Why There’s a Random Guy Named “Bob” in the Thunderbolts* Trailer

One among my favourite line readings of the 12 months is in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, when Glen Powell’s character of Gary comes clear to Adria Arjona’s character Madison about how he’s been pretending to be another person. The second is completely deflated by Arjona’s hilariously high-pitched supply of “Who the fuck is GARY?!” It kills each time. I say all of this to say, when you watched the trailer for Marvel’s new film, Thunderbolts*, then you might have gotten to the purpose the place Lewis Pullman’s character “Bob” is launched and puzzled, to your self or out loud, “Who the fuck is Bob?!” with an analogous tenor and tone.

Expensive reader, that’s a superb query. Pullman is taking part in a personality named Robert Reynolds, which suggests he is probably taking part in an MCU model of the Marvel hero often called The Sentry. Initially developed within the late 90s by Paul Jenkins and Rick Veitch earlier than touchdown a mini-series in 2000 from Jenkins with artwork by Jae Lee, the character’s historical past is, even by comedian e-book requirements, a bizarrely lengthy and winding highway. The unique collection includes a middle-aged model of Bob remembering that he was as soon as a superhero referred to as Sentry, who has the ability of 1,000,000 suns that got here from taking a model of the tremendous soldier serum. Afraid that his archfoe “The Void” is returning, Bob seeks out different Marvel heroes to assist him. Over the course of the collection, it’s revealed that Sentry and Void are two sides of the identical coin, manifestations of Bob’s nervousness and schizophrenia. Mainly, Bob is Marvel’s Superman, if Superman had been additionally Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

In fact, the Sentry had by no means appeared in a Marvel comedian earlier than the unique Jenkins/Lee miniseries, however there’s a proof as to why he reveals up seemingly out of nowhere; we be taught that as a way to shield the world from his darkish aspect, Bob enlisted Dr. Unusual and Mister Incredible of the Incredible 4 to erase the world’s reminiscence of him. That first collection ends with him doing the identical factor once more, for a similar motive. However comedian books being comedian books, it was solely a matter of time earlier than different writers discovered a motive to contain Bob of their tales. Author Brian Michael Bendis ended up utilizing Sentry as a vital a part of his Mighty Avengers story, the place Tony Stark enlists his assist in trade for looking for a treatment for his psychological points. From there, he turns into a principal fixture throughout Bendis’ Darkish Avengers run, the place Norman Osborn coaxes out The Void to take over Bob and do his bidding.

As a result of Bob’s two personalities are continuously jockeying for management, he’s typically too harmful to be left unchecked, which is the aspect that Thunderbolts* seems to be to be taking part in up. When Yelena (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and others encounter Bob within the trailer, he’s carrying what seems to be to be a medical robe. Whereas we don’t know at this stage who is strictly pulling the strings, the preliminary implication is that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val has despatched Yelena, Walker, and the opposite anti-heroes of the MCU to both rescue Bob or provoke him in order that he’ll take them out for her. Both approach, some of the complicated and complex heroes in current comedian e-book reminiscence will take heart stage in a serious Marvel film when Thunderbolts* releases subsequent Might.