Most people here know I'm a fan of the Sentry character, I like the concept and think he could be a good role in the Marvel Universe. However its becoming more and more clear that the writers don't know how to handle him. And every story involving the Might Avengers has someone messing with his mind in the first issue, and hes no longer a threat (except when he threw down with Ultron, which I enjoyed). Hes been a major part (the heavy hitter) of the Avengers or Might Avegers for 3 (4 including Secret Invasion) big Marvel events, and he hasn't played a significant role in any of them. Having a great concept is one thing, but not being able to do anything with it is another. When Might Avengers was announced,I'd hoped a book like that should really help show case him, it hasn't. So far hes been over shadowed by Ares, who's been written much better, and is (so far) a much more interesting character. Sadly, marvel has not 1) Give him his own book to help develop him as a full, 3D character as well as develop a rogue's gallary for him 2) Bothered to work him into their past contunity, even though he's susposed to have been a major part of it.

So what to do with him? I think just outright killing him and forgetting he existed is stupid when there is still potential there. However, I don't think Sentry has potential, The Void does. I'd like to see a story were the Sentry aspect of the character is lost, Sentry dies, however The Void takes over, perminatly. Then the Void would be/could be built up into a top villian in the universe.

One thing Marvel does better then DC is keep a pecking order, in terms of power level and who can/should be able to beat who, in tact (ie - Thor beats up Ironman, because he should be able too). However Marvel now has two god's (Thor, Ares) as two of their top heroes and finding villians who can pose a real, physical threat to heroes like that can be a challange. So for Sentry (and therefor the Void) has been shown to be at least on the same level as those guys, if not to be a little more powerful. Stories are alwas been when the villian is stronger then the hero, and Void would be stronger then just about every hero out there.

Personally, I think doing something among the lines of Planet Hulk with him might work. Not exactly the same but maybe for him to decide he needs to figure himself out and leave the marvel universe for a bit. Maybe do a mini-series where the Sentry travels dead space trying to figure himself out and goes into the cosmos with the Watcher,Living Tribunal,etc.
I think he would fit better in the cosmic hero role. What I liked about Marvel is that even though there is power houses like the Hulk, there is no hero that truly feels like the superman of marvel. Even though you see all types of bad asses you always know that if powers assemble, they can be stopped and typically not rely on just one hero.

Seriously, how the heck did you steal my idea? That is almost exactly how I imagined a title starring the Sentry would work.

Although now we're getting a mini-series about his early years written by Jeff Parker, so I guess we'll see how that turns out.

I don't like the cosmic stuff because its so......unrelevant. The characters in those books are just recreated and recreated to be more and more powerful, they deal with issues that are, generally, so far removed that its hard to care about them etc..... It also wouldn't really fit the character be out in space, why would he care? Hell, hes scared of wide, open areas, space would be the LAST place he'd go.

The character comes packaged with two personalities. Why does the Sentry have to be the dominate one? Like I said, its always more interesting when the villian is more powerful, and when we're talking about the Void......he'd pose a threat to every hero in teh marvel U, thats a villian I'd like to see running around.

Well if you have noticed the space stuff is begging to get bigger and a lot of fans are getting pretty excited about books like Nova and Guardians. Maybe it would be a good chance for marvel to REALLY push the space stuff by shoving the Sentry in there and tie it in to the mighty avengers.
Good point with him fearing open spaces.bBut about the open space and his problem, don't they say the best way to face your fears is to face them? he could just get some help from Dr. Strange, that guy is crazy.

I’ve never cared for the Sentry (in fact, I listed him in my Top Five Least Favorite Heroes in another thread), but I think Sluggo is right in many respects. There are two aspects I think need to be addressed to make Sentry workable.

First, his whole tie to Marvel’s past needs to be done away with. I know it’s been a defining part of the character to this point, but it’s probably the most blatant retcon opportunity this side of Brand New Day and Secret Invasion.

Second (and here is where I agree with Sluggo), he needs to be developed as a character more. As it is, we really don’t know that much about his personality, so when writers (I’m looking at you, Bendis!) go to him in the beginning of a story and find him paralyzed by doubt or fear and then return to him at the end of a story (when they’ve written themselves into a corner) for the deus ex machina to have him save the day (and themselves from their poor writing), it just seems forced. If we knew more about Sentry, what makes him tick, as readers we’d be in a much better position to judge when he’s being used in character and when writers are simply turning to him to bail themselves out. His weaknesses need to be developed so that we, the reader, know when he’s being used 'properly,' and that development would seem to hold the promise for all sorts of character-driven AND action-packed stories.

However, unlike Sluggo, I don’t seem why this cannot be accomplished in a team book with a good writer. After all, in the heyday of the Avengers (which for me was the 70s through the 80s), heroes such as the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and Hawkeye were developed into fully three-dimensional characters without having their own titles. With the right scribe at the helm, a character can be developed just as much through their interaction with other heroes as they can alone or through interaction with their own supporting cast.

