WARNING! This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*. Keep reading this article at your own risk. After 30 days from the release of Thunderbolts*, this notice may be removed.
"Oh, it's not me, me it-it's it, the Void. I have these good days, y'know, where I feel invincible, but then there are a lot of bad days, and I remember that nothing, nothing matters, y'know?"
Robert "Bob" Reynolds is a former drug addict who took part in Project Sentry, an operation by O.X.E. designed to create the ultimate superhero. Unlike the project's other test subjects, Reynolds survived the experiments and gained immense power, but he was erroneously deemed a failure and stored in the O.X.E. Vault with his memory partially wiped. He was later freed during a conflict between Yelena Belova, U.S. Agent and Ghost, and had to join forces with them to escape alive. Reynolds soon discovered his abilities and was brought before Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who provided him with a suit and dubbed him Sentry.
At de Fontaine's behest, he easily defeated Belova and the Thunderbolts; however, he soon grew uncontrollable, and his dark alter ego, Void, was unleashed, spreading darkness across Manhattan and bringing the residents into their consciousnesses. The Thunderbolts managed to help Reynolds free himself from Void and return to normal, releasing Manhattan's residents. In the aftermath, Reynolds stayed with the Thunderbolts as they were redubbed the New Avengers by de Fontaine, though he abstained from continuing to use his powers out of a worry that becoming Sentry again might allow Void to return.
Bob Reynolds lived with his mother and father in Sarasota Springs, Florida. During his childhood, Reynolds suffered domestic abuse from his father while his mother turned to drugs, leaving him emotionally and mentally scarred. While in middle school, Reynolds was involved in a car accident that led to him becoming addicted to orally-administered morphine. He also developed a way to keep himself from sneezing by saying the word "cucumber" over and over.[1]
Reynolds managed to finish middle school in spite of his addiction, but quickly dropped out of high school soon after. Struggling with addiction, Reynolds took a job as a chicken mascot for Alfredo's Bail Bonds but was fired when he attacked a civilian while under the influence of methamphetamine.[1]
"Robert Reynolds entered pre-trial program in Malaysia. And he'd been having a really rough time before that." "One of the test subjects. How did he get into my vault?" "He was supposed to be dead. You dumped him with the rest of the evidence."
Reynolds soon traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in hopes of finding more drugs. There, he was approached by a man working for O.X.E. who informed him about Project Sentry. a program involving a trial drug with the ability to turn anyone into the best version of themselves. Seeking fulfillment and purpose, Reynolds agreed to take part in the trial. He was brought to the O.X.E. Kuala Lumpur Research Facility, where he was injected with the drug.
While the serum was successful in bestowing Reynolds with superhuman abilities, it also exacerbated the loneliness he had been keeping with him throughout his life. These feelings manifested as Void, a dark entity who embodied Reynolds' trauma. Void turned two O.X.E. scientists to shadow. Upon returning to his normal self, Reynolds was erroneously deemed a failure and was packed into a containment module and shipped to the O.X.E. Vault.[1]
When the four arrived, a battle broke out, and U.S. Agent knocked a table into Reynolds' containment module, releasing him. Upon getting his bearings, Reynolds hid behind containers while de Fontaine's enforcers fought each other. However, when he witnessed Ghost shooting Taskmaster in the head, Reynolds could not keep his composure and began vomiting, revealing himself to the group. They all aimed their guns at Reynolds, so he raised his hands in surrender.
Reynolds informs the group of his situation
Reynolds nervously asked if Taskmaster was truly dead and tried to run, but the doors slammed shut. Ghost asked Reynolds who he was. He told the group his name, prompting Belova to ask who had sent him to the vault. Reynolds, confused, informed them that nobody has sent him. Belova and the group then realized that they all worked for de Fontaine and that she had sent them to the vault to kill each other, so they lowered their guns.
