by Ah Sentry, where would Marvel be without the Golden Guardian of Good? I mean who could forget his iconic adventures with Scout, Sentress, and the beloved Watchdog. I mean everyone remembers his dramatic battle with Cranio! It’s a classic comic afterall. What’s that? You have no idea who that it is? Well, it’s not for a lack of trying. Not many people remember who he is even within the Marvel Universe. If you’ve seen the recent Thunderbolts* trailer then you may have caught glimpses of Bob in his “superhero” attire, otherwise known as his Sentry uniform. But, just who the heck is he? Surprisingly his history within the Marvel Universe is short but, unfortunately, convoluted. So stick around for the headache.
Imagine if you will, it’s the early 2000s and Marvel had launched a new line of comics to explore their most iconic characters in new and bold ways called Marvel Knights. From Spider-Man to Punisher to Black Panther to even the Inhumans, it was a fairly popular and well liked line. It brought back many sidelined characters into the spotlight and allowed writers the creative freedom to explore interesting avenues with them. However, one such character made his dramatic “return” to the Marvel universe, Robert “Bob” Reynolds, The Sentry. You see, the “lore” of the Sentry is that he was a lost Stan Lee creation that predated even the Fantastic Four, way back when Marvel was going by Timely Comics. The vision the three man team of Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, and Rick Vietch had was to create a long forgotten mythos for a character that did not exist and fool everyone into believing it. This meta narrative of false creators, made up concept art to emulate classic comics by John Romita Sr., even testimonials from Stan the man himself claiming his hand in the business. The idea that this integral character to the Marvel universe would be just so easily forgotten after all he’s done for the heroes that proceed him was conceptually interesting. So much so that when his miniseries launched it sold very well.
So with that narrative established, just what are we left with for the actual comic? An introspective look at a psychologically complicated individual that can either destroy or save the world at a whim. The Sentry, at his core, is a morally complicated individual that is his own worst enemy. Bob, The Sentry, The Void, all of them are this homogeneous being of unlimited power that was cheated out of a legacy in universe and out. Ultimately, the story of the Sentry is one of survival. Who is worthy of life? Of Existence? Does everyone deserve a chance? Even if they have a chance to do more harm than good? Ultimately, this is a comic book not a thesis on the nature of humanity, it’s up to the reader’s interpretation for the answer to form. The Sentry is a meta-narrative on identity and legacy and just how that plays within the Marvel Universe. A forgotten Marvel that had quite literally everything ripped away from him.
While the Sentry is a, comparatively, recent addition to the Marvel Universe, his story is still being written and retconned and changed. That’s just the nature of the character and comics in general. But despite his recent addition to the mythos, the Sentry remains a fascinating character that holds so much potential in the right hands. With his first appearance on the big screen coming in May, it remains to be seen just how they’ll balance the complex relationship between the Void, Sentry, and Bob himself. Judging by the trailer, it seems like The Void will be taking the spotlight more than the heroic half that The Sentry presents himself as with Bob taking the brunt of the emotional moments and sympathy from the audience. However the story will play out, it’ll be interesting just how they’ll reinterpret this character and his fascinating history within the established MCU.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. From all of us here at Happy Hobbyists, happy hobbying.
