History ComicBook / TheSentry

* AllegoricalCharacter: A recurring enemy of Sentry, even appearing more than the Void, in the ''Age of the Sentry'' mini is a villain named Cranio who has three brains. He always boasts of being [[{{Catchphrase}} three steps ahead of him]] and is a recurring figure in hallucinations. Given Sentry normally has three personalities in conflict with each other he might be a representation of Bob being his own greatest enemy and the greatest threat to others.

One night, Bob Reynolds suddenly remembers that he is the Sentry, a superhero with the power of "one million exploding suns". Realizing that his arch-nemesis the Void is returning, Reynolds decides to seek out several prominent Marvel characters to warn them and to discover why no one remembers the Sentry.

* HurlItIntoTheSun: After defeating the Void in the second mini, Bob hurls it into the sun after giving it [[ScrewYourself a kiss]].
** Lampshaded in-comic: "I don't throw ''everything'' into the sun."

** This could be something to do with his psychosis, as his strength levels yo-yo almost as much as Gladiators.

* {{Expy}}: The original series seems to be heavily inspired by Creator/AlanMoore's rework of ''Marvelman''/''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. Both feature middle-aged guys who are vaguely haunted by their past as the most powerful person on the planet, even down to details like being jealous of their super selves, their wives being more attracted to their other selves, and their origins in a secret government program. Which makes the Sentry an {{Expy}} of a reworked DarkerAndEdgier CaptainErsatz of a CaptainErsatz, as Marvelman was a British copy of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], who was himself a copy of Superman. So he's like Franchise/{{Superman}}'s fifth cousin twice removed.

* PsychoSerum: The serum that gave Bob his powers was a new version of the Super Soldier serum [[UpToEleven amplified 100,000 fold]]. According to the second mini, Bob became the insane Void persona from the moment he ingested the serum.

* SealedBadassInACan: in the Lemire miniseries, Bob willingly limits himself on a kind of parole use a device to periodically visit an alternate universe where he can be both Sentry and the Void. [[spoiler:Things start to go wrong when the device, a one-of-a-kind gadget Tony Stark and Doctor Strange made for Bob, gets stolen by Scout, his bitter ex-sidekick who ended up being driven AxeCrazy by the Sentry's powers. The result was a merger of Bob, the Sentry, and the Void, with the new Merged Sentry,]] decidedly ''not'' being in the mood to be imprisoned.

* SealedBadassInACan: in the Lemire miniseries, Bob willing limits himself on a kind of parole use a device to periodically visit an alternate universe where he can be both Sentry and the Void. [[spoiler:Things start to go wrong when the device, a one-of-a-kind gadget Tony Stark and Doctor Strange made for Bob, gets stolen by Scout, his bitter ex-sidekick who ended up being driven AxeCrazy by the Sentry's powers. The result was a merger of Bob, the Sentry, and the Void, with the new Merged Sentry,]] decidedly ''not'' being in the mood to be imprisoned.

* ''ComicBook/TheSentry'' Vol 2 #7 sees the Sentry trapped in an illusion that he's actually a mental patient named John Victor Williams, and actually imagined not only his adventures, but the entire Franchise/MarvelUniverse as well. In a bit of PaintingTheMedium, the recap page changes to match, recapping the story of John Victor Williams, delusional schizophrenic, rather than Robert Reynolds, the Golden Guardian of Good (who happens to also be a schizophrenic). Cleverly, the creators of the illusion implement elements of the real world into the delusion to convince "John" that he'd inserted them into his fictional world of superheroes.
--> '''Blue Voice:''' You are not a hero. You are not even Robert Reynolds. A couple of years ago, you began thinking your [[MissionControl alarm clock]] was speaking to you in a strange voice whenever you were near it.

Middle aged, overweight Bob Reynolds remembers that he is the Sentry, a superhero whose "power of one million exploding suns" derives from a special serum. Realizing that his arch-nemesis the Void is returning, Reynolds seeks out several prominent Marvel characters to warn them and to discover why no one remembers the Sentry.

!!Tropes

* AllegoricalCharacter: A recurring enemy of Sentry, even appearing more than the Void, in the ''Age of the Sentry'' mini is a villain named Cranio who has three brains. He always boasts of being [[{{Catchphrase}} three steps ahead of him]] and is a recurring figure in hallucinations. Given Sentry normally has three personalities in conflict he might be a representation of Bob being his own greatest enemy and the greatest threat to others.

* CurbStompBattle: His fight with [[spoiler: Scout]] in Lemire's miniseries is absolutely brutal, and, once he stops trying to talk the other man down, very short.

* {{Expy}}: The original series seems to be heavily inspired by Creator/AlanMoore's rework of ''Marvelman''/''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. Both feature middle-aged guys who are vaguely haunted by their past as the most powerful person on the planet, even down to details like being jealous of their super selves, their wives being more attracted to their other selves and their origins in a secret government program. Which makes the Sentry an {{Expy}} of a reworked DarkerAndEdgier CaptainErsatz of a CaptainErsatz, as Marvelman was a British copy of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], who was himself a copy of Superman. So he's like Franchise/{{Superman}}'s fifth cousin twice removed.

** This could be something to do with his psychosis, as his strength levels yo-yo almost as much as Gladiator's.
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: Bob's hair is of average length, but becomes quite long when he's the Sentry. This wasn't present in the original miniseries, but was added when the Sentry was introduced to the main Marvel Universe to distinguish him from other blonde heroes when unmasked. This was such a late change that the cover of New Avengers 3 [[CoversAlwaysLie has a short-haired Sentry.]]
* PsychoSerum: The serum that gave Bob his powers was a new version of the Super Soldier serum [[UpToEleven amplified 100,000 fold]]. According to the second mini, Bob became the insane Void persona from the moment he injested the serum.
* SealedBadassInACan: in the Lemire miniseries, Bob willing limits himself on a kind of parole use a device to periodically visit an alternate universe where he can be both Sentry and the Void. [[spoiler: Things start to go wrong when the device, a one-of-a-kind gadget Tony Stark and Dr Strange made for Bob, gets stolen by Scout, his bitter ex-sidekick who ended up being driven AxeCrazy by the Sentry's powers. The result was a merger of Bob, the Sentry, and the Void, with the new Merged Sentry]] decidedly ''not'' being in the mood to be imprisoned.

* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Void's wardrobe of choice throughout the second mini.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The ''Age of the Sentry'' has a number of characters with alliterative E names the recurrence of which he finds suspicious. [[spoiler:It turns out that the E-E's are referents to Destroyer Darkmass, a being from the original universe the Sentry originated from (as E's can be shifted over to D's).]]

