So, there’s this massive, universe-sucking, trauma-inducing cosmic black hole of doom called The Void that almost turns New York City into a giant «Haunted House: Edition Infinity.» And guess what? Spider-Man isn’t swinging in at the last second. Daredevil isn’t kicking shadows into next week. Iron Fist isn’t… well, doing anything, really.
And yet — the world doesn’t end! Because instead of calling on the usual A-listers, Marvel decided to roll with a B-team of reformed villains-turned-reluctant-heroes known as the Thunderbolts . But fans are scratching their heads and asking: “Where were all the big-name heroes when NYC was getting emotionally violated by a sentient void?”
Let’s break it down like a Marvel post-credits scene — but way more entertaining.
The Big Absence: Where Was Team Friendly Neighborhood?
New York has seen some stuff. We’re talking Chitauri invasions, multiverse madness, and Wilson Fisk’s entire personality crisis. So when The Void shows up, possesses Bob (aka Sentry), and starts vacuuming people into a personal hell dimension, you’d think the Avengers would be knocking down doors to help out.
But nope. No Spider-Man. No Doctor Strange. Not even a cameo from J. Jonah Jameson screaming about wall-crawlers.
So why didn’t the usual suspects show up?
Well, Eric Pearson, writer of Thunderbolts , gave an answer that sounds like it came straight out of a philosophy class taught by Loki:
“Time works real different around here.”
Okay, fine. Let’s unpack that.
Time Is Just a String Cheese in Space
Pearson says he can’t confirm if Spider-Man or Daredevil even knew what was going on because time inside The Void moves weirdly — kind of like when your internet speed drops during a Netflix binge. Characters like Yelena and Harlan feel like they’re stuck in there for 20 minutes, but outside? It could’ve been seconds. Or hours. Or maybe a whole new MCU season already happened in that gap.
So basically, the explanation is: “They might’ve been too late. Or too early. Or just confused.” Which is either genius-level writing or a very clever excuse to not have to write Spider-Man fighting a black hole while eating pizza.
Are They Gone? Or Just Busy Doing Hero Stuff?
Another possibility? Maybe the other heroes did try to help, but The Void just ate them. Like Thanos’ diet, but darker. If you get pulled into The Void, you don’t get a cool infinity gauntlet fight — you get forced to relive your worst memory while someone films it for TikTok.
The Thunderbolts, on the other hand, actually had intel. They knew who The Void was. They had a plan (sort of). They even had a guy named “Bob” who was both the problem and the solution. That’s efficiency.
Our Take: It’s Okay, Heroes Need Days Off Too
Let’s face it — even superheroes need a vacation. Maybe Peter Parker was grounded after missing curfew. Maybe Matt Murdock was in court defending someone who definitely didn’t deserve it. Maybe Stephen Strange was too busy untangling timelines to notice one tiny little apocalypse.
In the end, Pearson’s answer is vague, but hey — so is The Void. And sometimes, vagueness is the only logical explanation in a universe where a raccoon runs missions with a talking tree.
So while we may never know exactly where the big guns were, we do know this: Thunderbolts saved the day, and they did it without a billion-dollar CGI budget (probably).
Maybe next time, though, someone should call Aunt May. She always knows what’s up.
