Marvel’s Thunderbolts* has released a new trailer, and I’m now fully convinced who the movie’s villain is going to be. Having been introduced in the first trailer for the upcoming team-up movie, it looks as though Lewis Pullman’s “Bob” is indeed going to be the MCU’s Robert Reynolds aka The Sentry. While the original comics’ Sentry was once one of the greatest and most powerful heroes in the entire Marvel Universe, he does have an extremely dark side—one that might give Thunderbolts* a distinctly more horror-oriented angle than other MCU team-ups.
In the new trailer for Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, it’s confirmed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val that “The Avengers are not coming”. To that end, it appears as though she and Bucky Barnes will be assembling a new team of operatives including Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Taskmaster, Ghost, U.S.Agent, as well as a newcomer known as Bob. While it was heavily theorized from the first promo, this new Thunderbolts* trailer has me convinced not only that Bob is The Sentry, but that the major Marvel superhero will become the film’s main villain.
I’m Convinced The Thunderbolts* Trailer Finally Revealed The Villain Kept In The Shadows, But There’s Plenty of Evidence Despite being kept in the shadows for the duration of this new trailer, Lewis Pullman’s Bob looks to be the silhouetted figure dressed in a full suit and cape. This certainly supports the idea that Bob’s indeed Robert Reynolds aka The Sentry, a hero who predominantly wears a yellow costume and blue cape in the comics. That being said, he’s certainly not framed as a hero in this new trailer for the upcoming MCU movie.
A major darkness looks to be overtaking New York City in the new Thunderbolts* trailer, one that looks to be emanating from the Sentry himself. Shown erasing civilians who are fleeing for their lives, these victims of The Sentry become nothing more than shadows as the darkness seems to be growing, covering more and more of the city, which will undoubtedly be the major threat in the new team-up movie. To that end, this looks to be tied to Sentry and the dark downside of his immense power.
Who Is Sentry? Marvel Character’s Superpowers Explained The Power Of A Million Exploding Suns…With A Major Dark Side MCU’s Sentry with his Marvel Comics counterpart behind him. I feel confident that the new Thunderbolts* trailer strongly implies that the MCU’s Sentry and his origins will very much be inspired by his complex journey in the original Marvel Comics. On the page, Robert Reynolds became the inadvertent recipient of a serum created by various subprojects derived from Canada’s Department K (which used remnants of Weapon X) and Project Rebirth, the initiatives responsible for the creation of Wolverine and Captain America respectively. Coming to possess the “power of a million exploding suns”, Reynolds became one of the best and most powerful superheroes in the Marvel Universe.
Alexei Shostakov, Ava Starr, Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova and John Walker in an elevator in Thunderbolts* The Sentry’s powers are near-godlike, possessing molecular kinesis, super-strength, flight, a regenerative healing factor, energy absorption, and a variety of other powers that essentially make Sentry Marvel’s version of Superman (and then some). However, Robert’s powers eventually manifest into a dark split in his personality known as The Void. In the comics, The Void is a sadistic presence that results in the deaths of over a million New Yorkers. This does not bode well for the MCU, as it certainly looks like the MCU’s Sentry will become just as mentally unstable considering the massive black void covering the city and civilians already falling victim to this dark new power.
I Think I’ve Worked Out Sentry’s MCU Origins (And How He Becomes A Villain) Overall, I feel as though the Sentry’s origins in the MCU will likely mirror the comics pretty closely. The Golden Sentry serum could easily be the government’s covert attempt to create an even more powerful Super Soldier serum replacement. This project could easily be overseen by Val (Director of the CIA) as well.
That said, I could also see the threat of The Void leading to Sentry being locked away (perhaps in the facility where Bob debuts in the first trailer) only to be freed during the opening act of Thunderbolts*. This would then explain the need for the Thunderbolts to come together and take him down. That said, I’m very curious and excited to see how this relatively underpowered team even has a chance of bringing down someone as powerful as Sentry/The Void, as well as why the Void gets unleashed in the first place. In the comics, The Void was suppressed by erasing Bob’s memories, so perhaps a similar tactic will be used in the upcoming MCU movie.
Marvel’s Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2nd.
