Meet The Void: The bad guy in Thunderbolts*
As 'Thunderbolts*' approaches your nearest movie theatre, the official trailers have not yet clarified the doubt as to who 'The Void' is. In the trailer, Lewis Pullman appears as a shadowy figure and is credited as Robert 'Bob' Reynolds / Sentry.
Also read: Thunderbolts* is yet another symptom of Marvel's creative fatigue...
In the trailer, Pullman says 'I'm the Void. There's no use fighting.' Moments later, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) says 'He's invincible, all-powerful, stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one.' After which The Void goes on to demonstrate everything Fontaine said.
However, in another trailer, Fontaine's assistant, Mel (played by Geraldine Viswanathan), says 'Sentry's gone off the rails and he's dangerous. The Avengers are gone. No one is coming to save the day,' which creates a tad bit of confusion for all of us.
The Void is the dark entity bonded to Robert Reynolds when he became the Sentry by consuming a serum. The Void acts as a counterforce and embodiment of Sentry's negative aspects. The Void isn't a visible parasite like the symbiote in Venom, but it is more like a force that can take any shape it chooses. It is capable of destroying the Earth if not the universe, and Robert fights a constant tug-of-war to keep The Void at bay as it shows up every time he uses his powers for good. The Void is born in his own psyche and his eternal nemesis.
The Void - both as a part of the Sentry and a separate entity - possesses abilities like:
- Matter manipulation – Capable of consciously manipulating inorganic, and sometimes organic, matter at the molecular, sub-molecular, atomic, or sub-atomic scale.
- Regeneration – Can heal at an accelerated rate, possibly even regrowing missing limbs.
- Immortality – Cannot and will not ever truly die. In the comic books, he doesn't die even after being hurled into the sun by Robert and later killed by a bolt of lightning by Thor.
- Superhuman strength – Its physical abilities are a direct mirror reflection of its counterpart, though it's reputed that The Sentry is visibly stronger.
- Biological Manipulation – Like Sentry, it has an untapped capacity to affect organic matter in undisclosed but seemingly unlimited ways. The Void uses such attributes to malignant ends, while Sentry acclimates more beneficial ones.
Also read: MCU catch-up: Movies and shows to watch ahead of Thunderbolts
Marvel Studio's 'Thunderbolts*' releases on Friday, May 2 in the US. The movie stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Lewis Pullman.
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