Again, I’m probably never going to buy a Sentry solo title, but there’s still a lot of potential in the character from where I sit, and it’s a sad thing to see it go wasted or untapped.

Because if you're going to look at who he is as a character, you HAVE to explore his past in the Marvel U and the role he played. Remember, hes not susposed to be just another hero like Hawkeye or Vison, hes susposed to be THE hero of the Marvel U. The guy who showed the rest of them how to do it. When hes on the team that hes on, hes not going to shine the way he needs too, the focus can't/won't be constantly on him. He also needs his own rogues gallary. I wouldn't take him out of the Avengers book, but he needs time to shine in a solo book too.

The Sentry is a panzy cry baby. enough said.

In order to get Sentry acknowledged as being that ingrained in Marvel’s past, which has only really been done in his own two mini-series to date, you’d need buy-in from writers in all of the titles in which he would appear or be referenced which, absent a Quesada-level edict (and we know how well those usually go over), would seem to me to be a hard thing to accomplish.

In order for the Sentry to work in my book, he’s got to do two very difficult things: have limits and grow as a character. Part of the problem is that if he grows as a character, that almost certainly involves him overcoming his fears (of the Void, or open spaces, of whatever), which currently serve as the checks on his near-limitless power. If he gains unfettered disposal to all that power, one might reasonably ask why he doesn’t just get rid of all the villains, play god, and call it a day; if his mental blocks persist indefinitely, he doesn’t really grow, and Gilligan finishes the episode back on the island like every other week (if you’ll pardon the metaphor).

Upon reflection, however, I think there might actually be another route to go with Sentry, although you probably could not do it WITHOUT his own book. What if a smaller retcon was perpetrated, one where Sentry was now (again) the only person to remember his past exploits? Imagine how interesting it would be if he was still the only one who remembered the role he played in past history which, at this point, still isn’t that well-defined. Considering that he’s not exactly the most mentally well-adjusted person as it is, he might question his own memory and sanity. Maybe he remembers some of his past correctly, maybe some of it he just imagines, and all of it would probably leave the reader guessing as to what role he actually did play in history which, presumably, they would get to discover (and question) along with the Sentry as his series progressed. Maybe The Void, on the other hand, DOES remember the past correctly, and feeds that information to The Sentry, leaving him questioning whether the Void is portraying an accurate version of the past or misleading the Sentry for his own complex ends.

It's probably a bit of a departure from the original vision for The Sentry, but I'd argue it would make him a very interesting character, and maybe one writers would be more apt to use and/or to use in more creative ways. Just throwing it out there...

The Sentry is one of my favorite. A couple points:

1. The 1st and 2nd mini contradict the Mastermind back story in New Avengers.
2. He IS the most powerful in the Marvel U.

These things to me mean that his story is going to end in tragedy. We don't know his background. What we have is a bunch of partial truths. When these things begin to become clear a Planet Hulk like event will take place and Rob will have to kill himself to end the madness once and for all. Making retro stories like how he got Watchdog and the story behind his partner (what was his name? lost an arm and was working at the fast food place at the end of Series 1) would be cool and might be used to keep him going.What I really want to see is the Void to return and eliminate every Skrull on Earth

Scout, I think?

The Sentry is too much in the Superman rip-off corner for my flavor. Him, and Hyperion.

Can you really say that with a straight face considering what they constantly do with Wolverine?

Frankly, I think giving him an ongoing solo book and going the "Planet Hulk" route storywise is about the only thing that would redeem him. I'd also inculde some variation of The Hultquist's idea: given that Wolverine has his memory back, why not make it so that Sentry fills the Marvel Universe's "Hero with no real past" role? Make it so that he's the only one that remembers his past, and even that should be sketchy at best given his mental issues.

Actually, I'd prefer if we got some sort of retcon that wiped the second Sentry mini (the 8-ish one) out of continuity. I thought we were in a perfect place with the original series and the NA arc, without making Robert Reynolds into a delinquent jerk, The Void the actual dominant personality, and The Sentry some sort of schizophrenic guilt complex come to life. Sentry is best used as someone who's super-powerful physically, but weak and confused mentally. And a journey through the universe to find himself that leads to him coming back to Earth dedicated to straightening himself out and eliminating The Void would go a long way to restoring my interest in him.

Well, as he doesn't predate the Invaders or WW2, he can't be the hero that 'showed them how to do it'.

That's what the Invaders are/were. Similar to the JSA, they are the original guys who inspired generations.

He's also definitely not the most powerful. The current Thor or Silver Surfer easily out class him in every respect.

While I would prefer him being written off, I do think a cosmic journey is about all you can do to salvage him as a character. Write him into the Annihilation works, let him fly around space for a while, build up some confidence, and then let him come back to Earth.

I also think they need to do away with 'he was there at all the pivotal points thing, make that all something false (Void trying to warp reality or something). It just doesn't work.