** The ''Age of The Sentry'' miniseries manages to take the Superman comparisons further. He's got the Sentress (otherwise known as ComicBook/CarolDanvers), who's a Supergirl / Wonder Woman mash-up (the DistaffCounterpart but with a Wonder Woman-esque supporting cast), the ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' are the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperheroes, and even some of the Sentry's unseen villains resemble Superman's.
* {{Foreshadow}}: In the first issue of ''The Age of Sentry'', when Scout, Watchdog, and Lindy begin travelling through the timestream, [[spoiler:the silhouette of Destroyer Darkmass can be seen in the background, tearing apart an alternate Earth. This foreshadows the Sentry's true origin as revealed in the final issue]].
* FramingDevice: The ''Age of Sentry'' series is framed as Reed telling Franklin stories about the Sentry but with a comic book flourish.

* MoodWhiplash: The Age of The Sentry issue 2 has a story about the Sentry's birthday. Typical Silver Age nonsense, with Jean Grey fawning over the Sentry's dog, and two Nick Furies in one place, and then the art changes to a more modern style, as one of the Sentry's villains arrives, with images of planets exploding behind him... phew, good thing Bob just zoned out for a minute there, folks!

* {{Retraux}}: The ''Age of The Sentry'' mini-series, focusing on the Sentry's supposed Silver Age era exploits.

* SplitPersonalityMerge: At the end of the 2018 miniseries, Bob and the Void merge turning into a black-haired, red-costumed being with the powers and personality of the Sentry and Void combined.

First seen in ''The Sentry #1'' (September, 2000), Robert Reynolds was an overweight, middle aged alcoholic until one day he awakens and realizes that he is the Sentry, a superhero with the power of '''one million exploding suns''', who must once again take the mantle of the hero to fight his archnemesis the Void, whom he fears is returning soon.

This rather strange origin story began via a hoax that was perpetuated by Creator/StanLee himself, stating that there was a golden age superhero whom he just forgot about and wanted to weave into the continuity. Through a series of recursive flashbacks Robert Reynolds is seen fighting alongside Marvel's most popular superheroes, including the ComicBook/FantasticFour, the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]], and ComicBook/SpiderMan, and all of the Sentry's first miniseries revolves around figuring out why everyone has LaserGuidedAmnesia surrounding his existence.

His actual powers were bestowed upon him when a young Robert, while working in a physics lab, drank a serum that "moved his molecules 1 second ahead of the current timeline." It was later revealed that this was a newer version of the Super Soldier serum that transformed Captain America.

Seen as somewhat of an AlternateCompanyEquivalent of Franchise/{{Superman}} due to his [[SuperpowerLottery seemingly limitless powers]], including: energy blasts, super strength, flight, and of course a hefty dose of NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.

The Sentry, while seeming like an InvincibleHero, actually has many weaknesses due to his being AxCrazy (this is not expunged when Robert becomes the Sentry). Robert Reynolds is an agoraphobic, anxiety-ridden schizophrenic who relies on his robot sidekick CLOC to calculate the severity of problems that need his help, and solves them in order based on CLOC's input.

Despite his death at the end of Dark Reign, the Sentry was resurrected by the Apocalypse Twins' new Horsemen in ''ComicBook/UncannyAvengers'', though Thor convinces him to help stop Exitar the Executioner. Sentry, having fully succumbed to his insanity and believing himself to be the successor of Apocalypse, agreed to do so... after he rid the world of the "cancerous" mutants. Having survived the incident, the Sentry was put into exile until he was called back by Dr. Strange in a terrible attempt to stop Loki, who had become Sorcerer Supreme and was looking for a spell that could potentially doom all, only for it to restore magic to the world. Upset, the Sentry told Dr. Strange never to call on him again and disappeared. He returned in his own miniseries by Jeff Lemire as part of the ''ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart'' initiative, taking place some time after this appearance, where he was living essentially on parole as Bob Reynolds, fry cook extraordinaire, and spending time as the Sentry in a pocket dimension via a machine constructed by Tony Stark and Reed Richards called the Confluctor, to keep both the Sentry and the Void in check. [[spoiler: This was derailed by his former sidekick and friend, Scout, who had had his arm torn off by the Void and was secretly resentful that Bob could be the Sentry in his spare time. He discovered the Sentry's power-granting formula, and conspired with one of the Sentry's old enemies to recreate it and steal the Confluctor, trapping Bob inside and the Sentry outside. The Sentry and Scout fought, while Bob survived by merging the Void and the Sentry and himself to create a new, somewhat morally ambiguous black-haired Sentry dressed in red and black, who killed Scout and went to space, resuming his mission to protect humanity by any means necessary]].

In terms of VideoGames, The Sentry was a playable character in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance 2'' for UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, ''Marvel VideoGame/SuperHeroSquadOnline'', and ''Videogame/MarvelPuzzleQuest''.

!!Tropes:

* AlliterativeName: Robert Reynolds, though he usually goes by Bob.
* AntiChrist: The Void generally functions as this. Hiroim refers to him as a "Worldbreaker", in contrast to "[[MessianicArchetype The Sakaarson]]".
* AxCrazy: As the Void. Also, possibly, as [[spoiler: his 2019 Merged Sentry persona]].
* BackFromTheDead: While he's been resurrected several times, his most recent revival was when the Apocalypse Twins revived him as one of their Four Horsemen of Death. It's not known if the Void has been revived as well. It appears, going by Bob's word, the Void ''[[CompleteImmortality never died]]''. It simply got tired of being imprisoned in the sun and shuttled itself off to the White Hot Room. As of his later reappearance in ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'', it might be back... though the context leaves it somewhat ambiguous. [[spoiler: Jeff Lemire's miniseries confirms that the Void is indeed back]].

