Thunderbolts* will feature the MCU debut of The Sentry, with Lewis Pullman stepping in to play "Bob" after Steven Yeun was forced to drop out due to scheduling issues.
The latest trailer made it clear that he'll be the movie's big bad, though the character has a very complicated and convoluted history on the page. Essentially retconned into the Marvel Universe's Silver Age, he's since become one of this world's greatest heroes and villains...and even died a few times for good measure.
It's hard to say whether Marvel Studios has plans for the character beyond this movie. Still, whether you're a hardcore fan of The Sentry in need of a refresher or unsure who he is and why you should care, we have you covered with this handy guide (which also covers his evil, darker half, The Void).
To take a look through this breakdown, simply click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. The Sentry's Origin Story
For the longest time, Steve Rogers was the only person that the Super Soldier Serum worked on. Other government agencies struggled to create their own versions, and it was in the late 1940s when Project: Sentry was first dreamed up. It was meant to be 100,000 more powerful than the serum that created Captain America but ultimately got bogged down in red tape.
Years later, a meth addict called Robert Reynolds broke into the laboratory of one of the professors who worked on that and ingested the "Golden Sentry Serum" while looking for a fix.
With that, he gained the power of "a million exploding suns," and after briefly being held in captivity, Robert attempted to become a superhero. Becoming allies to pretty much all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he married the love of his life, and all seemed to be going well for the Marvel Universe's newest addition...until his inner demons resurfaced.
4. The Void
The Void was Reynolds' repressed personality and took the form of a shadowy monster that was every bit as powerful as the Golden Guardian. The monster killed millions and continued to plague The Sentry throughout his superhero career.
It's even been claimed that the serum actually transformed the drug addict into The Void, with The Sentry a byproduct of Robert's guilt over the murderous creature he had become. Things do tend to get a little convoluted with the villain's existence, but think of it like Superman having a split personality (some believe he's Bob's addiction given physical form). That's a frightening prospect, right?
The Sentry's very existence is dangerous, though, as his blood can potentially be used to create countless more Super Soldiers, each as powerful - and unhinged - as Robert. Eventually, Robert took drastic measures to stop The Void...
3. The World Forgets
Desperate to rid himself of his darker half, The Sentry enlisted the help of Mister Fantastic and Doctor Strange to make the world forget he existed. In doing so, The Void was vanquished, but so was one of the world's most powerful superheroes.
Robert tried to live a normal life but was frequently plagued by memories of his past. Demanding to be placed within The Raft in an effort to keep the world safe, that's where he remained until a breakout that saw him forced to become a hero again. The world soon remembered him, but The Sentry's mental health problems only worsened.
That made him someone it was all too easy to manipulate, whether it was by The Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. The former tried to do the right thing, but using The Sentry's powers to counter the threat the Worldbreaker Hulk posed, for example, only seemed to make Robert more unhinged. It didn't take long from there for him to fall into Norman Osborn's hands.
2. Yes, He Tore Ares In Half
Fooled into believing he was doing the right thing as a member of the Dark Avengers, The Sentry's fractured mind eventually broke during Osborn's siege of Asgard. The Void had fully taken control of Robert by this stage, and he didn't hesitate when ordered to deal with the Greek God Ares...by tearing the hero in half.
In that moment, The Void was unleashed, killing Loki, and very nearly destroying the planet. Thor eventually managed to end The Sentry after Robert begged to be put out of his misery. The God of Thunder then flew the fallen hero's/villain's body into the sun.
Since then, he's been resurrected and died on a few different occasions, but The Sentry no longer seems to be the huge threat to the Marvel Universe he once was. These days, his death even appears to have stuck, with the mantle and powers passed on to Mallory Gibbs.
1. What Should We Expect In The MCU?
Rumour has it Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's organisation O.X.E. creates The Sentry in the MCU. However, when the experiment goes wrong and he kills everyone, she enlists the team destined to become the "Thunderbolts" to retrieve her project.
Based on the latest Thunderbolts* trailer, Bob will be returned to Val before suiting up. However, it seems he'll almost immediately unleash The Void on New York City (which, in this movie, looks to be some sort of living shadow or even a shadow "realm").
Marvel Studios has a lot of gaps in this character's story to fill out and we can't see how any Super Soldier Serum could possibly create "The Void" without a mystical component. The Sentry is surely too powerful to be a one-and-done antagonist and, if he finds redemption, perhaps he'll remain part of this team heading into Avengers: Doomsday.
If not, then the MCU will have gained a deadly new threat...