#thunderbolts theory

[johnwalkerrrrr]

John release Bob

Unleash Sentry

Called by the Void

1. Accidental Catalyst, Emotional Trigger

John accidentally opening the container that freed Bob puts him directly at the center of the Sentry/Void dynamic. And the way he snapped at Bob—harsh, emotional, raw—wasn’t just a plot beat. It mirrored the kind of intense psychological friction that often stirs the Sentry/Void within Bob. That kind of volatility woke something up. It wasn’t just external—it was psychic.

2. He Made Contact with the Void

Whether it was mental, emotional, or metaphysical, contact with the Void tends to consume. The fact that John emerged (even injured or shaken) hints that he has some kind of resistance—or worse, a tether. That could go either way: he could stabilize Bob… or get pulled deeper.

3. Thematic Resonance

John is someone who buries his trauma, who dissociates under pressure, who plays the role of the blunt weapon until he shatters. That mirrors Bob’s duality in a haunting way: Sentry vs. Void, golden light vs. total collapse. Their arcs reflect each other. So if anyone can reach Bob and remind him of who he is—and still be standing afterward—it’s John.

4. Potential Future Role

He doesn’t have to be a traditional mentor or handler. But he could become the only person who can get through to Bob when the lines blur. Like:

Bob loses control. The team panics. John walks into the chaos, and Sentry listens.

Or even scarier: when Void rises again, it’s John who sees it coming first.

John could absolutely be the one who ends up able to wake—or stabilize—Sentry in the future.

[swiftiedaisies]

i have a thunderbolts* theory that i wanna talk about!! ive seen a lot of ppl making similar posts so i wanna add my thoughts!!

possible spoilers below‼️ looking at shots from the trailer and minor cast/plot leaks

more under the cut⬇️

i think that once the thunderbolts have overcome their fears in the void, they’ll find bob trapped in his worst memories which is what is preventing him from fighting void. the team will help him fight through these fears (and i think there’s an order to how they do it)

i think the first memory will be his childhood. this set looks like a childhood room. there’s also been a leak that an actor had been cast as bob’s dad which makes me think we’ll find out that bob grew up in an abusive household. this is where they’ll get bob back on their side

the second memory will be whatever this scene is ⬆️. bob is in the same clothes and with the same characters so i think this scene will be them trying to leave the void. im thinking this chicken could be from a movie or ad that bob was scared of as a kid and the void is just throwing out any bad memory he has to try and stop them leaving the void

i think this will be the final memory. the creation of void. these shots seem to look like they are the same scene. i think this will be where bob had to confront the worst part of himself and his most traumatic memory. maybe we’ll have a sentry vs void fight here whilst the thunderbolts try to leave the void. i think that sentry winning a fight against void here will symbolise bob facing his trauma and what has happened to him

i think once the team have worked through all of these fears, the void will be contained. i really think that the movie will end with bob/sentry joining the team. i don’t think the team would want to leave him alone after everything they go through together. and i think him becoming a thunderbolt will lead into avengers doomsday

[milli-moi]

Thunderbolts Theory!

So here is the video I put on TikTok but J also screenshotted the video for all of you people who prefer that.

[emrambling]

Reddit is cooking and they summed it up perfectly what I have in mind for Boblena and Sentry in the future and especially in Doomsday!

[waywardsou2]

I haven't seen anyone say this so I will. Bucky and Bob's story's parallel each other the same way two chapters follow each other

They both had pasts rooted in violence: Bucky grew up at the end of the first world war and ended up fighting in the second world war. Bob grew up in a house that was constantly filled with domestic violence and abuse

They both became human weapons, they differ here with Bucky's being involuntary and Bob's being semi-voluntary if ill informed: They were both experimented on with alternative versions of the super soldier serum that for better or worse turned them into super-powered beings

They both were taken advantage of: Bucky was abused and used as a weapon with his humanity completely discarded and Bob was used for press for Valentina's attempt to make it big in a world that was slowly loosing it's superhero's

They both have severe mental illness: Bob and Bucky both have PTSD from events in their pasts that still affect their everyday. Bob potentially has Bipolar and Bucky has anxiety and depression. (Bob probably has those too)

They were both saved by people they hurt: Bucky beat the ever loving shit out of Steve, Sam, T'Challa and Natasha yet all four of them still stuck around to help them. Bob hurt the entire time (I would say John and Yelena got the worst of it) and they still did what they could to save him and pull him back from the brink

They both have a "dark alternative self": Both Bob and Bucky have a versions of themselves that is a dark reflection of them. Bob has the void which is all his insecurities and past trauma personified and Bucky has the Winter Soldier who is a reflection of his past self

They both feel unworthy of the love from the people around them: At first Bucky was reluctant for Steve and Sam's help because he "wasn't worth all of this" and Bob seems to think that no matter what he does he will make a mistake and people will push him away

They both had to accept that their dark parts are not who they truely are: Bucky was constantly worried that in some way or another the Winter Soldier would always be there and would always come out and Bob knows that his darkness lives inside of him and if were to ever lose control of his powers the Void would come back

There are probably more things, but this is all I could think of at the moment

I just think those two are closer than a lot of people realise which is why a lot of Bucky fans are drawn to Bob

[incorrectquotesmcu]

Ava: By the way, thanks for doing the dishes, Bob.

Alexei: How do you know I didn’t do them?

Ava: Because once when all the knives were dirty, I saw you cut a piece of bread with your keys.

[back-on-my-bucky-bs]

Totally serious Thunderbolts theory:

Sam's busy finding people to add to the Avengers roster while Bucky is being paired up with a team of delinquents, some who mean well more than others.

So in between that and running for fucking Congress, Bucky just calls Sam up like "babe I know you're busy and all but we're so not qualified for this shit pls help" and Sam's so unbothered, laughing over the phone, and is just "good luck babe, kiss kiss, bye." And hangs up.