* BadassBoast:
** Gives a brief one during the events of World War Hulk. The Hulk contends that the Sentry doesn't want to fight him. The response (paraphrased): "God help me, I do... because you're the only one I can hit like ''[[MegatonPunch this]]''."
** From ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'':
--> '''Sentry[=/=]Void''': How many gods will I have to kill today?
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Void's initial logic: for each act of good the Sentry performs, the Void commits an equivalent act of evil.
* BearsAreBadNews: One of the Sentry's Silver Age foes was a giant bear. The Sentry couldn't defeat it, just convince it to hibernate.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: The Void may have caused [[Literature/TheBible the Plagues of Egypt]].
* BewareTheSuperman: Being powerful to such a degree is more than dangerous when also having such serious mental problems. As seen in ''Dark Reign'', he is very easily manipulated. And not to talk about what happens when the Void breaks out - breaking literally every bone of the freakin' '''Hulk''', rampaging through New York or levelling the whole city of Asgard (the reputation accrued by the latter feat is one Doctor Strange later exploits when [[spoiler: he needs a distraction and points Bob at Asgardia.]]) And that's by far not everything that this psycho has unleashed during his life.
** After he survives being disintegrated, Bullseye wonders if, when he finally goes over the edge, they'll actually be able to kill him. The answer is no, not unless he lets you. And even ''that'' seems to have stopped working, to the point where the Sentry exiled himself into space, in a coma, just to try and keep the universe safe from himself. In the end, even ''that'' didn't work. Now, as [[spoiler: the Merged Sentry, he's arguably even more dangerous]].
* BodyHorror: When he transforms into the Void, the results are usually monstrous.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Shows both sides. He's a super-genius, but usually defaults to trying to smash things or throw them into the sun.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: He has an S-shaped sigil on his waist.
* BulletCatch: The Sentry once stopped an assassination attempt in this manner. Since he has super speed, catching bullets is nothing.
* CareBearStare: The Sentry can emit a calming aura to help the Hulk manage his rage. Reed Richards tries to simulate this aura during ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', but it doesn't work.
* CharacterShilling: Prior to ''Siege''. Some of it's a consequence of him being a walking CosmicRetcon, the rest is just there for the usual reason. After that, he's generally been depicted as a potentially evil/insane Superman, which most people seem to agree is much more interesting.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The Sentry's eyes glow yellow when he uses most of his powers, blue when he's using his psychic powers, and red when the Void is about to emerge. Most recently, they glow black-edged white when he's [[spoiler: the Merged Sentry]].
* CombatTentacles: Part of the Void's physical makeup, the tentacles are strong enough to restrain the Hulk and break his bones.
** In ''Siege'', they ''ripped Loki in half'' (and then maybe a few more pieces).
* ComicBooksAreReal: Like other Marvel characters, the Sentry has in-universe comics about him, which serve as the FramingDevice for ''The Age of the Sentry''. (As it turns out, there's a universe out there where ''[=AotS=]'' actually happened, Earth-1611.)

* TheCorrupter: ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who thoroughly abuses Bob's fragile mental state. It wasn't until Osborn provided the Sentry with another dose of the serum that the Void became the dominant personality.
* CurbStompBattle: Sentry has multiple examples of being the one issuing these out. Name a Marvel character and odds are Sentry has used his or her ass as a footstool before. Notable exceptions are his draw with the Worldbreaker Hulk and his loss to Extremis ComicBook/{{Ultron}} until she was infected with a virus, allowing him to defeat her.
** His "battle" with Morgan Le Fay was probably the worst example of this. Norman Osborn gives him the go-ahead, Sentry flies down, and literally the ''very next panel'' is him [[OffWithHerHead ripping her head clean off.]]
** His fight with [[spoiler: Scout]] in Lemire's miniseries is absolutely brutal, and, once he stops trying to talk the other man down, very short.
* DarkSecret: The truth behind the origin of the Sentry, kept between Bob and his wife, Lindy. [[spoiler: Bob was just a drug addict looking for a fix, not an innocent young man working in a physics lab. The Void is the manifestation of the part of him that is still that junkie.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Sentry's essentially a thorough deconstruction of the idea of Superman, the Lois Lane-Superman relationship dynamic, and his IdealHero image. Basically his presentation demonstrates the lesson that a single person with such unbelievable godlike power would be universally seen as TheDreaded especially when that person has mental issues or the same mental weaknesses as every other person. The Lois Lane-Superman relationship is inherently toxic as the Lois expy in question is more attracted to the Sentry superhero side than his flawed human side and eventually becomes more horrified by the Sentry's inhuman power as he grows stronger, especially after he brings her back from death. As the final nail in the coffin, the only reason the Sentry is hailed as some ideal hero is because of a SuperpoweredEvilSide that exists to make him seem more heroic than he actually is. In short, instead of an admirable Superman figure that inspires hope, you have a mentally ill godlike timebomb that puts the world on the edge of a panic attack and whose own LoveInterest lives in terror of him.
* DeathIsCheap: Sentry had died and returned within the confines of a single issue, usually as a result of the Void's intervention.
* DemonSlaying: Does this on occasion.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Sentry has something like eight different origins, and the level and type of his mental psychosis fluctuates from issue to issue. Even the Void seems to change from split personality to separate entity on alternating weekends. His level of power also goes up and down, from "stronger than Thor, but it'd still be a fair enough fight" to "could smash the entire planet into gravel with a single pushup." Even his "power of many exploding suns" comment varies, going from just thousand to a million suns.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The Sentry has supposedly defeated Galactus either on his own or with the help of [[ComicBook/XMan Nate 'I use the Multiverse as my personal stepladder and create entire planes of existence with a thought' Grey]]. Debatable given never really shown even in a flashback, the Sentry's unreliable history and [[ManipulativeBastard the fact that Nate is very much his father's son]], but Nate's comment afterwards, when Norman Osborn implies that he was manipulating the Sentry ("Cleverness be* damned, I just told him the truth."), and Nate's own colossal raw power, suggests that it might actually have happened.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Bob finds out that a yoga instructor is putting some moves on his wife; sometime later, the Sentry saves 152 people from a crashing boat, while the Void hurls a jet airliner into a building and kills 152 people. Ramón the yoga instructor was in that building.
* TheDreaded: Bob is a feared figure due to the combination of mental illness and overwhelming power, but in the pages of Doctor Strange, The Void has proven to be one of the few things that truly horrifies ComicBook/{{Loki}}, likely thanks to the events of ''Siege''. Even as the new Sorcerer Supreme, Loki is visibly shaken and out of sorts throughout the confrontation. The heroes aren't immune to this, with the high end of the superhero community keeping a hawk-like watch on Bob in Lemire's miniseries, even when they're sure the Sentry can't return (let alone the Void) and have contingencies in case he even accidentally violates his parole.
* DrivenToSuicide: He's tried more than once. When he returned in ''Doctor Strange'', his attitude was to live in a hallucination constructed by Strange while his body floated in deep space, on the grounds that it was safer for everyone. He was deeply unhappy when Strange not only brought him back (which he was willing to do, in order to help), but ended up unleashing the Void again.
* DrugsAreBad: Sentry tries his best to [[spoiler:hide his drug-filled past from everyone he can]].
* EldritchAbomination: The Void is hinted to be an angel of death from Biblical times.
* ElementalPowers: The Void can control the weather.
* EnemyWithout: The Void is capable of manifesting separately from the Sentry, and there have been occasions when the two have fought.
* {{Expy}}: His original series seems to be heavily inspired by Creator/AlanMoore's rework of ''Marvelman''/''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. Both feature middle-aged guys who are vaguely haunted by their past as the most powerful person on the planet, even down to details like being jealous of their super selves, their wives being more attracted to their other selves and their origins in a secret government program. Which makes the Sentry an {{Expy}} of a reworked DarkerAndEdgier CaptainErsatz of a CaptainErsatz, as Marvelman was a British copy of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], who was himself a copy of Superman. So he's like Franchise/{{Superman}}'s fifth cousin twice removed.
** He's also ''very'' similar to Triumph, an extremely powerful Creator/DCComics hero who was {{Retcon}}ned into being a founding member of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica during ''Comicbook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime''. He even fell victim to a TimeyWimeyBall that forced his comrades to forget about his existence.

