THE SENTRY (Robert Reynolds, aka The Void)
Created By: Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee & Rick Veitch
First Appearance: The Sentry #1 (Sept. 2000)
Role: The Wesley (writers love him, fans hate him), Supermanalogue, Flying Brick, Top-Tier Guy
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, The Triune Understanding, The Skrull Kill Krew, The Agents of Atlas
Avengers Grade: B-Level (powerful, but crazy)
PL 15 (275)
STRENGTH 19 STAMINA 18 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS -2 PRESENCE -2
Skills:
Intimidation 16 (+14)
Perception 6 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Radiation) 4 (+10)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Crushing Pin, Improved Grab, Interpose, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Takedown
Powers:
`The Power of a Million Exploding Suns
Power Lifting 5 (800,000 tons) [5]
Impervious Toughness 21 [21]
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]
Super-Senses 8 (Extended Hearing 5, Microvision, Analytical Vision 2) [8]
Regeneration 10 [10]
"Power of a Million Exploding Suns"
"Radiation Control" Blast 19 (Feats: Split, Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 7) (48) -- [58]
- AE: Damage 15 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Penetrating) (45)
- AE: Environment 5 (Light) (10)
- AE: Dazzle Visuals 13 (Extras: Area-Burst) (Flaws: Touch Range) (26)
- AE: Healing 10 (Extras: Resurrection) (30)
"Super-Strength Feats" - AE: "Thunderclap" Dazzle Hearing 12 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Touch Range, Distracting) (24)
- AE: "Groundstrike" Affliction 15 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Burst +3) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Ground) Linked to Damage 12 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (25)
- AE: "Groundstrike Line" Affliction 15 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Line +3) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Ground) Linked to Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (25)
- AE: "Shockwave" Damage 15 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Both Grounded) (30)
- AE: "Super-Breath" Move Object 14 (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2) (Flaws: Limited to One Direction) (28)
- AE: Penetrating Strength Damage 15 (15)
Dynamic AE: "Super-Speed" Speed 8 & Quickness 8 (17)
Dynamic AE: Deflect (Ranged Projectiles) 12 (13)
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+19 Damage, DC 34)
Radiation Control +10 (+19 Ranged Damage, DC 34)
Radiation +15 Area (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Super-Strength Feats +15 (+15 Affliction, DC 25)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +18 (+11 Impervious), Fortitude +18, Will +5
Complications:
Normal Identity (Robert Reynolds)- Robert occasionally loses the Sentry's power.
Enemy (The Void)- Who is actually Robert.
Relationship (Wife)
Involuntary Transformation (The Void)
Vulnerable (Mental Attacks & Control)
Total: Abilities: 90 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 146 / Defenses: 12 (275)
The Sentry- Patron Saint of Shitty Stories:
-There are many terrible characters throughout the history of comic books, but only a few can boast the fact that their sheer shittiness can destroy EVERY story in which they find themselves. Among them is Robert Reynolds, The Sentry.
-The Sentry's most interesting point is the "hoax" that was core to his creation- he was billed in Wizard Magazine and other sources as the supposed "Lost" Marvel hero of the early '60s- created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, but mothballed and forgotten about. Stan was interviewed saying he just felt "too powerful". So we saw random sketches, supposed covers, etc., for this yellow-clad Supermanalogue kind of Flying Brick hero, which Marvel now planned to put to creative use in a Limited Series called The Sentry, written by Paul Jenkins. HOWEVER, this was just a clever ploy- Marvel & Wizard hyping the crap out of his Limited Series run, and it seemed to work for the most part, even once the reveal came out. Now, plenty of comics fans know who Sentry is. Trouble is, very few like him. If it was JUST the limited series or two, it'd have been fine, but now Marvel basically suddenly had a GIANT Superman rip-off appearing in books on a regular basis, overpowering every team, and generally just being a lame character whose main job is to throw tantrums and whine about how much his life sucks, while showing off how powerful he is- the worst aspects of "Power Geeking", which consist of him easily hammering on people. Unfortunately, the writers are absolutely entranced with having a full-time Supermanalogue. "Writing my own version of Superman", without the "shackles" of continuity or editors (translation: "I can make him an asshole!"), is so fascinating to them- so even while Sentry's books tend not to sell that great, he inundates all the other books. I hate The Sentry.
The Sentry's History:
-The Sentry's some dude who was the "Greatest Hero Ever" in the old days, living this ideailstic "Mary Sue" life- he was great pals with Reed Richards & the Hulk, helped out Spider-Man, and slept with Rogue (whom he could touch). However, it slowly came to light that his arch-nemesis, the Void (who could permanently wreck people by creating fear and hopelessness within them) was actually split off from his own mind and body by his powers. The Void would doom the entire human race, so the hard decision was made to wipe the minds of everyone on Earth (including his own), leaving him forgotten. That was kind of it- this big tragedy, if a bit Retcon-y. I mean, I strongly dislike "Everything you know is WRONG!" stories, but at least this one doesn't really F up the status quo.