Reynolds listens to the bickering enforcers
Reynolds listened as U.S. Agent began describing the horrible deeds they had all done, including Taskmaster's activity in Budapest and Belova's past in the Red Room, although Ghost rebutted, calling U.S. Agent the dime store Captain America. Ghost, having been sent to kill Taskmaster, told Reynolds and the group she was leaving, but when she tried to phase through the doors, she was unable to, experiencing massive pain and setting off an alarm.
Reynolds learns they will be incinerated
The vault then began to heat up and a two-minute timer began ticking down, causing Ghost to realize that de Fontaine's backup plan was to incinerate them all. The group understood that whatever was keeping Ghost from phasing through the doors must have been running on an independent power source, so Reynolds began looking for it so Ghost could phase through and open the doors. Soon, Belova called out to the group that she had found something.
Reynolds and the group escape the blast
They came over to Belova and discovered a power box, so U.S. Agent bashed it in with his shield, deactivating it. Ghost then ran through the doors, leaving Reynolds, Belova, and U.S. Agent to wait for her to open them. As the timer ticked down to twenty seconds, Reynolds realized Ghost was not coming back for them. However, with the three seconds remaining, the doors slid open, and Reynolds and the others ran through them as fire blasted out of the ceiling.[1]
Reynolds and the group were knocked forward by the blast, rendering them unconscious. Reynolds' hand touched Yelena Belova's, transporting him to one of her memories. A young Belova hid from another girl in a snowy forest, and when she revealed herself, she apologized. A man then emerged from behind Belova, and Reynolds watched in shock as the man shot the other girl dead.
Reynolds awakened back in the O.X.E. Vault and pulled his hand away from Belova's. Belova also regained consciousness and asked Reynolds if he was okay, so he told her he was. Beside them, John Walker awoke and expressed disbelief that Ava Starr had saved them, but she revealed she had only done so because the power to elevator had been cut off. Walker confronted Reynolds about how he entered the vault, but Belova defended him.
Feeling defeated, Reynolds encouraged Belova to abandon him, but she bonded with him over the emptiness they both felt, with Belova advising Reynolds to burrow it into a void. Walker called Reynolds and Belova over as he had managed to break through the concrete around the elevator with his shield. The group entered the elevator and climbed atop it, looking up and seeing that the elevator shaft was incredibly high.
Walker told the group to stand back and jumped up the shaft with his superhuman abilities gained from the Super Soldier Serum, but he fell back down, commenting that the shaft was higher than he thought. Reynolds told the group he had an idea, and they all sat down with their backs pressed together and their feet to the wall. They then began to shimmy up the shaft, although they had to take many breaks. Reynolds looked down and noticed how high up they were, expressing his fear of heights.
Nevertheless, the group continued on, and soon, they reached the top of the shaft. U.S. Agent told Belova to give him one of her batons and spin him around, but she told him they would all fall. Reynolds then felt the urge to sneeze, prompting him to repeat the word "cucumber." He explained to the group why he was doing this, but he soon could no longer talk as the urge grew stronger. The group desperately yelled the word, knowing they would all fall to their deaths if Reynolds lost control.
Out of patience, Walker grabbed Belova's baton and opened the door, causing Reynolds and the other two to fall. Starr caught herself with Taskmaster's sword while Belova grabbed onto her and used the line from her Black Widow's Bite to catch the falling Reynolds, who sneezed. Walker then pulled the other three up the shaft, snarkily calling Reynolds "Bobby" and remarking that he must have skipped chest and arm day as he was unable to pull himself up.
Reynolds realizes the group is surrounded
However, as Reynolds grabbed Walker's hand, he inadvertently transported Walker to a memory of him neglecting his child while reading an article about his downfall as Captain America. In the memory, Olivia Walker, Walker's wife, reprimanded Walker, but he told her to watch their son herself if she did not approve of his methods. Walker returned to his senses and looked at Reynolds in confusion, who had already walked away. The group looked out from behind a wall to the entrance to the vault, seeing that the exit was blocked by O.X.E. The group began talking about their pasts again, and Belova mentioned her former peewee soccer team, the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts.
