O.X.E. in Thunderbolts*: Secret Origins, Osborn Clues, and a New MCU Supervillain Era?

by

In the series “Thunderbolts” or “The New Avengers”, a character of immense power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bob Reynolds, portrayed by Lewis Pullman, is introduced as the Sentry. Initially, we find that this troubled young man was at his wit’s end and seeking solace, but he made a regrettable decision to join OXE, a questionable corporation conducting human experiments. Their objective was to replicate the super soldier serum that empowered Steve Rogers, with increased potency. Unfortunately for Bob, their experiment was successful—maybe too much so. However, one may wonder what OXE is and how it relates to the MCU’s other sinister scientific organizations.

It’s clear that O.X.E., a clandestine organization, is under the management of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, as portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. This company is primarily involved in covert, questionable activities, some of which may not strictly adhere to legal guidelines. The organization was initially introduced in Black Widow and reappeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, it’s in the upcoming series, Thunderbolts*, where we delve deeper into their operations. In the comic books, Valentina’s Life-Model Decoy was responsible for establishing O.X.E., and its intelligence played a significant role in shaping one of the numerous Thunderbolts teams. In Thunderbolts*, it is revealed that the MCU version has at least one highly classified underground bunker in the American desert, serving as a storage facility for their experimental projects.

Is it possible that Valentina didn’t discover O.X.E., but instead purchased it from another source? Given that O.X.E. is commonly known as Omega Chi Epsilon, an honor society for chemical engineering students, it’s worth considering if there could be a shady corporation in the MCU connected to it. After all, we have seen several suspicious corporations in the MCU since the first Iron Man film in 2008, such as Roxxon, which was present in both Iron Man and Loki, and mentioned in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and Cloak and Dagger (though the latter two might not be part of the MCU). Could Roxxon or another similar corporation be an extension of O.X.E.? It’s unlikely, but there is one MCU company that could potentially fit the bill.

In Iron Man 3, we were introduced to A.I.M., or Advanced Idea Mechanics, who were responsible for the Extremis project aimed at creating invincible soldiers. Notably, they posed a grave threat to Tony Stark’s loved ones, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. It seems as though Sentry’s abilities might have been influenced by Extremis, leading us to speculate that O.X.E. might have taken over A.I.M.’s research following the events of Iron Man 3 and used it to develop the Golden Sentry Program. However, an intriguing alternative theory could pave the way for an exciting future development in the Marvel universe, specifically for Spider-Man.

In simpler terms, one of the most villainous corporations in Marvel Comics is known as Oscorp, created by tech genius billionaire Norman Osborn. This corporation has often caused trouble for characters like Spider-Man and the Avengers. The universe of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man all feature an Oscorp. However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there is no Oscorp. Instead, it could be possible that a company called O.X.E might have been what Norman Osborn’s company would have become in the MCU, with “O” standing for Osborn, and the full name being “Osborn Xenochemistry Enterprises”.

In essence, Norman Osborn’s company, while not officially named Oscorp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), was acquired by Valentina. However, after the events of Thunderbolts, there’s a possibility that Norman might regain control over the O.X.E. corporation and rebrand it as Oscorp. This could potentially make him a formidable adversary for Peter Parker in the future. We’d be quite pleased if Colman Domingo were to portray Norman Osborn in the MCU, given his voice work for the character in the cartoon. The world of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man shares many similarities with the MCU, so this development wouldn’t surprise us. Regardless of what transpires next, we believe that O.X.E.’s influence in the MCU isn’t over yet – it seems a powerful corporation like O.X.E. is always destined to rise again.

Read More

2025-05-13 23:11