Meet the Sentry, a Golden Guardian with a Dark Twist

Empowered by the Golden Sentry Serum, Robert Reynolds seemed destined to become one of the galaxy's brightest stars—but his fantastic abilities also unleashed the Void, a dark force within him that threatened the entire universe. In a desperate effort to stop the Void, the Sentry made the world forget his heroic history. However, Sentry's secrets eventually came to light, and the Golden Guardian took his place among the Avengers, where world-shaking battles tested his limitless power.  

Despite his impressive abilities, Sentry perished, never fully escaping the shadow of the Void. Now, let's look back at the life, death, and strange rebirth of the Sentry, as the Sentry's power finds new hosts in SENTRY (2023) #1 by Jason Loo, Luigi Zagaria, Arthur Hesli, and VC's Joe Caramagna.

THE SENTRY'S ORIGIN

Originally billed as a lost Marvel hero from decades earlier, the Sentry debuted in SENTRY (2000) #1 by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. A few years after the Super-Soldier Serum turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, Project: Sentry emerged as a program dedicated to making a stronger Super-Soldier Serum. While looking for illicit substances, a young Robert Reynolds broke into one of the project's labs and consumed the Golden Sentry Serum. As the formula pushed his molecules slightly out of sync with reality, Reynolds developed numerous abilities, including a genius intellect, Hulk-like super-strength, faster-than-light speed, and molecule-manipulating powers that made him one of the strongest beings in the universe. 

The Sentry began operating as a hero shortly before the emergence of the Fantastic Four. In between his adventures with Mister Fantastic, the Hulk, and the X-Men, Reynolds married Lindy Lee, recruited Billy Turner as his sidekick Scout, and established a Watchtower in Manhattan. 

The Sentry also encountered the Void, his monstrous alter ego and Reynolds' dark counterpart, who launched a devastating attack on New York that left scores of people dead. While the Void's true origins remain unrevealed, this malevolent force may have roots as a cosmic entity that bonded to the Sentry or be the ultimate result of a psychic virus created by the X-Men villain Mastermind. Once the Sentry realized the Void was his dark counterpart, he worked with Reed Richards and Doctor Strange to erase his memory and all evidence of his existence from the world, which also erased the Void.  

By the time Reynolds reached middle age, his heroic legacy had been entirely forgotten. But as his memories slowly started returning, the Void resurfaced and tore through a group of European heroes. To stop the Void, Reynolds reunited with his old allies and restored their memories of him before erasing all knowledge of his existence again in THE SENTRY/THE VOID (2001) #1 by Jenkins and Lee.

THE SENTRY'S RETURN

When the Sentry regained his memories and powers again, he started playing a more active role in the Marvel Universe as a member of the New Avengers. After coming to believe he had killed his wife, Reynolds asked to be held in the Raft, a maximum security prison designed for superhumans. While Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman investigated his situation at the prison, Electro staged a massive jailbreak that freed dozens of villains in NEW AVENGERS (2004) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch. 

As Carnage attacked the heroes on the Raft, Nelson convinced Reynolds to save his friends. The Sentry pummeled the symbiote villain and flew him into Earth's upper atmosphere, where he tore him in half, in NEW AVENGERS (2004) #2 by Bendis and Finch.

Following this battle, Captain America, Spider-Man, and the other heroes responding to the situation came together as the New Avengers, while the Sentry went on the run. Still questioning Sentry's identity and history, Captain America and Iron Man unsuccessfully confronted him in NEW AVENGERS (2004) #7 by Bendis and Steve McNiven. When Reynolds used his powers, he subconsciously unleashed the Void, who attacked the New Avengers and X-Men. 

With intense telepathic guidance from Emma Frost, the Sentry recovered his lost memories, made the Void disappear, and joined the New Avengers in NEW AVENGERS (2004) #10 by Bendis and McNiven. The Sentry became a celebrated hero, and his Watchtower reemerged atop Stark Tower. 

However, Reynolds struggled to reconcile the aspects of his civilian identity, the Sentry persona, and the Void within himself, so he began working with a psychologist in THE SENTRY (2005) #1 by Paul Jenkins and John Romita Jr. After coming to understand his nature and the Void's connections to him, the Sentry threw the Void into the Sun.

