradline Viswanathan is back on her scene-stealing bullshit. However, the place where Thunderbolts* excites me the most is the hint, the tease, the taunt that the MCU might be open to flirting with romance in this next stage. There’s a surprising jolt of chemistry that sparks whenever Yelena and Bob are sharing quiet moments or frantic battle scenes. It’s probably a no-brainer that two of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars, Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman, can connect with a hand hold or quiet word, but it’s still thrilling to watch. Marvel’s always had a weird, prudish approach to romance, but between the zing I get watching “#Boblena” and the knowledge that this summer’s Fantastic Four: First Steps will have a pregnant Sue Storm? Maybe…just maybe…we’ll get some hint of steam on screen? Thunderbolts* is far from a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s a much-needed course corrective for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Kevin Feige and company betting big on next year’s star-studded Avengers: Doomsday, it’s only fitting that Stage Five ends with an outing that remembers that characters are what makes Marvel marvelous. The Thunderbolts* struck its target. Can July’s Fantastic Four: First Steps stick the landing? Thunderbolts* opens only in theaters this Friday, May 2.