Robert Reynolds (Earth-199999)

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Bob Reynolds
Name	Robert "Bob" Reynolds
Aliases	Codenames: Sentry, Void Editorial Names: Void Bob Nicknames: Bobby Other Aliases: Golden Guardian of Good, He Who Stands for Humanity's Hope, Earth's Mightiest Hero
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	New Avengers Formerly Project Sentry, Alfredo's Bail Bonds
Relatives	Parents: Annie Reynolds (mother) Unnamed father
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Eyeballs: Black (as Void) Irises: Blue Yellow (when using his powers) White (as Void)
Hair	Brown, Dyed Blond (formerly), Black (as Void)
Skin	Black (as Void)
Unusual Features	Pitch black silhouette as the Void with white pupils and teeth
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human mutated by the Project Sentry serum
Living Status	Alive; formerly deceased
Reality	Earth-199999
Place of Birth	Sarasota, Florida
Cause of Death	Killed by Mel triggering his kill-switch (resurrected by the Void)
Personal Information
Identity	Public
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Adventurer Formerly burglar, bail bond mascot
Education	High school dropout
Base of Operations	Watchtower
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
First	Thunderbolts* (April 30, 2025)
First	Thunderbolts* (April 30, 2025)

Oh, it's not 'me' me, it... it's it, the Void. I have these good days, y'know, where I feel invincible, but then there are a lot of bad days, and I remember that nothing, nothing matters, y'know?

—Bob Reynolds[source]

History

Early life

Robert "Bob" Reynolds was raised in Sarasota, Florida, where he and his mother endured excessive emotional and physical abuse from his alcoholic father. This led to his mother turning to drugs to cope and lashing out at her son whenever he tried to defend her. After an accident in middle school, Bob became addicted to morphine during his treatment and ultimately dropped out of high school.

As an adult, Bob's frequent substance abuse left him struggling to find a stable job, which drove him to burglary for money and worsened his anxiety and low self-esteem. He attempted to improve himself through therapy, though it apparently did little to help.

Project Sentry and O.X.E.

Eventually, Bob moved to Malaysia for a fresh start, where he became involved in the trial drug study Project Sentry in the hopes of potentially becoming someone important. Unbeknownst to him, the project was intended to create a powerful superhero under the command of the O.X.E. Group to replace the Avengers. The test subjects endured torturous experiments that led to nearly all of their deaths, with Bob as the sole exception, as he gained telekinesis, flight, super-strength and nigh-invulnerability.

The Void is born during the Project Sentry trials

The procedures also led to all of the emotional pain born out of Bob's trauma manifesting into an entity he dubbed "The Void". Whenever Bob spiraled mentally, the Void could take over his body and trap others in a shadowy pocket dimension built around their worst fears, which it did to several O.X.E. scientists once it came into being.

Bob eventually became unresponsive and was believed dead, and his body was placed in a stasis container. When O.X.E.'s CEO, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, was tried for her organization's illegal experiments and unauthorized missions, she ordered all incriminating evidence, including Bob's stasis container, to be sent to a remote facility in Utah where they were to be incinerated.

Valentina also sent there the people she had previously hired for unauthorized missions, Yelena Belova, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and Taskmaster, setting them to kill each other before burning them along with the evidence. During their fight, U.S. Agent threw Yelena at Bob's chamber, inadvertently opening and setting a revived Bob free.

Bob works with his new friends to escape the O.X.E. Vault

Upon waking up, he introduced himself to Yelena, U.S. Agent and Ghost, who although baffled by his presence didn't think much of him. As all four of them were about to be incinerated, they worked together to break out of the room and find a way to leave the facility. Although Ghost and John Walker were somewhat antagonistic to Bob, Yelena quickly befriended him under the belief he was nothing more than an innocent man who Valentina wanted to kill for being a witness. They all temporarily set their differences aside, and collaborated in getting out of the facility. To their dismay, as soon as they arrived at the entrance they saw that the entire facility was surrounded by O.X.E.'s forces.

They formed a plan to lure inside some soldiers, take their uniforms and have Ghost steal a getaway vehicle, with Bob not having any role in it except for staying behind Yelena for protection. Despite the problems that arose due to miscommunication, the four managed to blend in the army and attempted to flee on a truck. Unfortunately, as Walker and Yelena struggled to convince a commander to let them leave, Bob decided to sacrifice himself by acting as a distraction. This worked as everyone's attention was turned to him, allowing Yelena, Walker and Ghost to escape, but Bob was soon shot down by the soldiers. To everyone's shock, Bob immediately got back up with only his clothes tattered, and gaining access to his powers he flew up in the sky. He then lost consciousness and crashed into the ground, accidentally destroying his friends' vehicle.