THE SENTRY AND THE AVENGERS

As a central member of the Avengers, the Sentry played roles in several significant events that firmly established him as a crucial part of the Marvel Universe. During CIVIL WAR, for instance, the Sentry tried to avoid the conflict by reuniting with the Inhumans on the Moon; however, Iron Man ultimately drafted him onto his Pro-Registration side. 

After the Sentry helped Iron Man apprehend Wolverine, he joined Iron Man's government-sanctioned Avengers team in MIGHTY AVENGERS (2007) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho. With this team, the Sentry faced off against villains like Ultron and Doctor Doom, helped stop a symbiote invasion, and continued to discover the limits of his powers, including the apparent ability to resurrect the recently deceased.

The Sentry played a major role in WORLD WAR HULK, where a vengeful Hulk declared war on the Illuminati members who tried to exile him to outer space. Initially, the Sentry hesitated to get involved, even after a battle between the Hulk and Iron Man destroyed his Watchtower. But when the Hulk forced Mister Fantastic and Iron Man to fight to the death in gladiatorial combat, the Sentry emerged and confronted his old friend in WORLD WAR HULK (2007) #4 by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. 

In the ensuing battle, the Sentry and the World-Breaker Hulk unleashed their full power against each other, destroying part of Manhattan. After exhausting almost all of their power, the Sentry and the Hulk returned to their human forms and collapsed in WORLD WAR HULK (2007) #5 by Pak and Romita Jr.

HOW THE SENTRY DIED

The Sentry started experiencing psychological issues with the Void again, which drove him to isolate himself from his friends and fellow heroes. Then, when Norman Osborn began assembling his own Avengers team, he manipulated the Sentry into joining in DARK AVENGERS (2009) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr. 

After Osborn gave the Sentry another dose of the Golden Sentry Serum, the Void returned and agreed to work for Osborn. As the Sentry carried out Osborn's orders, the Void began to assert more control over the hero, especially when he faced off against the Molecule Man and tried to incinerate himself in the Sun. 

When Osborn launched a war on Asgard—which was floating over the city of Broxton, Oklahoma at the time—the Void-possessed Sentry led the charge against the Norse gods starting in SIEGE (2009) #1 by Bendis and Olivier Coipel. On Osborn's orders, the Sentry ripped Ares in half before reducing Asgard to ruins. 

After the Void led the Sentry through a brutal battle against the Avengers and Thor, Reynolds reasserted himself and asked the heroes to kill him in SIEGE (2009) #4 by Bendis and Coipel. Although they initially refused, Thor killed the Sentry when the Void regained control of his body, and the God of Thunder subsequently flew the Sentry's body into the Sun to keep the Void from regenerating.

THE SENTRY'S AFTERLIFE

Despite Thor's best efforts, both the Sentry and the Void eventually returned. Following a cycle of death and rebirth within the Sun, the Sentry was resurrected by the Apocalypse Twins as their new Horseman of Death in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2012) #9 by Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña. 

After assisting the Avengers, the Sentry turned to Doctor Strange, who helped him overcome the Twins' influence and built a pocket dimension inside his mind called Sentry World. By going into Sentry World once a day, Reynolds could keep the Void at bay. But after the Sentry's sidekick, Scout, broke into Sentry World as part of a plan to take his old partner's power, the Sentry merged with the Void and killed Scout in THE SENTRY (2018) #4 by Jeff Lemire,  Kim Jacinto, and Joshua Cassara.

On the advice of Mister Fantastic, the Sentry traveled to the Negative Zone to separate himself from the Void. Although they successfully separated, the Void became the leader of the Cancerverse's Scourge, and the Sentry briefly merged with the Silver Surfer to stop the invasion force. The Sentry stopped the Void by merging with him again in ANNIHILATION - SCOURGE OMEGA (2019) #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Manuel Garcia. 

When the Sentry was called back to Earth, he encountered Knull—the dark god that created the symbiotes—who tore the hero in half and absorbed the Void in KING IN BLACK (2020) #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Valkyrie (Jane Foster) helped the Sentry's spirit move on to the afterlife, and Sorcerer Supreme Clea and Doctor Strange stopped his corpse from being used to host a million angry ghosts.

While Reynolds' time as the Sentry may be over, his abilities are changing the world again as they manifest in a new generation of heroes and villains. See the Sentry's powers reborn in SENTRY (2023) #1 by Jason Loo, Luigi Zagaria, Arthur Hesli, and VC's Joe Caramagna!

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