All throughout November, guest writers will be weighing in on fandom, specifically guest writers who identify strongly with characters, teams, or franchises online. Each piece will feature a personal look at why a writer gravitates to a character, what keeps their interest, and — most importantly — a set of reading recommendations for folks looking to better understand that character.

Today, Nazar of @TheSentryWorld Twitter account writes about his favorite character, The Sentry (and The Void)…

Robert Reynolds. The Sentry. The Void.

The Sentry is a character created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee with uncredited conceptual contributions by Rick Veitch.

The concept is this…Robert Reynolds was an agoraphobic and schizophrenic drug addict in high school when one day he came across an untested yet ultra powerful Super Soldier serum, giving him the ability to manipulate molecules. With the mind of a youth already in a bad condition, this serum sadly made it worse. With this new found power, he subconsciously spawned two new powerful entities. One taking all of Robert Reynold’s good qualities — the Sentry — and the other taking all the bad qualities - the Void.

My Introduction to the Character

The first comic I ever read was Civil War, and at that time, I liked it a lot. So, I read the whole event, including its tie-ins. I came across many characters I had never seen before. But among them was this one golden character that caught my eye. He seemed to be an extremely powerful superhero but refused to use those powers in this war.

Later during the event, I read New Avengers #24, where I learned more about this character and became more interested. He is very powerful but seems to have a bad side. I loved that kind of character, so I instantly liked him. But it wasn’t until I read Siege that I paid greater attention to him as a character with his own mythos.

We all know Siege by Bendis and Coipel, some love it, some hate it. I am the former. I love the event. It has a pretty good story, amazing art and awesome fights. When reading that comic, I came across the infamous page where Sentry rips Ares in half. And I thought it was the most amazing spread I had ever seen.

Later in the comic, the Sentry’s internal struggle was shown quite interestingly, which piqued my interest greatly in the character. So, I decided to check out his older comics. Seeing what kind of broken character he was, the mental and emotional struggle he went through and how he was so different from just about everyone, that made me love the character even more.

The more I read about him and find out how broken his mind is, his life is and how messed up his history is, etc., I started to like him more and more.

Why Do I Love This Character?

I love superheroes. I also love supervillains. But my favorite has to be anti-heroes. And since the Sentry seems to fit into all categories, there is nothing better in my personal opinion. Just a perfect mixture.

I love the Sentry because of his internal emotional and mental conflict with not just his other selves, but also with himself. I love his relationship with his other side character. It’s not your everyday superhero relationships. It’s very different than most I come across and I find that very interesting.

Many seem to hate the idea of vague histories or origins of characters, but I tend to love those. I love it very much. It’s one of my favorite tropes. Characters with vague histories are very fun to me, and so much more engaging than characters who leave little questions about their origins.

Sentry’s origin is very vague and in some cases quite inconsistent and contradicting. It’s not because it’s badly written, but because we are seeing it through the eyes of the character, who does not have access to all of his memories. Some of what he knows, contradicts what his other self knows. Which one is real? Which one is fake? It’s very interesting to think about, and, certainly, very fun read.

Another reason I love the character has to be his powers. I love overpowered characters. They are fun in my opinion and so much more interesting things can be done with them, so that’s one of the reasons why I love the character. -Nazar

The Sentry / The Void Reading Recommendations

Marvel Knights: The Sentry. This is an absolute read for any new reader. It’s an amazing horror-esque comic about a broken man with agoraphobia and schizophrenia who tries to fight a coming storm (Void) while trying to find out who he really is and why no one remembers him. It is also the first appearance of the said character, so it’s a perfect place to start.
New Avengers Vol.2: The Sentry. It is Sentry’s reintroduction to the Marvel Universe. This story arc adds quite a bit to the Sentry’s origin from Marvel Knights: The Sentry.
The Sentry: Sentry Reborn. After joining the Avengers and regaining his place as the hero once more in the world, Sentry’s mental health seems to be getting somewhat better. But good things don’t stay for too long when the Void joins the comic. This is a fantastic comic that expands on the Sentry’s origin as well as shows us explicitly what his relationship with those close to him is like. It also dives deeper into the mental and emotional state of the character.
Civil War, but specifically, New Avengers #24 and Civil War: the Return. Beautifully written issues which focus on the Sentry’s life during the war and what he thinks of the war between the heroes. We also learn quite a bit more about his morals and ideology, so I would recommend this greatly.
Dark Avengers. Prelude to what will happen in Siege. This comic dives deeply into the psyche of the character, especially in the later part of the comic. It expands on his ever vague history and redefines his relationship with his wife. Although not in the way you expect. Furthermore, it’s drawn by the fantastic Mike Deodato Jr. Another perfect reason to read it.
Siege. The finale to Bendis’ long take on the character. It brings together almost everything he had teased for the character in one beautiful comic.
Sentry: Man of Two Worlds. A five issue mini series written by the amazing Jeff Lemire with art by Kim Jacinto and Joshua Cassara. This five issue comic gives an ending to his side character and old life, setting him up on a new and completely different path. It is very important for the character and redefines him greatly.