After an inconsistent recent run, the MCU gets back on its feet with this intelligent and surprisingly introspective reinvention from Robot & Frank’s Jake Schreier, which suggests that lessons have been learned. A ‘scrappy team of antiheroes’ fill the void left by the Avengers, to the bemusement of everyone, especially them. The palette is sombre, the characters angsty, but it’s not all doom and gloom, with some expertly applied humour ensuring things rattle along enjoyably.

Thunderbolts* gives us Marvel’s version of The Suicide Squad, although it also owes a debt to TV’s The Boys. However, it’s less colourful, chaotic and gleefully inappropriate than either, delving into the tormented psyches of its morally questionable protagonists as it gathers together supporting players from previous Marvel entries. These include the likes of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost. David Harbour brings the funny as Yelena’s larger-than-life father-figure Red Guardian, while Lewis Pullman is the mysterious laboratory test subject Bob. After being double-crossed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ dastardly CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who is trying to fend off an impeachment investigation, these reprobates join forces.

In keeping the runtime respectable, Thunderbolts* speeds through one key character’s evolution, while John-Kamen’s Ghost is perhaps the least well-served by the script. However, by and large the film feels carefully considered, resisting some of Marvel’s least appealing indulgences (including prolonged, city-based carnage) and opting for a more interestingly conceived denouement.

The casting is the film’s greatest strength. The ever-excellent Pugh is a real get as its leading lady, Harbour is hilarious, Stan is coming off the back of an Oscar-nomination for The Apprentice, and Louis-Dreyfus makes for a wonderfully weaselly, totally unapologetic troublemaker. The themes of depression and trauma are weaved in fruitfully and there are some fantastic one-liners, including Valentina’s withering, impeccably delivered verdict on the Red Guardian’s ensemble. And, yes, the asterisk is important.

Thunderbolts* is in cinemas from Thursday 1 May.