And Bucky's like "fuck I can't be here" and full mentally checks out going Winter Soldier mode because between Alexei "Red Human Disaster" and John "Gaslight, Guilt Complex Agent" Walker, he hasn't had enough therapy to handle them let alone a bunch of traumatized feral super powered women.

But by the end he adopts them all anyway and then he comes home like "Sam we have kids now, no I know one of them is older than you and the other one is Walker, I don't care they're ours now" and Sam just has to except that they're parents now.

Then Joaquin shows up the next day in a cardboard box that has the words "free puppies" written on it, and Sam tells Bucky they have one more kid to add to their collection.

[keefechambers]

i think there's an interesting bit of alexei's psychology on display in the what if episode, and that's him telling bucky he comes from a "family of nobodies"

worrying about being a nobody really highlights a lot of his whole deal. dreykov leaves him to rot in obscurity in prison and this is the ultimate punishment. he hated the spying mission (despite handling it pretty well) not because he didn't like the girls and melina, but because he hates the anonymity of being a spy.

and in thunderbolts he tells yelena that fame and fortune is how you make friends. as if he genuinely doesn't see himself as worth being friends with otherwise, or just has a very cynical outlook on people.

my theory here is he always thought of "alexei shostakov" as a nobody and "red guardian" as a somebody, so of course that's who matters. most of this is ego; he's a hero, he's a super soldier, he's the baddest man in prison, etc. etc. but some of it does seem to be tinged with self hate, appropriate for thunderbolts and the overall themes in the movie.

additionally, both BW and thunderbolts have this tension between yelena and alexei, where she wants her dad (the guy who coached her soccer team and got her into mclean and followed her to dc and etc etc) so badly, but he can't help but put the red guardian bullshit first. he seemingly can't accept that anyone wants regular old alexei to give them advice or cheer them up after a shitty day at work, and so if there's no red guardian he just kind of disappears (hence "i'm not good at this" and "i thought you didn't want me")

anyway all that to say the tl;dr is the the funniest most sleep deprived man in the room has some deep seated self esteem issues to work out, i guess?

[thekingwhereitallends]

People are afraid that writers might turn John Walker into a goofball with room temperature iq. I would like to think that John, despite having genius level intelligence (his scores in MIT test were off the chart in every single category), would try saying things he considers funny just to entertain teammates, because they are so mean to him and he wants to be treated more kindly.

Consider it a headcanon.

[me-buckys-version]

Giys- I randomly saw the bucky cameo in cabnw and Sam mentioned he should've took the serum and I quote "I should've took the serum like Steve- like you" and then bucky paused- because he didn't choose to get the serum, he didn't ask to be turned to a superhuman assassin- what if he was reflecting on that...? How did he feel...? I just know i feel like crying after realising that-

[swiftiedaisies]

these trailers are making it way too obvious that taskmaster dies in thunderbolts. i think it’s to throw us off. i think she’s going to betray the team

more explanation below the cut

ok so i have so evidence to back up my theory…

1. in the trailers we only see her in the vault. and we know that bob is somehow going to end up in nyc (but not with the thunderbolts). i think taskmaster has been hired to deliver bob to val. any other scene would be a spoiler

2. the asterix changing from 6 points to 5 in the newest trailer. there is no way marvel would be that stupid. i don’t think they’re alluding to her death. i think it represents how they aren’t a team of six, they’re a team of five bc taskmaster was always on val’s side

3. the cereal box standee said “loyalty: tbd”. i think this is hinting at a betrayal. i can’t see that coming from anyone but taskmaster. i don’t think it’s hinting at bob because he isn’t being marketed as a team member

(however i do think he’ll join the team at the end and be the real sixth member)

[sketchnskribbles]

Soooo, uuuuhhhhh, am I the only one making a theoretical connection. That this might just be Bob, the Hydra Agent?

I haven’t seen anyone else talking about it so I wanted to bring it up.

ya’know…. This guy

It would make sense with all the popularity of the Deadpool movies. And it seems that Peter has replaced Bob as Deadpool’s sidekick. I would presume they didn’t want a reformed Hydra agent to be in those movies.

But maybe Bob has moved forward to become a Thunderbolt instead?

More Bob ft. Deadpool and Wolverine below:

AN UPDATE: I now realize that Bob is The Sentry. I’ve gone ahead and found the mini-series that originally introduced him to the world and read it. I’m intrigued and can only hope that they do the character justice. Since it seems, from all the articles, reviews, and YouTube videos I’ve read. That no one has been able to really write the character well after his initial comics.

[fictionaltrvlr]

a very desaturated aroace flag color-picked from yelena’s official poster 🫶 (that blue eyeliner is not as blue as it looks lol)

[thund3randrain]

“It’s fine to ship Yelena with people bc aroace people can also have sex and be in relationships-”

I am putting you in a meat grinder and making you into spaghetti bolognese, which I will share happily with my aroace moots who are also tired of this shit

[bbyboybucket]

She’s right. As soon as I seen that clip from the trailer, of him shooting the car down, I can just feel that’s not Bucky because of the body language and expression (and how it’s not something I would expect from him). But this person from twitter comes with more arguments as to why it doesn’t seem to be him.

Also, let’s remember Bucky’s hair length always has symbolized his freedom. And despite the fact that the bob looks horrible, this may be the reason he long hair again.

And let’s not forget: Val is literally Madam Hydra. If anyone were to know how to get control over him again, it’d be her.

[guardianjameslight]

A little theory about Thunderbolts*

Since it's been confirmed that Yelena will have a sweet spot for Bob, I think she'll try to reach him during the final battle when he'll become Void. And that will give him strength to stand up to Void.