Marvel's latest film, Thunderbolts, which premiered on Disney Plus this week after its cinematic release in May 2025, has unveiled a major character twist. The movie, the final instalment of Phase Five in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sees the Thunderbolts team rebranded as the 'New Avengers'.
The plot follows an amnesiac named Bob, played by Lewis Pullman, who emerges from a suspended animation chamber. Initially appearing harmless, Bob's dark past is soon revealed: he received injections of the same super-soldier serum that gave Captain America his powers. This makes him the superhero known as The Sentry, but he also harbours a malevolent alter ego called The Void.
Bob's character struggles with mental health issues and addiction, which actor Lewis Pullman found challenging to portray. He told Radio Times: 'It's a hard topic, because you want to pay respect to the right terms that should be used when you're talking about stuff like this. But also, at the same time, you don't want to be scared of talking about it, scared of saying the wrong thing.'
In the comics, Robert 'Bob' Reynolds is an addict who breaks into a secret lab and drinks an experimental variant of the super-soldier serum, hoping for a high. Instead, he transforms into The Sentry, possessing 'the power of a million exploding suns'. However, the serum destabilises his mind, causing him to create The Void, an antagonistic force that threatens existence itself.
According to a comic by co-creator Paul Jenkins, every positive action by The Sentry is countered by a negative one from The Void. While The Sentry's abilities rival DC's Superman, The Void revels in death and destruction.
