When The Sentry first appeared in 2000, there were several gimmicks built around the character. The first was his false status as a forgotten Marvel Comics hero, which fed into all memory of him being erased in his new series. The other was that Robert Reynolds was also his own worst enemy and the villain called The Void. The character was adapted into the MCU in Thunderbolts, but a new Marvel series is taking Robert Reynolds back to basics.
The opening pages reintroduce The Sentry for the benefit of those who missed his original comics. He is newly returned home to Earth, to the relief of his fellow Avengers and his wife, Lindy. For all his power, he is also a brilliant scientist and counts Reed Richards as his best friend. However, he is also hiding the dark secret that his evil persona, The Void, has returned and is starting to tip the balance between them.
Strangely enough, The Void is accomplishing this with a twist on its usual MO. Before, The Void had to commit evil acts that balanced out all the good done by The Sentry. Now, it is targeting evil people who arguably deserve what happens to them. This is revealed as The Void confronts Wilson Fisk and informs the crime-boss that he will suffer greatly and lose everything before dying. Robert Reynolds is unaware of this, but he can sense the growing imbalance between his two selves.
New Sentry series as philosophical as the original
Beyond the gimmicks and powers, writer Paul Jenkins co-created The Sentry to explore the ideas of power and how it changes people. Ultimately, the story of Robert Reynolds is that of a man struggling with himself and what he fears becoming. It is also about (as editor Mark Paniccia notes in his afterword) “trying to be good in a world that constantly reminds him how easy it is not to be.”
Jenkins heads into similarly philosophical territory with this new Sentry series. The Void, in his first major effort to strike at Kingpin, sparks a tsunami to destroy a luxury resort owned by Wilson Fisk. However, he uses his powers to teleport the exploited workers to safety.
This is an unexpected act of mercy in the midst of an act of evil, but the meaning of the action is unclear. Is Robert Reynolds’ good side starting to influence his shadow self? Or is The Void trying to corrupt his alter-ego by forcing him to do dirty deeds to maintain their balance?
Christian Rosado proves a capable substitute for The Sentry’s artistic co-creator, Jae Lee. There is a deep sense of shadows edging into every panel of Rosado’s work. Visually, this is a perfect expression of Jenkins’ script and the idea that The Void is winning. However, there are some panels where the inks are a little too heavy and the colors by Matt Milla a little too muted. The art is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. However, it might have benefited the sequences with The Sentry to be a little brighter.
Those who have been fans of The Sentry since the beginning will love this new series. Those who haven’t will get a chance to see why this character became so beloved after the buzz around his gimmicks died down. This is a thoughtful deconstruction of the superhero genre that is well worth reading.
Grade: 8/10
The Sentry #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