Returning to the situation at hand, Reynolds listened as Belova explained her plan: she would cause an explosion and turn the power off, causing O.X.E. to enter with night-vision, before turning the power back on, blinding the agents and allowing Walker to easily dispose of them. Walker interjected that something was bound to go wrong, but Belova ignored him, telling Starr that she needed to procure an escape vehicle.
Starr disappeared to search for one before Belova caused the explosion, and the group split up. Reynolds and Belova traveled to the electrical room, where Belova began getting the power back on. Reynolds offered to help, but Belova shot down the idea as he was still slightly amnesiac. Despite flicking all the necessary switches, the power did not come back on, so Reynolds and Belova rushed out of the room to find Walker.
The two noticed that gas had been thrown into the vault, so they donned gas masks retrieved from fallen agents. Reynolds soon heard the sounds of gunshots, so he and Belova followed the noise. They encountered a group of O.X.E. agents, and Belova fought them. Reynolds again tried to help Belova, but she tied him to her back and continued to fight. Despite this, Reynolds managed to get a gun, and when he asked Belova what he was supposed to do with it, she exasperatedly told him to point and shoot. Soon, they had taken out the agents and continued on. As they were about to round a corner, another O.X.E. agent surprised them, causing Reynolds to shoot at him.
However, the agent blocked the gunshots with a shield, screamed for Reynolds to stop, and threw of his mask, revealing he was Walker in disguise. Reynolds listened as Belova and Walker briefly bickered, with Walker telling Belova that he was right about her plan failing as there were too many variables. Nevertheless, Reynolds and Belova quickly donned O.X.E. uniforms and exited the vault with Walker.[1]
As Reynolds, Yelena Belova, and John Walker made their way out of the vault and through the O.X.E. brigade, they passed directly by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who was talking to her assistant Mel Gold. Walker cynically commented that Ava Starr had most likely abandoned them, but at that moment, a truck pulled up behind the three and Starr revealed herself at the wheel, telling them to get in.
Reynolds got in the back of the truck, and Belova asked him if he would be fine sitting there, to which he replied in the affirmative. Walker took over driving from Starr, who sat next to Belova in the front. Walker then began driving out of the O.X.E. camp and nearly made it out, but he was stopped by an agent. Reynolds listened as Walker and the agent squabbled back and forth, with Walker trying to deflect from the agent's questions.
Eventually, the agent caught on to Walker's deception, causing him and other nearby O.X.E. agents to draw their guns. Knowing he had to allow his friends to escape, Reynolds exited the vehicle, took off his gear, and began shooting the gun he had acquired into the air while running back towards the entrance to the vault. His distraction worked, as the agents who had been surrounding Walker's truck rushed to respond to the disturbance.
O.X.E. agents surrounded Reynolds, and at Holt's command, they began shooting him. Reynolds fell to the ground, and the agents stopped firing. However, Reynolds was unharmed and slowly got back up, looking down at his undamaged skin in shock. He suddenly began to levitate before launching into the sky. Reynolds hovered above the clouds for a few seconds before passing out, plummeting back towards the ground, and crashing into the mountainside.[1]
Reynolds was soon given a blue and yellow superhero suit, and when the Thunderbolts launched an assault on the Watchtower and made it to the penthouse level, he generated a force-field around Valentina Allegra de Fontaine when Winter Soldier attempted to touch her. De Fontaine called Reynolds down, so he walked down the stairs and presented himself to de Fontaine and the Thunderbolts.
His friends remarked on his change of attire while Reynolds stood next to de Fontaine. The contessa then introduced Reynolds as Sentry, who nervously greeted the Thunderbolts before Red Guardian commented that his name was cool. De Fontaine explained that Sentry was all-powerful, invulnerable, and stronger than every Avenger combined, finishing by saying he would soon be known as Earth's Mightiest Hero.