-Unfortunately, Brian Michael Bendis decided to make him a central character in his Avengers update- it was a true Superteam, sure (adding Spidey & Wolverine to the Cap & Iron Man backbone of the team, then sticking in a high-profile minority and female character with links to his fave books from the '70s), but adding the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe was fraught with peril. Bendis was allowed to indulge some of his worst habits- showing people being giant screw-ups (Robert Reynolds had become a depressed failure of a writer with a bad relationship with his wife, and was riddled with mental illness), and showing people winning fights in rapid fashion, without any thought to tactics or methods- just people reacting to stuff.
-The Sentry overwhelmed many stories, got a new mini-series by Jenkins (where he grows "lackadaisical" about taking his medication), and it's revealed that the Void was created due to the machinations of Mastermind (in a big rip-off of The Dark Phoenix Saga). Finally he fights the Void and throws it into the sun, despite knowing he'll never entirely be rid of it. He grows increasingly hostile and full of rage on Norman Osborn's "Dark Avengers", immediately ripping off Morgan Le Fay's head when the team confronts her. However, she regenerates and kills him- then he's revealed to be pretty well immortal by just popping up at home-base, then does the same thing when the Molecule Man disperses him. He and the Void are separated, and then Bendis finally re-writes Robert's origin story: He was just some junkie in need of a fix, and drank an attempt at recreating the Super-Soldier Serum (but 100,000 times more powerful)- thus turning him into a royal f*ck-up from the very beginning. Finally, he murders Ares, then is casually killed off during Siege by a returning Thor, after the Void is fully-released.
-And then... the character just disappears? Why'd he never regenerate from THAT? I dunno, but Thor wraps his remains in a cape and throws them into the sun. He's later used as a mind-controlled goon in an Uncanny Avengers story-arc that also used Banshee and a couple others like that, so it's clear people didn't think much of him once Bendis was through.
The Sentry's Suckiness:
-So why was this character SO BAD? Well, he comes off as a combination of Excessively Complex and Utterly Boring- he got a ton of Origin Stories, acted like a loon, yet has no compelling internal characterization- he's just a collection of mental illnesses rather than a complete CHARACTER, especially as all the retcons set in and he was now just some druggie. His very presence would overwhelm stories because he was more powerful than everyone else on his team by far, and then they started pulling "Oh, he can't die" stuff- it was like he was created just to win fights on BattleBoards. That Bendis seemed absolutely besotted with the character while everyone else didn't really care made it all the worse- I remember people raging against the Sentry's use constantly back in the day, but NOPE- Bendis loved him so much he'd show up on even the evil Avengers roster.
-But yeah- people like The Sentry just... DOMINATE their stories. You can't simply ignore or avoid someone who's that insanely powerful AND crazy- he either starts ranting openly, or he just pulls a "Goku" and wipes out the enemy because he's the best. It's irritating- at least with MOST awful characters you can simply ignore them or get issues where they're not so omnipresent, but not so with The Sentry. Add in the fact that it seems like Marvel Writers are just jealous of DC for having Superman and wanting to do "Superman Stuff" with him, and you've got something worse- I consider it a great advantage that Marvel never really had a "Superman"- that One True Powerhouse above all others, to whom everyone looked at as some kind of paragon. Marvel was grittier and things were more of a broad level, rather than so focused on one guy. The Sentry ruined all that.
The Sentry's Might:
-What's scariest about this build is that it's modern-day, emo & whiny, low-Will Save Retard Sentry, and not the 'elite' Silver Age version. Yeah, his CRAPPY version takes up 287 points. He's got pretty much all sorts of damaging effects, and more power than any build I've done in 3e aside from the uber-Hulks and Cosmic Beings. He's just extra powerful all around, and really boring to build. Flying Bricks like this are generally easy to stat, given that they're so generic that EVERYONE'S done enough builds of them to make half this crap default. *yawn* Next build.
The Void contains some additions to The Sentry's moveset:
Morph 4 [20]
"Shapeshift" Variable 10 (Includes Massive Strength & Blast Boosts) [70]
"Infini-Tendrils" Blast 16 (Extras: Will Damage) [48]
Plus maybe some Weather Control-type stuff. As a whole, The Void is likely PL 18 or something insane like that- he can hold off dozens of superhumans at once, has beaten The Hulk in seconds, and is basically unstoppable.