Is Sentry really as powerful as every Avenger combined?

A new trailer for the Thunderbolts movie has claimed that The Sentry is stronger than all the Avengers rolled into one.

Now, on paper, this sounds like classic supervillain posturing. You know, the sort of thing the Atomic Skull screams at the Justice League right before he’s taken down by Black Orchid and the Elongated Man. 

Yet when Valentina Allegra de Fontaine claims Sentry (I’m dropping the “The”) will soon be known as “Earth’s mightiest hero,” she doesn’t seem to be lying. In the clips from the upcoming Marvel movie we’ve seen, Sentry can be seen flying around, turning people to dust with mind bullets, and laying waste to New York City.

Clearly, Sentry, or Bob, to give him his real name, is a powerful guy, but is he really as strong as the Avengers combined? Let’s investigate…

What are The Sentry’s powers?

Well, we haven’t seen Thunderbolts yet, so we’re going to be using the comic book version as our measuring stick. In the Marvel comics, Bob is basically Superman, with his powers turned all the way up to 11. He can fly, is invulnerable, has super speed, super strength, you know, all the classics.

Still, what really makes Bob so powerful is that he has “molecularkinesis” – literal control over molecules. This means that while Superman is “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” Sentry rewrites the laws of reality to unmake the bullet, atomizes the locomotive, and shrinks the building to a microscopic size. 

What I’m saying is that Sentry is effectively a god. Yet he’s not without his weaknesses. You see, poor Bob has his demons – quite literally – which means he can’t always use his powers effectively. So is Valentina right? Well, we’re going to put him up against the original Avengers and see how they fare against Sentry.

Does Hawkeye beat The Sentry?

Marvel

No. Next. Oh, you want more? Look, I’m sorry, but if you need me to explain why a guy whose superpower is owning a bow and arrow can’t beat a guy who’s described as having the power of a million exploding suns, then seek medical attention; you’re concussed.

Winner: The Sentry (obviously)

Does Black Widow beat The Sentry?

Marvel

Listen, we all know that Nat is a badass, and she’s more than capable of going toe-to-toe with some pretty heavy hitters. On her best day, I can see her taking on the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and even Black Panther without embarrassing herself, but against Bob, what can she really do? Shock him? Kick him? Hide from him? I just don’t see anything in Nat’s toolkit that deals with someone like Bob.

Winner: The Sentry (Sadly)

Does Captain America beat The Sentry?

Marvel

Like Black Widow, Cap’s experience and tenacity mean he punches out of his weight class in a lot of fights, like when he caught Thanos’s fist or managed to beat Spider-Man in Civil War. Unfortunately, Sentry isn’t just a heavyweight. He redefines weight classes with a thought. 

Yeah, there’s no way the MCU Cap could stand against Bob’s superhuman strength, especially as his trump card  – his vibranium shield – might as well be made of LEGO bricks when up against a guy who can manipulate molecules at will. With that in mind, I can imagine Steve Rogers putting up more of a fight than Nat and Clint, and it’s possible that while his physical blows would do nothing to Bob, he might land a mental punch or two. 

Winner: The Sentry (He can do this all day)

Does Iron Man beat The Sentry?

Disney/Marvel

You might think that, in his most powerful armor, Tony Stark would put up a decent fight against Sentry. After all, the MCU version of Tony knocked out the Hulk, caught Thor off guard, and made Thanos bleed (no one makes the Mad Titan bleed his own blood). Again, though, at the end of the day, Tony is just a man in a fancy suit, if you take that away from him – and Sentry could with a thought – he’s folding quicker than a napkin in a Michelin-star restaurant. Even if Bob’s too fragile to use his molecular manipulation, though, Tony can’t really do much to Sentry than serve as a multi-million dollar punching bag. 

Winner: The Sentry (sorry, Tony, we love you 3,000)

Does Thor beat The Sentry?

Disney/Marvel

Yes! Well maybe! Sorry, I was just excited that someone was capable of actually putting up a fight against Bob. This one’s closer than you might think. Yes, in theory, Bob could rewrite reality, but we’ve already pointed out that when he’s under mental duress, he can struggle to control his powers, and I’m pretty confident Sentry would get pretty anxious fighting someone who’s physically on his level. 

Honestly, it’s probably too close to call. If Thor were using Mjolnir, then maybe Bob would take the win, but if the God of Thunder was locked in and using Stormbreaker (the same mindset that took down an Infinity Gauntlet-powered Thanos), I could see the Odinson taking the W. 

Winner: Draw (You should have gone for the head)

Does Hulk beat The Sentry?

Marvel Studios

The Sentry would fold the current MCU Hulk like a green beach towel, but it’s not that simple. Like Thor, I can see a fight between Sentry and Hulk, stressing Bob out quite a lot. If we operate under the belief that this limits Sentry’s powers, then the Smart Hulk would probably get in a few good blows before ultimately being taken down by Marvel’s golden hero.

If it was the Hulk we saw on Sakaar, though? Well, I might give it to Hulk. After all, that version of the not-so-jolly green giant was physically as strong as Thor and showed a level of cunning that might give him the edge in a fight against a rattled Bob. It would be close, and it on a few things going Bruce’s way, but if I were Nick Fury and needed to take down The Sentry, I’d be sending in Hulk.

Winner: The Hulk (puny God)

Verdict

So, is Sentry stronger than The Avengers combined? Yeah. But realistically, if the OG 6 jumped him all at once, I don’t see Bob winning. After all, we know (thanks to the Doomsday cast reveal) that the Thunderbolts are going to beat him or at least talk him down, so the Avengers shouldn’t have any problems. Oh, and Doctor Strange or Captain Marvel could probably solo him. Sorry Valentina.

If you’re looking for more Marvel hot takes, check out why I think the X-Men are all going to die in Avengers: Doomsday we’ve also got a piece ranking every Marvel movie because that’s how we like to spend our time here at Dexerto.