The 2024 film Captain America: Brave New World has been left me questioning its portrayal of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a character who is intended to elicit sympathy from the audience. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the filmmakers’ attempts to make Ross relatable fall flat due to his egregious past actions.
Ross’s motivation for wanting to reconcile with his estranged daughter, Betty, appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to justify his own reprehensible behavior. The film glosses over his history of imprisoning scientists without trial, using gamma-irradiated superintelligence to manipulate him into seeking the presidency, and even court-martialing heroes.
Furthermore, Ross’s hypocrisy is staggering. As a US general, he has been instrumental in policing superheroes while secretly benefiting from a personal superhuman “mad scientist” to expand his power and lifespan. The film’s attempt to excuse these actions as solely driven by Ross’s desire for family reconciliation rings hollow.
The character’s redemption arc, which includes accepting consequences for his past wrongdoings, is admirable but ultimately undermined by the fact that he has already been punished by being thrown into a maximum-security prison. This raises questions about whether the filmmakers’ vision of Ross’s personal growth was ever fully realized or if it was altered during development.
Ultimately, Captain America: Brave New World fails to convincingly present Thaddeus Ross as a sympathetic character due to his well-documented history of villainy and the film’s own narrative inconsistencies.
Source: https://www.polygon.com/opinion/524384/captain-america-brave-new-world-harrison-ford-thaddeus-thunderbolt-ross