Character Relationship Map: Thunder Force

Characters

• Lydia Berman (played by Melissa McCarthy) — protagonist

  Lydia Berman is Emily Stanton's childhood best friend, later working as a longshoreman. After accidentally receiving Emily's strength serum, she trains to become a superhero and joins Emily as Thunder...

• Emily Stanton (played by Octavia Spencer) — supporting

  Emily Stanton is a scientist who dedicates her life to protecting ordinary people from superpowered criminals after her parents are killed. She develops the serum that gives Lydia superhuman strength...

• The Crab (played by Jason Bateman) — supporting

  The Crab is a superpowered criminal with crab-like arms who runs a liquor store robbery. He becomes romantically interested in Lydia, who later dates him to learn about a planned attack. Despite initi...

• Laser (played by Pom Klementieff) — supporting

  Laser is a superpowered criminal who can create and control whip-like energy beams. She works with a mayoral candidate to pressure Thunder Force and later attacks them at a diner and during the final...

• Tracy (played by Taylor Mosby) — supporting

  Tracy is Emily Stanton's daughter. After learning that Lydia and Emily are fighting to stop a bombing, she injects herself with Emily's serum and gains superhuman speed. Tracy joins the final battle a...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Lydia Berman → The Crab (Romantic Interest) — Their mutual attraction complicates Lydia's judgment and produces useful information.

  The Crab falls in love with Lydia, and the plot describes Lydia as equally smitten. Lydia later goes on a date with him.

• Emily Stanton → Tracy (Family Mother) — Emily is Tracy's mother and remains connected to her scientific work.

  Emily tells Lydia that she had a daughter, Tracy, with one of the researchers who later left them.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Tracy → The Crab (Alliance Combatant Ally) — They participate on the same side during the final battle.

  Tracy joins the final battle alongside Thunder Force, while The Crab also turns against the bombing organizer.

• Emily Stanton → Laser (Conflict Adversary) — Emily confronts Laser as part of Thunder Force.

  Laser attacks Thunder Force, the team formed by Emily and Lydia, at a diner and during their later intervention.

• Lydia Berman → Laser (Conflict Adversary) — Laser repeatedly obstructs Lydia's superhero work.

  Laser attacks Thunder Force at a diner and later fights them again before they confront the bombing plot.

• Emily Stanton → The Crab (Conflict Distrustful Associate) — Emily views him cautiously despite his eventual assistance.

  Emily is concerned about The Crab's attraction to Lydia and later relies on information Lydia obtained from him.

• Lydia Berman → Tracy (Alliance Battle Ally) — They cooperate during the final crisis.

  Tracy joins Lydia and Emily during the fight against the powerful Miscreant responsible for the bombing.

• Lydia Berman → Emily Stanton (Social Best Friends) — Their long friendship is repeatedly strained and ultimately restored.

  Lydia stands up for Emily in high school and becomes her best and only friend. They later reconcile after learning about the bombing plan.

Story Analysis

Two estranged friends become superheroes and rebuild their bond while confronting a superpowered threat and a citywide bombing plot.

Plot Progression

1. A World Without Defenders — Cosmic rays create superpowered Miscreants, and Emily loses her geneticist parents to one of them. She responds by dedicating her life to researching a defense for ordinary people.
2. Friendship Interrupted — Lydia becomes Emily's closest friend, but Emily's accidental absence from an AP exam damages their bond. Decades later, Lydia tries to reconnect with the isolated scientist.
3. Thunder Force Rises — Lydia accidentally receives Emily's strength serum, while Emily uses a pill to gain invisibility. After treatment and training, they become Thunder Force and stop a robbery.
4. Power And Fracture — Public praise and political pressure draw Thunder Force into a larger conflict. Laser's attacks and Lydia's reckless bus throw cause another serious break between the friends.
5. The River Sacrifice — Lydia obtains bombing intelligence from The Crab and reconciles with Emily. During the final battle, Tracy joins them, and Lydia carries the bomb into the river before being resuscitated.