Who is Bob? Thunderbolts* explains new character and secret identity

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Who is Bob? Thunderbolts* explains new character and secret identity

The first trailer for Marvel's thunderbolts* offers a look at the titular team coming together, complete with a new character named Bob. The cast for Marvel's thunderbolts* Made up of existing MCU characters, from Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova to Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes. As one of the many upcoming Marvel movies due for release in 2025, the film is highly anticipated, primarily driven by the MCU's Thunderbolts team members. Interestingly though, a new character completes the list that goes by the name of Bob.

The trailer for thunderbolts* Shows the likes of Yelena, John Walker/U.S. it. Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster clashing in a giant warehouse, unaware of who sent the others. Also present is Bob, a seemingly normal person with few powers or skills of note who was simply in the warehouse rather than sent by any one individual. Based on the trailer, Bob will obviously play a big role in it thunderbolts* MCU story, begging the question of who he is and what his secret identity is.

The Thunderbolts * Bob is Sentry

Sentry is Marvel's answer to Superman


Sentinel flying in Marvel Comics, surrounded by debris

in thunderbolts*The character of Bob is actually Sentry. Sentry is from Marvel Comics and is an incredibly powerful superhero, often considered the Marvel version of Superman. Based on these thunderbolts* trailer, it's fair to say that Bob doesn't exude the same power. However, given that thunderbolts* Centered on a team with little in the way of outright brute force, it seems Sentry/Bob will provide the main muscle for the newly formed alliance.

While the trailer doesn't reveal anything about Bob's true identity as Sentry, there is one glaring hint. The hint comes midway through the trailer as Bob can be seen standing with his hands up as a group of soldiers point their weapons and flashlights at him. Bob's clothes already have several bullet holes in them, but he is unharmed. Then, the soldiers fire their weapons as bullet casings are shown dropping to the floor.

The bullet holes already present in Bob's clothes prove that guns have little effect on him, matching the near-invulnerability of Sentry from Marvel Comics...

For one, Marvel wouldn't be so foolish as to show a character dying in the trailer, meaning that Bob will escape the gunfire unharmed. Second, the bullet holes already present in Bob's clothing prove that guns have little effect on him, matching the near-invulnerability of Sentry from Marvel Comics. These hints tie in with the early rumors and reports that Bob is actually sentry in thunderbolts*Confirm him as such in the new Marvel trailer.

Sentry's Marvel Powers & Origin Explained

Sentry is another Marvel hero stemming from Captain America

In Marvel Comics, Sentry was born from the ashes of Operation: Rebirth, the super soldier program that created Captain America. In a bid to replicate and improve the process of creating CAP, a group of scientists poured their energy into Project: Sentry. After decades, the project faded into obscurity before a meth addict named Robert Reynolds broke into a lab that had been split apart from Sentry's initial work. there, Robert found the Golden Sentry Serum and consumed it, gaining the power of a million exploding suns.

Bob is short for Robert, still providing evidence that thunderbolts* Bob is Sentry after all.

After various tests, Robert left the compound and began operating as the superhero sentry. Sentry became a well-known Marvel hero and along with several others such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Eventually, however, Robert discovers the creation of an entity known only as the Void, a manifestation of all the bad parts of Robert's personality that has his powers and the ability to destroy the universe. This was created by an enemy of Robert's named The General.

Sentry was an important hero in the Marvel universe, albeit one who constantly had to grapple with the darker side of his mind to not unleash the void…

Realizing that the void was part of his own psyche and drawing on his powers, Sentry joined Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Strange to make everyone on Earth forget who he was. With Sentry forgotten, the void disappeared briefly. Since then, Sentry has continued to be an important hero in the Marvel universe, albeit one who constantly has to deal with the darker side of his mind to not unleash the void and put the Marvel cosmos in danger.

Who plays Bob in Thunderbolts *

Bob is brought to life by a new MCU actor in Thunderbolts*

in thunderbolts*, Bob/Sentry will be played by Lewis Pullman. Pullman is an actor who has only gained mainstream attention in recent years and is known for movies like Battle of the Sexes, the Strangers: Prey at Nightand recently, Top Gun: Maverick. Several television appearances saw Pullman play roles in Outer Range And Lessons in chemistry. initially, The Walking Dead Star Steven Yeun was cast as Bob In thunderbolts*

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However, Yeun revealed at the beginning of 2024 that he had to leave the project despite being cast in 2023. Yeun insisted that he still wants to be part of a Marvel movie in the future, but that the scheduling conflict that arose from thunderbolts* Several delays meant he had to prioritize other projects. Soon after, Pullman was hired in his place.

Bob could be the MCU's secret weapon...to kill the Thunderbolts

Sentry's power would prove too much for the Thunderbolts to overcome


Thunderbolts MCU roster and Val Custom MCU image
Custom image by Kevin Erdmann

Sentry's involvement in thunderbolts* is certainly interesting, primarily given the relatively low power scaling of the MCU's Thunderbolts team members. However, this can make a lot of sense based on the ever unclear motivations of another thunderbolts* Character: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Val has long been an MCU character whose objectives aren't clear, from turning Yelena against Hawkeye to trying to get her hands on vibranium in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Go in thunderbolts*Her motivations for building the team remain as uncertain as ever from the outside.

These unclear motivations link to her moral ambiguity in the MCU. Whether she is a friend or foe of the Thunderbolts members remains to be seen, yet Sentry could prove to be her secret weapon if it is revealed that she is the latter. Bob as a human isn't necessarily dangerous, but as Sentry or the Void, his powers would vastly outshine any other member. of the team. Val could be using Sentry as a contingency plan in case what she formulated goes wrong, or she needs to keep the Thunderbolts members under control.

If they step out of line, it would be easy for one of Bob's superpowered forms to defeat them. For this reason, Sentry can be the pseudo-villain of Thunderbolts*. While Robert Reynolds usually means well, his darker form makes him an intriguing, often morally questionable enigma about when the evil side of his powers will manifest. If thunderbolts* Incorporating this aspect of his character into the story as a potential weapon to use against the titular team, Val will have an incredibly powerful MCU ace up her sleeve.

Marvel's Thunderbolts * is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains come together to fight for good.

Director

Jake Schrier

Release date

May 2, 2025

Writers

Lee Sung-jin, Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo