He’s often been written off as Marvel’s version of Superman, but theSentryis much more than some simple carbon copy. He may have the cape and the godlike powers, but Marvel’s Golden Avenger is an entirely unique take on the superhero concept. In fact,he might just be the most fascinating superhero created in the 21st century.
The Sentry first appeared in his own self-titled miniseries in 2000 from creators Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, following up on their critically acclaimed revamp of the Inhumans published by the Marvel Knights imprint in the late 1990s.
The conceit of the original miniseries focuses on Robert Reynolds, a seemingly ordinary man who discovers thathe’s actually the Sentry, the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe. Toprotect the world from his archenemy the Void, the Sentry erased his and everyone else’s memory of who he was, until the Void returned to threaten all of existence once more… or at least that’s how it seems.
As part of the marketing push for his original series, Marvel originally pretended that Sentry was an old Stan Lee idea that never made it to the page, with his design meant to evoke the Silver Age of comics.
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The Sentry is a godlike superhuman, but his dark half the Void is an ancient force so terrifying, it makes the good guy looks like an afterthought.
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One of the selling points early on for the Sentry was the idea that he had been forgotten not just by the Marvel heroes, but by readers as well. As part of the marketing push forthe originalSentryseries, Marvel presented the hero as a lost concept by Stan Lee that never saw publication during the Silver Age. Marvel ran with the stunt for the entirety of that firstSentryseries, only revealing it was a hoax after the series was completed. While a publicity gimmick, the notion that theSentry was forgotten even in the real world added a layer of believability to the character.
During that initial series, Robert Reynolds remembers his past as the Sentry after the Void returns and threatens the Marvel Universe. It turns out that Reynolds first acquired his powers from a version of the Super-Soldier Serum derived from the original thatturned Steve Rogers into Captain America. Once he began fighting crime as the Sentry, he encountered another being of great power known as the Void, who soon became his arch-enemy. The series eventually reveals the reason Reynolds erased his and everyone else’s memories was thathe and the Void are actually the same person, with the villain manifesting as the dark half of the Sentry’s psyche.
Bob took the enhanced Super-Soldier Serum while trying to get high, inverting the usual superhero origin where a normal person is transformed by a hostile outside force.
Presenting Sentry as a handsome, caped, flying, Superman-esque figure made the reveal of his dark half all the more shocking…
Presenting Sentry as a handsome, caped, flying, Superman-esque figure made the reveal of his dark half all the more shocking, while also making it more believable that he was a classic concept that was left on the cutting room floor. Sentry’s similarity to Superman isn’t accidental, but it’s also not a rip-off - it’s integral to the ambitious, metatextual approach Marvel took to the character’s debut.
With the stunning revelation of the Void/Sentry connection, theoriginalSentryseries became a fascinating examination of superhero psychology. The Sentry and the Void being two halves of the same coin acts as the perfect representation of the conflicted morals that exist in all of us, and also shows that - no matter how bright - every light casts a shadow. The original 2000 miniseries explores this concept through the veil of comic book history, with artist Jae Lee aping various artistic styles to represent different periods in comic book history. Writer Paul Jenkins continued toexplore the Sentry’s psychological depthsin the excellent sequel series with artist John Romita, Jr.
Marvel later developed the lore between Sentry and the Void, suggesting that while the Void identity was shaped by Bob’s subconscious, it was also a pre-existing demonic parasite that attached to him when he first gained superpowers.
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After the original miniseries, the Sentry disappeared from Marvel Comics for a time.Yet when the Avengers franchise was rebooted as theNew Avengers, the Sentry joined the team, becoming a prominent hero in the Marvel Universe once more.The Sentry appeared on and off in the years after, dying for the second and seemingly final time in battle with Knullduring theKing in Blackcrossover. Marvel revamped the concept in the 2023Sentryminiseries, which saw Reynolds’ powers gifted to new hero Solarus.
So far, Solarus has shown no signs of having her own Void persona. However, she was opposed by the villainous Ryan Topper, who fought her for Sentry’s powers. Currently, Solarus is being trained in her powers by veteran crime-fighter Misty Knight.
Constituting a psycho-analytic examination of the superhero concept, the Sentry has established himself as far more than simply the Marvel version of Superman.
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There was a time when the Sentry was considered the strongest hero Marvel had to offer. Now a new hero has the potential to fill the Sentry’s role.
Considering Bob Reynolds will be appearing in this summer’sThunderbolts*movie, it’s likely Marvel won’t keep the original Sentry dead for long. This could be an excellent opportunity to complete what original co-creator Paul Jenkinsrefers to as hisSentrytrilogy, finally bringing the writer’s original ideas for the Sentry to life as he goes from hero to god. As the Sentry’s co-creator, the argument could be made thatnone of the other stories featuring the character by other writers have quite lived up to the psychological complexity of the twoSentryseries written by Jenkins.
Constituting a psycho-analytic examination of the superhero concept,the Sentry has established himself as far more than simply the Marvel version of Superman. Indeed, Sentry can be seen ascommentingon DC’s Superman - a perfectly moral superhuman who is completely worthy of his limitless power. Sentry asks what would happen if that same person was imperfect, and liable to be destroyed by their own power.
Sentry engages with the superhero archetype that Superman created, but as far more than a mere clone or knock-off. Hopefully, Marvel has plans to bring their original Golden Guardian back sometime soon to further explore the depths of superhero psychology, but in the meantime, theSentry’soriginal miniseries and its sequel stand out as bonafide Marvel classics.
