In a standout moment from Richard Linklater’s film Hit Man, Glen Powell’s character Gary confesses to Adria Arjona’s character Madison that he has been pretending to be someone else. This moment is humorously punctuated by Arjona’s high-pitched exclamation, “Who the fuck is GARY?!” which resonates with viewers. In a similar vein, those who watched the trailer for Marvel’s upcoming movie Thunderbolts might find themselves asking, “Who the fuck is Bob?” when Lewis Pullman’s character is introduced.
The character in question, Robert Reynolds, played by Pullman, is thought to be a portrayal of the Marvel superhero The Sentry. The Sentry, introduced in the late 1990s by Paul Jenkins and Rick Veitch, has had a convoluted history, culminating in a mini-series in 2000 with art by Jae Lee. In this series, a middle-aged Bob recalls his past as a superhero called Sentry, who possesses the power of a million suns derived from a version of the super soldier serum. Fearing the return of his nemesis known as “The Void,” Bob seeks assistance from other Marvel heroes. Throughout the storyline, it becomes clear that Sentry and Void are two aspects of Bob’s psyche, representing his anxiety and schizophrenia. Essentially, Bob serves as Marvel’s version of Superman, albeit with a troubled duality akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Though Sentry had never appeared in Marvel comics prior to this Jenkins/Lee miniseries, his sudden introduction is explained by the narrative, which details how Bob had Dr. Strange and Mister Fantastic erase the world’s memory of him to shield it from his darker half. The series concludes with him repeating this process for the same protective reason. However, as with many comic book characters, it was not long before other writers brought Bob back into stories. Notably, Brian Michael Bendis incorporated Sentry into his Mighty Avengers storyline, with Tony Stark seeking his help while attempting to address Bob’s mental health challenges. Bob then became a pivotal figure in Bendis’ Dark Avengers arc, where Norman Osborn manipulates The Void to seize control of Bob for his own agenda.
Given Bob’s ongoing struggle between his conflicting personas, he poses a significant threat when uncontrolled, an aspect Thunderbolts seems poised to explore. In the trailer, when Yelena (Florence Pugh) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) encounter Bob in what appears to be a medical gown, it remains unclear who is orchestrating events behind the scenes. The initial suggestion is that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character Val has sent Yelena, Walker, and other anti-heroes to either rescue Bob or provoke him into action. Regardless, Bob’s complex and multifaceted superhero persona will take center stage in a major Marvel film upon the release of Thunderbolts next May.