* EyeBeams: One of his myriad powers.
* FallenHero: If the rest of the page is no indication.
* {{Flight}}: He has the ability to fly.

* FromASingleCell: The Sentry has been blown into pieces by powerful enemies like Morgan Le Fey and the Molecule Man but his body always reconstitutes itself.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:Was a meth addict before getting his superpowers.]]
* FusionDance: The end result of ''Fresh Start'' - specifically, [[spoiler: Bob, the Sentry, and the Void merged to create the Merged Sentry]]. The result is arguably even more powerful than either the Void or the Sentry, and exponentially more dangerous.
* GroinAttack: On the receiving end of this by [[SuperHeroGods Her]][[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules cules]] in ''ComicBook/DarkReign''.
* GoodIsNotNice: The end result of his [[spoiler:merger with the Void]] in ''Fresh Start''. A champion firmly on the side of good who nonetheless does some morally dubious acts to see justice done and refuses to kowtow to others or limit himself.
* HandBlast: One of his more potent ways of projecting his power.
* HealingFactor: A pretty powerful one which puts even Wolverine and Hulk to shame.
* HeroKiller: Especially in Siege.
* HeroicSacrifice: Parodied during his team-up with Doctor Strange against Loki. Some of Stephen's most powerful spells require heavy mental, physical, and spiritual agony lavished upon either himself or a willing vassal. As the Sentry is an absurdly mighty metaphysical being, all the requisite suffering barely fazes him and he ''naps'' through the entire fight, allowing Strange to cast reality-altering spells with impunity.
* HomeBase: The Sentry has the Watchtower, while the Void has the "hidey-hole" in Antarctica.
* HumanoidAbomination: On a good day, the Sentry can rewrite reality and it's implied he's only as human as he believes himself to be. On a bad day... well, [[SuperPoweredEvilSide there's]] [[OurAngelsAreDifferent the]] [[EldritchAbomination Void]].

* IChooseToStay: At the end of ''Annihilation: Scourge", he chooses to remain in the Negative Zone to contemplate the universe he almost destroyed. Understandably, no one who lives there is all too enthused, but he's too powerful to kick out.

* InexplicablyAwesome: It's never really explained how Bob became one of the most powerful beings in the universe after taking a drug that was basically a slightly jacked-up version of the Super Soldier Serum.
* InsaneEqualsViolent: Very much so for him! Generally he's (mentally speaking) like a young child, often asking if what he did was right, so it makes sense that he would lash out when he's angry/upset.
* IntangibleMan: Part of the Void's power set.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Bob forcibly transforms into the Void after he loses control.

* MadeOfIron: [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_39-VfFoO9u0/TNoAmZQjnAI/AAAAAAAACew/CHcpYpVx22o/s1600/sentry_thing_1.jpg The Thing throws his best punch at Sentry]]. There was probably more pain in Thing's hand than in Sentry's body.
* MercyKill: A reluctant Thor puts Bob out of his misery at the end of ''Siege''. Thanks to the Apocalypse Twins, it didn't stick.
** In his 2018 series, Bob himself has to do this to [[spoiler:Scout]] who was wracked with ceaseless pain from a corrupted facsimile of his own powers that rendered him virtually invincible while melting him from the inside-out.
* MindRape: If beating an opponent to a pulp with fists won't do the trick, Bob will resort to this. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/10/101644/2033272-71222830_super.jpg He'll even make the victim see him as the Void and not the Sentry.]]
** What if a foe has Wolverine's healing factor and unbreakable bones and Luke Cage's unbreakable skin? Sentry won't even blink.

* MultipleChoicePast: In truth, it is still not clear ''exactly'' what the relationship is between Bob Reynolds, the Sentry and the Void (Is the Void the real Bob Reynolds, or is the Sentry, or is neither, or are they both?), exactly what the serum was he took or even whether it actually ''did'' anything, what the exact nature and source of his powers is (I am a superhuman! I am actually the angel of Death! I am a refugee from another universe! I am Galactus!), how the Void really came into existence and whether he is really dead. This, of course, fits in very nicely with the notion that the Sentry is bugnuts insane, and genuinely does not know what happened, being a RealityWarper of undefined limits, subconsciously even altering reality to suit whatever his psychosis says is the real story that day. Or perhaps reality warps ''itself'' around the Sentry to accommodate him, creating things from nothing to enable him to exist. Suffice to say, take ''nothing'' for granted when it comes to anything about the Sentry's origin and nature.
** The last issue of ''The Age of the Sentry'', framed as an "Imaginary Story", puts forth the idea that the Void was once a separate person, a gangster named Eddie Emmerick who got his light absorption and shadow projection abilities through a neutrino ray accident, then -- on the day Rob Reynolds became the Sentry -- transformed into a HumanoidAbomination, a negative force to balance out the Sentry's positive. Eventually, in collaboration with Cranio, the Void absorbed the Sentry's power via the brain of Gorax, until he was no longer Emmerick, but a doppelganger of Reynolds, while the real Reynolds died.
* NeckSnap: Thor snapped the Sentry's neck in a ''What If?'' centered around ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''.
* TheNeedless: Becomes this as the Void.
* NighInvulnerability: To an absolutely ''insane'' degree. He was bodily disintegrated by both Morgana leFay and Molecule Man, and simply ''re-appeared with no explanation''. When he tried to commit suicide by flying into the sun, he was already swimming in superheated solar plasma when his evil self basically said "Don't be silly, kiddo".
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: To Thor, after he returns as a Horseman of Apocalypse.
* OffWithHisHead: The Sentry killed ComicBook/SubMariner villain Attuma [[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/File:Attuma_(Earth-616)_killed_by_the_Sentry_from_Sentry_Vol_2_1.jpg in this manner]].
** Sentry rips the head off things quite a bit. Not just fodder opponents either. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/24463/456049-sen_rips_u_super.jpg Even Ultron's head isn't safe from the Golden Guardian of Good]].
** And [[https://readcomicbooksonline.site/reader/Dark_Avengers_2009/Dark_Avengers_2009_Issue_02/18 Morgan Le Fey]].
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Void might have been around since Biblical times as the Angel of Death.
* PlayingWithFire: And what powerful fire it is.

* PowerGlows: He's not called the "Golden Guardian of Good" for nothing.
* PsychicPowers: The Sentry has shown psychic powers strong enough to give Comicbook/DoctorStrange pause.