Becoming the Sentry and losing control

Bob as "The Sentry"

O.X.E. secured Bob's unconscious body and on Valentina's orders brought him to the Avengers Tower which was repurposed into the Watchtower. He woke up in a comfortable room in the presence of Valentina who acted in a motherly way towards him, wanting to turn him into her own superhero to protect Earth. Although he was initially cautious of her, Bob was swayed by her words, and accepted being taught how to use his powers and become a hero. He quickly got hold of his powers, and was bestowed the title of the Sentry, though Valentina secretly implanted a kill-switch in him in case he went rogue.

Having been alerted of Valentina's secret plan, Bucky Barnes, accompanied by Yelena, Walker, Ghost, and Yelena's "father" Red Guardian, broke inside the Watchtower and confronted her. Instead of surrendering, Valentina summoned Sentry and explained to them that she intended to introduce him to the world as the Avengers' replacement by having him battle them as they were intruders with criminal pasts. The group attempted to fight him, only for the Sentry to easily take them all down. Thankfully, when Valentina ordered him to kill them he refused, still seeing Yelena as his friend and allowed the team to get away. Valentina attempted to reassert her control over him, but he soon began questioning why he should listen to her since he was now practically a god. Seeing that she was losing control of him, she attempted to activate the kill-switch, only for Sentry to grab her and bash her to a wall, causing her to lose her grip on the remote. He would've killed her, hadn't been for Valentina's assistant, Mel, grabbing the remote just in time and activating the kill-switch which killed the Sentry.

Thanks to his powers, Sentry returned to life, albeit completely overtaken by the Void. As the Void attacked the entirety of New York City, Bob was trapped in his pocket dimension taking the appearance of his most painful and shameful memories, and retreated back to his attic bedroom. Wanting to find a way to stop the Void, Yelena willingly entered the pocket dimension where she was forced to relive her horrible past. She managed to break out of those memories and reach out to Bob. She convinced him that he couldn't hide away forever and ignore the darkness but needed to confront it, only for the Void to retaliate by warping reality around them. Luckily, the rest of the team came to their aid and urged Bob to guide them to the core of the problem. He brought them to his most traumatic memory yet, the lab he had been experimented on, and there they came face-to-face with the Void.

The Void restrained all of them, except for Bob, mocking him for believing he could be a hero and that anyone could love him. An enraged Bob charged into the Void and began beating him, thinking this way he could defeat his inner darkness and save his friends. He failed to realize that this was exactly what the Void wanted as Bob was feeding into the darkness, allowing the Void to slowly overtake him. Yelena managed to break free, and despite the obstacles the Void threw at her, again reached out to Bob, trying to stop him from succumbing to his self-loathing. Soon the rest of the team freed themselves and each came to embrace Bob, showing him that he wasn't alone and that he deserved to be loved. Thanks to this overwhelming support, the Void lost his influence over Bob, giving him back control over his body.

Joining the New Avengers

With the Void defeated, all of the people trapped in the pocket dimension returned to the real world, with Bob forgetting his time as the Sentry. The group took notice of Valentina nearby, and wanting to give her a piece of their minds, went after her. However, they were lured into a live public press where Valentina announced them as the heroes who helped save the civilians, declaring them as the New Avengers. Bob became a member of the newly established team, but couldn't fully use his powers out of fear of unleashing the Void so he mostly hung around their base, the Watchtower, and doing chores.

Personality

Look, I'm sorry– I'm sorry, guys. Can't be the Sentry without the... y'know, other side. I did the dishes, though.

—Bob Reynolds[source]

Bob was shown to be quite reclusive and not very opened to others, finding it difficult to make to make any meaningful connection. Because of the abuse he received as a child and abusing drugs to cope with the pain, Bob became mentally ill as he suffered from extreme mood swings, often being affected by delusions of grandeur and other times feeling nihilistic. He had deep self-esteem issues, believing himself to be self-sabotaging and good for nothing, but despite this he wished to be a hero as he desired to help people and prove his worth to everyone, even at the expense of his wellbeing. It was because of this he accepted to be a subject for Project Sentry, though besides gaining immense powers this experience left him with severe trauma which gained a life of its own in the form of the Void. He tried to simply ignore his inner darkness, not wanting acknowledge it, which caused the Void to only grow. At first he didn't get along with the Thunderbolts, calling out U.S. Agent in particular for being nothing like Captain America, except for Yelena who had taken pity on him, and when Bob told them to leave him behind as he was slowing them down, she refused as he had the right to live.

