Who Is The Void in Marvel's THUNDERBOLTS* Movies? Let's Dive In!
Marvel Studios dropped a new Thunderbolts* trailer during the Super Bowl, giving us our first real look at Lewis Pullman’s The Sentry, and with it, a terrifying glimpse at his dark alter ego, The Void.
If you’re unfamiliar with the character, he’s one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe… and also one of the most unstable.
The footage sets up the Thunderbolts team, led by Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), as they tackle a major threat in New York City. That threat is a shadowy force consuming everything in its path. And at the center of it all? Sentry.
The trailer strongly hints at his connection to The Void, a force of pure destruction. In Marvel Comics, Robert “Bob” Reynolds becomes Sentry after ingesting an experimental Golden Sentry Serum, an attempt to recreate Captain America’s Super Soldier Serum that went horribly wrong.
The result? Bob gains godlike strength, flight, and energy manipulation. But the serum also creates The Void, an entity that manifests whenever Bob loses control.
The Void is the embodiment of Bob’s worst fears, guilt, and negative emotions. It’s a monstrous, shadowy force capable of mass destruction, and nearly impossible to stop.
In the comics, The Void manifests as a terrifying entity of pure destruction, the Void is the embodiment of Reynolds’ deepest fears, guilt, and negative emotions, serving as the dark counterpart to his heroic persona.
Whenever the Sentry uses his incredible powers, the Void threatens to emerge, bringing chaos, death, and devastation on a massive scale.
This is exactly what the Thunderbolts* trailer teases. New York City is being swallowed by darkness, and civilians are being blasted into shadows. That’s bad news for the Thunderbolts, because if the comics are any indication, punching their way out of this problem won’t work.
The Void is a cosmic-level threat. It has wiped out entire cities, forced heroes like Doctor Strange and Reed Richards to take extreme measures to contain it, and even manipulated others into spreading fear and destruction as he can corrupt those around him.
Traditional combat rarely works against The Void. Instead, the best way to contain it has been psychological—either by suppressing Bob’s memories or convincing him to regain control. This could be the key to how the Thunderbolts deal with him in the film.
The Void’s origins tie directly into the MCU’s long-running Super Soldier storyline. Bucky Barnes, U.S. Agent, and Red Guardian, all members of the Thunderbolts, are products of different Super Soldier experiments. Now, they’re facing the ultimate test: a failed serum experiment gone horribly wrong.
Sentry may start as an ally, but if the Thunderbolts* trailer is any indication, he’s also the biggest threat they’ll ever face.
It will be interesting and fun to see how the Thunderbolts will handle a threat they can’t simply fight. And most importantly—can Bob Reynolds ever truly control The Void?
We’ll find out when Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2.