What Is The Void In Thunderbolts? Marvel's Dark Sentry, Explained

The latest trailer for Marvel's "Thunderbolts*" (yes, the asterisk after the title seems to be intentional) sets up a grand, thrilling stand-off. The titular group of antiheroes — comprising Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Red Guardian (David Harbour), among others — are seen fighting a supervillain who taunts their incompetence. "You thought you were going to be some great saviors? You can't even save yourselves," this figure declares, making it amply clear that the Thunderbolts might not be equipped to deal with such a formidable threat. This threat in question is Robert "Bob" Reynolds/Sentry (Lewis Pullman), whose villainous turn is prompted when he is contaminated by The Void, which turns him into a dangerous force of nature known as Dark Sentry. But who exactly is Robert, and how did such a promising hero morph into a nightmarish entity?

Before we dive into Dark Sentry's origins, it is crucial to understand the sociopolitical context of the world that requires the Thunderbolts to step in. This is a world devoid of The Avengers, at least according to a detail teased in the trailer that might've spoiled a major plot point from the upcoming "Captain America: Brave New World." If we take this reveal at face value, then the implications are dire, as the Thunderbolts have no choice but to keep people safe in the absence of Earth's strongest superheroes. Sensing this major power vacuum, Dark Sentry looms over New York City, where a literal darkness emanates from him and affects the city's frightened populace.

Without further ado, let's learn more about Robert Reynolds and his turn as The Void in the Marvel Comics.

The Void existed as a dark entity even before it attached itself to Robert, and his presence can be traced back as far as 1600 BCE. Robert was introduced in Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee's "Sentry #1," where he is presented as a superhero of the Silver Age. This gold-clad superhero has a pretty standard superhero origin story, where he ingests an experimental chemical serum (as they always do!) that grants him the "power of a million exploding suns." Taking on the role of a guardian, Robert adopts the name "Sentry" and works alongside the likes of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Somewhere along the line, Robert warns his allies about The Void but is unable to prevent the tragedy that would corrupt his own soul.

The Void's return is accompanied by chaos and carnage, as it provokes the Hulk into a rampage and kills over 1 million people (!) in Manhattan. By the time Sentry realizes that The Void manifests as the darkest aspects of his powers, it is too late. To make things right, he works closely with Reed Richards and Doctor Stephen Strange, and the trio works together to make everyone on Earth forget about Sentry, including Robert himself. With Sentry's memory erased from the minds of the living, the Void also vanishes.

As you might have already guessed, The Void returns. Years after the Manhattan incident, Robert regains his memories, which causes the Void to exert more power than ever before. Although the full extent of the Void's powers is unknown, this alter-ego possesses superhuman strength/agility, flight, energy manipulation, and something called Molecularkinesis. This unique ability allows it to disintegrate another being on an atomic level, such as when he eliminates the immortal Loki without exerting much effort. Although the Void is posed as a sentient force that existed for millennia, Sentry interprets it as his subconscious darkness, as this entity often eggs him on to claim godhood by rejecting his superhero status.

In the "Thunderbolts*" trailer that was released on Super Bowl Sunday, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' CIA Director character Val wishes to provide the titular group with redemption by thrusting them into a dangerous mission. Well, she has little choice, as this renegade antihero gang is her best bet against the big bad threatening to destabilize the city in the absence of the Avengers. We already have a supersoldier in the mix in the form of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who has come a long way since being programmed into a mindless killing machine.

As Sentry's powers are also the result of a similar super-serum, a direction connection might be drawn between these characters even though they stand on opposing ends. After all, no one treasures the value of innate humanity more than Bucky, who experienced the horrors of being overtaken by a murderous, manufactured alter-ego firsthand. This could be the catalyst for the Thunderbolts appealing to The Void's core self later in the fight, as The Sentry's humanity could be an antidote to eliminating Dark Sentry's destructive tendencies.

If things do unfurl in this direction, "Thunderbolts*" will be following Robert/Sentry's comic-book storyline pretty closely, where he also fights the New Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. once the Void takes over his body. The memory erasure mentioned earlier is also repeated during this arc, and it remains to be seen whether the film takes the same route, or decides to flesh out Robert's inner tussle to terrifying extremes.

"Thunderbolts*" releases in theaters on May 2, 2025.