* RapidFireFisticuffs: See [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/110794/2411960-what_if___secret_invasion_019.jpg here]] for example.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Sentry's pupils start to glow red when the Void is about to emerge, while the rest of his eyes turn [[BlackEyesOfCrazy pitch black]].
* {{Retcon}}: Sentry is retconned into having been an important person to many [[CharacterTitle title characters]] in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks silver age]].

* SamaritanSyndrome: A sad Deconstruction. He can't prioritize where his help is needed the most and thus often falls into despair.
* SanityHasAdvantages: He's insanely effective once he stabilises his psyche vis-a-vis [[spoiler:merging with the Void]] in ''Fresh Start'', creating a godlike vigilante who is, for better or worse, his own man.
* SealedBadassInACan: He is both SealedGoodInaCan and SealedEvilinaCan, so he's had to be either eliminated or contained to keep the world safe.
** The Sentry was voluntarily imprisoned at the start of the 2005 ''New Avengers'' series, sporting a scraggly BeardOfSorrow.
** Post his stint as Death in ''Uncanny Avengers'', he's cured, but voluntarily inside one constructed by Doctor Strange, inside his own mind, while his body is floating in deep space. A desperate Strange lets him out. He willingly went along with this, but was deeply unhappy when [[spoiler: Strange unleashed the Void]]. This resulted in the Lemire miniseries, which had Bob willing limit himself on a kind of parole use a device to periodically visit an alternate universe where he can be both Sentry and the Void. [[spoiler: Things start to go wrong when the device, a one-of-a-kind gadget Tony Stark and Dr Strange made for Bob, gets stolen by Scout, his bitter ex-sidekick who ended up being driven AxeCrazy by the Sentry's powers. The result was a merger of Bob, the Sentry, and the Void, with the new Merged Sentry]] decidedly ''not'' being in the mood to be imprisoned.
* SexierAlterEgo: Bob's wife, Lindy, prefers sleeping with him while he's in Sentry form.
* ShapingYourAttacks: A rarer skill, the Sentry can create yellow HardLight constructs similar to ComicBook/{{Quasar}}'s quantum constructs. In a fight against Terrax, Sentry created a bubble construct to block the Herald's HandBlast.
* ShockwaveClap: One of the Sentry's attacks. He uses this one against a bunch of the Void's attack drones in ''The Sentry'' v2 #8.
** He may have picked it up from or taught it to his buddy, the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk.
* SpeechBubbles: The Void's speech bubbles are black with white lettering, the exact opposite of the Sentry's and most other characters.
* SpeedBlitz: Usually does this when making an entrance.
* SplitPersonality: The Sentry (good) and the Void (evil). The relationship between them is described as a [[AGodAmI god complex]]: every time Sentry did something good, Void did something equally evil.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: At the end of the 2018 miniseries, Bob and the Void merge turning into a black-haired, red-costumed being with the powers and personality of the Sentry and Void combined.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Sentry only gets stronger with time. He cannot be completely destroyed (see his invulnerability trope entry) and can exchange punches with Hulk and Thor. Sentry can impress even Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, with his psychic and telepathic abilities and possesses molecular manipulation on the same level as Molecule Man. Moving faster than the speed of light is a simple matter for Sentry and he can travel distances in seconds that even the speedier characters require minutes for. The only weakness Bob has is his unstable mind but making use of this weakness is a huge gamble even for master manipulators because they risk releasing the Void.
** Sentry while either completely stable mentally or Voided out is a true monster to behold. Sentry's strength depends on his mental stability and Sentry managed to fight World War Hulk after being consumed by his agoraphobia for 29 hours, showing even a weakened Sentry is a force to be reckoned with. The Void managed to [[spoiler: rampage through Asgard and topple foes such as Thor and Ares]] in ''Siege'', and he was just getting started. When Void was not as powerful, he was still able to break every single bone in the Hulk's body.
*** Proof of this is when, as the Horseman of Death (and thereby even crazier than usual), he manages to temporarily stop Exitar, a Celestial, from descending to destroy the Earth long enough for Thor to kill him with Jarmbjorn, when Rogue, who'd taken powers from quite literally all the Avengers and all the X-Men, including the full power of Wonder Man, and a machine powered by the Hulk hadn't managed it (though she didn't stop her effort so it is not known how much either of them contributed).
* SupermanSubstitute: Down to having a huge "S" in his costume.
* SuperReflexes: Catching bullets is quite easy for him.
* SuperSenses: Which can be a real pain factor for him, as he can't prioritize whom to save first.
* SuperSpeed: Sentry can fly to the Sun and back in seconds, and after his resurrection as a Horseman of Apocalypse, cross light years in moments. The narrative acknowledges the impossibility of this, as his moving so fast as Death actually disoriented [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], who himself is able to move at lightspeed.
* SuperStrength: The Sentry is one of the strongest heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, capable of matching strength with the Hulk, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]]. The Void's strength is enough to break almost every bone in the Hulk's body. Much like Superman, his upper limits are subject to change. See StrongAsTheyNeedToBe
* SuperheroesWearCapes: Well, he ''is'' a Superman expy....
* SuperheroesWearTights: Duh!
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: He and The Void are this trope taken to its extreme. They manifested as alter-egos of a single person, representing the good and dark sides of humanity, respectively. The Sentry is a superhero and the Void is a supervillain, and in a slight variation on this trope, the Void is exactly as powerful as the Sentry, and occasionally kills someone for every person the Sentry saves.
** Also, his persona as Death, Horseman of Apocalypse.
* SuperWeight: He is often said to be Level 6. He supposedly stalemated Galactus, has often been compared to ''the power of a million exploding suns'', defeated a Molecule Man without beliefs about his abilities and therefore at full power (Post-Retcon however), and was said to be a Biblical angel of death, capable of causing greater destruction than the multi-universal damage of the Scarlet Witch, but we never actually see anything concrete, beyond easily overloading the Absorbing Man, who has had no trouble copying {{Mjolnir}} in the past. As it is, he is a powerful Level 5.
* {{Teleportation}}: Has done it on occasion.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Compounding his issues with the Void being a part of him, Robert was devastated to find out that the serum he took [[spoiler:would have worked on ''anyone''. He wasn't special, he was just there to take it, leading to those who made the serum destroying all their research because one lunatic with godlike powers was bad enough as is.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: The Void began taking on larger, more powerful forms leading up to ''Siege'', possibly due to the second dose of serum provided by Norman Osborn. Before, during the ''Sentry'' miniseries, the Void seemed to be limited to humanoid size at best.
** Following his becoming a Horseman of Apocalypse, he's even more of a beast than usual, quite capable of handling Thor alone and delaying a Celestial.
* UnskilledButStrong: With the Mighty Avengers, Sentry is stated outright to be the strongest member, but held back by his lack of skill.
** Hercules once hilariously exploited this weakness and [[CurbStompBattle made a complete fool of Robert]] in a very comedic [[GroinAttack and painful]] way.
--> '''Hercules''': Learn to fight like you ''mean'' it, pretty boy.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Unlike the Sentry, the Void can shapeshift at will, sometimes taking the form of whatever its opponents fear most.
* WillfullyWeak: Possessing incredible power, the Sentry holds back because he's afraid of losing control.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: A poster boy. It was suggested by characters that Sentry is addicted to his power, which stems from his past [[spoiler:as a junkie]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: The Sentry is without question a heavy contender for this title and Marvel has no problem with making characters say so. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/10/101644/2057926-silentwar002016.jpg Karnak calls him "Earth's most powerful warrior."]]
** During ''ComicBook/DarkReign'', he's often used as a yard-stick for power, with Osborn specifically stating that Nate Grey is too dangerous to run loose precisely because he could go toe to toe with the Sentry.
* WouldHitAGirl: And kill a girl, too.
* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Basically his entire character in a nutshell. Could have been Earth's greatest defender, but turned out to be a deadly disappointment.
* YourMindMakesItReal: The Void isn't a second personality in the traditional sense but a delusion Bob gets due to his schizophrenia. He believes he is the Void and, due to his powers, he ''becomes'' the Void.

