The Thunderbolts are the next major Marvel team set to come to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Composed largely of antagonists and wildcards from previous films in the franchise, Thunderbolts will likely have a shaggier, darker tone than most of the films in the overarching series. This may even extend to their target, who is rumored to be among Marvel’s most powerful characters.
If speculation is correct about the Sentry being the antagonist in the upcoming Thunderbolts film are correct, then they — and by extension, the entire universe — are about to find themselves up against a genuine powerhouse. Sentry is a character who, across the multiverse, has proven powerful enough (and unstable enough) to single-handily wipe out most of the superhero community and destroy the entire universe.
The Sentry is One of Marvel’s Most Powerful Characters
The Thunderbolts are currently set to come to the MCU as part of Phase 5. Reimagining the flexible concept into a team of morally flexible characters working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the team is currently rumored to be going up against one of Marvel’s single most powerful forces in Bob Reynolds, aka the Sentry. Debuting in Sentry #1 (by Paul Kenkins, Jae Lee, José Villarrubia, Richard Starkings, and Wes Abbott), Reynolds is an absurdly powerful figure, on the caliber of gods thanks to the Golden Sentry Serum. He’s nearly indestructible, strong enough to fist-fight Galactus, and hold his own against some of Marvel’s strongest figures with relative ease.
However, due to his mental health issues, Sentry’s worst enemy is himself personified by the Void, a dark side to the hero who poses the potential to wipe out all life on the planet if ever unleashed. The rest of the hero community has always been wary of the Sentry as a result and has even found themselves facing off against the powerhouse at times. Luckily, the heroes of Earth-616 have always been able to find a way to counteract the Sentry, but that’s not necessarily the case across the multiverse. In some realities, including one visited in a milestone issue of What If…?, the Sentry proved capable of doing what few other villains in the history of the Marvel Universe could ever even dream of.
The Power of an Unleashed Sentry is Staggering – And Frightening
What If…? #200 (by Marc Guggenheim, Dave Wilkins, Lucio Parrillo, and Dave Lanphear) focused on a timeline similar to Earth-616 up until the events of Dark Reign and Seige. Instead of turning against Norman Osborn in the heat of battle, the Ares of Earth-21119 turned on the Iron Patriot far earlier. Like in Earth-616, this resulted in his grisly death at the hands of Sentry. But while this left the Earth-616 Sentry weak enough to be brought down by Thor, the Earth-21119 Sentry had the time to recover. As a result, the heroes were never able to turn the tide of the battle. The death of Luke Cage, Thor, and Captain America at the hands of Sentry left Spider-Man to be ripped apart by Venom, Iron Man to be shot down by Bullseye, and both the X-Men and The Fantastic Four being overwhelmed.
Horrified by the death of her allies, a desperate Emma Frost allied herself with fellow Cabal members Doctor Doom, Loki, and Namor to find a way to break Sentry from Norman’s control. Revealing the truth of Norman’s manipulations, this resistance inadvertently broke the Marvel Superman and fully unleashed the Void. The Cabal and Bullseye are viciously killed, and the Void makes his way through the Marvel Universe, quickly wiping out everything left in existence. It’s a truly brutal story, one of the realities from across the Marvel multiverse where the entire timeline ceased to exist. If the Sentry is really coming to the MCU, then the heroes of Earth are in for a potentially ruinous time.
