New Thunderbolts* concept art reveals that Marvel once considered introducing a version of Sentry’s Void persona that resembled its comic counterpart more closely. Sentry and the Void are two characters that are inherently tricky to adapt to live-action. Sentry is a ridiculously powerful hero with a convoluted history and a bright yellow costume, and the Void is a shapeless enтιтy made of pure darkness.
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* successfully captures the most important elements of both Sentry and the Void. Sentry’s colorful costume is imposed on him by Val and the Void is personified in the form of a living shadow in the shape of Sentry. While both Sentry and the Void have limited screentime in Thunderbolts*, they manage to become more memorable than many other MCU antagonists. Still, it may have taken a while for Marvel to craft Bob Reynolds’ MCU appearance.
Marvel Considered Introducing A Comic-Accurate Void
Thunderbolts* Concept Art Reveals The Void Almost Wasn’t A Living Shadow
On Instagram, Marvel Studios senior illustrator John Staub shared a few pieces of Thunderbolts* concept art based around Sentry. These pictures include two versions of Bob Reynolds’ Void alter ego that look like negative pH๏τos of Sentry, plus three glimpses at a comic-accurate Dark Sentry. The MCU’s comic-accurate version of the Void would have looked like a cloud of black and red energy that engulfs Sentry’s body.
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Thunderbolts*’ Void would also have had tentacle-like appendages, according to the concept art. While the Void is shapeless in the comics, it usually manifests as an arachnid monster with multiple legs, bright eyes, and sharp teeth. When the Void comes out of Robert Reynolds’ body and bonds to him, Sentry gains the ability to use the Void’s appendages as weapons.
It’s unknown whether this version of Dark Sentry/the Void would have had different abilities. In Thunderbolts*, the Void is powerful enough to send thousands of people to its realm with the flick of a finger, but it never directly attacks or harms anyone directly. Perhaps if it manifested as a more solid version of its comic book counterpart, the MCU’s Void would have attacked the Thunderbolts with its dark energy.
1 Void Design Hints At Sentry’s Connection To Knull
Sentry Almost Sported A Symbiote-Like Chest Emblem
The third image in John Staub’s concept art post features a version of Dark Sentry that seems to have integrated the Void into Bob Reynolds’ body. In the comics, Dark Sentry usually presents himself as Sentry with glowing eyes, Sentry with a red glow, or Bob Reynolds with a red-and-black Sentry costume. In the MCU, Dark Sentry’s costume almost looked like a solid black suit with red cracks and a bright spider-like emblem on its chest.
Knull and the Void are two enтιтies that come from the universe’s primordial darkness. Knull materialized from the pit of nothingness from which the universe spawned, and the Void is an embodiment of literal and metaphorical darkness, which entered Robert Reynolds’ body and mind when he took the Sentry serum. They’re not explicitly linked together, but both Knull and the Void are two personifications of the same concept.
During King in Black, Knull rips Sentry in two, absorbs the Void, and flaunts, “I am the Void.”
The Void’s most comic-accurate concept art iteration seems to reference the King in Black and Marvel’s symbiotes. The red, spider-like symbol on Dark Sentry’s chest is unmistakably similar to Knull’s. However, many of Marvel’s concept art images aren’t destined to reach the final cut. If Marvel really wanted to reference Knull, the studio would have had to collaborate with Sony, which seems unlikely for a Thunderbolts* movie that doesn’t feature Spider-Man.
Thunderbolts*’ Final Void Design Is The Best Possible Version Of The Villain
The MCU Only Needed A Simple Shadow To Do The Void Justice
It’s no secret that Thunderbolts*‘ Void is the MCU’s most minimalistic villain design. With only a shadow and a pair of subtle shining eyes, the Void managed to be more menacing than most MCU antagonists. The MCU’s Void also didn’t need to act like an actual monster. It was the literal personification of Bob Reynolds’ mental health struggles, and that was enough to make Thunderbolts*‘ villain unique.
