The first trailer for Marvel's Marvel movies set for release in 2025, the film is highly anticipated, primarily driven by the MCU's Thunderbolts team assembling. Interestingly though, a new character completes the roster who goes by the name of Bob.

The 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

Sentry 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 the Thunderbolts* trailer, it is fair to say that Bob does not exude this same power. However, given that Thunderbolts* is centering on a team with little in the way of outright brute force, it seems as though Sentry/Bob will provide the main muscle for the newly formed alliance.

Although the trailer does not give anything away overtly about Bob's true identity as Sentry, there is one glaring hint. This 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, yet he is unharmed. Then, the soldiers shoot 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 would not be so foolish as to show a character dying in the trailer, meaning Bob will escape this gunfire unharmed. Secondly, 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. These hints combine with the early rumors and reports that Bob is actually Sentry in Thunderbolts*, confirming 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 laboratory that had split apart from the initial works of Sentry. There, Robert found the Golden Sentry Serum and consumed it, gaining the power of a million exploding suns.

Bob is short for Robert, further 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 teamed up with several others like Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Eventually, though, Robert discovered the creation of an entity known only as the Void, a manifestation of all the bad parts of Robert's personality that had his powers and the ability to destroy the universe. This was created by an enemy of Robert's named the General.

Sentry continued to be an important hero in the Marvel universe, though one who constantly had to grapple with the darker side of his mind so as to not unleash the Void...

Realizing that the Void was part of his own psyche and was drawing on his powers, Sentry enlisted Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Strange to make everyone on Earth forget who he was. With Sentry forgotten, the Void disappeared briefly. From then on, Sentry continued to be an important hero in the Marvel universe, though one who constantly had to grapple with the darker side of his mind so as to not unleash the Void and place 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 such as Battle of the Sexes, The Strangers: Prey at Night, and, more recently, Top Gun: Maverick. Some TV 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*

Beef Netflix Show Steven Yeun as Daniel Cho sitting in the drivers seat of a vehicle

Steven Yeun Reveals Why He Left The MCU Over A Year Before His Marvel Debut

The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun, who was set to play Sentry in the Thunderbolts movie, opens up on why he exited the Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

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However, Yeun revealed at the beginning of 2024 that he had to depart the project despite being cast in 2023. Yeun insisted that he still wishes to be part of a Marvel movie in the future, but that the scheduling conflicts that had arisen from Thunderbolts* several delays meant he had to prioritize other projects. Shortly 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 . However, this could 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 have not been clear, from turning Yelena against Hawkeye to trying to get her hands on Vibranium in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Going into Thunderbolts*, her motivations for building the team remain as uncertain as ever from the outside.

It is also unclear how Val links to Bucky, Red Guardian, Taskmaster, and Ghost in the MCU, making her motives even more hazy.

These unclear motivations link to her moral ambiguity in the MCU. Whether she is a friend or a foe to the Thunderbolts remains to be seen, yet Sentry could prove to be her secret weapon if it is revealed she is the latter. Bob as a human is not 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 whatever she has formulated goes wrong, or she needs the Thunderbolts kept under control.

If they step out of line, it would be easy for either of Bob's superpowered forms to defeat them. For this reason, Sentry could be the pseudo-villain of Thunderbolts*. While Robert Reynolds usually means well, his darker form makes him an intriguing, oftentimes morally questionable enigma regarding when the bad side of his powers will manifest. If Thunderbolts* incorporates 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.