How Sentry Could Stop Two Universes From Colliding in Avengers: Doomsday

A rumor going around at the time held that Sentry stops an incursion with his bare hands in Avengers: Doomsday, and a viewer asked me how that's even possible given that two entire universes are supposedly colliding, and whether there's comic precedent for it. I don't know if there is, but I think it's worth digging into what that scene could actually look like.

Sentry was introduced to the MCU in Thunderbolts, and his friends call him Bob. He's basically the most powerful being on Earth, and one of the most powerful beings in all of existence. I'd long assumed he would have a big role to play in Doom's plan to conquer the multiverse, so a rumor like this tracks with that assumption.

Why Dr. Doom Might Be Hunting Sentry in Doomsday

There are a lot of open questions about what Doom actually wants from Sentry. Could Doom be trying to steal his power? Could he simply want to kill him so Sentry can't stand in his way? Could Doom be trying to recruit him, control him, or push him into becoming the Void, thinking the Void would side with him? I don't know, and there's also the question of whether Sentry's ability to access someone's mind through the Void has any connection to the multiverse and dream walking.

I think we could see Sentry essentially take on a Vision-type role, similar to Infinity War, where Vision was one of the team's most powerful players and got benched and depowered for most of that movie. He had to be hidden away and protected in Wakanda because he had something Thanos wanted, the Mind Stone.

A Vision-Style Arc: Bob Hidden Away Until the Void Breaks Free

With Sentry, or more accurately Bob, I think we could see him pursued by Doom for his power, with Bob left helpless and in need of protecting from the other Avengers because using his powers risks unleashing the Void. The way Vision was hidden off in Wakanda, I could picture Bob being taken somewhere like Talokan and placed under the protection of Namor.

But if Sentry is physically stopping an incursion in this movie, that means Bob does, at some point, release the Sentry, which could then release the Void. As a sidebar, I know the Void is framed as a bad guy, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'd end up on Team Doom. I can imagine Bob going Sentry, losing his grip on the darker half, and the Void coming out to face off against Doom directly, maybe even forcing Doom to relive his darkest moment. That could be how we learn Doom's origin story, seeing his family die, how he got his face scarred, why he looks like Tony Stark. That would be a cool beat for either Doomsday or possibly held back for Secret Wars, but those are just my thoughts.

Breaking Down the Rumor: Two Universes a Wingspan Apart

An incursion is two universes colliding, the barrier between realities eroding, and the two universes crashing into each other and blowing up, killing everyone. Incursions are what's destroying the multiverse in Doomsday. We'd also heard rumors that the Fox X-Men universe was experiencing a lot of incursions and had become pros at destroying other universes to stop their own from suffering that fatal fate.

The report was that we'd see a scene in Doomsday where an incursion is happening, with the two universes literally a human wingspan apart, and Sentry swoops in, puts his arms up, and stops them. That sounded awesome to me, though I was left wondering, despite how strong Sentry is, what exactly he'd be physically placing his hands against. I'd think the physical atoms of the universe would be the first things to start colliding as the open space of each universe crosses over before any physical planets actually collide. If we got to see Sentry between two Earths like two mountain peaks, stopping each Earth from going into the other, that would be dope.

This Mystery Reminds Me of the "Thanos Throws a Moon" Leak

This whole situation gave me flashbacks to the leaks that came out ahead of the Infinity War trailer, I believe shown at Comic-Con, where a description leaked saying Thanos throws a moon at Iron Man. We were all asking what that even meant, what it would look like for him to throw a moon. We're in a similar spot here, wondering how Sentry is physically supposed to stop two universes from colliding.

Thunderbolts Already Showed Us How Sentry's Telekinesis Works

I think the answer lies more in Thunderbolts, in the scene that showcased Sentry's powers where he catches Bucky's bullets in midair using telekinesis. He can move objects without touching them, and I think that telekinesis could play into how he physically stops the universes, pushing against the very fabric of reality on top of his own strength.

Maybe we see him holding back the universes, slowing the incursion so the others can try something else, buying them time. Eventually the mountain peaks get close enough to touch his hands, and he switches to brute strength to push the two worlds apart. That would be so cool to see, with literally two Earths on either side of him. But how do you even depict that, at that scale? I don't know, but I think the Russos will probably figure it out.

