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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sentry is not a hoax! He's not a lie!, December 16, 2005
This review is from: The Sentry (Paperback)
Rob Reynolds wakes up in the middle of the night sensing the return of the greatest enemy he has ever faced - The Void. It has been quite a while since Rob has donned the blue and gold costume of the Sentry and his recollection of his spandex wearing days are sketchy at best. He even doubts the validity of these memories but when the Void takes over the body of his dog, Rob decides that the Sentry must come out of retirement to thwart the plans of his arch-rival.
The truth of the matter may be that Rob is merely a delusional ex-alcoholic who has receded back into the bottle or, even worse, is simply going mad. And the secret potion that Sentry needs to gain powers could very well be some good old Tennessee whiskey that happens to make Rob "fly". Could Sentry be the imagination of a deranged, middle-aged man? Jenkins keeps you guessing.
Jae Lee once again demonstrates his unique penciling style which made the Inhumans maxiseries a fan favorite. For Sentry, Lee has added some extra moodiness, along with an imitation of the Don Heck Avengers era. I must say I had a good laugh at the "Dark Knight Returns" homage as the professor tries to warn Sentry about the prolonged usage of the serum. As I was reading this book, the premise and feel of the story reminded me very much of the classic Miracleman series by Alan Moore, although Jenkins' script borrows little else from that title.
Sentry may not be groundbreaking but nevertheless, it is a worth while read although many fans still retain a grudge for the hoax surrounding this project. I believe it is one of the best media stunts ever to get people excited about a comic book. Oh well....
Review by Brian Grindrod
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing a strange kind of sense to the Marvel Universe, January 22, 2006
This review is from: The Sentry (Paperback)
Who is the Sentry?
Rob Reynolds. An alcoholic, who can't hold on to his job or even his wife. No one cares about Rob Reynolds. And then one night, he remembers. He used to be a hero. The Sentry. The Golden Guardian of Good!
No sooner does he remember his past than his greatest enemy, the greatest threat to the entire universe emerges-- the Void.
But even though the Sentry is back, he's still alone. His wife wants nothing to do with him; she dismisses his words as another alcoholic relapse- and the rest of the world has forgotten him, just like he forgot himself.
Rob lets his wife go and takes his serum, the source of his power. He is the Sentry again.
From there, he finds his best friend, Reed Richards. Even the Fantastic Four have forgotten Reynolds. Why? Reynolds even questions himself. Is he crazy?
The greatest value of this book is its look into the other heroes of the Marvel Universe. Namely The Hulk, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and Angel of the X-men. The Sentry is something to all of these. Even the greatest heroes have admiration for the Sentry.
Who is he to the Hulk? Believe it or not, a protector. The Hulk is a small, wounded child, and the Sentry is his friend. He calms him, helps him get over the sheer animalistic rage that rules his life. He's the Hulk's 'Golden Man'.
To the Fantastic Four, he is Reed Richard's greatest friend. The unfailing hero, the Sentry. An unstoppable force who pulls the Four out of the fire. The man on par with Richards' own intelligence and leadership.
To Spiderman, a mentor. He knows who Peter Parker is, and shows him his potential. He gives him a pulitzer prize, letting him take the only picture of the Sentry ever taken. Revealing his identity to the world.
Beyond his effect on the other heroes we know, the Sentry is still a valuable addition to Marvel. He's not your average hero. His power comes from a heroin-like addiction to the Serum which gives him power. His marriage is failing, and he can't hold a job. His boy-wonder is decapitated and blinded after an encounter with the Void. He's a human being, like you and me.
Five stars isn't enough for this book.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
How the Sentry Got Started..., July 26, 2005
This review is from: The Sentry (Paperback)
Well, now that Marvel Comics is in a mood to shake things up in their cozy li'l universe, it seems that the Avengers as we have known them are...no more! The Scarlet Witch had a bit of a bad day and in the ensuing carnage, several heroes died, and the survivors had no stomach for continuing as a team.
Of course, that lasted about 18 pico-seconds before Captain America and Iron Man started to form a new team, featuring a rather unlikely lineup of A-listers and "Oh, yeah...I remember her!"-types. And it looks like one of the new members will be none other than...the Sentry!
The who? Why, surely you remember Earth's mightiest hero! Stronger than the Hulk! Smarter than Reed Richards! Faster than...uh...Quicksilver! More sorcerousful than...well, no. But the Sentry is the most uber-est hero that ever was, the pioneer for all the lesser lights that would follow, the very first metahuman, an inspiration to the Fantastic Four and every crimefighter that came along after his debut. He's got this huge super-Baxter Building HQ in downtown Manhattan, a pet AI, and a sidekick! Surely you must recall him now?
No? Well, as it turns out, the Sentry was TOO good to be believed, because of course shadows can't exist without light, and since he blazed like a supernova, he created the vastest shadow of all. While that analogy was just no good at all, the point is that his arch-nemesis was necessarily the most vile and unstoppable supervillain ever, a veritable force of nature that was unstoppable. And since his eternal nemesis could not exist without him, the solution was simple: the Sentry had to die. Or at least be forgotten. And so Dr. Strange cast a global "Forget the Sentry" spell to cast him into oblivion, and everyone mentally rewrote history to have all his deeds attributed to others.
This collection, then, is his saga. And...it's pretty hokey. The whole storyline basically seems to have been born from an idea for a publicity stunt--"Let's retcon a new hero into existence and make him the first and the mightiest!" And the details were hung from that skeletal idea, rather than arising organically from the need to tell a compelling and original story that couldn't be expressed any other way. It's more or less the desperate equivalent of stunt casting, where an ailing sitcom bags some mid-range celebrity to appear in a single episode in a bid to shore up ratings. The actual story is irrelevant; all that matters is drawing eyeballs to see the slumming movie star. Sort of the same thing here--look at this weird idea we had! It might not be great, but it's different! And while I'm all for a bold approach, this concept just really doesn't merit more than a one-shot "What If?" issue.
Nevertheless, the Sentry may now be firmly re-embedded in the Marvel Universe, so if you want to get caught up on the original backstory (before it get rebooted into a new configuration in the current Avengers title), this is where you have to go.
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