The Sentry - Golden Guardian of Good Appreciation 2023

[Wildling]

You know, this new series perfectly could be also a Captain Universe series. It really fits the same plot, of a mysterious force giving powers to random people.

Because this series is acknowledging King in Black from the beginning, I feel this is really aping both KIB for what happened in it regarding Bob's death, and a Captain Universe influence which had a big role in KIB's climax, but also the third Jeff Lemire Sentry miniseries which was also focused on replacing Sentry, which also happened to have a white blond villain that refreshingly and for a change wasn't Sentry's Void. Unfortunately it seems the KIB plot here might outweight the more Bob-centric comics, regarding how his powers are starting to matter more than the guy. And to add insult to injury, it might even tie in to that event's Thunderbolts tie-in, because Sentry is expected to be used in that movie and Doc Strange is going to feature in the current series, and it's super easy to tie in the KIB-Thunderbolts-Strange-Sentry Vol 4 comics without spending much editorial work. About how Sentry's power remains after his death and powerful villains really want it.

[Triniking1234]

Damn. I thought I'd take a peek before I try picking it up but y'all hate it. How is it compared to Thanos (2024) #1?

[Tendrin]

Damn. I thought I'd take a peek before I try picking it up but y'all hate it. How is it compared to Thanos (2024) #1?

We're not the audience, you know?

I have a strong feeling we're gonna see yet another origin retcon for Bob, too. It's, what, his eighty third?

[ARkadelphia]

Damn. I thought I'd take a peek before I try picking it up but y'all hate it. How is it compared to Thanos (2024) #1?

I read both and much prefer the Thanos issue

[JudicatorPrime]

Damn. I thought I'd take a peek before I try picking it up but y'all hate it.

As always, please read and judge for yourself. Quite a few grumpy Guses on this website, of which I'm probably one of the ones with the biggest bullhorn that never idles, but don't let us stop you from checking it out. Wouldn't be the first time that Marvel or DC put out a comic that seemed crappy to me, but others thoroughly enjoyed.

Who knows, by the end of the series opinions might very well change. I'm gradually coming around to the idea of someone like Mallory having superpowers, even though I am not thrilled about Marvel once again creating a derivative female character. But if it turns out that she's the next "Sentress", then so be it.

But my hunch is that they're going to kill off everyone and eventually bring back Bob.

[skyvolt2000]

Damn. I thought I'd take a peek before I try picking it up but y'all hate it. How is it compared to Thanos (2024) #1?

Read and JUDGE for yourself.

Because this is no different than what we saw years earlier with Firestorm.

The writer of this did NOT get rid of the original Sentry another crappy event did that like it did to Firestorm, Atom, Patriot and so many others. Complaints should be aimed at THAT writer and editor who approved that.

This should have happened after the issue Sentry was killed not 3 years later. It took his powers THAT long to hit Earth??

And looking at issue 1...

spoilers:

It CAN'T be by accident Ryan LOOKS like Robert. CAN'T be. And we ALL really expect the girl to be killed???

end of spoilers

[Tendrin]

It's clear Cates had a plan for Sentry after killing him in King in Black. That plan was, ahem, voided by Cates' subsequent issues. This would probably have been more welcome if they hadn't spent the immediate aftermath of his death turning him into a joke. "I MADE MY WIFE PEE" and 'LOL HIS CORPSE IS BEING WEEKEND AT BERNIE's AROUND YOU GUYS!!!!'.

MacKay did more with his corpse in a few seconds and treated the character with less disrespect than just about anyone had in ages.

And now... this. It's seems pretty clear to me so far that fans of Bob aren't the audience for this. There's unlikely to be any serious rehab of Bob's character here.

It's pretty clear this is a Reign of the Superman pastiche in the same way that the inheritors represented different aspects of Superman's legacy/values, though it seems clear Loo is using Ryan to preemptively indict certain Sentry fans who care more about Bob being a white blond guy who dismembers people and has Big Feats than they do about the core interior journey of the character.

[Golden_Guardian]

In the (very unlikely event) that this series advances Bob's character by the time the curtain falls on it, I may go back for the trade.

I can't see it happening myself, so I am very unlikely to purchase any Marvel comics for the foreseeable.

Only other things that would interest me are a new Blue Marvel series/mini and the return of Frank Castle.

[Monari]

I say this as lovingly and gently as possible, but anyone who expects this series to advance Bob's character in any way is delusional. It's clear from the bad faith writing in this first book that that will almost certainly not happen. If it does, i'll happily be the first to eat crow but i'm not holding my breath.

[Refrax5]

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of 'legacies' to begin with at this point.

Some can be cool. I always liked Rhodey as Iron Man and Eric Masterson as Thor, but they mostly coexisted with their predecessors and evolved into their own characters.

But yeah, a lot of the time, I lose a lot of my emotional investment when they change the protagonist. A good superhero character is compelling as a person, not just for their powers and name. You can't just throw someone new in there and expect people to care. I liked Sentry because of who Bob Reynold is, his struggle with his illness and inner demons, his strange history in the Marvel Universe, etc.