A Callback to Hulk Lifting a Mountain in the Original Secret Wars Comic

This whole idea reminds me a lot of that panel from the original Secret Wars comic where we see Hulk literally lifting a mountain. What would he be picking up, what would a picked-up mountain even look like, does it have a flat bottom? Marvel pulled it off in the original Secret Wars, so this would be a fun callback to that moment, but with Sentry instead of Hulk.

Sentry Has Become the MCU's Real Hulk

In a lot of ways, MCU Sentry is basically this franchise's Hulk now. The actual Hulk has been neutered, and Sentry is this quiet, sensitive guy who can completely destroy the entire planet and any hero or villain in his way. He has a split personality with a rage filled half, which is very Hulk, and I'd say he's more Hulk than the actual Hulk right now.

How Doomsday Went From Doubted to Anticipated

I've been excited for Doomsday, as I know a lot of people have been too, though it took a while for everyone else to start getting excited. People were kind of sleeping on Doomsday at first, but I felt the shift the moment the Russo brothers were announced to be coming back along with RDJ. I could feel that shift screaming that they know they have to make the best movie they've ever made, and that the entire franchise is riding on it. I think that's what we were about to get.

Ranking Thunderbolts and Guardians 3 as My Favorite Multiverse Saga Films

I think Thunderbolts was a major step in the right direction. That movie was magnificent, and it might be my favorite MCU movie of the Multiverse Saga. The only other one I think could challenge Thunderbolts for best Multiverse Saga movie would be Guardians 3. I don't know which I prefer, I'd probably lean toward Guardians 3, but I need to rewatch both since I've only seen each one time, when I saw them in theaters.

Lewis Pullman Teases Doomsday's Character Moments and Ancient Epic Scope

Lewis Pullman, who plays Sentry, talked about the different team ups and character pairings in Doomsday and how everyone gets their big moment, which sounds like it includes his own moment stopping an incursion with his hands. Pullman said: "Every character has their moment that builds the dimensions of them. The Russo brothers did that so well. They do not want anyone just sitting in the background. They really took to heart the responsibility of having some of the best actors in the world all together."

I love hearing that, and I love when storytellers acknowledge the very motives that storytelling is built on, how superheroes and comic books are physical exaggerations of reality that, on a mental and thematic level, really aren't exaggerated at all. Pullman also described the movie as an ancient epic, which sounds perfect to me.

The Sacrificial Hero Pose: From Stormbreaker and the Helicopter to Sentry

Sentry stopping two universes from colliding has this whole sacrificial hero imagery to it, the hero putting it all on the line with arms outstretched, a storytelling trope passed down through generations that we've seen in film before. They did it with Thor in Infinity War when he was making Stormbreaker, and they did it with Cap in Winter Soldier when he was holding that helicopter from taking off, and the Russo brothers directed both of those movies. So I was expecting we'd get that with Sentry as well, that big moment with both arms out.

Why the MCU's Crossover Pairings Are Finally Paying Off

Pullman also said: "There is a lot of really exciting pair-ups that happen. A lot of fans will be really excited. It's so fun to dream about what if A and B would work together? Would B and D work together? You get to see a lot of these fantasies come into fruition." That's what these movies are made for, the crossover, the shared cinematic universe.

Stories like Raimi's Spider-Man or the Fox era X-Men work so well because they weren't shackled to a shared universe, they can just be their own thing without being bogged down by an overcrowded shared continuity. But with something like the MCU, they're willing to take the hit of a shared universe and the feeling of it being overcrowded so they can get these crossover moments, and this saga had been lacking that. It's good that we were finally getting it, and it sounded like we'd see more first time interactions, hopefully recapturing that feeling of seeing Iron Man and Captain America on screen together for the first time the way we did in the first Avengers movie.

I'm glad new characters were going to have their moments to shine in this movie. I want my Thor, Steve Rogers, and Magneto moments, of course, but I was hoping characters like Sam and Yelena, who have been around for a little while but are now in new leadership roles, would get their moments to shine as well, and it sounded like they would.