Sentry's Debut In Thunderbolts* Just Made The MCU's Hulk Look Weaker Than Ever

Thunderbolts* saw the debut of Sentry, one of the most powerful characters to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it just highlighted how the franchise has dropped the ball with the Hulk. Lewis Pullman’s Bob was easily my favorite part of Thunderbolts*‘s cast of characters. There were many layers to the hero, with the film starting with a frightened Bob who had no powers. With time, we would discover that Bob was Sentry and that he had a powerful dark side, the Void. After his debut, Pullman will return in future MCU movies.

At the very least, the actor is confirmed to be back for Avengers: Doomsday, which is in production. Thunderbolts*‘s post-credits scene teased how Bob is trying not to turn into Sentry to keep the Void at bay, showing just how afraid he is of letting out his powerful villain side. Sentry and the Void’s impressive feats of strength in Thunderbolts* put him as one of the most powerful characters in the franchise. Additionally, I believe that the way Marvel adapted Sentry goes directly against how weak the franchise has made the Hulk, who should be extremely powerful.

Sentry’s Debut Showcases His Power Level To A Serious Degree

The Thunderbolts Could Not Do A Thing Against Him In A Fight

Lewis Pullman's Bob Reynolds faces the Thunderbolts as Sentry

While Thunderbolts* is an ensemble film, there is no denying that Sentry’s MCU debut is the most talked-about aspect of the 2025 MCU movie. The character is one of Marvel’s answers to DC’s Superman in the comics, fulfilling a similar role in the MCU, with Richard Madden playing Ikaris, another Superman-like character, years earlier in Eternals. Thunderbolts* did not shy away from showing just how powerful Sentry and his dark side, the Void, are, with the team not being able to take the character down in a straight fight, which makes a lot of sense.

While there were a few super-soldiers on the Thunderbolts, and Ghost has the power to become intangible, fighting a Superman-like hero requires a completely different level of power. Perhaps MCU characters like Thor, Captain Marvel, and the Scarlet Witch could have been successful against Sentry. However, the Thunderbolts did not put even a scratch on the hero. The sequence where Sentry dons his comics-accurate suit for the first time and fights the Thunderbolts in the former Avengers Tower was shocking. He easily dispatched them one by one, even taking off Bucky Barnes’ arm to show his ruthlessness.

After the fight between the Thunderbolts and Sentry, the MCU movie went on to showcase how powerful the Void was. Sentry’s evil form can turn people into shadows on the pavement with the flick of a wrist. When he does so, he sends them into “shame rooms,” with the characters destined to re-live dark moments of their lives and past traumas indefinitely. That makes the Void not only a physical threat, but a psychological one. Before Yelena Belova and the rest of the Thunderbolts managed to reach Bob and stop the Void, New York was almost entirely engulfed in shadows.

The Hulk’s MCU Story Has Failed To Show The Full Range Of His Powers For Quite Some Time

Smart Hulk Takes Away From The Hero’s Impressive Power Level

After watching how powerful the MCU made Lewis Pullman’s Sentry look in Thunderbolts*, I could not stop thinking about how the franchise has done the opposite to Mark Rufallo’s Hulk. When I think of the character’s biggest feats in the franchise, I often have to look back to Bruce Banner’s start in the MCU. 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and 2012’s The Avengers are the best movies at showcasing just how powerful the Hulk is. His fight with the Abomination is one for the history books, and Savage Hulk being loose against the Chitauri was epic.

The Avengers‘ Battle of New York also marked the latest time we have seen Banner transform into the Hulk onscreen. That is absurd. In 13 years, we have not seen a single Hulk transformation onscreen, which just goes to show how the MCU has not made the character as important as he should be. In recent years, Marvel Studios fused both sides of the hero, with Ruffalo playing Smart Hulk. While it has led to fun moments, the character has never shown the same spark and power levels we saw when his rage was unleashed, which is disappointing.

The Way The MCU Handled Sentry’s Power Underlines How Wasted The Hulk & His Own Power Level Have Been

The Hulk Used To Be A Frightening Force In The MCU

I was already disappointed by how the Hulk had not gotten any impressive moments since he became Smart Hulk in the MCU. However, Sentry’s debut in Thunderbolts* helps make it clear just how much the franchise is dropping the ball by making the Hulk look so weak in recent years. Sentry was everything I wished the Hulk was in the MCU in terms of strength, easily taking on all the Thunderbolts at the same time without even breaking a sweat. He was too powerful for them and, in showcasing that, projected fear into the heroes.

Confirmed Thunderbolts Cast Member	Character The Actor Plays
Sebastian Stan	James “Bucky” Barnes, A.K.A. The Winter Soldier
Florence Pugh	Yelena Belova, A.K.A. Black Widow
Wyatt Russell	John Walker, A.K.A. US Agent
David Harbour	Alexei Shostakov, A.K.A. Red Guardian
Hannah John-Kamen	Ava Starr, A.K.A. Ghost
Olga Kurylenko	Antonia Dreykov, A.K.A. Taskmaster
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine
Lewis Pullman	Bob (Sentry/The Void)
Geraldine Viswanathan	Mel

That is how the Hulk used to be seen in the MCU. One of my favorite scenes with the character in the MCU is how Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow had to desperately run for her life in The Avengers while the Hulk chased after her, destroying everything in his path in SHIELD’s helicarrier. While he cannot have a new solo movie in the MCU due to complicated rights issues, Marvel could have been doing more with the character. I don’t think Smart Hulk is the path forward for Banner, as Sentry makes it clear that Savage Hulk is the way.

I Still Hope The MCU’s Hulk Can Show Off His Powers Again In The Franchise’s Future

The Upcoming Avengers Movies Could Bring Back The Savage Hulk

While the MCU has made the Hulk look weak in recent years, I still have hope that will change with future Marvel movies. Mark Ruffalo should be one of the stars who was not announced for Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast but should be in the film. The next two Avengers movies will pit the heroes against Doctor Doom, with theories that Fox’s original X-Men will battle the MCU’s heroes at some point. Major fights with the X-Men and Doctor Doom could be just what the Hulk needs to let his savage side come out again.

A new rumor claims that the Hulk could be a villain in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. While Marvel has made no comments, I think that possibility would be exciting, as the Hulk being a villain would likely mean his savage side would have to come back. With Sentry entering the MCU in Thunderbolts* and showing how powerful he is, Marvel also has the chance to up the Hulk’s power levels in an adaptation of sorts of World War Hulk, which is rumored to be in the works. Sentry and the Hulk could fight to a standstill, like in the comics.