Without those aspects, I just don't care. They've removed the stuff that interested me in the Sentry. Some unrelated characters with his powers isn't appealing to me.

These corporations seem to think people are so shallow thar all they care about is a costume or mask, not the person under it. In a lot of ways, that's the opposite of what Marvel's classic philosophy was, which was to place emphasis on the flawed, human aspect of these characters.

It's so lame. These superficial, soulless stunts are making me jaded.

[Oberon]

Some can be cool. I always liked Rhodey as Iron Man and Eric Masterson as Thor, but they mostly coexisted with their predecessors and evolved into their own characters.

But yeah, a lot of the time, I lose a lot of my emotional investment when they change the protagonist. A good superhero character is compelling as a person, not just for their powers and name. You can't just throw someone new in there and expect people to care. I liked Sentry because of who Bob Reynold is, his struggle with his illness and inner demons, his strange history in the Marvel Universe, etc.

Without those aspects, I just don't care. They've removed the stuff that interested me in the Sentry. Some unrelated characters with his powers isn't appealing to me.

These corporations seem to think people are so shallow thar all they care about is a costume or mask, not the person under it. In a lot of ways, that's the opposite of what Marvel's classic philosophy was, which was to place emphasis on the flawed, human aspect of these characters.

It's so lame. These superficial, soulless stunts are making me jaded.

Very long time comic fans like me - steady reader since the late '60s, etc - can appreciate characters they've seen grow over many years. Yes, Rhodey and Erik M were good examples of legacies that grew. There are others of course.

But the real drastic changeovers are probably intended for new/er or young readers who don't need or care to appreciate the concept's full story.
It is just the way it is, but for over 10 years, longer, I've tapered my reading list and this could be a factor.

To be fair, it is highly challenging to bring 'new' to old characters, especially when there are so many boats that can never be rocked.

As a young person of the '60s and '70s, it was clear that people married, or divorced, or had affairs yet somehow issues resolved or passed on, and folks moved on.
Is it really so inviolate that Sue and Namor might have had the realization of their attraction, but have managed to move on as adults?

I mean you see this with the various Iron Man or Daredevil romances. Those are my best two examples. Despite the many loves and affairs of Tony and Matt, most readers won't point to that the same way for Sue or other / certain female characters to be sexually or romantically adventurous.

So to me, that cheats the character. As it would even other characters. Look at Sue's brother, Johnny, who like IM and DD have had a number of romances, but still most people see this as a flaw in his character, that he "can't find the right woman".

Like Sue, in some ways.... a double standard that doesn't fairly apply to character development.
The Sentry is not one of my top all time favorites, but I really liked his interpretation in the initial Uncanny Avengers storyline.
That whole first set was magic to me; Planet X, the Apocylypse Twins, etc . . . .

Anyway, from that story, I did come to appreciate his character more and have tried to fill in more blanks about it.
So I hope that whatever is going on will resolve favorably.

[JudicatorPrime]

But the real drastic changeovers are probably intended for new/er or young readers who don't need or care to appreciate the concept's full story.

This. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. IMHO, the last time that it successfully worked was when Wendell Vaughn received the Quantum Bands. Taking the name Marvel Man might have been a stumble, but after he became Quasar no one remembered Marvel Boy/Blue Marvel.

But Marvel has since moved on from Wendell as Quasar. Not sure if the replacement ever reached the same heights in terms of fanbase appreciation as Wendell.

We could see something similar with Sentry...although as I said earlier, I doubt that they get rid of Bob entirely.

[Thor-Ul]

This. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. IMHO, the last time that it successfully worked was when Wendell Vaughn received the Quantum Bands. Taking the name Marvel Man might have been a stumble, but after he became Quasar no one remembered Marvel Boy/Blue Marvel.

But Marvel has since moved on from Wendell as Quasar. Not sure if the replacement ever reached the same heights in terms of fanbase appreciation as Wendell.

We could see something similar with Sentry...although as I said earlier, I doubt that they get rid of Bob entirely.

That because he was given his own identity. He received the bands but he was another characte and another identity even with that connection.

His replacement... well, she came and go, nobody cared too much about her.

And i guess the same could happend with the sentry repalcement corps... whatever they are trying to do.

[lordozone]

This. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. IMHO, the last time that it successfully worked was when Wendell Vaughn received the Quantum Bands. Taking the name Marvel Man might have been a stumble, but after he became Quasar no one remembered Marvel Boy/Blue Marvel.

But Marvel has since moved on from Wendell as Quasar. Not sure if the replacement ever reached the same heights in terms of fanbase appreciation as Wendell.

We could see something similar with Sentry...although as I said earlier, I doubt that they get rid of Bob entirely.

And Miss Marvel, love her or hate her, but she is the last legacy character with Miles who worked (and in comics even better than Miles Morales, because the first comics were very good, contrary to Miles who never had a really good run)

[Wildling]

I liked Mallory enough because so far she reminded most of previous Bob comics, like running away to space when things got tough for her. Ryan is a mix of bad Scout and Superboy Prime, maybe the return of the Void to finally assert himself over Bob?

Given the series length I wonder what other people could fit into getting Sentry powers. Maybe a scientist?