Thunderbolts* has only been in theaters a few days, but Marvel Studios has wasted very little time in revealing the meaning of that hotly-debated asterisk by rebranding the movie in official marketing materials.

Spoilers follow.

At the end of the movie, the Thunderbolts regroup after successfully preventing Bob from unleashing the darkness of "The Void" (a group hug works wonders), and approach Val to apprehend her (with a few broken bones if Red Guardian gets his way).

The ever resourceful CIA Director has formulated a plan to keep herself out of prison, however, and the team follows her right into a press conference she has arranged in order to introduce the New Avengers to the world. The group decides to play along, and the post-credits scene reveals that they have been operating as the New Avengers for over a year.

As you can see from the billboard in the photo below,...