Ghost questioned whether Sentry had dyed his hair, to which he informed her that it was de Fontaine's idea. Winter Soldier asked de Fontaine what her plan was. De Fontaine laughed at the fact that Winter Soldier had not caught on, causing Red Guardian to tell her they would not let her hurt anyone. De Fontaine assured him that the only people getting hurt would be them, explaining that the press would witness Sentry defeating the team.
De Fontaine gave Sentry his mission, so the Thunderbolts readied for battle. Sentry told them that he did not want to fight them, but Red Guardian yelled that they stop talking and fight. Crying their team name, he ran to punch Sentry, but Sentry easily knocked him back into the wall. Winter Soldier drew his guns while Ghost and U.S. Agent ran at Sentry. Yelena Belova tried to stop them, but U.S. Agent threw his shield at Sentry.
However, Sentry easily blocked it and began fighting Ghost and U.S. Agent. Belova ran up to them to get them to stop fighting, but Sentry knocked all three of them back telekinetically. Winter Soldier, having a clear shot now, began shooting at Sentry, who rose his hand to block the bullets. He inadvertently stopped them in the air, so he flung them back at Winter Soldier, but U.S. Agent blocked them with his shield.
Red Guardian ran at Sentry once again with a knife and tried to stab him, but Sentry blocked the weapon with his powers. Red Guardian went behind Sentry and repeatedly hit him with the knife, but it had no effect on the invulnerable fighter. Sentry flung Red Guardian out of the Watchtower, holding him the air for a short while before pulling him back into the building and slamming him into the Watchtower's bar.
Ghost appeared behind Sentry and attempted to attack him, but Sentry flew behind her and punched her. U.S. Agent then slammed his shield into Sentry's face, and when he tried to hit Sentry again, Sentry grabbed his shield and bent it before knocking him away as well. Winter Soldier tried to stab him, but Sentry stopped him. Winter Soldier shot at Sentry, who flew behind him, punched him into the air, flew and caught him, and punched him.
Sentry lowered himself to the ground, where Belova jumped on his shoulders and tried to electrocute him with her Black Widow's Bite, telling him to stop. Unfazed, Sentry flew into the ceiling and caused Belova to hit it, and when she fell back down, Sentry grabbed her and launched her towards the elevator. Ghost tried to phase and attack Sentry, leading him to grab her by the neck in her intangible form and return her to normal.
U.S. Agent shot Sentry while he was distracted with Ghost, but he was unharmed and simply superheated U.S. Agent's gun, causing him to drop it and clutch his hand in pain. Behind Sentry, Red Guardian emerged from the wreckage of the bar and grabbed a bar stool to throw at Sentry. However, Sentry noticed him and ripped the entire bar from the ground, slamming it into Red Guardian and sending the super soldier sprawling.
Sentry pulled U.S. Agent to him with his powers and threw both him and Ghost towards the elevator. He watched Belova, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and Red Guardian as they lie on the floor and tried to catch their breath. However, Winter Soldier was still standing, and he charged at Sentry. Sentry let Winter Soldier punch him a few times before catching his prosthetic arm, yanking it off, and using it to smack Winter Soldier over to the rest of the Thunderbolts.
Throwing the arm to the Thunderbolts, Sentry watched as they scrambled to retreat from the Watchtower, with Ghost grabbing Winter Soldier's prothestic arm and U.S. Agent and Red Guardian helping him get into the elevator. De Fontaine emerged from her hiding place behind the destroyed bar and exclaimed she was happy the Thunderbolts got a taste of Sentry's power. She told Sentry to finish them, but he refused, letting them escape.
De Fontaine asked Sentry why he had not finished off the team, but he replied that he did not have to answer to her as according to her, he was practically a god. He advanced on her, and she stated that his insubordination was irritating. Ignoring her, Sentry grabbed de Fontaine by the neck and rammed her into the wall, choking her. Sentry told de Fontaine that she was going to betray him like his friends, but she asserted she was not afraid of him.
