So at this point Sentry/Void

[Agent james west]

Are and always have been separate beings or... Nah? Or is this just another marvel writers have no idea wtf is going on? I'm just wondering the general thoughts of those who do/do not care.

[JudicatorPrime]

As far as I know, Void and Sentry were always separate beings, although they have the ability to merge into a single entity.

[danielsan52]

Just retcon him as Miracle Man at this point.

[Chris0013]

I always just though it was a multiple personality thing.

[JudicatorPrime]

I always just though it was a multiple personality thing.

In Sentry's last mini series they showed the Void as a separate character from Bob. The "cure" was to merge both into one, thus making Sentry obscenely powerful. Not sure if they're still fused together, nor do I know if Knull killed Sentry/Void, or just Sentry.

[Jabare]

ever since the Bendis years, I've only seen him as a plot device. I know other writers have done more with his character, but he's still all over the place at times.

[Agent james west]

In Sentry's last mini series they showed the Void as a separate character from Bob. The "cure" was to merge both into one, thus making Sentry obscenely powerful. Not sure if they're still fused together, nor do I know if Knull killed Sentry/Void, or just Sentry.

In some he has been shown to be a separate entity and in others its just himself turning into the void. Now knull has "eaten" "absorbed" the void persona so it's like wtf are we doing with the character now because I've always assumed they were the same being.

[JudicatorPrime]

In some he has been shown to be a separate entity and in others its just himself turning into the void. Now knull has "eaten" "absorbed" the void persona so it's like wtf are we doing with the character now because I've always assumed they were the same being.

Ahh, I see. In the last two series Sentry and Void were separate, but even if the Void was a split personality within Bob, I suspect Knull removing the Void will have the same effect of exorcising a demon. Bob should be ok, because he's lived without the Void before. He's just not as powerful as he is when he is merged with the Void.

That said, who knows where Marvel will take Sentry next. He's popular enough to keep around. Based on all of his recent appearances, writers certainly like using the character, but that's never stopped Marvel before from mothballing a character.

[Tendrin]

At this point, it's anyone's guess.

That said, the last couple years haven't exactly been kind to his characterization.

Annihilation Scourge and Agents of Wakanda and now, well, he's talking about making his ex-wife pee a little while his body is being used as the butt of jokes and a bomb.

It's been a hard couple years for us Sentry fans. Cates will go someplace with him, I hope.

[Alan2099]

At this point, it's anyone's guess.

That said, the last couple years haven't exactly been kind to his characterization.

Annihilation Scourge and Agents of Wakanda and now, well, he's talking about making his ex-wife pee a little while his body is being used as the butt of jokes and a bomb.

It's been a hard couple years for us Sentry fans. Cates will go someplace with him, I hope.

The last couple of years? I'd say everything since he was first brought into the New Avengers was bad for the guy. His abilities, connection to the Void, mental state, and even personality seem to change every few issues.

They really should have just left him to his original Mini. They've never done anything good with the character other than that.

[Tendrin]

The last couple of years? I'd say everything since he was first brought into the New Avengers was bad for the guy. His abilities, connection to the Void, mental state, and even personality seem to change every few issues.

They really should have just left him to his original Mini. They've never done anything good with the character other than that.

There have been moments and a number of positives that show glimpses of moments, but the *follow through* has been lacking. Lemire's mini was pretty solid and set the stage for a new direction. Age of the Sentry was great, Cates use of him in Strange was fun. Even Bendis Sentry had moments -- but I was mostly referring to our 'current' age of Sentry storytelling versus what went before

Honestly, the less said about the 'too powerful to live because crazy', the better.

[ENTRYS]

Are and always have been separate beings or... Nah? Or is this just another marvel writers have no idea wtf is going on? I'm just wondering the general thoughts of those who do/do not care.

That's a little bit complicated, since Robert Reynolds is a schizophrenic.

Schizophrenia means split mind. Schizophrenics have a tough time telling what's real and what isn't. Imagine a schizophrenic seeing the devil, who constantly throws out random insults and says that he will stab everyone to death. That devil is obviously not there, but the schizophrenic still sees and hears that devil. To him that devil is real. That same schizophrenic can also view himself as that devil; believe that he is that devil and that he should start insulting and stabbing everyone.

All of that more or less applies to Bob, who is at the same time a reality warper. He sees and hears the devil in the form of the Void and with his powers he subconsciously makes that devil real. He wills that devil into existence. At the same time he sometimes starts believing himself to be that devil – the Void. And then he becomes the Void.

I feel like when it comes to the Sentry it's always very important to differentiate between personalities and personas. I see people talking about multiple personality disorder (dissociative personality disorder) all the time, when it comes to the Sentry – which is a whole another mental disorder. One, which Robert Reynolds doesn't have. So the Void is not a completely separate abstract cosmic entity, which lives inside Bob. The Void is also not another personality. It's another persona. A dark persona Bob is ashamed of. And the Sentry is his good persona. So when Bob transforms, he splits himself into two camps: the good and the bad; the Sentry and the Void. And when he is under control, he keeps the Void locked away, until he starts viewing himself as the Void and becomes the Void.