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsTheSentry]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sentry_vol_3_1_textless.jpg]]

First seen in ''The Sentry #1'' (September, 2000), Robert Reynolds was an overweight, middle aged alcoholic until one day he awakens and realizes that he is the Sentry, a superhero with the power of '''one million exploding suns''', who must once again take the mantle of the hero to fight his archnemesis the Void, whom he fears is returning soon.

This rather strange origin story began via a hoax that was perpetuated by Creator/StanLee himself, stating that there was a golden age superhero whom he just forgot about and wanted to weave into the continuity. Through a series of recursive flashbacks Robert Reynolds is seen fighting alongside Marvel's most popular superheroes, including the ComicBook/FantasticFour, the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]], and ComicBook/SpiderMan, and all of the Sentry's first miniseries revolves around figuring out why everyone has LaserGuidedAmnesia surrounding his existence.

His actual powers were bestowed upon him when a young Robert, while working in a physics lab, drank a serum that "moved his molecules 1 second ahead of the current timeline." It was later revealed that this was a newer version of the Super Soldier serum that transformed Captain America.

Seen as somewhat of an AlternateCompanyEquivalent of Franchise/{{Superman}} due to his [[SuperpowerLottery seemingly limitless powers]], including: energy blasts, super strength, flight, and of course a hefty dose of NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.

The Sentry, while seeming like an InvincibleHero, actually has many weaknesses due to his being AxCrazy (this is not expunged when Robert becomes the Sentry). Robert Reynolds is an agoraphobic, anxiety-ridden schizophrenic who relies on his robot sidekick CLOC to calculate the severity of problems that need his help, and solves them in order based on CLOC's input.

Despite his death at the end of Dark Reign, the Sentry was resurrected by the Apocalypse Twins' new Horsemen in ''ComicBook/UncannyAvengers'', though Thor convinces him to help stop Exitar the Executioner. Sentry, having fully succumbed to his insanity and believing himself to be the successor of Apocalypse, agreed to do so... after he rid the world of the "cancerous" mutants. Having survived the incident, the Sentry was put into exile until he was called back by Dr. Strange in a terrible attempt to stop Loki, who had become Sorcerer Supreme and was looking for a spell that could potentially doom all, only for it to restore magic to the world. Upset, the Sentry told Dr. Strange never to call on him again and disappeared. He returned in his own miniseries by Jeff Lemire as part of the ''ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart'' initiative, taking place some time after this appearance, where he was living essentially on parole as Bob Reynolds, fry cook extraordinaire, and spending time as the Sentry in a pocket dimension via a machine constructed by Tony Stark and Reed Richards called the Confluctor, to keep both the Sentry and the Void in check. [[spoiler: This was derailed by his former sidekick and friend, Scout, who had had his arm torn off by the Void and was secretly resentful that Bob could be the Sentry in his spare time. He discovered the Sentry's power-granting formula, and conspired with one of the Sentry's old enemies to recreate it and steal the Confluctor, trapping Bob inside and the Sentry outside. The Sentry and Scout fought, while Bob survived by merging the Void and the Sentry and himself to create a new, somewhat morally ambiguous black-haired Sentry dressed in red and black, who killed Scout and went to space, resuming his mission to protect humanity by any means necessary]].

In terms of VideoGames, The Sentry was a playable character in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance 2'' for UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, ''Marvel VideoGame/SuperHeroSquadOnline'', and ''Videogame/MarvelPuzzleQuest''.

----
!!Tropes:

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The ''Age of the Sentry'' has a number of characters with alliterative E names the recurrence of which he finds suspicious. [[spoiler:It turns out that the E-E's are referents to Destroyer Darkmass, a being from the original universe the Sentry originated from (as E's can be shifted over to D's).]]
* AllegoricalCharacter: A recurring enemy of Sentry, even appearing more than the Void, in the ''Age of the Sentry'' mini is a villain named Cranio who has three brains. He always boasts of being [[{{Catchphrase}} three steps ahead of him]] and is a recurring figure in hallucinations. Given Sentry normally has three personalities in conflict he might be a representation of Bob being his own greatest enemy and the greatest threat to others.
* AlliterativeName: Robert Reynolds, though he usually goes by Bob.
* AntiChrist: The Void generally functions as this. Hiroim refers to him as a "Worldbreaker", in contrast to "[[MessianicArchetype The Sakaarson]]".
* AxCrazy: As the Void. Also, possibly, as [[spoiler: his 2019 Merged Sentry persona]].
* BackFromTheDead: While he's been resurrected several times, his most recent revival was when the Apocalypse Twins revived him as one of their Four Horsemen of Death. It's not known if the Void has been revived as well. It appears, going by Bob's word, the Void ''[[CompleteImmortality never died]]''. It simply got tired of being imprisoned in the sun and shuttled itself off to the White Hot Room. As of his later reappearance in ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'', it might be back... though the context leaves it somewhat ambiguous. [[spoiler: Jeff Lemire's miniseries confirms that the Void is indeed back]].
* BackstoryInvader: A modern character retconned in as an inverted example, a hero from the Silver Age who happened to save the world in a way that erased everyone's memories of him. Leading up to the series that introduced the Sentry, Marvel got comic news sources in on the joke; they ran stories about how he really was a Silver Age hero who was created back then but never used and promptly forgotten.
* BadassBoast:
** Gives a brief one during the events of World War Hulk. The Hulk contends that the Sentry doesn't want to fight him. The response (paraphrased): "God help me, I do... because you're the only one I can hit like ''[[MegatonPunch this]]''."
** From ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'':
--> '''Sentry[=/=]Void''': How many gods will I have to kill today?
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Void's initial logic: for each act of good the Sentry performs, the Void commits an equivalent act of evil.
* BearsAreBadNews: One of the Sentry's Silver Age foes was a giant bear. The Sentry couldn't defeat it, just convince it to hibernate.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: The Void may have caused [[Literature/TheBible the Plagues of Egypt]].
* BewareTheSuperman: Being powerful to such a degree is more than dangerous when also having such serious mental problems. As seen in ''Dark Reign'', he is very easily manipulated. And not to talk about what happens when the Void breaks out - breaking literally every bone of the freakin' '''Hulk''', rampaging through New York or levelling the whole city of Asgard (the reputation accrued by the latter feat is one Doctor Strange later exploits when [[spoiler: he needs a distraction and points Bob at Asgardia.]]) And that's by far not everything that this psycho has unleashed during his life.
** After he survives being disintegrated, Bullseye wonders if, when he finally goes over the edge, they'll actually be able to kill him. The answer is no, not unless he lets you. And even ''that'' seems to have stopped working, to the point where the Sentry exiled himself into space, in a coma, just to try and keep the universe safe from himself. In the end, even ''that'' didn't work. Now, as [[spoiler: the Merged Sentry, he's arguably even more dangerous]].
* BodyHorror: When he transforms into the Void, the results are usually monstrous.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Shows both sides. He's a super-genius, but usually defaults to trying to smash things or throw them into the sun.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: He has an S-shaped sigil on his waist.
* BulletCatch: The Sentry once stopped an assassination attempt in this manner. Since he has super speed, catching bullets is nothing.
* CareBearStare: The Sentry can emit a calming aura to help the Hulk manage his rage. Reed Richards tries to simulate this aura during ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', but it doesn't work.
* CharacterShilling: Prior to ''Siege''. Some of it's a consequence of him being a walking CosmicRetcon, the rest is just there for the usual reason. After that, he's generally been depicted as a potentially evil/insane Superman, which most people seem to agree is much more interesting.
* CivvieSpandex: In the original miniseries, the Sentry's costume upon returning into action was just a gray jacket with a small cape held in place with clothespins. As the series progresses, it began to look more and more like attire appropriate for a superhero. By the end of the fourth issue, it finally became a proper superhero uniform.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The Sentry's eyes glow yellow when he uses most of his powers, blue when he's using his psychic powers, and red when the Void is about to emerge. Most recently, they glow black-edged white when he's [[spoiler: the Merged Sentry]].
* CombatTentacles: Part of the Void's physical makeup, the tentacles are strong enough to restrain the Hulk and break his bones.
** In ''Siege'', they ''ripped Loki in half'' (and then maybe a few more pieces).
* ComicBooksAreReal: Like other Marvel characters, the Sentry has in-universe comics about him, which serve as the FramingDevice for ''The Age of the Sentry''. (As it turns out, there's a universe out there where ''[=AotS=]'' actually happened, Earth-1611.)
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Void's wardrobe of choice throughout the second mini.
* TheCorrupter: ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who thoroughly abuses Bob's fragile mental state. It wasn't until Osborn provided the Sentry with another dose of the serum that the Void became the dominant personality.
* CurbStompBattle: Sentry has multiple examples of being the one issuing these out. Name a Marvel character and odds are Sentry has used his or her ass as a footstool before. Notable exceptions are his draw with the Worldbreaker Hulk and his loss to Extremis ComicBook/{{Ultron}} until she was infected with a virus, allowing him to defeat her.
** His "battle" with Morgan Le Fay was probably the worst example of this. Norman Osborn gives him the go-ahead, Sentry flies down, and literally the ''very next panel'' is him [[OffWithHerHead ripping her head clean off.]]
** His fight with [[spoiler: Scout]] in Lemire's miniseries is absolutely brutal, and, once he stops trying to talk the other man down, very short.
* DarkSecret: The truth behind the origin of the Sentry, kept between Bob and his wife, Lindy. [[spoiler: Bob was just a drug addict looking for a fix, not an innocent young man working in a physics lab. The Void is the manifestation of the part of him that is still that junkie.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Sentry's essentially a thorough deconstruction of the idea of Superman, the Lois Lane-Superman relationship dynamic, and his IdealHero image. Basically his presentation demonstrates the lesson that a single person with such unbelievable godlike power would be universally seen as TheDreaded especially when that person has mental issues or the same mental weaknesses as every other person. The Lois Lane-Superman relationship is inherently toxic as the Lois expy in question is more attracted to the Sentry superhero side than his flawed human side and eventually becomes more horrified by the Sentry's inhuman power as he grows stronger, especially after he brings her back from death. As the final nail in the coffin, the only reason the Sentry is hailed as some ideal hero is because of a SuperpoweredEvilSide that exists to make him seem more heroic than he actually is. In short, instead of an admirable Superman figure that inspires hope, you have a mentally ill godlike timebomb that puts the world on the edge of a panic attack and whose own LoveInterest lives in terror of him.
* DeathIsCheap: Sentry had died and returned within the confines of a single issue, usually as a result of the Void's intervention.