Bob was also easy to manipulate, which allowed Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to convince him into embracing his new identity as the Sentry and was worthy of replacing the entire team of Avengers. This instilled in Bob some egotism, allowing the Void to slowly influence him. Thanks to Yelena having been kind to him, Bob refused to kill her and her team, only to lead him to turn on Valentina. Once the Void fully took him over, Bob was locked deep inside his mind which took the form of the safest place he had ever known, his childhood bedroom. With Yelena and her team's encouragement, Bob mustered up his courage to confront the Void. However, when he attempted to defeat the Void by senselessly beating him, he was unknowingly feeding into his self-hatred, but the Thunderbolts were able to save him by showing him that he was loved. After that, Bob attempted to keep his dark persona in check, while the New Avengers stayed close to him for support.

The Void embodied all of the negative aspects of Bob who suffered from severe mental illness due to the harsh life he had. Specifically the Void represented Bob's nihilism, sadism, self-hatred and narcissism. The Void believed that nothing mattered and when unleashed he attempted to engulf the entire world in darkness and trap every single individual in a reality where they were forced to endlessly relive their worst memories.

Attributes

Powers

Artificially Enhanced Physiology: As part of Project Sentry, Bob was injected with a version of the Super-Soldier Serum which granted him the power of a thousand exploding suns. His power was allegedly comparable to the combined powers of the original Avengers, but if he were to use it, the Void would also be unleashed.

• Superhuman Strength: Sentry could best all of the Thunderbolts with ease, bending U.S. Agent's shield and ripping Bucky's bionic arm off.
• Superhuman Stamina: Sentry was able fight all of the Thunderbolts at the same time without getting tired.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Sentry has a great resistances to physical injuries, as he wasn't affected from falling into the ground at high speed, and normal bullets simply bounced off his body.
• Superhuman Speed: Sentry could move at such a high speed he could barely be seen by the human eye.
  • Superhuman Reflexes: He had fast reflexes as he could catch every attack of the Thunderbolts and upon taking notice that de Fontaine was about to activate his kill-switch, he immediately reacted by grabbing her, causing her to drop the remote.
• Superhuman Senses: He could catch Ghost when she was about to hit him as he saw the intervals when Ghost went tangible during the fight.
• Flight: Sentry could fly at great distances and reach above the clouds.
• Telekinesis: Sentry can move objects and individuals with his mind alone, boiling a glass of water before exploding it, throwing the Thunderbolts members around, and forming force fields around himself.
• Matter Manipulation: He could boil water, melt guns, and prevent Ghost from becoming intangible.
• Empathy: By touching an individual, both the Void and the Sentry could see that person's darkest memory, though it also caused the affected individual to relive that memory.
• Self-Resurrection: In the rare case Sentry is killed, he can just return to life, though he would be possessed by the Void.
• Immortality: Sentry was practically unkillable thanks to his invulnerability and the power to resurrect himself.
• Darkness Manipulation: As the Void, Bob could produce darkness and engulf entire areas in it. People who were caught in his darkness were rendered into shadows and transported to a pocket dimension that was molded after their worst memories.

Weaknesses

Mental Illness: As a result of his past traumas, Bob was extremely mentally unstable, being unable to control his powers, and risking his evil persona taking over his body.

Memory Loss: Every time he confronted the Void and regained control of his body, Bob would forget everything that happened during the time he used his powers, causing him to be unable to access them.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Former Equipment

Sentry Suit: A blue and yellow suit equipped with a belt and cape that is resistant to damage. It was designed by O.X.E. to specifically be eye-catching and marketable. Following the Void's temporary takeover, his suit was restructured into common clothing matching his childhood clothes.

Notes

• Lewis Pullman portrayed Bob Reynolds in the film Thunderbolts*, and will reprise his role in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday. Clayton Cooper portrayed a young Bob in Thunderbolts*.
  • Steven Yeun was originally cast in the role, but was forced to drop out due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike delaying the film's production which came into conflict with his schedule.
  • Pullman had previously auditioned to play Ned Leeds in Spider-Man: Homecoming and the title role in Kraven the Hunter.
  • The Void was designated "Void Bob" to distinguish him from the Sentry in the movie's end credits.
• During the production of Thunderbolts*, Pullman originally wished to change the character's name, as he had portrayed a character named Bob in his previous film, Top Gun: Maverick.
• Void's design was largely inspired by images of the shadows left over after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Trivia

• When he was about to sneeze, Bob would repeat to himself the word "cucumber" to prevent it.

See Also

• 1 appearance(s) of Robert Reynolds (Earth-199999)
• 49 image(s) of Robert Reynolds (Earth-199999)
• 2 quotation(s) by or about Robert Reynolds (Earth-199999)

Links and References

• Robert Reynolds on Wikipedia.org
• Robert Reynolds on Marvel Cinematic Universe wiki