One superhero from Marvel Comics has been rumored to be debuting in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts, and this could continue a major power problem that has plagued the MCU. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed the development of Thunderbolts at SDCC 2022, and the film was revealed to be bringing back antiheroes and villains from the MCU's past under the tutelage of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. While the line-up of the MCU's first Thunderbolts team has received some criticism, the film has been rumored to debut a powerful hero from Marvel Comics whose power could rival the might of the MCU's premiere superhero team, the Avengers.

Adapted from the Marvel Comics team of the same name, the Thunderbolts includes antiheroes and reformed villains from the MCU's past being brought together to battle an as-yet-undisclosed threat. The Thunderbolts team consists of Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, US Agent, Ghost, Taskmaster, and Bucky Barnes, and it seems as though they'll be formed by the United States government and the CIA, though the purpose of their formation is yet to be seen. Many suspect they could be brought together to battle an even greater threat, with one popular theory suggesting Marvel Comics' Sentry could debut in Thunderbolts, though this hasn't yet been confirmed.

The MCU's Sentry Rumors Explained

The Sentry has been rumored to be appearing in Phase 5's Thunderbolts for several months, with suspicion rising after The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun was cast in an unconfirmed role in the upcoming film. The Sentry made his debut in Marvel Comics in 2000's The Sentry #1, though it was revealed that he had been operating as a hero for several years alongside the likes of the Avengers, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four - though everybody, including Robert Reynolds, a.k.a. the Sentry, himself, had forgotten. Other casting choices have placed Ryan Gosling, Henry Cavill, and Keanu Reeves in the role, though none have been officially cast in Thunderbolts.

Recent rumors suggest that the Sentry will start as a member of Valentina's Thunderbolts team in Phase 5, though the suspicion is that something will pull him away from the team, setting him up as the Thunderbolts' first adversary. The Sentry's complexities and rich backstory make his potential debut in the MCU incredibly exciting and would certainly constitute bringing together a team of superpowered individuals to battle him. Robert Reynolds is one of the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics' history, and the fact that he is not only a hero but also has a dark alter ego makes him both the perfect ally and enemy to the MCU's Thunderbolts.

How Powerful Is Sentry Compared To The MCU's Avengers?

Similarly to many superpowered characters in Marvel Comics' history, the Sentry's abilities derive from an experimental super-soldier serum, though this serum was designed to make its user a hundred thousand times stronger than Captain America. The serum gifts Robert Reynolds the power of a million exploding suns and moves his molecules an instant ahead of the current timeline, making him assumedly omnipotent, though the true extent of his abilities has never been revealed. His power level is unparalleled, including by any members of the Avengers - or the Avengers collectively - and this has been seen several times in Marvel Comics.

The Sentry easily won battles against powerful heroes such as Thor, the Hulk, and Spider-Woman and took on villains including Terrax, a herald of Galactus, Doctor Doom, and Ultron. However, it's when the Sentry is overwhelmed by his alter ego, the Void, that he's at his most powerful. The combined forces of Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Inhumans, and the Illuminati struggled to hold back a physical attack from the Void. While the Sentry's debut in the MCU is certainly exciting, the incomprehensible level of his power could pose a serious problem for Marvel Studios, though this is far from a new issue.

Why Sentry Continues A Difficult MCU Trend

Marvel Studios has often struggled to accurately depict its heroes that express almost god-level abilities, which has regularly led to these characters' powers being dumbed-down for the MCU, or the characters themselves not being used to their full extent. This has happened with the likes of Captain Marvel, the Scarlet Witch, and Vision, with the former being basically ignored throughout most of Avengers: Endgame, as she was shown to be able to take on the Mad Titan Thanos hand-to-hand fairly easily. However, unlike Captain Marvel, the Sentry has limits to his power akin to the Scarlet Witch and Vision, which could make his MCU debut easier.

Robert Reynolds is unbelievably powerful as the Sentry, but as the Void, he becomes a layered, complex, and terrifying villain. Unfortunately for Reynolds, his switching between the Sentry and the Void is unstable, and it's this instability that puts a limit on his power, as he may not always be able to be trusted to use his power to deal with any threat. This means that, while the Sentry's introduction in Phase 5's Thunderbolts could continue this power problem, it could also detail a moving story of his personal battle with his alter egos, which can shift the focus off of his abilities and onto the man behind the mask.