If you have read this blog religiously, you know how I like speculate on future events as I like the thrill of predicting things correctly. In this article, I am going to talk about a wild speculation I just had. My theory is that the Luke Cage TV show will lead to the formation of the Thunderbolts team. There are a couple of reasons why I think this is possible from the clues dropped by Marvel.

Let me first give a brief overview of the linkage between Luke Cage and Thunderbolts. For those who are not familiar, the Thunderbolts team has went through a few iterations. It started as a pure villain team headed by the Baron before becoming a tool for Norman Osborn. In its third or fourth iteration, Luke Cage became the team leader as he took charge of a group of ex villains who want to work towards redemption again. I think this angle is where the TV show will work towards.

Here are some of the clues currently in the known:

Seagate Prison: This is the prison that Luke Cage took charge of after the events of Siege. It is also the place where Luke Cage assembled his version of Thunderbolts.

No heroes for hire: The fact that Marvel didn’t pair Luke Cage and Iron Fist together speaks a ton about its intentions. If the TV show is about heroes for hire, you will expect them to be together. Separating them means each will probably take a different route or storyline. In this case, Luke Cage might be used for Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts mention by Drew Pearce: The fact that the writer for the Hail the King one shot mention Thunderbolts in his interview might not be a coincidence. This is what he said: “a Thunderbolts movie of some variety would be amazing – the idea of a team of MCU villains who are essentially forced to work together to gain their pardon is an extremely exciting way to position a superhero movie we definitely haven’t seen before.” Notice how well the above gels with the Luke Cage’s iteration of Thunderbolts? i.e. working towards redemption?

Granted. All these are pure speculation. However, knowing Marvel, it is likely that it will keep on expanding its universe through these inter linkages. Moreover, with CW’s Suicide Squad and Sony’s Sinister Six on their way, Marvel would be thinking about doing a anti-hero take on their own universe as well. The takeaway here is to watch out for further clues in the coming months to see if they fit well in this theory.

In the next article, I will talk about what key issues to look out for if you think Thunderbolts is coming. I have already mentioned their first appearance in my article on cheap comics to invest for 2014 but there are other issues that might surprised you.