He’s often been written off as Marvel’s version of Superman, but the Sentry is much more than some simple carbon copy. He may have the cape and the godlike powers, but Marvel’s Golden Avenger is an entirely unique take on the superhero concept. In fact, he might just be the most fascinating superhero created in the 21st century.

The Sentry first appeared in his own self-titled miniseries in 2000 from creators Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, following up on their critically acclaimed revamp of the Inhumans published by the Marvel Knights imprint in the late 1990s.

The conceit of the original miniseries focuses on Robert Reynolds, a seemingly ordinary man who discovers that he’s actually the Sentry, the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe. To protect the world from his archenemy the Void, the Sentry erased his and everyone else’s memory of who he was, until the Void returned to threaten all of existence once more... or at least that's how it seems.

As part of the marketing push for his original series, Marvel originally pretended that Sentry was an old Stan Lee idea that never made it to the page, with his design meant to evoke the Silver Age of comics.

Sentry's Similarities to Superman Are a Deliberate Mislead

Marvel Played Up the 'Traditional Superhero' Image to Hide a Killer Twist

One of the selling points early on for the Sentry was the idea that he had been forgotten not just by the Marvel heroes, but by readers as well. As part of the marketing push for the original Sentry series, Marvel presented the hero as a lost concept by Stan Lee that never saw publication during the Silver Age. Marvel ran with the stunt for the entirety of that first Sentry series, only revealing it was a hoax after the series was completed. While a publicity gimmick, the notion that the Sentry was forgotten even in the real world added a layer of believability to the character.

During that initial series, Robert Reynolds re his past as the Sentry after the Void returns and threatens the Marvel Universe. It turns out that Reynolds first acquired his powers from a version of the Super-Soldier Serum derived from the original that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. Once he began fighting crime as the Sentry, he encountered another being of great power known as the Void, who soon became his arch-enemy. The series eventually reveals the reason Reynolds erased his and everyone else’s memories was that he and the Void are actually the same person, with the villain manifesting as the dark half of the Sentry’s psyche.

Bob took the enhanced Super-Soldier Serum while trying to get high, inverting the usual superhero origin where a normal person is transformed by a hostile outside force.

Presenting Sentry as a handsome, caped, flying, Superman-esque figure made the reveal of his dark half all the more shocking...

Presenting Sentry as a handsome, caped, flying, Superman-esque figure made the reveal of his dark half all the more shocking, while also making it more believable that he was a classic concept that was left on the cutting room floor. Sentry's similarity to Superman isn't accidental, but it's also not a rip-off - it's integral to the ambitious, metatextual approach Marvel took to the character's debut.

With the stunning revelation of the Void/Sentry connection, the original Sentry series became a fascinating examination of superhero psychology. The Sentry and the Void being two halves of the same coin acts as the perfect representation of the conflicted morals that exist in all of us, and also shows that - no matter how bright - every light casts a shadow. The original 2000 miniseries explores this concept through the veil of comic book history, with artist Jae Lee aping various artistic styles to represent different periods in comic book history. Writer Paul Jenkins continued to explore the Sentry’s psychological depths in the excellent sequel series with artist John Romita, Jr.

Marvel later developed the lore between Sentry and the Void, suggesting that while the Void identity was shaped by Bob's subconscious, it was also a pre-existing demonic parasite that attached to him when he first gained superpowers.

The Sentry & the Void: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Marvel’s Forgotten Hero is a Fascinating Psychological Portrait

After the original miniseries, the Sentry disappeared from Marvel Comics for a time. Yet when the Avengers franchise was rebooted as the New Avengers, the Sentry ed the team, becoming a prominent hero in the Marvel Universe once more. The Sentry appeared on and off in the years after, dying for the second and seemingly final time in battle with Knull during the King in Black crossover. Marvel revamped the concept in the 2023 Sentry miniseries, which saw Reynolds’ powers gifted to new hero Solarus.

So far, Solarus has shown no signs of having her own Void persona. However, she was opposed by the villainous Ryan Topper, who fought her for Sentry's powers. Currently, Solarus is being trained in her powers by veteran crime-fighter Misty Knight.

Constituting a psycho-analytic examination of the superhero concept, the Sentry has established himself as far more than simply the Marvel version of Superman.

Considering Bob Reynolds will be appearing in this summer’s Thunderbolts* movie, it's likely Marvel won’t keep the original Sentry dead for long. This could be an excellent opportunity to complete what original co-creator Paul Jenkins refers to as his Sentry trilogy, finally bringing the writer’s original ideas for the Sentry to life as he goes from hero to god. As the Sentry’s co-creator, the argument could be made that none of the other stories featuring the character by other writers have quite lived up to the psychological complexity of the two Sentry series written by Jenkins.

Constituting a psycho-analytic examination of the superhero concept, the Sentry has established himself as far more than simply the Marvel version of Superman. Indeed, Sentry can be seen as commenting on DC's Superman - a perfectly moral superhuman who is completely worthy of his limitless power. Sentry asks what would happen if that same person was imperfect, and liable to be destroyed by their own power.

Sentry engages with the superhero archetype that Superman created, but as far more than a mere clone or knock-off. Hopefully, Marvel has plans to bring their original Golden Guardian back sometime soon to further explore the depths of superhero psychology, but in the meantime, the Sentry’s original miniseries and its sequel stand out as bonafide Marvel classics.