The Thunderbolts

After being exiled from the Nine Realms following his actions in Asgard, Thor wanders the periphery of outer space before coming into contact with The Other, the servant of a mysterious warlord. The Other makes a deal with Thor: in exchange for recovering the Tesseract, a powerful energy source being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D. on Earth, his master promises to give Thor command over the Chitauri, a warmongering race of cyborgs so that he may conquer humanity. Seeing this as a chance for greatness, Thor accepts. On Earth, Alexander Pierce, his hypnotized assistant Maria Hill, Jasper Sitwell, Jane Foster, and Laura Barton are called to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility in the Mojave Desert, where Jane Foster (under the control of Loki) is researching the Tesseract. The Tesseract has recently begun emitting strange quantities of energy on its own accord, prompting the facility to be evacuated.

Before any necessary precautions can be made, the Tesseract activates, opening a portal from which Thor appears. Announcing his intention to conquer Earth as a first step to come back to Asgard, Thorsteals the Tesseract. He uses the Scepter, given to him by The Other, to enslave the minds of Jane Foster and Laura Barton, aiding them in his getaway. Despite the efforts of Pierce and Hill to stop him, Thor escapes. In response, Pierce reactivates the Thunderbolts inicitative.

Despite orders from the World Security Council to proceed with "Phase 2," Pierce sends the hypnotized Natasha Romanoff to locate the hypnotized Betty Ross, who has in a US Army complex in India. Agent Sitwell is sent to talk with Obadiah Stane and recruit Pepper Potts. Both of them are hired to help locate the Tesseract. Pierce himself meets with Peggy Carter, informing her of Thor's theft of the Tesseract, requesting her help in recovering it and subduing the invader. All three women accept the orders.

The group gathers on the Helicarrier, where Betty starts tracking the gamma radiation emitted by the Tesseract, while S.H.I.E.L.D tries to find Thor. Meanwhile, Thor uses the scepter to communicate with The Other, who warns him that the consequences will be unspeakable if he should fail. Shortly after cutting off contact, Thor is discovered in Stuttgart, Germany. He attacks a man named Heinrich Schafer before terrorizing a crowd of people attending a gala, providing a distraction so that the brainwashed Laura Barton may retrieve Iridium to stabilize the Tesseract. Romanoff and Peggy arrive to apprehend Thor, with Peggy and Thor engaging in an even fight until the timely intervention of Pepper, who forces Thor to surrender. After capturing him, they board a Quinjet and start their return trip to the Helicarrier. A lightning storm suddenly forms, and Sif (sent by Loki to arrest Thor) appears, transported to Earth by Loki and Heimdall's dark magic.

Sif takes Thor from the team's custody and carries him to a nearby forest. Sif attempts to Thor surrender and return to Asgard, but Thor, say that Sif are in a hypnotic trance and Loki has cheated all Asgard. Pepper flies in and attacks Sif engaging her in a battle that levels part of the forest. Before any further damage can be done, Peggy intervenes and attempts to get Sif to stand down. Sif responds by lunging at Peggy with Mjølnir, only for the captain's shield to absorb the blow. Sif finally agrees to work with the humans and joins them in bringing Thor to the Helicarrier.

On the Helicarrier, Thor is imprisoned inside a cage designed to hold Betty's Hulk. Pierce attempts to interrogate him regarding the Tesseract's location, but Thor remains silent. Sif reveals Thor's plan to the Avengers: with the Tesseract, Thor hopes to open a portal that will allow the Chitauri access to Earth, thus beginning an alien invasion of Earth first and the Asgard. While Potts and Betty work on locating the Tesseract, Pott is intrigued by Betty's level of control over the Hulk Girl.

Peggy, annoyed by Pepper's erratic behavior and disrespect toward authority (consequence of Stane's programation), tries to get her to follow orders more carefully, which instigates a rivalry between the two. Amidst their arguments, they begin to question S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intentions, deducing that Pierce is hiding something regarding their plans with the Tesseract. Pepper reveals that by orders of Stane, she has started hacking the agency's mainframe to unlock their secrets, while Peggy leaves to investigate the restricted areas of the Helicarrier for herself. Both Potts and Peggy's itigations stumble upon "Phase 2", which they realize is a project aimed to use the Tesseract to make weapons.

