The Sentry - Golden Guardian of Good Appreciation 2023

[Thor-Ul]

I feel optimistic but don't necessarily think it has anything to do with Steve Yeun. If anything Marvel getting more Bob content out there makes me feel sure that the Thunderbolts role is closer to be more than a rumor, or at least that Sentry will still become live action if Marvel movies continue to stick around.

Yeah, it is not like they deliberately have had chosen a writer from asian descend to write a asian looking Sentry.

[Wildling]

Yeah, it is not like they deliberately have had chosen a writer from asian descend to write a asian looking Sentry.

Didn't want to comment on that because not only I'm unfamiliar with Yeun's career or talent (assuming that rumor is confirmed later), I don't follow current comics enough to know if the "promising new talent" line was hyperbole and just coincidental with ethnicity.

[Tendrin]

Didn't want to comment on that because not only I'm unfamiliar with Yeun's career or talent (assuming that rumor is confirmed later), I don't follow current comics enough to know if the "promising new talent" line was hyperbole and just coincidental with ethnicity.

The issue for me is that this thing continues the trend line that's been at the rroot of all the problems they've had with the Sentry to begin with: that they think everything interesting about Bob is in his powers, not the man himself.

And that's my initial cynicism, I feel, is warranted as a fan of Bob and the Sentry. Will it be good? I have no idea.

...but everything about it sounds like it has the same problem that *everything else has*, and ithe description doesn't leave me much room for optimism, especially if the end result is MCU synergy, downplaying Bob's importance, or simply removing him from the equation further altogether.

I'll wait and see, but I don't expect this to be anything I'll like. I'd like to be surprised, though, you know?

But if the end result really is just arranging things so we can get a Steve-Yeun looking guy in the role, well, there's not much reason for me to be enthusiastic about it, no matter how often I've defended the casting. It's Rob Reynolds that's important.

[Wildling]

The issue for me is that this thing continues the trend line that's been at the rroot of all the problems they've had with the Sentry to begin with: that everything interesting about Bob is in his powers, not the man himself.

And that's my initial cynicism, I feel, is warranted as a fan of Bob and the Sentry. Will it be good? I have no idea.

...but everything about it sounds like it has the same problem that *everything else has*, and ithe description doesn't leave me much room for optimism, especially if the end result is MCU synergy, downplaying Bob's importance, or simply removing him from the equation further altogether.

I'll wait and see, but I don't expect this to be anything I'll like. I'd like to be surprised, though, you know?

But if the end result really is just arranging things so we can get a Steve-Yeun looking guy in the role, well, there's not much reason for me to be enthusiastic about it, no matter how often I've defended the casting. It's Rob Reynolds that's important.

If it's in part supposed to be about Sentry's memories seeping to other people that could mean they know it's not really Sentry without Bob's personal baggage. Then again a King in Black tie-in showed Sentry's past for a bit, and that didn't turn out to be... memorable. They even showed Sentry with long hair for the first time he was able to fly outside of the planet, and that hairdo wasn't a thing until the Bendis years.

[Tendrin]

If it's in part supposed to be about Sentry's memories seeping to other people that could mean they know it's not really Sentry without Bob's personal baggage. Then again a King in Black tie-in showed Sentry's past for a bit, and that didn't turn out to be... memorable. They even showed Sentry with long hair for the first time he was able to fly outside of the planet, and that hairdo wasn't a thing until the Bendis years.

This is probably just going to be a 'Bob isn't really who he thinks he is and is just another recipient of the TRUE Sentry's memories and the REAL TRUE Sentry has been someoine else all along who happens to look like Steve Yeun!'.

Because of course.

Like I said, we're cynical. We've been given ample reason to be cynical about what they're going to do here. I'd dearly like to be wrong about this, and I hope I am. As a fan of the character, I hope to be, but what existing fans find important and what Marvel keeps choosing to do with it are two different things.

[ENTRYS]

If Marvel approached me out of nowhere and asked me to write a short Sentry run with that premise, here is the layout I would use:

- Sentry is "dead". But only because he wills it. Like he stated in Uncanny Avengers he is driven by his soul - which is essentially his consciousness. It has been stated fairly early on that Sentry uses his powers to keep his physical form together.

- So now you have this confused consciousness somewhere. Astral plane maybe? It doesn't even matter. But Sentry is scattered and his mind merges with other people. Because when he merged with Silver Surfer in Annihilation Scourge he realized he could do the same, but he can't control it. Deus Ex Sentry, am I right?

- So when Sentrys scattered mind merges with a person, his mind - the source of his power - also enhanced that person with a fraction of Sentrys power, which is still more than enough to cause chaos and mayhem if wielded by someone bad.

- Maybe Sentrys other two personas, Robert Reynolds and Void also factor in and influence the other characters. The characters hear voices and get suggestions from them - just like Bob, who is a schizophrenic. Or they are simply affected by Sentrys memories like the teaser announces it.

- Then maybe Sentrys consciousness gathers all of the good people while Void gathers all the bad ones. And you get a good VS evil battle.

- Sentrys consciousness sees good people suffer under the responsibility of his power. Void is disgusted by the weakness of his hosts. The both leave all those people, form bodies (just like Sentry did when Morgana Le Fay destroyed him), and then they fly off into space to duke it out and destroy empty galaxies in the process.

That way you can still keep your diversity and inclusion, which this book will have for sure, but these are only visible. The focus is atill on the Sentry and the effects his mind and power have on the world - which is one of the actually interesting parts about that character.

[Golden_Guardian]

Loo said. “It's a fun opportunity for me to create new characters that readers can see themselves in and bestow them these earth-shaking powers.”

I already could with THE Sentry, thank you very much. No Rob Reynolds, no purchase - regardless of the name they stick on the cover. I might revisit it depending on how it all shakes out, but based on the timing and synopsis, I tend to share some of the more cynical views that have already been expressed here since the announcement.

[Anthony W]

Loo said. “It's a fun opportunity for me to create new characters that readers can see themselves in and bestow them these earth-shaking powers.”

I already could with THE Sentry, thank you very much. No Rob Reynolds, no purchase - regardless of the name they stick on the cover. I might revisit it depending on how it all shakes out, but based on the timing and synopsis, I tend to share some of the more cynical views that have already been expressed here since the announcement.

Remember when you looked to entertainment to see wild and different things as opposed to having your own narcissism reflected back at you in the most shallow way possible? Have fun chasing that audience that won't show up and alienating the one that was likely to give you money. I hope those variant covers are ready.

This may sound harsh Sentry fans, but it's going to feel really good once the apathy kicks in. Trust me.

[Tendrin]

We're all very tired.

[Thor-Ul]

Remember when you looked to entertainment to see wild and different things as opposed to having your own narcissism reflected back at you in the most shallow way possible? Have fun chasing that audience that won't show up and alienating the one that was likely to give you money. I hope those variant covers are ready.

This may sound harsh Sentry fans, but it's going to feel really good once the apathy kicks in. Trust me.

That is a way to put it. I must admit I like how it sounds.

[Golden Guardian of Good]

We're all very tired.

Tell me about it...

[Monari]

The issue for me is that this thing continues the trend line that's been at the rroot of all the problems they've had with the Sentry to begin with: that they think everything interesting about Bob is in his powers, not the man himself.

And that's my initial cynicism, I feel, is warranted as a fan of Bob and the Sentry. Will it be good? I have no idea.

...but everything about it sounds like it has the same problem that *everything else has*, and ithe description doesn't leave me much room for optimism, especially if the end result is MCU synergy, downplaying Bob's importance, or simply removing him from the equation further altogether.

I'll wait and see, but I don't expect this to be anything I'll like. I'd like to be surprised, though, you know?

But if the end result really is just arranging things so we can get a Steve-Yeun looking guy in the role, well, there's not much reason for me to be enthusiastic about it, no matter how often I've defended the casting. It's Rob Reynolds that's important.

This feels like a holdover from Victoria Alonzo's philosophy that a character isn't defined by who they are but by their powers, and that their "mantle" can be easily translated over to another, more diverse one than the original. We can see from MCU phase 4 how this will likely play out (ie it will get cancelled, just like the Darkhawk revamp, whoever the new Iron Fist is now, etc).

My only hope with this series is that the Void shows up in issue #4 and eats everyone on the last page.

[Tendrin]

The Sentry was a story about addiction, disassociation, anxiety and oppressive depression. The Void was all those things. It's all your intrusive thoughts come to terrible life, acting out as a manifestation of your inner most self loathing, resentments, and violent fantasies. If you've ever experienced intrusive thoughts, or know much about them, you know what I'm talking about. It's about being someone whos watching as others move forward while you fade into a distant shadow.

I'm not really sure how this new story will honor that, since it sounds very much like it's doubling down on the idea that the power of the Sentry is more interesting than Bob Reynolds, which is kind of offensive to me as a person with the some of the same constellation of mental troubles that Bob is frequently depicted as having. The sole hope is the talk about Bob's memories, here, but I'm not really convinced out the gate that they're going to go anywhere with this, especially with all this talk about 'changing everything we think we know about the Sentry'... yet /again/. Marvel won't care if it upsets us, of course. Rage-baiting is a time honored tradition, so I'll just wait, see, and state my disinterest in the direction when it comes to pass, if it comes to pass, and we'll leave it at that.

*sigh* Ah, well. To be a fan of the Sentry is to be eternally disappointed in how they've never been able to understand what to do with him. I hope that this is a step in the right direction... but I sorely doubt it.

[ENTRYS]

Nice post, Tendrin.

Let me add to that from another perspective: There are three things that concern me big time.

1) I see people in this thread with Sentry avatars, Sentry-themed names etc. And these people are complaining about this first, very brief teaser of what's to come for the Sentry. If you, as a creator, are immediately failing to capture the imagination and interest of people who are predestined to be interested in the run... then how are you going to attract the mainstream audience who doesn't have the same attachment as his biggest fans do? If you can't get >>> ME <<< excited, then there is something off. I mean, I am excited to see the Sentry back – always –, but in this particular instance it doesn't sound as if I'm getting Sentry back. And I'm actually not even cautiously optimistic. Yes, I'll buy plenty of copies of each floppy, but my mood is more like: "Eh yeah, that's get this crap over with..."

2) Power level reveal incoming: I am from Europe. I would strongly argue that the majority of Europeans, just like me, is not interested in the racial and gender division that has been plaguing North America for a long time. That is not how I think about people. But that is something that's being pushed by NAs entertainment media so hard. And it has made me stop reading mainstream comics. Characters are more than their skin color or their gender or their sexual orientation. Ask all the black comic book readers on the planet who their favorite comic book characters and by default you'll get three names (Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker). Because these are established characters whom you root for. And I've seen so many black people loving the Sentry.
I believe that there is one thing that combines us all, no matter if our skin color is black, brown, red yellow or white. No matter if we're male or female or whatever. No matter if you believe in Jesus Christ, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, Tom Cruise or Oprah Winfrey. It's mental problems. Everyone has them. You might not be schizophrenic, but maybe you have social anxiety. Maybe you have an eating disorder. Maybe you are depressed. Everyone knows the feeling of struggling mentally and falling deeper into a hole. And how hard and pointless it all can seem, especially when it's not your fault. Mental illness is rarely ones own fault. So it's something most people immediately have empathy for. With a character like the Sentry you should have it so easy to make people like him and root for him. You want to see that character succeed because he is struggling with his own self but he is still trying and fighting the good fight.
It takes me one look at the cover and I already know everything I need to know. That all of the interesting aspects of the Sentry, which everyone can relate to, no matter their identity... will most likely not be in this book. A book written by someone who has written "Marvels Voices". An Asian writer for a MCU race-swapped character (Sentry will be Asian in the MCU). And on the cover you have what looks like a very diverse group of characters – hand-picked so to say. And that will most likely be a good chunk of the focus in the book, while Robert Reynolds and what makes him so appealing will play 6th fiddle (let's assume there are 5 new Sentries).

3) 4 issues are too short. For absolutely everything. Here is a list of things I feel like should happen in that story... in the direction they're going, because that's probably very much set in stone right now:

- They have to un-fuckup everything that has been done to the Sentry in the last few years: All the various returns, random deaths and retcons. Why did Sentry die for real? Did Knull, as an Elder God, overwrite Sentrys immortality? Did Knull absorb half of the Sentry and he can't regenerate now? Doesn't he simply want to regenerate? Is the Void now the origin of Sentrys power and without it he can't return? Is the Void gone at all? (Btw, they won't address any of this. They never do.)

- They have to introduce a bunch of new characters in the span of 4 issues without it feeling rushed or them feeling one-dimensional (that's what I'm mostly afraid of: an angry white guy with a power complex, an overly competent no-need-no-man black woman, nerdy brown girl who is too smart for her own good – you know, the modern stereotypes absolutely NO ONE likes except blue-haired people on Twitter who don't buy comics).

- Misty Knight and Jessica Jones are also playing a part in it and - quite frankly - they will be taking away precious panel time. In a book that's about normal people gaining the power of a formerly living, breathing god... I'm kinda not interested in two private detectives trying to investigate stuff. There is much more interesting stuff you can do with the base premise. And you can easily have all of these characters somehow find each other on their own – simply by feeling the pull of the remaining power that is inhabited by the other hosts.

- Let's address the Asian elephant in the room: They have to make people care about the friendly Asian guy in his mid-30s who will somehow gain all of the power in the end.

__________________________


I'm sure that I sound very cynical and at times mean-spirited. If I've offended someone, don't be. I'm eccentric and like to write and talk in a visual manner. Marvel clearly puts a lot of emphasis on diversity and inclusion nowadays and they're free to do that. I just think that a character like the Sentry transcends those themes – since he in return offers themes that connect all people and are VASTLY underrepresented in all forms of entertainment: struggle with mental health. And I'm convinced that it's a massive gap in the market. But I don't think that the upcoming 4 issues will come even close to making the Sentry more appealing to people who don't already like him. I'm afraid the book will feature many themes and moments the silent majority simply doesn't really care as much.

__________________________

I really wish we got something like the Immortal Hulk or Vision (where he had a weird family) for the Sentry. That's a character you're allowed to get freaky with. Cosmic horror, body horror, psychological horror. Turn the Sentry into a deep and troubled but insanely powerful anime character. I think that's something that would connect with a lot of people. You know what's one of the hottest mangas / animes right now? It's Chainsaw Man. It's about a guy who can turn into a chainsaw-headed and chainsaw-wielding devil and all he wants to do is touch some titties. He gets puked into his mouth and swallows it. He is underaged yet an older woman asks him to do her. The story is rather bad, but everything is so over the top and fun that people love it. Sentry monologuing, tearing his face in half and KOing Thor with energy blast? People went crazy over that. Sentry snapping the neck of his literally-melting former sidekick? Count me in! Do it. Risk something. I want headlines like "Did Marvel go too far in Sentry #3?" For the love of God, write something actually interesting again, Marvel.

Rant over.

[Golden Guardian of Good]

The Sentry was a story about addiction, disassociation, anxiety and oppressive depression. The Void was all those things. It's all your intrusive thoughts come to terrible life, acting out as a manifestation of your inner most self loathing, resentments, and violent fantasies. If you've ever experienced intrusive thoughts, or know much about them, you know what I'm talking about. It's about being someone whos watching as others move forward while you fade into a distant shadow.

I'm not really sure how this new story will honor that, since it sounds very much like it's doubling down on the idea that the power of the Sentry is more interesting than Bob Reynolds, which is kind of offensive to me as a person with the some of the same constellation of mental troubles that Bob is frequently depicted as having. The sole hope is the talk about Bob's memories, here, but I'm not really convinced out the gate that they're going to go anywhere with this, especially with all this talk about 'changing everything we think we know about the Sentry'... yet /again/. Marvel won't care if it upsets us, of course. Rage-baiting is a time honored tradition, so I'll just wait, see, and state my disinterest in the direction when it comes to pass, if it comes to pass, and we'll leave it at that.

*sigh* Ah, well. To be a fan of the Sentry is to be eternally disappointed in how they've never been able to understand what to do with him. I hope that this is a step in the right direction... but I sorely doubt it.

I sympathize A LOT with the bolded...