Thunderbolts* came out more than a year before Avengers: Doomsday, but the movie does a lot to set up what is coming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It's fair to say that the Thunderbolts* was perhaps one of the most unpredictable movies in the MCU to date. After initially being announced, and appearing to highlight a team made up of largely background characters, the idea that this film would be so instrumental and pivotal in setting up what comes next was nowhere in sight before its release.