Lewis Pullman’s Bob Reynolds, AKA Sentry, is due to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, and not only do I think this should lead to his death, but I think I know which MCU hero is going to pull the proverbial trigger. Lewis Pullman was included among the MCU actors confirmed to be starring in Avengers: Doomsday before his debut movie, Thunderbolts*, hit theaters, essentially spoiling the fact that he would survive despite his alter ego, the Void, being the movie’s primary villain. Instead of being killed, Bob is now a member of the New Avengers, keeping his Sentry alter ego subdued.

This is a wise move, given that calling Sentry to the fore risks another transformation into the Void. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that Bob’s involvement in Avengers: Doomsday will consist of him taking a backseat throughout the entire movie. Instead, I think the sheer spectacle that Sentry is capable of is worthy of another appearance, which isn’t to mention the fact that he’ll be the New Avengers’ ace up the sleeve when going up against a serious threat. I also believe that this will end in his death, with one character best placed to kill him.

Sentry Needs To Die In Avengers: Doomsday

He’s Too Powerful To Be Kept Alive

Sentry is impossibly powerful. Even if we discount all of the godlike abilities that Sentry boasts in Marvel Comics, I think it is hard to argue that any single Avenger wouldn’t struggle against the powers that were depicted on-screen in Thunderbolts*. This is part of what made Thunderbolts* so appealing, as the gulf in power between the Thunderbolts and their villain is one of the most vast I’ve ever seen in the MCU. Their short but sweet tussle with Sentry was a perfect demonstration of this, where Sentry showcased such superpowers as:

• Invulnerability
• Super Speed
• Super Strength
• Telekinesis
• Flight
• Heat Vision
• Quantum Phasing Manipulation

These alone make him too powerful. It would not be believable to have Sentry go up against just about anyone without him coming out on top, and this also applies to Doctor Doom. If Marvel Studios is adapting Sentry faithfully, then he’ll have a lot more power at his disposal than just the aforementioned, establishing an insurmountable shift in power in the MCU just one year before Doctor Doom is supposed to set that bar even higher. For that reason, Sentry needs to be killed off to rebalance the scales.

For Doom to do this, he would have to enter the MCU with the godlike powers we expect him to develop for Avengers: Secret Wars instead of developing them throughout Avengers: Doomsday. I think this would make for a far less compelling character arc for the Multiverse Saga’s arch-villain. Instead, while it is feasible that Sentry will fall victim to the trope that demonstrates a villain’s power by having him immediately defeat a powerful MCU character (like Thanos did with Hulk), I think there is a better route that Marvel Studios can take.

Sentry’s Main Weakness Is His Mind

Sentry And The Void Were Subdued Via Shame Rooms

Bob is one of the most compelling heroes introduced in the Multiverse Saga. He is the epitome of a sympathetic character, with a dark history and fractured mind that is the reason the Void exists in the first place. Even the ostensibly heroic Sentry persona appears to be afflicted with a god complex, as he reasons with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine that he meets every criterion for godhood in his powered-up state moments before giving way to the Void after Mel ineffectually triggers a kill-switch.

Bob’s fractured psyche became the main motif in Thunderbolts*, culminating in the тιтular team succeeding in the unthinkable and defeating the Void with some outside-the-box thinking. When the Void emerges, he chooses to contain the citizens of New York in the same mental prison as Bob, trapping them all in a realm of “shame rooms” that subjects them to an eternity of living out their most shameful memories. It is by navigating this cerebral realm that the Thunderbolts can convince Bob to relinquish the darkness and subdue the Void.

The Thunderbolts apparently hit upon the only thing that can defeat the Void and Sentry. This meant subjecting themselves to the questionable fate of the Void’s encroaching shadows to enter Bob’s mind, with Bob himself being the anchor for Sentry and the Void’s existence. The fact that they could do this means the Void exploited his own weakness, and while I doubt he’ll make the same mistake of banishing threats to his realm of shame rooms, Bob’s psyche is still vulnerable to certain people.

We Already Know That The X-Men Will Be Fighting Other Superheroes

Alan Cumming Revealed He Will Be Fighting Pedro Pascal

I don’t think Doctor Doom, despite being the Avengers: Doomsday arch villain, will be the one to destroy Sentry. Instead, I think it would be more compelling to have Sentry be defeated by fellow superheroes, highlighting the fact that Sentry is too dangerous to be kept alive. This is, after all, what makes the Hulk so compelling, as the Avengers and SHIELD have both implemented contingency plans to contain the ruinous Savage Hulk.

Incidentally, it already looks as if Avengers: Doomsday will be pitting heroes against heroes. Alan Cumming, who portrays Nightcrawler in X2, is among the confirmed cast members for Avengers: Doomsday alongside a host of other actors from Fox’s X-Men franchise who will presumably originate from an alternate universe to the MCU’s Earth-616. Despite Kevin Feige suggesting that the X-Men and other superhero teams will ultimately team up against Doctor Doom, Cumming recently revealed to Buzzfeed UK that Nightcrawler and Mister Fantastic will apparently fight, stating:

“I’m sort of learning these fights, and I’m like, ‘What? Who am I fighting with?’ And they said, ‘You’re hitting Pedro Pascal against the head,’ or something.”

This also tracks with the Leader’s warning to Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World. In the Captain America: Brave New World post-credits scene, the Leader says, “All you heroes, protecting this world — do you think you’re the only ones? Do you think this is the only world? We’ll see what happens when you have to protect this place from the others.” This, along with Cumming’s comments, certainly suggests that the X-Men will brawl with both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four – and I think this is where one of them will kill Sentry.

Professor X Is Best Placed To Defeat The Sentry

Professor X Is The Most Powerful Telepath

Given that Sentry and the Void were previously defeated by entering Bob’s memories and wresting control of his emotions, Professor X holds a unique power over him. Professor X can enter and control minds at will, and there is currently nothing to suggest that he couldn’t do the same with Sentry or the Void, forcing them to rescind control of Bob Reynolds’ body and leaving Bob vulnerable as a result. Whether the typically pacifistic Professor X would be the one to kill Bob remains to be seen, but I think Magneto, at least, would gladly step in to finish the job.

The currently confirmed actors from Fox’s X-Men franchise are a particularly powerful crowd. Professor X and Magneto alone are forces to be reckoned with, and it stands to reason that, if the X-Men and the heroes of Earth-616 come to blows, the New Avengers would want to bring out the big guns and pit the omega-level mutants against Sentry. Having them kill Bob would not only demonstrate their immense power but also ensure that they play a larger role than the prevailing theory that suggests they will all simply perish in an incursion or at the hands of Doom.

Ultimately, it is unclear whether Sentry boasts exactly the same powers as his comic book counterpart. It is clear, however, that he presents a problem when it comes to bolstering the overall power levels of Avengers: Doomsday‘s heroes. With Professor X being perfectly placed to exploit his one weakness, I think Marvel Studios is gearing up for precisely this interaction – and as much as I love Lewis Pullman’s rendition of the character, I think this is for the best.

Source: Buzzfeed UK