Crossbones isn’t done throwing punches, or at least karate chops, in the Marvel Universe. Frank Grillo recently dropped a spicy little tease on Instagram, sharing an image from The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #5 variant cover titled Bring on the Bad Guys (by Ryan Brown). The cover art shows Spider-Man getting karate-chopped off a rooftop by Crossbones. Naturally, Grillo couldn’t resist stirring the pot.
“Ohhhhhh….. look who’s back. Yup. #CROSSBONES!!! #Spiderman No one dies in the multiverse. #CrossbonesLives,” Grillo posted, tagging @marvelcomics and even his son, @rio_grillo, for good measure.
For those who don’t remember, Brock Rumlow, aka Crossbones, started as a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative before revealing himself as Hydra scum in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. After a building landed on his face, he came back in Civil War ready to blow himself and Cap to smithereens, only to be stopped by Wanda Maximoff, which kicked off that whole Sokovia Accords thing. And yeah, Crossbones died.
Except, this is Marvel. Nobody really dies. Just look at Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (who died multiple times) or Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
Grillo’s sudden Crossbones tease hits while everyone’s still busy talking about his DCU role as Rick Flag Sr. He voiced the character in Creature Commandos and will appear in Peacemaker Season 2 and Superman in 2025.
So, why is Frank Grillo talking about Crossbones now?
“It was unfortunate because Crossbones isn’t onscreen that much, and this is years ago,” Grillo recently said at Fan EXPO Dallas (via Screenrant). “People love that character, and Marvel seems to have reused every other character except Crossbones… But unfortunately, he perished kind of quickly.”
It seems he is clearly not over Crossbones’ death in the MCU. And based on the Instagram reactions, neither are the fans:
“My excitement right now!” wrote one fan.
“Would love to see you again as Crossbones! There’s so much to explore with his character,” added another.
“Best performance in the entire MCU was Frank Grillo in Civil War. Wish they had the guts not to waste him,” someone praised.
That’s some serious support for a character with about 7 minutes of screen time and a very loud death. But considering that Marvel is reviving characters and bringing everyone back for their upcoming Multiverse-era blockbusters, is it really that far-fetched to believe that we’ll see Crossbones again?
Marvel recently revealed much of the Avengers: Doomsday cast in a behind-the-scenes chair lineup, but noted that not all the actors were shown. With rumors of Hydra Captain America appearing, is there room for a multiversal Crossbones to return alongside him?
Grillo’s already deep into DC territory with his friend James Gunn, but the doors between universes are more open than ever. If Marvel’s feeling generous (or nostalgic), maybe Frank Grillo’s Crossbones will dust off his skull mask and go a few rounds with Spider-Man again. After all, the multiverse is Marvel’s ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.
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