Marvel Comics is home to a lot of heavy hitters, but two of the most powerful are the Inhuman leader, Black Bolt, and the unstable powerhouse known as the Sentry. These two are both formidable in their own right, but when it comes to which character could beat the other in a fight, Marvel has already declared a clear winner.
The Sentry, aka Bob Reynolds, is one of destroying multiple Celestials in a single blast - but is even that kind of power enough to take down the Sentry?
In a story from What If? Planet Hulk by Greg Pak and Leonard Kirk, fans finally get their answer. In this look at how the iconic World War Hulk would have played out if things had gone differently, it is Caiera and not Hulk who survives the planet Sakaar and returns to Earth to wreak vengeance on the heroes who betrayed Bruce Banner. As part of her attack she, like Hulk in the mainstream story, beats Black Bolt and then uses his voice to obliterate Sentry and Doctor Strange. Black Bolt isn't just capable of beating Sentry - he obliterates him, and without even using the full power of his voice.
Unlike alternate universes - which often have different rules and power levels for various heroes - the What If? comics are stories about what would have happened in the mainstream Marvel Universe if events had gone a different way. That means What If? Planet Hulk is not showing readers an alternate dimension where Black Bolt can kill Sentry, but an outcome that is entirely possible on Earth-616. Thanks to this issue, fans now know that if events had gone differently during the Planet Hulk/World War Hulk sagas, Black Bolt's voice would have been used to kill Sentry.
It's a truly shocking result, as most fans would likely have bet on Sentry, however there are many reasons to suspect this outcome would play out again if the two came to blows. For example, in War of Kings, Black Bolt's voice (combined with the powers of the mutant Vulcan) tears a hole in reality itself. This suggests that his voice is not just powerful, but taps into the harmonics which govern physics - something which would be capable of killing Sentry, especially if he wasn't expecting to face the Inhuman king. Sentry is capable of resurrecting and healing himself, but he does so by consciously rebuilding his body. Hitting him hard and fast is the only way to beat him, but this story suggests it would work - fans even see Earth years later, with no hint Sentry came back from this blast.
Surprising as it is, Black Bolt’s vocals are more powerful than the man with the power of a hundred thousand exploding suns, and that means that when it comes to a fight between the two there is a clear winner - Black Bolt obliterates Sentry's body and leaves his remains floating in space, whether or not the Sorcerer Supreme is backing him up at the time.
