We met "Bob" twice in two Thunderbolts* trailers. While many Marvel Comics fans know a handful of anecdotes about Robert Reynolds, we know even less about "The Sentry."
And then, there's "The Void," which, if most fans are honest, is still a mystery.
If this makes sense, The Sentry is a persona from deep within Bob, thanks to the Golden Sentry Serum mutating his genetic code to something remarkably closer to Kryptonian. Yet, The Void is a persona of The Sentry, not Robert Reynolds. And it is one of the most malevolent forces in the known universe.
Villains are bad. Some are fierce. But The Void is no holds barred evil and he stops at nothing to protect The Sentry. Marvel defines this halfway split like this: "The Void believes he is integral to the Sentry's survival. As the Sentry's power hinges on his emotions, any individual could crush him if the Void were not there to kill them. Once the Sentry found that the Void was a different entity he took the void and threw him into the sun, but the Sentry still fears his return."
See? It is not as straightforward as you thought, so Bob works with three voices, skills, and personalities in the trailer. Imagine the dedication Lewis Pullman takes to master this role. (Steven Yeun could have also done it justice, but his personal schedule reigned supreme.)
So, let's delve into who are, well... they.
Meet The Sentry
He's a star of the Marvel Comics Universe and is said to have the power of "a million exploding suns." But his story wouldn't be as bright as we hoped. Initially, Bob was given a derivative of Captain America's super soldier serum because it was synthetically made of the Mutant Growth Hormone, Hank Pym particles, gamma enhancements, and the Connors Formula (remember the Lizard). Then, the potency was supercharged.
He has god-like powers. So much so that The Sentry doesn't understand reality. At one time, he had everything Superman had, but that wasn't badass enough, so when Brian Michael Bendis brought The Sentry back during the Dark Avengers (2009-2013), he was given the ability to warp reality and manipulate molecules.
The Sentry can mold the world around him with his mind--this is a wicked skill that Jean Grey has trouble conceiving. That makes him eternal because if he is obliterated, he can manipulate his molecules to reproduce and resurrect. Also, this super soldier serum incident also connects him with Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, John Walker / U.S. Agent, Alexei Andreovitch Shostakov / Red Guardian, and Isaiah Bradley (see Captain America: Brave New World).
Give Feige a chance to re-earn your trust. He's going somewhere with all this.
Meet The Void
All those powers Robert Reynolds possesses to make The Sentry as powerful as he is, The Void has them too and uses every ounce of sinister intention to kill anyone in his path. It's unknown if Marvel will go this deep into Bob's backstory, but he was a meth addict. He got this highly energized and volatile version of the super soldier serum by breaking into a lab and looking for anything that would give him a fix.
After he got the high of a millennium, all trace of the new serum was destroyed because there was no telling what was going to happen. The Sentry happened. But when Bob was being hunted, then The Void happened. And that's when things got exponetially worse.
The Void is a reflection of Reynolds' rage, guilt, hate, and vitriol for humanity--and himself. He shapeshifts into the shadows and can cause visions so heinous that the Scarlet Witch would be impressed. Whenever the Void feels The Sentry is endangered, he can take over, wreak havoc, and destroy everything. Think The Hulk without the wild metamorphosis.
The Sentry and Robert Reynolds are truly their own worst enemy--and that of anyone in their path.
No Thunderbolt, Avenger, or other decorated hero is ready for this. And if Marvel does this right, neither is anyone associated with "Doomsday."
Thunderbolts* arrives in theaters on May 2, 2025.