Sentry ominously told de Fontaine that it was not him she needed to be afraid of and continued to choke her. However, Mel Gold picked up the Sentry Kill Switch that de Fontaine had dropped and activated it, knocking Sentry out. As Gold and de Fontaine departed, Sentry began to turn pitch-black, and he soon awoke as Void.[1]
"We wouldn't need to fire up the jets if we had a- a Sentry, who could fly." "Look, I'm sorry- I'm sorry, guys. Can't be the Sentry without the... y'know, other side. I did the dishes, though."
Fourteen months later, Bob and the New Avengers came into conflict with Sam Wilson over their name, during which Bob revealed that he was abstaining from using his powers due to the possibility of Void coming back. After having a meal with his friends and “doing the dishes”, Reynolds and the others spot an unidentified spaceship approaching Earth’s atmosphere on their monitor.[1]
Personalities[]
Bob Reynolds' Personality[]
Having been raised in an abusive household, Bob is noticeably emotionally stunted and withdrawn; prone to passivity and avoidance also having a somewhat eccentric and childlike demeanor. Due to his issues, he suffers from extreme mood swings and is prone to delusions of grandeur. Deep down, underneath all the issues, Bob has motivation to be a hero and do the right thing, protecting his mother from his abusive father being one example. And due to Bob having dueling identities due to Void’s presence, Bob also suffers from a type of short term memory loss.
Void's Personality[]
The Void is pure darkness and a manifestation of Bob's insecurities. It takes great pleasure in showing people their worst moments. It also appears to represent Bob's loneliness and self-loathing as it insults and taunts Bob and the people around him saying he will always be alone and bringing up their insecurities.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"He's invincible, all powerful, stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one."
Artificially Enhanced Physiology: As a result of a trial drug administered by Project Sentry, Sentry possesses a multitude of powers and abilities that make him a very powerful superhero and, when under the influence of the Void, a extremely dangerous threat. He possesses physical attributes that far exceed Super Soldiers such as Bucky Barnes, John Walker and Red Guardian, as well as many other supernatural abilities.
Sentry possesses unprecedented levels of strength. He was able to effortlessly overpower the Thunderbolts during their fight, in which he easily bent John Walker's Shield, overpowered Bucky Barnes and caught a punch from his Prosthetic Arm with one hand before ripping it off.
Superhuman Durability: Sentry's body is capable of withstanding extreme forms of physical trauma with no visible damage to his exterior. Bullets of the highest caliber don’t phase him, and falling from high altitudes at extreme velocities are similarly ineffective. He was likewise unharmed by any of the attacks by the Thunderbolts, including punches from Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian's knife attacks which caused the knife to break, and electricity from Yelena's Black Widow's Bite.
Superhuman Speed: Sentry is capable of moving at speeds faster than the eye can follow, appearing as a blur of motion and able to cover the distance of a room almost instantaneously. He was able to easily outpace the Thunderbolts and react to their attacks. Sentry is also able to propel himself through the air at high speeds.
Superhuman Stamina: Sentry possesses extraordinary levels of stamina, able to fight numerous opponents without effort or signs of fatigue.
Superhuman Reflexes: Sentry can react to attacks and objects moving at high speeds. He could react to and counter the attacks by the Thunderbolts with minimal effort, including catching a punch from Bucky Barnes and evading gunshots.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Sentry was killed at one point by a killswitch designed to stop him if anything went wrong with the Project, but fully healed in a matter of minutes.
Sentry is able to fly and levitate; he is able to hover at any distance over the ground and can propel himself through the air at great speeds. When he first displayed this ability, Sentry accidentally hurled himself hundreds of feet into air, before rapidly dropping, however since then he has displayed greater control, being able to ascend and descend at will, as well as being able to control the speed at which he flies.
Psionics: Sentry possesses various psionic abilities in addition to his physical attributes, allowing him to directly interact with reality using his mind to a degree.