This scan explains that dynamic well:
https://i.imgur.com/2aEsVfn.jpeg

Most writers have managed that quite well, most of the time. Bendis had it in control for the most part. But in the end he had the Sentry go completely ballistic (plot reasons, but badly explained). And you then had Sentry do Void things and Void do Sentry things.

Where the concept really fell flat and even I, who can explain pretty much everything regarding the Sentry... I mean, even I could only scratch my head... was during the recent Annihilation Scourge event, where Perfect Sentry (Bob, Sentry and Void merged) tried to get rid of his Void persona. He was successful and the Void left... but the Void also somehow took the Sentry with him. And now Bob remained alone and powerless without his two super powered personas. But the Void was actually controlling the Sentry and only acting from the inside, until they merged with Bob and became perfect again? That was completely dumb and went against everything somewhat established about the Sentry. Bob should absolutely never be the third party. That had never happened before. Bob should always be either the Sentry or the Void with the other persona acting on its own to counter-act the rogue persona (which is in most cases the Void persona).

To really appreciate the Sentry as a character, one really needs to dive in and take a close overarching look at everything. You need to be a fan, before you even start exploring the character. Because if you only read about the Sentry, when he passes the comics by you would have read anyway... he can be very hard to grasp.

[Agent james west]

That's a little bit complicated, since Robert Reynolds is a schizophrenic.

Schizophrenia means split mind. Schizophrenics have a tough time telling what's real and what isn't. Imagine a schizophrenic seeing the devil, who constantly throws out random insults and says that he will stab everyone to death. That devil is obviously not there, but the schizophrenic still sees and hears that devil. To him that devil is real. That same schizophrenic can also view himself as that devil; believe that he is that devil and that he should start insulting and stabbing everyone.

All of that more or less applies to Bob, who is at the same time a reality warper. He sees and hears the devil in the form of the Void and with his powers he subconsciously makes that devil real. He wills that devil into existence. At the same time he sometimes starts believing himself to be that devil – the Void. And then he becomes the Void.

I feel like when it comes to the Sentry it's always very important to differentiate between personalities and personas. I see people talking about multiple personality disorder (dissociative personality disorder) all the time, when it comes to the Sentry – which is a whole another mental disorder. One, which Robert Reynolds doesn't have. So the Void is not a completely separate abstract cosmic entity, which lives inside Bob. The Void is also not another personality. It's another persona. A dark persona Bob is ashamed of. And the Sentry is his good persona. So when Bob transforms, he splits himself into two camps: the good and the bad; the Sentry and the Void. And when he is under control, he keeps the Void locked away, until he starts viewing himself as the Void and becomes the Void.

This scan explains that dynamic well:
https://i.imgur.com/2aEsVfn.jpeg

Most writers have managed that quite well, most of the time. Bendis had it in control for the most part. But in the end he had the Sentry go completely ballistic (plot reasons, but badly explained). And you then had Sentry do Void things and Void do Sentry things.

Where the concept really fell flat and even I, who can explain pretty much everything regarding the Sentry... I mean, even I could only scratch my head... was during the recent Annihilation Scourge event, where Perfect Sentry (Bob, Sentry and Void merged) tried to get rid of his Void persona. He was successful and the Void left... but the Void also somehow took the Sentry with him. And now Bob remained alone and powerless without his two super powered personas. But the Void was actually controlling the Sentry and only acting from the inside, until they merged with Bob and became perfect again? That was completely dumb and went against everything somewhat established about the Sentry. Bob should absolutely never be the third party. That had never happened before. Bob should always be either the Sentry or the Void with the other persona acting on its own to counter-act the rogue persona (which is in most cases the Void persona).

To really appreciate the Sentry as a character, one really needs to dive in and take a close overarching look at everything. You need to be a fan, before you even start exploring the character. Because if you only read about the Sentry, when he passes the comics by you would have read anyway... he can be very hard to grasp.

Yes I get that but how does knull eat a persona... When either way bob is the one manifesting him?

[Wildling]

Yes I get that but how does knull eat a persona... When either way bob is the one manifesting him?

I thought it was meant to be a simplistic sovereignty over dark beings or forces thing. Which goes back to writers treating the Void now as as a separate being, in Annihilation Scourge he even forgot about Bob completely and turned his attention to the Cancerverse.

But speaking of current Bob, I thought the Return of the Valkyries story has potential for Bob "reuniting" with the Void as a result of the corrupted Celestial soul tormenting him with his own past.

But right now I don't feel like giving writers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Sentry ideas.

[JudicatorPrime]

Yes I get that but how does knull eat a persona... When either way bob is the one manifesting him?

Good question. This is precisely why I thought treating Void as a separate entity -- as depicted on several occasions -- works from a practical standpoint. Sentry's story stopped being a Jekyll and Hyde thing some time ago. Maybe it started out as a persona, but it's no longer an abstraction. It's a tangible thing with its own corporeal form, objectives, thoughts, actions, hungers and drives, etc. Or at least it was before Knull came along.