I finally watched
Thunderbolts (only took me a year) Cause I worked my way, preparing for
Doomsday. I can see why it was such a big hit. I love a good story about a group of underdogs and "small and simple things". Not only did we get more of Bucky, Yelena, and Alexei, but we got introduced to a brand new star: Bob.
Bob's backstory is pretty crazy: abuse, drug addiction, and other mental health issues. No matter where you are on the spectrum of mental health, there's something relatable in Bob. One line in particular hit hard from Void, his dark alter ego: "You can't outrun the emptiness."
As someone who has struggled with mental health and self-esteem for most of his life, this and other lines from Void resonated. And it resonated with Yelena too. Throughout the movie, Yelena felt doubts and emptiness. Though her life was full of trauma, manipulation, and abuse, she longed for something more than being Valentina's pawn.
All of us have a past and we've made mistakes. That's a fact of the gospel. That's why the Savior gave Himself and performed the Atonement. The lies of the enemy hit like the Void. “The most shameful thing of all was thinking that you could be anything more than nothing.”
The adversary would love for you to be alone. But we are never alone. That's hard for me to believe in the moment, but this movie was a good reminder. The temptation is to hide and mask and pretend that everything is okay. Constantly. Yelena said it wonderfully in Thunderbolts: "You can't stuff it down. You can't hold it in all alone. No one can. We have to let it out. We have to spend time together. And even if it doesn't make the emptiness go away, I promise it will feel lighter."
As
Elder Gong said in the October 2025 General Conference, "On the dusty roads to Jericho, each of us has been laughed at, embarrassed and hurt, perhaps scorned or abused. And with varying degrees of intent, each of us has also disregarded, not seen or heard, perhaps deliberately hurt others. It is precisely because we have been hurt and have hurt others that Jesus Christ brings us all to His inn. In His Church and through His ordinances and covenants, we come to each other and to Jesus Christ. We love and are loved, serve and are served, forgive and are forgiven."
It wasn't until the Thunderbolts worked their way out of the Void together that they were strong. It's hard to remember (trust me) but life is so much lighter when we live it together. It won't take away the emptiness--we live in a fallen world after all. But Elder Gong also said, "In His restored Church, we are all better when no one sits alone. Let us not simply accommodate or tolerate. Let us genuinely welcome, acknowledge, minister to, love. May each friend, sister, brother not be a foreigner or stranger but a child at home."
So what about Bob?
Just as he and the Thunderbolts learned, we are meant to live this life together.
