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This article contains minor spoilers for Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*

In so many ways, Thunderbolts* (now in theaters) is a departure from what has come before in the MCU. The characters are less morally-sturdy, it's significantly darker in tone, and no one says "he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" (kidding!). But there is one piece of the film, seen before the action even starts, that's a return to form for the Marvel Cinematic Universe; that is, the opening Marvel logo reveal. Or as True Believers know it - the Marvel Studios Fanfare.

The Marvel Studios Fanfare is that classic Marvel opener that you see at the beginning of most MCU movies. You know, it's the one that flips through all the comics that inspired the film, then pans out to reveal the Marvel Studios logo, accompanied by the Michael Giacchino-written Marvel theme? If you forgot for a moment there, don't worry, you had a reason to - the opener wasn't in Captain America: Brave New World.

Now, though, the Marvel Studios Fanfare is back, albeit with a twist inspired by a major Thunderbolts character. This time around, the Giacchino theme gets warped as the comics flip by on screen, and eventually, a strange shadow covers both the comics and logo, ending in a barely lit, inky version of the MCU opener. And as you can already guess if you've seen Thunderbolts* trailer, that's a reference to Robert Reynolds, AKA the Sentry, also AKA the dark cosmic entity known as The Void.

(If you pay attention, you'll see that all of the comic book panels that flip through before the logo reveal are, fittingly, panels that feature the comic book incarnation of the Sentry.)

More to the point, the dark Marvel Studios logo and warped fanfare actually has a lot to do with the themes of the film. Depression, addiction, and loneliness are all things that the Thunderbolts* cast are dealing with in the movie, and there's a pretty good message about mental health in there. So if you think about it, not only is Marvel Studios telling its audience, via opener, that they're open to returning to what works, but that they're only doing it for updated, impactful reasons.

Thunderbolts* is in theaters now.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters