Sentry Appreciation 2024 - The Man with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns

[MasterDebater1]

In fairness, Marvel has a number of characters that started out as a great premise only to collapse into sheer, nonsensical WTF-ery after the introductory series. Some of those characters probably should have been held to a simple "What If?" graphic novel and then properly shelved. It's ok to end on a high note and leave fans wanting more. Watching writers trying to figure out what to do with those characters now is like witnessing a blind person behind the wheel of a Formula 1 race car as they try to navigate the serpentine turn at the Monaco Grand Prix. This won't end well, for driver, auto or viewing audience.

That's cool and all, but the problem with Sentry is that he can be a good character that can sell comics and have good stories that can capture audiences attention and get new fans, one only needs to look at issues that focues on Sentry during Dark Avengers, Siege, and his own runs from Vol 1-3 to see that, it's just Marvel has no clue what to do with him, which I consider pretty stupid when I see literal fans and randoms write stories about The Sentry a hundred times better than what Marvel has been spewing out, one only needs to look at Enzeru's draft which can be found on the KMC Sentry respect thread.

[JudicatorPrime]

That's cool and all, but the problem with Sentry is that he can be a good character that can sell comics and have good stories that can capture audiences attention and get new fans, one only needs to look at issues that focues on Sentry during Dark Avengers, Siege, and his own runs from Vol 1-3 to see that, it's just Marvel has no clue what to do with him, which I consider pretty stupid when I see literal fans and randoms write stories about The Sentry a hundred times better than what Marvel has been spewing out, one only needs to look at Enzeru's draft which can be found on the KMC Sentry respect thread.

Such is the agony (and trauma) of being a Marvel fan. Just when you think they've finally created a character that you actually like, they figure out a way to bollocks it. Then it's back into the waiting room you go...either to wait for them to fix what they've broken, or to create a new character or storyline worthy of your time and ducats.

[MasterDebater1]

Such is the agony (and trauma) of being a Marvel fan. Just when you think they've finally created a character that you actually like, they figure out a way to bollocks it. Then it's back into the waiting room you go...either to wait for them to fix what they've broken, or to create a new character or storyline worthy of your time and ducats.

They've had 20 years to do something with the Sentry and they've either hit gold like Sentry's own run from Vol 1-3 or mid like Bendis during his New Avengers and Might Avengers incarnations, where he portrayed to be bit of a glass cannon.

Another thing I forgot to mention, but I heard that the Dr Strange issues back from 2015 that included the Sentry actually went to second printing, People are interested in the Sentry, it's just Marvel don't have a clue what to do, which is something from their end not being creative enough

[Wildling]

Part of the issue is this series was only 4 issues, the Jenkins series were twice longer with much more happening in them, at 5 issues the Lemire series did feel shorter but still consequential, and tied to previous comics (Uncanny Avengers, Doctor Strange) that didn't left as bitter a taste like what happened in King in Black. Maybe at least they could have months to wonder what to do next because Mallory being underground in the ACD should be her equivalent to Bob flying off into space. Returning during an ensemble comic like Uncanny Avengers, not centered only around her, might be her best option.

[Tendrin]

They've relied on the 'he's mentally unstable so you just never know what's going to happen next!", which is to be fair a valid way to drum up sales/interest. Marvel is a business, first and foremost.

Like I said: I don't expect Solarus to have anywhere near that kind of impact.

And, yeah. The Loo mini could have been way better with more room to breathe, but I think even if it had been listed as long, the lack of interest people had in the Sentry as a legacy mantle was pretty obvious. Add on top of that that you're gonna take a metatextual character like Bob, make his replacement a black disabled woman which is intself practically a meme at this point, his opponent a white and blond kid who acts like the most toxic of Sentry's fanboys, and *never* once directly interrogate the premise beyond the most shallow ways possible?

Come on now.

Also, so very, very tired of Marvel treating the Void as something other than Bob Reynolds. The Void is Bob! That's the entire point! It's the version of himself he sees when he looks in the mirror, the 'mirror of his soul', the voice in the head of every depressed person that casts themselves in the worst possible light and rewrites every decision they've made to be as selfish and awful as possible. Good grief.

[Wildling]

I have a feeling drawing on the second Sentry miniseries might produce better results now, even if it might take a deeply involved and knowledgeable writer to make it work.

[Tendrin]

I dunno, man. We've been left with SUCH a mess.

I don't expect us to see a lot from it anytime soon.

[Wildling]

I dunno, man. We've been left with SUCH a mess.

I don't expect us to see a lot from it anytime soon.

In a better world that mini should be mandatory reading for any writer wanting to tackle a Sentry project. It's all about Sentry's relationship with the Void and his place in the modern superhero community.

[MasterDebater1]

https://www.reddit.com/r/sentry/s/cxWHBXb1PH


All Sentry fans should support this creator, he's making an unofficial comic called the Superior Sentry

[ENTRYS]

Random thoughts to keep the discussions going:

A) You know how Jason Loos Skinwalkers book had diversity sensibility readers? Why didn't they have white sensibility readers or sensibility readers for mental health related stuff?

This way we had one single white guy in the story and he was an irredemable villain. And you had a group of diverse people ganging up on him and "taking back what he he stole from them". Where is the sesibility reading there?
And don't let me even get started on the disrespect shown towards characters affected by mental health issues.

B) I am a firm believer that Donnie Cates had originally killed Sentry (despite being fully aware of his immortality) because he wanted him to appear in Thor comics while he was still writing them. He teased as much during an interview / Tweet. But then Donny had his "crash".

Fun fact: Wanna know the real reason Sentry died and couldn't resurrect himself?

It's because SENTRY IS A CAT, BRO and had used up all of his nine lives:

1. Molecule Man made him explode,
2. Molecule Man made him explode again,
3. Molecule Man ripped him apart,
4. Morgana Le Fay erased him from time,
5. His wife shot him in the head with a de-atomizer,
6. He burnt down to a skeleton inside the sun,
7. Thor killed him with lightning and tossed his corpse into the sun,
8. Thor smashed his brains in one of their Uncanny Avengers fights,
9. Knull ripped him apart and absorbed his dark half.

There you go. The 9th Bobcat life.

C) I'm also a firm believer that Sentry being dead right now is so that they can align his return with what will be teased in the upcoming MCU Thunderbolts trailers. I don't think they will retcon Sentrys origin but they might have AIM hold Sentrys corpse captive and constantly drain its energy to power up their weapons. Which would somehow prevent Sentry from fully regenerating. Especially with Mallory Sue owning some of his energy as well. So he is dispersed all over the place right now and can't manifest.
Thunderbolts Spoiler: They're currently filming scenes in a bunker where the team will find a captive Sentry.

I fully expect Sentry to get a new book shortly before or after the movie comes out. No way Marvel isn't gonna try to do something comicbooky with the main antagonist of the movie.

[Tendrin]

Yeah, it's pretty clear Cates had plan and that plan got abandoned when he had his TBI.

[MasterDebater1]

Random thoughts to keep the discussions going:

A) You know how Jason Loos Skinwalkers book had diversity sensibility readers? Why didn't they have white sensibility readers or sensibility readers for mental health related stuff?

This way we had one single white guy in the story and he was an irredemable villain. And you had a group of diverse people ganging up on him and "taking back what he he stole from them". Where is the sesibility reading there?
And don't let me even get started on the disrespect shown towards characters affected by mental health issues.

B) I am a firm believer that Donnie Cates had originally killed Sentry (despite being fully aware of his immortality) because he wanted him to appear in Thor comics while he was still writing them. He teased as much during an interview / Tweet. But then Donny had his "crash".

Fun fact: Wanna know the real reason Sentry died and couldn't resurrect himself?

It's because SENTRY IS A CAT, BRO and had used up all of his nine lives:

1. Molecule Man made him explode,
2. Molecule Man made him explode again,
3. Molecule Man ripped him apart,
4. Morgana Le Fay erased him from time,
5. His wife shot him in the head with a de-atomizer,
6. He burnt down to a skeleton inside the sun,
7. Thor killed him with lightning and tossed his corpse into the sun,
8. Thor smashed his brains in one of their Uncanny Avengers fights,
9. Knull ripped him apart and absorbed his dark half.

There you go. The 9th Bobcat life.

C) I'm also a firm believer that Sentry being dead right now is so that they can align his return with what will be teased in the upcoming MCU Thunderbolts trailers. I don't think they will retcon Sentrys origin but they might have AIM hold Sentrys corpse captive and constantly drain its energy to power up their weapons. Which would somehow prevent Sentry from fully regenerating. Especially with Mallory Sue owning some of his energy as well. So he is dispersed all over the place right now and can't manifest.
Thunderbolts Spoiler: They're currently filming scenes in a bunker where the team will find a captive Sentry.

I fully expect Sentry to get a new book shortly before or after the movie comes out. No way Marvel isn't gonna try to do something comicbooky with the main antagonist of the movie.

A) It's clear to me that Marvel do not have much love for Bob Reynolds, now whether it's because he's white, or if he doesn't fit into the ESG mold of diversity, or they don't know what to do with him and think replacing him with someone way less less complex would sell more(most likely), I do not know, but it is very clear to me that Marvel don't actually know much about one of their own characters, 20 years and we've barely gone anywhere with him, at least writers like Bendis tried to do something with him, even if it didn't end up doing well. They should've found a writer who was passionate and into Sentry lore, or find a generational writer like Lemire to write a full on run and see how it goes.

B) Even if Cates did have something planned, I personally don’t think it would’ve done well or really progressed his character in any way shape or form with the disgraceful way he handled Sentry’s ‘death’. Him leaving might’ve been the worst thing that happened for us Sentry fan’s tho, I can’t disagree with that.
Also the “cat has nine lives” stuff is funny, but it just looks like Cates wanted Sentry for something, and he didn’t get to finish.

C)I do not know how Sentry died, and it looks like we are never going to know. At this point, I wished he just stayed in limbo for another near decade than the way hes being used now.

[Golden_Guardian]

Barring some incredible update regarding The Sentry, I am firmly of the opinion that they should've just left him be after his original mini. Jenkins did a decent job with the follow-up circa New Avengers OG, but really, the character has just been so horribly mishandled. Age of Sentry was kitsch in it's own way, and Lemire's mini was a very promising foundation on which to develop the character. But for every opportunity to really kick on with the character over the past 2+ decades, those chances have been fumbled. One after another.

[MasterDebater1]

Barring some incredible update regarding The Sentry, I am firmly of the opinion that they should've just left him be after his original mini. Jenkins did a decent job with the follow-up circa New Avengers OG, but really, the character has just been so horribly mishandled. Age of Sentry was kitsch in it's own way, and Lemire's mini was a very promising foundation on which to develop the character. But for every opportunity to really kick on with the character over the past 2+ decades, those chances have been fumbled. One after another.

I personally don't believe that, He's had his moments during Dark Avengers, and his own runs except Volume 4 were all bangers and Siege showed the absolute power and badassery he was capable of if he was unimpeded, This is just Marvel being retarded with their marketing and who they let write the Sentry, if Jed Mckay was writing Sentry Volume 4 instead of Jason Loo, we'd be having very different conversations about Sentry Volume 4.

[Tendrin]

Sadly, Jed can't write everything -- but I've told him I want to see him take on Sentry on social media at least once. xD