What's your opinion on Sentry?

[Green Knight]

I like the idea of Sentry, but I don't care for the execution of Sentry, at least when it comes to Robert Reynolds. So what do you folks think of Sentry? Is he fine as-is? Do you think he needs fixing? Can he be fixed? If so, how can he be fixed? Is Robert Reynolds irreparable, and would Marvel be better off passing his power set to a new character and introducing a new Sentry? Or should the Sentry be dispensed with entirely?

[Zero Hunter]

I dislike just about everything about the Sentry. From his non-defined powers to how they have tried to retcon him into the past lives of every character. Marvel does not need their own "edgy mentally ill" Superman knock off and never has. He just does not work in the greater MCU, and never really has no matter how hard they try to make it work.

[Matternativ]

I liked him as a Villain/antagonist in the Dark Reign Era.

[Tendrin]

Really looking forward to seeing him back in his title. A lot of people's complaints about him existing in the first place have little merit when you look at how he's actually been used and how little the past was changed, amongst other things. I often feel that Sentry as a character is held to a different standard of execution than other characters who've emerged from springing into existence in the pasts of many.

There are legit issues with the way he's been used in his initial Bendis run with regards to his powers and power levels and inconsistent back story or how a character with real mental illness got treated in general but so many complaints amount to 'wah wah wah he's more powerful than my faves and didn't /earn/ it wah wah wah'.

[DragonsChi]

I dislike just about everything about the Sentry. From his non-defined powers to how they have tried to retcon him into the past lives of every character. Marvel does not need their own "edgy mentally ill" Superman knock off and never has. He just does not work in the greater MCU, and never really has no matter how hard they try to make it work.

This!

Personally, I feel he is better off forgotten and a waste of a good name. But I get he had his fans so there is the rub. If he has to be used I would keep him as a villain, if I had a say in the mater.

[Tendrin]

This!

Personally, I feel he is better off forgotten and a waste of a good name. But I get he had his fans so there is the rub. If he has to be used I would keep him as a villain, if I had a say in the mater.

Another 'oh so crazy' villain is boring. A powerful hero struggling to good but buried beneath the weight of mental illnesses that Bob has, which a lot of people have, is far less common.

Making the crazy guy the bad guy is easy and, frankly, lazy.

[DragonsChi]

Another 'oh so crazy' villain is boring. A powerful hero struggling to good but buried beneath the weight of mental illnesses that Bob has, which a lot of people have, is far less common.

Making the crazy guy the bad guy is easy and, frankly, lazy.

I hear ya.

But Marvel already has mentally ill heroes ,some who are insanely powerful, and they do it better/are more interesting than Recon-Superrman.

[Tendrin]

I hear ya.

But Marvel already has mentally ill heroes ,some who are insanely powerful, and they do it better/are more interesting than Recon-Superrman.

Calling him 'retcon superman' is missing a whole lot of depth that does actually exist, nevermind that he's retcon-Miracleman.

That said, many of those characters who are 'insane' and 'powerful' don't have the real, relatable mental maladies on the level Bob does. He's god-like but deeply frail.

[Mike_Murdock]

I'm fine with the retcon of him existing. When it first happened, it was an interesting concept. But I don't see much usefulness to the character.

[Sutekh]

Ah, the Sentry.

You have the power of a thousand exploding hyperboles because you drank something you found in some lab? 'Power of a thousand exploding suns' is a neat catchphrase, and perfect for a generation of lame characters that are nothing but impressive meaningless catchphrases, like 'Night's Bringer of War' or 'God of Cities,' but does it actually mean anything? *One* exploding sun would have destroyed all life on earth the first time you ever-so-slightly overshot a target (or had a nightmare, or even lost control, which, lucky 'the world,' is something you are prone to doing), just adding on more exploding suns only makes it even more precious.

And your tragic flaw is that there's an even more powerful evil version of you that nobody can beat? Wow. So sexy. You come with your own *guaranteed* apocalypse. Great character design, that. I especially love how all that awesome power was firmly under the thumb of Normal frikkin' Osbourne, because the Sentry apparently has the power to blow up our planet ten thousand times over, and the willpower of a wet sock.

Adam Warlock / the Magus did the 'evil self as arch-foe' first, and better, IMO.

Other than that, I loathe the character.

And I feel like Rogue has been cheapened by sleeping with him.

[Tendrin]

Ah, the Sentry.

You have the power of a thousand exploding hyperboles because you drank something you found in some lab? 'Power of a thousand exploding suns' is a neat catchphrase, and perfect for a generation of lame characters that are nothing but impressive meaningless catchphrases, like 'Night's Bringer of War' or 'God of Cities,' but does it actually mean anything? *One* exploding sun would have destroyed all life on earth the first time you ever-so-slightly overshot a target (or had a nightmare, or even lost control, which, lucky 'the world,' is something you are prone to doing), just adding on more exploding suns only makes it even more precious.

And Hulk would explode the moment he punched anything with that degree of force. This is a fine example of the double standard I mentioned above.

And your tragic flaw is that there's an even more powerful evil version of you that nobody can beat?

That's not his actual tragic flaw.

Wow. So sexy. You come with your own *guaranteed* apocalypse. Great character design, that.

It actually is when you're willing to understand that the Void is more than just the character's 'dark side' and, no, I don't mean the 'angel of death' stuff Bendis waxed on about.

I especially love how all that awesome power was firmly under the thumb of Normal frikkin' Osbourne, because the Sentry apparently has the power to blow up our planet ten thousand times over, and the willpower of a wet sock.

Bendis is Bendis. But I will point out that mentally ill people often fall under the sway of authoritarian personalities. It's not about willpower, but rather, disordered minds seeking easy explanations. This is a real thing that happens.

Adam Warlock / the Magus did the 'evil self as arch-foe' first, and better, IMO.

They're pretty different takes on it, I'd think.

Other than that, I loathe the character.

I think you made that obvious. :P

And I feel like Rogue has been cheapened by sleeping with him.

I think we can all agree that never happened.

[MichaelC]

He bores me. His look bores me, his powerset bores me, and I don't care about him as a person.

[witchboy]

I think he's an interesting character. I'd love to see more flashbacks to his retconned history in Marvel's past.
I'm not a big fan of him and Rogue as lovers, but that's just one detail in a very large story.

[ed2962]

I liked the idea of the original mini-series but when they brought him into the 616 proper I thought it was kind of pointless. Having said that, I'm looking forward to the new Jeff Lemire series. I hope he brings some of what he's doing know in "Black Hammer" over to Sentry.

I want to see the post-modern/psychological take on the superhero genre. If they just do watered down Superman-ish stories I'm less interested.

[Adset]

the only time i didn't hate the character was when norman osborn was manipulating him during dark avengers. i was relieved when he died and dismayed when they announced they were bringing him back. he seemed like a very... era-specific marvel creation. and that is not an era i'm super keen to revisit.