The latest trailer for “Thunderbolts *” by Marvel (yes, the asterisk after the title seems intentional) sets up a great exciting dead end. The holder of anti -hero – including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and the Red Guardian (David Harbor), among others – is fighting a supervillain who taunts their incompetence. “You thought you were going to be great saviors? You can’t even save yourself,” said this figure, which clearly indicates that Thunderbolts may not be equipped to deal with such a formidable threat. This threat in question is Robert “Bob” Reynolds / Sentry (Lewis Pullman), whose nasty turn is caused when contaminated by the void, which transforms it into a dangerous force of nature known as the Dark Sentry . But who is exactly Robert and how has such a promising hero turned into a nightmare entity?
Before diving into the origins of Dark Sentry, it is crucial to understand the socio -political context of the world which obliges Thunderbolts to intervene. It is a world without Avengers, at least in a detail teasing in the trailer which could have been spoiled a major point of the intrigue of the next “Captain America: Brave New World”. If we take this revelation at its nominal value, then the implications are disastrous, because the Thunderbolts have no choice but to keep people in safety in the absence of the strongest superheroes of the earth. Feeling this major power vacuum cleaner, Dark Sentry is looming in New York, where a literal darkness emanates from him and affects the frightened population of the city.
Without further ado, let’s learn more about Robert Reynolds and his turn as a vacuum in the Marvel comics.
Marvel’s emptiness is the most dangerous manifestation of a God’s complex
The void existed as a dark entity before even getting attached to Robert, and its presence can be traced until 1600 BCE. Robert was presented in Paul Jenkins and “Sentry # 1” by Jae Lee, where he is presented as a superhero of the money age. This superhero dressed in gold has an original story of fairly standard superheroes, where he ingests an experimental chemical serum (as they always do!) Which grants him the “power of a million Sun explosions “. Setting the role of a goalkeeper, Robert adopts the name “Sentry” and works alongside Avengers and Fantastic Four. Somewhere along the line, Robert warns his allies about the emptiness but is unable to prevent the tragedy that corrupted his own soul.
The return of the void is accompanied by chaos and carnage, because it causes the hulk in unleashing and kills more than a million people (!) In Manhattan. As Sentry realizes that the void manifests itself as the darkest aspects of its powers, it is too late. To do things correctly, he works in close collaboration with Reed Richards and Doctor Stephen Strange, and the trio works together to make people forget that everyone on Earth, including Robert himself. With the memory of Sentry erased from the spirit of the living, the void also disappears.
As you may have already guessed, the void comes back. Years after Manhattan’s incident Robert finds his memories, which makes the void exercises more power than ever. Although the complete extent of the powers of the void is unknown, this alter-ego has superhuman strength / agility, theft, energy manipulation and something called molecular. This unique capacity allows him to disintegrate another being at the atomic level, as when he eliminates the Immortal Loki without exercising a lot of effort. Although the void is posed as a sensitive force that existed for millennia, Sentry interpreted it as its tentured, while this entity often offers it to claim the divinity by rejecting its status as superheroes.
What the presence of Dark Sentry could mean for Thunderbolts *
In the trailer “Thunderbolts *” which was published on Sunday of the Super Bowl, the character of the director of the CIA of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Val, wishes to provide the holder group with a redemption by pushing them into a dangerous mission. Well, she has little choice, because this Anti-Héros gang Renégat is her best bet against the big bad guy threatening to destabilize the city in the absence of Avengers. We already have a supersoldier in the mixture in the form of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), which has traveled a long way since it was programmed in an insane killing machine.
Given that the powers of Sentry are also the result of a similar super serum, a management connection can be established between these characters even if they stand at the opposite ends. After all, nobody treasures the value of innate humanity more than Bucky, who knew the horrors to be overwhelmed by a murderous and first-hand alter-ego. This could be the catalyst of the Thunderbolts using the self -depth of the emptiness later in the fight, because the humanity of the sentry could be an antidote to eliminate the destructive trends of the dark sentry.
If things take place in this direction, “Thunderbolts *” will follow Robert / Sentry’s comic book fairly closely, where he also fights the new Avengers and Shield once the void takes over his body. The erasure of the memory mentioned earlier is also repeated during this arc, and it remains to be seen if the film takes the same route, or decides to expand it in Robert’s inner fight to terrifying extremes.
“Thunderbolts *” released in theaters on May 2, 2025.
