One Marvel villain rumored to appear in the Spider-Man: No Way Home. Speculation has been rising about what story Marvel Studios' introduction of the Thunderbolts team would tell, ever since the reveal of the official lineup in September 2022. While not much has officially been revealed, one legendary Marvel Comics character has been rumored to appear in the film as the villain which the Thunderbolts will be pitted against, who could answer some questions about the fate of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man in the MCU.
Peter Parker's most recent adventure in the MCU came during Spider-Man: Far From Home. With No Way Home leaving Parker alone, operating out of a small apartment in New York with a brand-new, comic-accurate suit, viewers are left wondering how his story will continue in the MCU, especially after Marvel Studios and Sony confirmed that more Spider-Man films would be coming. The rumored addition to Thunderbolts could reveal the perfect direction for the MCU's Peter Parker.
Sentry Has Been Rumored To Appear In The MCU’s Thunderbolts
Marvel Comics is home to many interesting and unusual characters, but perhaps one of the most intriguing is the Sentry, who has now been rumored to make his MCU debut in Thunderbolts. The Sentry debuted in 2000's Marvel Knights miniseries, The Sentry #1, as a middle-aged, regular man named Bob Reynolds, who suddenly re that he is the superhero known as Sentry, whose power, derived from a special serum, grants him the "power of one million exploding suns." One of the Sentry's initial comic storylines features the character trying to who he is, and visiting other well-known superheroes to try and get them to him too.
In the comics, it turns out that peoples' memories of Sentry return when he speaks directly to them, and he soon realizes that he had been a positive influence on some of the most recognizable heroes in Marvel's roster. As his memories resurfaced, the general public's memory of the Sentry also gradually began to return, but he also realizes that his archenemy, the Void, is returning too. As Marvel's the Sentry and the Void were revealed to be two halves of the same person, Reynolds came to the conclusion that, in order to save the world, his memory, and everyone's memories of him, would need to be wiped once again.
Sentry has been rumored to appear in Thunderbolts as the villain that the team is being set up to battle, presumably this will be in his persona as the Void, rather than the heroic Sentry. It's been speculated that Valentina herself will be the one to create the Sentry, so it seems as though the formation of the Thunderbolts team could be Valentina's way of cleaning up her own mess, or testing the limits of her new super-powered team. Thunderbolts would be an interesting place to debut the MCU's Sentry, since he is often shown to be a hero with a dark side, whereas the Thunderbolts team is exactly the opposite.
Peter Parker Could Have Taken On Sentry’s Marvel Comics Storyline
Despite his potential MCU debut in Thunderbolts, some of the Sentry's comic storyline has already been seen in the MCU, putting the young Peter Parker front-and-center. After his identity was revealed at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Parker tried to have everyone's memories of him wiped during Spider-Man: No Way Home, unleashing the dangers of the multiverse into the MCU's reality. This forced the hero, along with the help of Doctor Strange, to wipe everyone's memories of him anyway in an effort to save the multiverse from collapse, in a strikingly similar storyline to the Sentry's first comic adventure.
In the comics, the Sentry had everyone's memories wiped twice thanks to Doctor Strange and Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, though the second attempt seemed to leave Reynolds himself with his own memory. This is shown to be the case for Peter Parker in the MCU, since everyone but himself has forgotten who he is while still ing his Spider-Man alter ego. This in turn means that Parker can be ed in future MCU projects, just as Sentry is ed in Marvel Comics, although the fact that neither MJ nor Happy Parker after speaking to him means Marvel Studios would need to find a new way of potentially restoring memories.
The MCU Needs To Peter Parker Again
However people eventually Peter Parker, this plot needs to be followed to ensure the best future for the character in the MCU. Marvel Studios and Sony confirmed not long after the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home that more Spider-Man projects in the MCU would be coming, quickly dashing the fears of another potential collapse in their deal like what almost happened after Spider-Man: Far From Home. If the story is set to continue in another possible trilogy, then everyone in the MCU will surely need to who Peter Parker is under the mask, despite him being happy for now to operate as an anonymous hero.
Many are questioning whether this would be a good time for Marvel Studios to introduce a different Spider-Man to the MCU, perhaps Miles Morales, paying off a tease during MCU's initial Spider-Man trilogy more-or-less told the origin story of Parker's iteration of the hero, but there is still so much more to come.
The Sentry's introduction into the MCU in Thunderbolts could provide the perfect answer to Doctor Strange's memory-wiping spell being reversed, and Peter Parker's identity being revealed once again. Tom Holland's version of Parker in the MCU has already claimed some of the Sentry's comic storyline for himself, so it would make sense for Marvel Studios to complete the cycle and restore everyone's memories of the beloved hero. Spider-Man: No Way Home ended one story with Peter Parker, but the next Spider-Man films in the MCU can start a new one, possibly beginning with Sentry's debut as the villain in Thunderbolts.