Pierce confess that after World War II (wihout Peggy, the allies could defeat Hydra) Smitchd and Zola planning infiltrate in the SSR, rebuilding Hydra inside SHIELD. They wants the complete control around the world and the Tesseract can hel them. All hypnotized girls are agree with that objetives. At the same time the brainwashed Laura Barton, accompanied by various soldiers also working for Thor, attacks the Helicarrier, crippling one of its engines.

The resulting explosion destroys the lab where the group is arguing, causing Romanoff and Betty to fall into the boiler area, trapped by wreckage. Despite Romanoff's attempts at calming her down, the injured Betty transforms into the Hulk Girl (leaving her trance) and chases Romanoff throughout the Helicarrier. Sif comes to her rescue and brawls with the Hulk Girl, only to be outclassed in strength. A S.H.I.E.L.D. jet attempts to lure the Hulk Girl away from Sif, only for the Hulk Girl to leap at the plane and tear it apart. The jet explodes, and the Hulk Girl is sent careening toward the ground, where a SHIELD operative hypnotize her again.

Peggy and Pepper try to repair the damaged engine, but Thor's underlings hinder their efforts. Romanoff confronts Laura and after an intense fight, she is able to break Thor's control by delivering a concussive blow to Laura's head, coming back to her Hydra's programation. Sif attempts to prevent Thor from escaping, but he can trap her in his former prison cell. Sitwell tries to save Sif, but Thor stabs him through the chest with his scepter and then jettisons Sif from the Helicarrier. Sif breaks free from the cell at the last second, landing in a field. Peggy and Pepper eventually overcome their aggressors and get the Helicarrier airborne again. However, the victory is bittersweet as Thore scapes and Sitwell dies from his injury.

Pierce attempts to use Sitwell's **** to motivate the Thunderbolts into cooperating as a team. Pepper and Peggy realize that Thor plans to open the portal above Stark Tower, at the center of New York City, in an attempt to satisfy his ego. Peggy, Romanoff, and Laura Barton take a Quinjet to New York City, following Pepper in her suit. Pepper arrives first, failing to stop the brainwashed Jane Foster from using the Tesseract to open the portal in conjunction with a device she built.

Pepper confronts Thor. The two engage in a brief battle of wits, with Pepper failing to intimidateThor with his threats regarding the Avengers. Thor unsuccessfully tries to brainwash Pepper, but her suit blocks the scepter's power, and instead throws Pepper through a window. Fortunately, Pepper manages to activate his Mark VII armor, which attaches to Pepper before she can hit the ground. Pepper then attempts to incapacitate Thor, but Foster's device initiates, opening a portal above New York. The Chitauri fleet emerges, beginning Thor's invasion.

Peggy , Romanoff, Barton, and Sif soon arrive and assist Pepper against the Chitauri. Not expecting such resistance, the Chitauri are initially overwhelmed, but their sheer numbers soon become an issue. Betty, now hypnotized again arrives on a motorbike and tranforms herself in Hulk Girl, giving the Thunderbolts an edge against the Chitauri. The team fights through hordes of Chitauri, and during the battle, Thor is attacked by the Hulk Girl and beaten into submission. Romanoff makes her way to Foster's device. Foster, now freed of Thor's control and now put in a trance by a SHIELD hypnotic device, reveals that Thor's scepter can close the portal.

Meanwhile, the World Security Council attempts to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Manhattan. Iron Woman intercepts the missile and takes it through the portal toward the Chitauri fleet before running out of power and plummeting back to Earth. The Hulk Girl catches Pepper as she falls, while the Chitauri fleet is decimated by the nuclear explosion, effectively disabling the Chitauri forces on Earth. Romanoff then closes the portal, the battle finally won.

The world, changed forever, is taken over by the idea of a superhero team. The Thunderbolts become the center of media attention, admired by the public as heroines, but are also met with some concern and fear. Some find their appearance during the battle to be too coincidental. Joining in Central Park, the Thunderbolts and S.H.I.E.L.D. watch as Sifescorts Thor and the Tesseract to Asgard. Afterward, the Tunderbolts diverge, though Pierce notes that at such a time that a new world-threatening menace emerges, the team will reassemble.

Meanwhile, The Other meets with his master, Thanos, and informs him of Thor's failure. He shares his concerns over the strength of Earth's heroines, commenting that attempting to rechallenge them would be deadly. Thanos smiles sadistically. Before disassembling, the Thunderbolts gathered at an empty Shawarma Palace and ate in silence, while wait the new orders of their respective masters.