The Sentry: The Powers & One Weakness Of Steven Yeun's Twisted Marvel 'Superman'
Sentry appears to be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as recent leaks have suggested that "The Walking Dead" and "Beef" actor Steven Yeun will be taking on the role of Marvel's pastiche of Superman in the upcoming "Thunderbolts" film. Introducing Sentry is significant in many ways, as he's often considered to be one of the strongest characters in all of Marvel Comics. However, with his extraordinary powers comes a considerable weakness that can put the entire universe in peril.
Marvel's Golden Guardian first appeared in "Sentry" #1 (by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, Jose Villarrubia, Richard Starkins, and Wes Abbott). Seen initially as an ordinary man named Bob Reynolds with a largely unspectacular life, it is later revealed that he is secretly the hero Sentry, a former drug addict who broke into a government lab and drank an enhanced and untested magnified version of the Super Soldier Serum, which gave him the power of a million exploding suns. Frankly put, Sentry's powers don't have an upper-power limit. He possesses Superman-esque abilities like super strength, speed, and invulnerability, but with even more moves added on, including telepathy, molecular manipulation, and warping.
Ultimately, Sentry is a superhero cheat code, with his abilities being so significant that no heroes or villains can match his pure power. However, Sentry's greatest weakness is also the reason for his downfall, as he's cursed with one of the most dangerous side-effects of being a superhero in Marvel Comics history.
The Void can destroy the universe
The Sentry's powers come with a dark opposite named the Void, a bonded entity on the same power level as the hero but with sinister aspirations. With Sentry's god-like abilities, the Void can destroy the planet. The damage the Void is capable of outweighs the good Sentry can do. As such, Marvel Comics heroes, including Doctor Strange and Reed Richards, have made the difficult decision multiple times to make the world forget about Sentry — wiping Bob Reynolds' heroic form's memory as well — to suppress the Void from ever breaking free, as it would spell the end of the Marvel Universe. He's that dangerous.
The Sentry's greatest weakness is the Void. No matter how much good he can do being a hero with his amazing powers, his dark side is always waiting to break free and undo everything Sentry has done to make the world safer. The Void means he can't exist in his most heroic form without the constant threat of a great, universe-destroying evil appearing at any time. It makes Sentry one of the more complex heroes as he constantly battles his literal inner demon from emerging. It will be fascinating to see what aspects of Sentry and the Void are adapted in Steven Yeun's portrayal of the character in "Thunderbolts," as the titular team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be in trouble if his evil persona manages to break free.
Steven Yeun's Sentry officially takes flight when "Thunderbolts" arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025.