The MCU has convinced me that a Marvel hero has been killed off before Thunderbolts* after 7 years. While the MCU timeline is known for fake-out deaths that mirror the comics, the franchise also hasn’t been afraid to kill off characters permanently when the need arises. Plenty of heroes and villains alike have found themselves being offed in various fashions, and for every character that has come back after a seeming demise, there are several who find themselves – at least for the time being – permanently dead.

However, it’s worth noting that these deaths tend to be focal features of the respective movies and shows they appear in, as the naturally dramatic nature of a character dying on-screen adds stakes to even the most outlandish of superhero stories. This makes it all the more interesting to me that the MCU appears to have killed off a noteworthy character for Thunderbolts* seemingly between their last appearance and the upcoming MCU movie.

Ghost’s Thunderbolts* Story Alludes To A Hero Death

The Current Story Teases For Thunderbolts* Hint At A Potential Character Death

In The Official Marvel Podcast episode “Hear From The Cast Of Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and more!”, a range of quotes are provided from the cast of Thunderbolts*, and while all of them provide interesting insight about the upcoming movie, it’s Ghost actor Hannah John-Kamen who I think provides the most thought-provoking comments. John-Kamen describes Ghost as, “a lone wolf, she’s a loner, she’s very self-sufficient, she’s a survivor.”

This focus on being alone is a noteworthy description given Ava Starr was last seen in Ant-Man and The Wasp fleeing with her mentor Bill Foster – also known as Marvel hero Goliath – who has not appeared in the main timeline since, and doesn’t appear to be in the cast for Thunderbolts* itself, though the full roster hasn’t yet been revealed. While Foster could simply be off doing other things during this time, given his fatherly attachment to Ghost, it seems unlikely he would be missing from her life and the story entirely unless something had happened to him.

Looking at Bill Foster’s willingness to go on the run with Ava, it seems as though Foster would have been more likely to join the Thunderbolts with his adoptive daughter rather than leave her side. This makes his absence from the team itself seem somewhat potentially telling, as his incredible intelligence and technological prowess would seemingly have offered him a spot on the team, even if it were one more on the sidelines.

Jail time after the pair were caught would be another possible scenario, but even then, it would make sense for the character to get a call or dramatic moment with Ava to underline the situation at hand, making him part of the cast. Given Bill Foster also notably dies in the comics, it seems more than likely that Ghost’s current “lone wolf” nature emerges from having previously lost the one person who truly cared for her, and that the MCU will have adapted Goliath’s death in some way.

Why The MCU Killing Off Bill Foster Would Make Sense For Thunderbolts*

Killing Bill Foster Would Make Sense On A Few Different Levels For The MCU

Unlike the previous reports that claimed Thunderbolts* was set to kill off its entire cast in its story, killing Bill Foster wouldn’t change the MCU drastically, but would certainly enhance the emotion and stakes of its story. If Ghost has lost Foster, her attachments to the Thunderbolts become all the more significant, as they thus are the only real allies she has in her life.

Similarly, it’s likely Valentina Allegra de Fontaine would be able to play on this loss to add Ava to the team much in the way she’s shown in the Black Widow post-credits playing on Yelena’s grief over losing Natasha, justifying the character’s inclusion in the group while also adding parallels between the two stories – and perhaps setting up Valentina as a more morally void figure by manipulating yet another isolated figure to her own means.

Since Bill Foster died in the comics during the Civil War event – and Captain America: Civil War released in 2016 without the character appearing – using his later demise to up the personal stakes and smooth out Ghost’s storyline would seem potentially par for the course. With so many different character stories to include in the movie, it would also make sense to only reference this passing, since Foster currently doesn’t seem to be in the cast of the movie. However, that doesn’t mean the prospect of the character being killed off-screen wouldn’t be a waste.

Why Killing Off Bill Foster Off-Screen Would Be A Waste

Bill Foster Deserves A Return To MCU Screens

While signs appear to point to Bill Foster having ended his story before the events of Thunderbolts* even necessarily take place, hopefully Foster’s story can be covered by a flashback if this is the case. Laurence Fishburne isn’t an announced part of the cast, but it doesn’t appear that the full list of actors in the movie is released, and indeed some names may not be disclosed until after the movie debuts, in order to allow for some surprises.

Featuring the character would be crucial if the MCU’s Goliath has passed, as on a narrative level, not including the moment would not only gloss over the death, but also put a major moment of Ghost’s arc to the backburner. Thunderbolts* will have its work cut out for it balancing the stories of multiple main characters, but repeating the main complaints raised for The Avengers and its ensemble team by simply sidelining some stories isn’t the solution.

While Ghost isn’t as focal a character as someone like Yelena or Bucky Barnes, a moment like her losing her mentor needs to be on-screen, or else the franchise risks making her essentially the Thunderbolts’ version of the Hulk. Putting Ghost in a notable team but not giving her story the pathos or significance that would suggest it requires would repeat the sins of the MCU’s past in a way that would be unideal, especially since audiences are likely to remember less about her arc than they will about more central MCU figures in the first place.

Even without all this, the quality of Laurence Fishburne’s acting alone would make killing Bill Foster off without showing it a true waste, as the actor’s own history in the profession – including notable roles in The Matrix and John Wick – makes him a natural candidate to have on-screen in the franchise for as much time as possible. As such, there is always the hope that Thunderbolts* brings Bill Foster back – and possibly even gives him the spotlight – as much as some darker possibilities are currently looking quite likely from my perspective.