The Sentry has been Thunderbolts*'s biggest mystery, and we finally have a full breakdown of the MCU's take on the character following this week's fan screenings.
As expected, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is responsible for The Sentry's creation. The CIA Director has been using O.X.E. to experiment on people in the hope of creating a powerful new superhuman, and "Bob" is revealed as the only survivor.
The Thunderbolts encounter him in the abandoned base from the trailers, and he eventually crosses paths with Val in the former Avengers Tower (now The Watchtower). She says all the right things to sway him, but gets a taste of the darkness within when, like the Thunderbolts earlier in the movie, she touches him and sees a dark vision from her past.
Despite that, Val forges ahead and has Bob suit up as The Sentry, a superhero she's designed from scratch.
When the Thunderbolts confront Val, she dispatches her new ally to deal with him...until he starts asking questions. Realising he can't be controlled, Val attempts to hit his kill switch, bringing out The Void in the process. The villain immediately starts laying waste to New York.
Yelena enters the physical manifestation of The Void and sees what's been a terrible life for Bob. She connects with him over shared trauma, though we learn that his worst memory involved a man in a chicken costume due to his past use of meth (yes, we get a meth mention in the MCU). Yelena, Bob, and the rest of the team fight back against The Void, with The Sentry ultimately able to overcome his inner darkness.
However, The Void hasn't been fully vanquished, and in a post-credits scene, Bob mentions that he can't transform into The Sentry and use those powers again without risking The Void also being unleashed. Needless to say, that makes his role in Avengers: Doomsday all the more intriguing and has given us one of the MCU's most complex new characters.
Are you excited to see The Sentry in action when Thunderbolts* arrives in theaters next week?
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.