One of the most memorable new characters introduced in Thunderbolts*/New Avengers is Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds, a.k.a. the Sentry. And for the most part, the version of Bob we meet in the MCU is fairly comic-accurate in terms of his origins. All except for one major detail. In the comics, part of the original idea for Sentry is that he was a world-famous superhero in the Superman mold who emerged in the early years of the Marvel Universe. Sentry used his vast powers to make the entire world forget he ever existed. So why didn’t the MCU include that major detail? Blame Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
According to an interview with Marvel.com, Thunderbolts* director Jack Schreier revealed that the reason that aspect of his origin was never used was because Marvel Studios already did something very similar at the end of Spider-Man: Now Way Home. As you might recall, Doctor Strange erased the world of their memory of Peter Parker at the end. Thus, preserving Spider-Man’s secret identity. Schreier said “Obviously, we couldn’t tell that same story because of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Thanks, Jon.” The Jon he’s jokingly referring to is No Way Home director Jon Watts.
Sentry’s hidden past was perhaps the least interesting part of his origin story. In fact, it was mostly a gimmick, conceived to create hype for the Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee Sentry series where the character debuted. Part of the gimmick was that he was a “lost” creation of Stan Lee from the early Silver Age, which never saw print. However, Bob Reynolds’ mental health issues remain central to both the comic incarnation and his MCU counterpart. He’s probably more comics-accurate than other MCU heroes like Hawkeye, or even Shang-Chi. Thunderbolts* managed to keep the most interesting parts of Sentry’s characterization. But for those fans who miss aspects of Sentry’s story, you can point the finger at Peter Parker.
Content shared from nerdist.com.