Telekinesis: Sentry is able to move and manipulate objects and people with his mind. By simply gesturing his hand, Sentry was able to telekinetically hurl Red Guardian through a window, briefly holding him in place before pulling him back into the watchtower, and launched furniture at Red Guardian to stop him. He could halt several bullets in the air and fling them back at the shooter, and halt Red Guardian’s knife in place, preventing the knife from reaching him.
Tactile Telepathy: Sentry is able to interact with the minds of others. By making physical contact with others, he is able to share in the memories of others; he was able to view Yelena’s first task for the Red Room, as well as cause Walker to experience a shameful memory about his wife and child.
Matter Manipulation: Sentry is able to psychically control and manipulate matter; enabling him to grab onto Ghost in her intangible form, and stop her from phasing.
Heat Generation: Sentry can generate high amounts of heat remotely. When testing his telekinetic powers to move a glass of water, he accidentally boiled the contents of the glass and, during his fight with the Thunderbolts, he superheated John Walker's gun by looking at it, causing him to drop it. He also superheated Bucky Barnes' Prosthetic Arm.
Empowered by the Void, Robert's shadow becomes a focal point, allowing him to unleash a rapidly expanding darkness that can engulf a significant portion of a city. In this uncontrollable state, his very being transforms into a walking shadow, save for his distinctly visible blank pupils, with even his voice shifting to reflect this completely separate personality. With a mere flip of his hand, he can banish others into a dimension contained within this supernatural darkness, a place that forces them to confront their worst memories, which appear in the form of interconnected rooms.
Abilities[]
Combatant: Though lacking any formal training with his abilities, Sentry remains competent enough to utilize them to dominate the Thunderbolts and force them to retreat. Reynolds also fought and bested his dark alter ego Void.
Equipment[]
Other Equipment[]
Sentry Suit: Sentry wears a blue and golden-yellow suit, supplied to him by O.X.E.. The suit appears to be made from a textured, high-tech synthetic fabric, the body and legs traced with angular black lines creating a geometric pattern that emphasizes the wearer's musculature, as well as dark gray paneling on the shoulders and neck, forming a semi-armored collar. The suit features metallic gray gauntlets with gold accents, a belt bearing the Sentry's letter "S" logo, a long, flowing blue cape, and dark blue, gold-lined boots as accessories. However, the suit's coloration turned completely black when Sentry was overtaken by Void, and it disappeared entirely after Reynolds took back control, leaving him in common civilian clothing instead.
In the comics, Sentry was a originally a human named Robert "Bob" Reynolds, who suffers from a crippling addiction and drank the Golden Sentry Serum to become very powerful, gaining matter and energy manipulation abilities in the process. During his crime-fighting career, Sentry has been part of several groups, such as Dark Avengers, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, and the Horsemen of Death.
However, Sentry was also bonded with a dark and powerful entity called "the Void" when he consumed the serum. The entity acts as a counterforce and embodiment of Bob's negative aspects. It was later revealed that the dark entity was known as Angel of Death during 1600 BCE. During the King in Black storyline, Sentry was killed by Knull, who later assimilated the Void into himself. However, it was destroyed when Eddie Brock and the God of Light used the Uni-Power to vaporize Knull in the sun.
Interestingly, Pullman played a character named Bob in Top Gun: Maverick. This prompted him to ask director Jake Schreier to change the character’s name around for the film as he didn’t want to play another "Bob." However, the idea was shot down and Pullman was told that Bob had been established as Sentry's real name in the comics.[7]
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier revealed in an interview that the film's writers originally intended to portray Sentry's origin story more faithfully to the source material, where Robert Reynolds had the world's knowledge of his existence erased in order to stop the Void from emerging. This backstory was altered due to its similarity to the climax in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Doctor Strange casts a spell that similarly wipes the world's memory of Peter Parker's secret identity as Spider-Man, in order to protect his loved ones.[8]
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