The first official poster for Marvel Studios’Thunderboltshas caused a stir, as some believe artificial intelligence has been used, specifically on Lewis Pullman’s “Bob”, but this isn’t the case. First announced by Marvel boss Kevin Feige in 2022,Thunderboltsis slowly becoming one of the most anticipated projects in theMCU. Thefirst teaser trailer forThunderbolts*revealed that Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova will have a major role in the Phase 5 movie, butTop Gun: Maverick’sLewis Pullman will be playing someone even more powerful.
As well as focusing on several returning antiheroes and reformed villains,Thunderbolts*will also introduce new superpowered characters to the MCU. One of these will be portrayed by Lewis Pullman. While Pullman’s character has only ever been referred to as “Bob”, it has been all but confirmed that he is, in fact,Robert Reynolds, a.k.a. Sentry.Sentry is an incredibly powerful hero in Marvel Comics, so his live-action debut is very exciting, but his introduction to the MCU has already been the subject of some unnecessary and unfounded controversy.
The Thunderbolts* Poster’s Six-Fingered Sentry “Controversy” Explained
Some Think Lewis Pullman Looks Like He Has Six Fingers In The Thunderbolts* Poster
In conjunction with the release of the first teaser trailer forThunderbolts*on September 23,Marvel Studiosalso released the first poster for the upcoming Phase 5 movie. This poster features thecore line-up of the Thunderbolts team, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Ghost, Bucky Barnes, US Agent and Taskmaster, in a brawl, with “Bob” crammed in the corner. However,the crop of this poster has caused a stir, as some have speculated whether AI was used to create the image, as it could be argued that “Bob” looks like he has six fingers.
Marvel Studios caused a stir in 2023 after revealing that AI had been used to generate some of the images forSecret Invasion’sopening credits.Controversies surrounding the use of AI by Marvel are confusing, especially when AI can be used as a tool to support and back-up actual human work. Nevertheless, some fans took to social media to complain about Sentry’s apparent sixth finger, seemingly without taking the time to look closer and surmise that he actually only has five.
No, “Bob” Doesn’t Have Six Fingers
Thunderbolts*' AI Controversy Has Stemmed From A Simple Visual Trick
The original crop ofThunderbolts*‘poster which was released by Marvel Studios includes a visual trick that makes it briefly look as though Lewis Pullman’s “Bob” has six fingers. In fact,his fingers are simply bent in such a way that his index finger looks slightly thicker than the rest, which makes it seem as though this is two fingers spliced togetherin such a way that AI usually produces. Subsequent releases of the poster, including that shared byDiscussing Film, have cropped it tighter, omitting this issue completely, whileOppais’ Vaultperfectly explains this trick.
It’s a shame thatLewis Pullman’s first official appearanceas one of the MCU’s most exciting upcoming characters has already been shrouded in undue controversy. In recent years, supposed “fans” of the MCU have criticized Marvel Studios much more vigorously than in previous years, which has, in part, contributed to some of the lowest-performing MCU installments, includingThor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandThe Marvels.HopefullyThunderbolts*doesn’t suffer because of this unnecessary six-fingered confusion.
What The Thunderbolts* Poster Is Based On
Thunderbolts*' Poster Takes Inspiration From Sons Of Anarchy
As pointed out byConnor Ruby, it seems as thoughthe poster for Marvel Studios’Thunderboltshas taken inspiration from the poster forSons of Anarchyseason 6. This poster showed the cast of the popular crime drama series, including Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman, in a brawl, similarly to how theThunderbolts team has been imaginedfighting each other in the new MCU poster. It makes sense thatSons of Anarchywould be parodied byThunderbolts, given the similar themes of both projects.
I Think I’ve Worked Out Another Marvel Hero Joining The MCU’s Thunderbolts Team (Not Sentry)
Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* will bring together several antiheroes from the MCU’s past, but I think a new questionable hero will also be introduced.
InSons of Anarchy, Charlie Hunnam’s Jax begins to question his position as the President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, and begins to question himself.These themes reflect Yelena Belova’s comments in the first trailer forThunderbolts*, as she has begun to question her purposeafter being freed from the Red Room, the loss of her sister, and her conversation with Hawkeye. In the same way thatWandaVisionandAgatha All Alongparodied iconic movies and TV shows from history,Thunderbolts*seems to have done the same, and it makes the upcoming movie even more exciting.
Thunderbolts*
Cast
Thunderbolts follows seven disillusioned individuals who find themselves trapped in a perilous situation. Tasked with a daunting mission, they must face the most shadowy aspects of their histories to survive and achieve their goals.
