A Quick Biography of the Sentry
If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then no other superhero gets more of it than Superman. In almost ninety years since his debut, many characters have been created to be a copy of the Man of Steel. Thanks to the success of their Amazon Prime series, the most famous of these duplicates are Homelander and Omni-Man, albeit the former is evil while the latter has a complex (and bloody) history. Before either of them existed, though, there was another big Superman expy, and it comes from DC’s biggest rival Marvel. Known as the Sentry, this superhero was touted as one the entire world forgot about for decades, only to be rediscovered at the turn of the millennium. In reality, though, the Sentry was part of one of the most brilliant deceptions in comic book history.
I’m RJ Writing Ink from The Game of Nerds, and today, we’re going to go over the history of the often-overlooked Sentry. With the character set to make his MCU debut in the upcoming film Thunderbolts, now’s the perfect time for people to learn more about him and his “history.”
One of Comic Books Greatest Hoaxes
The origins of the Sentry trace back to the mid-1990s and a time when Marvel was on its last legs. With the company on the brink of bankruptcy, they were desperate to get back on top. To do this, they outsourced some of their comics to a company called Event Comics, who would create the critically acclaimed Marvel Knights line of comics to great success. It was there that comic writer Paul Jenkins first conceived of a new superhero in the vein of Superman. His friend, Rick Veitch, suggested that they make this new hero, the Sentry, a hero that supposedly pre-dated the Fantastic Four at Marvel. With Knights artist Jae Lee providing the illustrations, they successfully pitched the idea to the comics editor Joe Quesada.
And from there, things only get crazier.
Marvel went all out on their ruse, crafting an entire real-life history for the character that they spread around through comic new outlet publications like Wizard Magazine. They even brought in former art director John Romita Sr. and even Stan Lee himself in on the ruse. The story they came up with was that Stan came up with the Sentry with the fictional Artie Rosen before he went on to create the Fantastic Four and forgot about him. To sell the deception, they published fake news about Artie’s decline in health, eventual death, and his widow rediscovering his old drawings. In reality, John Romita, one of Spider-Man’s artists in the 60s, made them.
This fake history wasn’t going to fool everyone. Since this was in the Internet’s early days, though, it was harder for fans to coordinate and fact-check with each other. What mattered is that it did its job, and when the Sentry debuted in late 2000, people were primed and ready.
The Sentry “Returns”
In the first issue of his titular miniseries, Robert Reynolds, a seemingly normal, middle-aged man wakes in the middle of the night and remembers something important. Once upon a time, Bob had been the Sentry, one of the first heroes to emerge at the dawn of the modern age of superheroes, before even the Fantastic Four. With no one seemingly remembering him, Bob resumed his identity in an effort to uncover the truth about why the world forgot about him.
Over the course of the series, Robert would slowly help the hero community remember him, and he had played a big role in many of their lives. He was an ally and friend of the X-Men, even helping founding member Angel conquer his fear of heights. He served as a role model for Spider-Man, with Peter taking a picture of him that won him a Pulitzer. He was best friends with Reed Richards, with Mr. Fantastic serving as Bobby’s best man at his wedding. He even served as a positive influence on the Hulk, who had somehow never forgotten about him. So why did no one remember him until now?
Because the Sentry had a great and terrifying enemy, one capable of destroying the universe if left unchecked. This shadowy entity almost brought the world to its knees, with not even the Sentry and all the other heroes being able to stop it. That was when they learned the truth: the Void was, in fact, the embodiment of the Sentry’s darkest aspects. The only way it could be stopped was if Robert Reynolds and the rest of the world forgot the Sentry existed in the first place. So he, Mr. Fantastic, and Dr. Strange wiped all trace of the Sentry’s existence, a feat that they had to repeat once more now that he had remembered who he was.
Too bad these things don’t stick in comic books.
The Sentry’s Origins are Far Darker
Despite initially appearing to be the Marvel equivalent to Superman, the origins of the Sentry are far darker…and have to do with drugs.
It all starts with Project Rebirth, AKA the experiment that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. After World War II and Cap’s apparent death, the US and Canadian governments teamed up to try to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum. One of those attempts ended up creating a version that contained “the power of a million exploding suns.” Somehow Reynolds, a meth addict, broke into the lab and consumed a sample of the serum. Instead of getting high, though, it gave him godlike superpowers…and fractured his mind.
As it turns out, the serum split Reynolds’ mind in two. The Sentry was everything good about him now magnified by the power of the serum. Conversely, the Void were all the worst parts of him rolled into one and given superpowers. They were the equivalent of taking Jekkyl and Hyde and giving them power to rival Superman. And unfortunately for everyone, the heroes plan to stop the Void didn’t stick.
The Sentry’s Continued Problems
Somehow, Reynolds would remember his identity as the Sentry once again. So, to keep everyone safe, he voluntarily put himself in The Raft, New York City’s premier prison for super-powered villains, saying he killed his wife. He didn’t, but he stayed there, anyway. When a mass breakout took place that required the intervention of multiple heroes, though, the Sentry would aid them. After that, he disappeared while the other heroes would reform the then-disbanded Avengers, hoping to find a way to conquer the Void.
Eventually, the Sentry gained some measure of control over his mind, allowing him to keep the Void in check and return to being a hero. However, his mental health issues would continue to be a problem, with everyone fearing the day the Void could return, including himself. This led him to shut himself off from the world at times out of fear of the Void getting free again. Norman Osborn would take advantage of this to manipulate him into joining his Dark Avengers after he took command of S.H.I.E.L.D. (See Secret Invasion), claiming he could help him control the Void. In truth, though, Osborn wanted Reynolds as his own attack dog.
Things would culminate in Osborn’s attempts to lay siege to a relocated Asgard (See Siege). The Sentry would subsequently level Asgard and kill Ares and Loki before succumbing to the Void. He only managed to hold on long enough to beg the heroes to kill him, to which they reluctantly agreed.
Maybe Marvel Finally Knows how to Use the Sentry
As is the case with almost every character in comics, the Sentry would eventually come back. However, appearances beyond this point become more and more sporadic. The reason for this, while simple, is also rather unfortunate: Marvel might not know what to do with the Sentry.
Marvel is no stranger to creating characters that have strength and power on a cosmic scale. Up until the Sentry, though, they’ve never really had a character that could be called a Superman Expy. Hence why all his subsequent appearances have him handicapped by his mental illness. Otherwise, the Sentry would be able to fly into every world-endangering fight and end it like it was nothing. That might look cool at first, but it would get boring fairly quickly.
The Sentry is a remarkable character, to be sure. However, past a certain point, it feels like Marvel hasn’t figured out how to best write him. The fact that he’s going to be playing a pivotal role in the upcoming Thunderbolts*, though, might be a sign that things are changing. Thanks to other Superman expies such as Homelander and Omni-Man rising in prominence in the 2020s, Marvel might finally know how to handle the Sentry. At the very least, whatever they do with the Void can’t be any worse than Homelander!