* DemonSlaying: Does this on occasion.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Sentry has something like eight different origins, and the level and type of his mental psychosis fluctuates from issue to issue. Even the Void seems to change from split personality to separate entity on alternating weekends. His level of power also goes up and down, from "stronger than Thor, but it'd still be a fair enough fight" to "could smash the entire planet into gravel with a single pushup." Even his "power of many exploding suns" comment varies, going from just thousand to a million suns.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The Sentry has supposedly defeated Galactus either on his own or with the help of [[ComicBook/XMan Nate 'I use the Multiverse as my personal stepladder and create entire planes of existence with a thought' Grey]]. Debatable given never really shown even in a flashback, the Sentry's unreliable history and [[ManipulativeBastard the fact that Nate is very much his father's son]], but Nate's comment afterwards, when Norman Osborn implies that he was manipulating the Sentry ("Cleverness be* damned, I just told him the truth."), and Nate's own colossal raw power, suggests that it might actually have happened.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Bob finds out that a yoga instructor is putting some moves on his wife; sometime later, the Sentry saves 152 people from a crashing boat, while the Void hurls a jet airliner into a building and kills 152 people. Ramón the yoga instructor was in that building.
* TheDreaded: Bob is a feared figure due to the combination of mental illness and overwhelming power, but in the pages of Doctor Strange, The Void has proven to be one of the few things that truly horrifies ComicBook/{{Loki}}, likely thanks to the events of ''Siege''. Even as the new Sorcerer Supreme, Loki is visibly shaken and out of sorts throughout the confrontation. The heroes aren't immune to this, with the high end of the superhero community keeping a hawk-like watch on Bob in Lemire's miniseries, even when they're sure the Sentry can't return (let alone the Void) and have contingencies in case he even accidentally violates his parole.
* DrivenToSuicide: He's tried more than once. When he returned in ''Doctor Strange'', his attitude was to live in a hallucination constructed by Strange while his body floated in deep space, on the grounds that it was safer for everyone. He was deeply unhappy when Strange not only brought him back (which he was willing to do, in order to help), but ended up unleashing the Void again.
* DrugsAreBad: Sentry tries his best to [[spoiler:hide his drug-filled past from everyone he can]].
* EldritchAbomination: The Void is hinted to be an angel of death from Biblical times.
* ElementalPowers: The Void can control the weather.
* EnemyWithout: The Void is capable of manifesting separately from the Sentry, and there have been occasions when the two have fought.
* {{Expy}}: His original series seems to be heavily inspired by Creator/AlanMoore's rework of ''Marvelman''/''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. Both feature middle-aged guys who are vaguely haunted by their past as the most powerful person on the planet, even down to details like being jealous of their super selves, their wives being more attracted to their other selves and their origins in a secret government program. Which makes the Sentry an {{Expy}} of a reworked DarkerAndEdgier CaptainErsatz of a CaptainErsatz, as Marvelman was a British copy of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], who was himself a copy of Superman. So he's like Franchise/{{Superman}}'s fifth cousin twice removed.
** He's also ''very'' similar to Triumph, an extremely powerful Creator/DCComics hero who was {{Retcon}}ned into being a founding member of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica during ''Comicbook/ZeroHour''. He even fell victim to a TimeyWimeyBall that forced his comrades to forget about his existence.
** The ''Age of The Sentry'' miniseries manages to take the Superman comparisons further. He's got the Sentress (otherwise known as ComicBook/CarolDanvers), who's a Supergirl / Wonder Woman mash-up (the DistaffCounterpart but with a Wonder Woman-esque supporting cast), the ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' are the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperheroes, and even some of the Sentry's unseen villains resemble Superman's.
* EyeBeams: One of his myriad powers.
* FallenHero: If the rest of the page is no indication.
* {{Flight}}: He has the ability to fly.
* {{Foreshadow}}: In the first issue of ''The Age of Sentry'', when Scout, Watchdog, and Lindy begin travelling through the timestream, [[spoiler:the silhouette of Destroyer Darkmass can be seen in the background, tearing apart an alternate Earth. This foreshadows the Sentry's true origin as revealed in the final issue]].
* FramingDevice: The ''Age of Sentry'' series is framed as Reed telling Franklin stories about the Sentry but with a comic book flourish.
* FromASingleCell: The Sentry has been blown into pieces by powerful enemies like Morgan Le Fey and the Molecule Man but his body always reconstitutes itself.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:Was a meth addict before getting his superpowers.]]
* FusionDance: The end result of ''Fresh Start'' - specifically, [[spoiler: Bob, the Sentry, and the Void merged to create the Merged Sentry]]. The result is arguably even more powerful than either the Void or the Sentry, and exponentially more dangerous.
* GroinAttack: On the receiving end of this by [[SuperHeroGods Her]][[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules cules]] in ''ComicBook/DarkReign''.
* GoodIsNotNice: The end result of his [[spoiler:merger with the Void]] in ''Fresh Start''. A champion firmly on the side of good who nonetheless does some morally dubious acts to see justice done and refuses to kowtow to others or limit himself.
* HandBlast: One of his more potent ways of projecting his power.
* HealingFactor: A pretty powerful one which puts even Wolverine and Hulk to shame.
* HeroKiller: Especially in Siege.
* HeroicSacrifice: Parodied during his team-up with Doctor Strange against Loki. Some of Stephen's most powerful spells require heavy mental, physical, and spiritual agony lavished upon either himself or a willing vassal. As the Sentry is an absurdly mighty metaphysical being, all the requisite suffering barely fazes him and he ''naps'' through the entire fight, allowing Strange to cast reality-altering spells with impunity.
* HomeBase: The Sentry has the Watchtower, while the Void has the "hidey-hole" in Antarctica.
* HumanoidAbomination: On a good day, the Sentry can rewrite reality and it's implied he's only as human as he believes himself to be. On a bad day... well, [[SuperPoweredEvilSide there's]] [[OurAngelsAreDifferent the]] [[EldritchAbomination Void]].
* HurlItIntoTheSun: After defeating the Void in the second mini, Bob hurls it into the sun after giving it [[ScrewYourself a kiss]].
** Lampshaded in-comic: "I don't throw ''everything'' into the sun."
* IChooseToStay: At the end of ''Annihilation: Scourge", he chooses to remain in the Negative Zone to contemplate the universe he almost destroyed. Understandably, no one who lives there is all too enthused, but he's too powerful to kick out.
* IdealHero: The second miniseries reveals that the Sentry persona is actually Bob Reynolds' idealized version of himself: the handsome, invincible champion of the entire planet.
* InexplicablyAwesome: It's never really explained how Bob became one of the most powerful beings in the universe after taking a drug that was basically a slightly jacked-up version of the Super Soldier Serum.
* InsaneEqualsViolent: Very much so for him! Generally he's (mentally speaking) like a young child, often asking if what he did was right, so it makes sense that he would lash out when he's angry/upset.
* IntangibleMan: Part of the Void's power set.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Bob forcibly transforms into the Void after he loses control.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Imposed this on everyone, including himself, before the events of the first mini, [[spoiler:courtesy of a transmitter he and Reed created]].
* MadeOfIron: [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_39-VfFoO9u0/TNoAmZQjnAI/AAAAAAAACew/CHcpYpVx22o/s1600/sentry_thing_1.jpg The Thing throws his best punch at Sentry]]. There was probably more pain in Thing's hand than in Sentry's body.
* MercyKill: A reluctant Thor puts Bob out of his misery at the end of ''Siege''. Thanks to the Apocalypse Twins, it didn't stick.
** In his 2018 series, Bob himself has to do this to [[spoiler:Scout]] who was wracked with ceaseless pain from a corrupted facsimile of his own powers that rendered him virtually invincible while melting him from the inside-out.
* MindRape: If beating an opponent to a pulp with fists won't do the trick, Bob will resort to this. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/10/101644/2033272-71222830_super.jpg He'll even make the victim see him as the Void and not the Sentry.]]
** What if a foe has Wolverine's healing factor and unbreakable bones and Luke Cage's unbreakable skin? Sentry won't even blink.
* MoodWhiplash: The Age of The Sentry issue 2 has a story about the Sentry's birthday. Typical Silver Age nonsense, with Jean Grey fawning over the Sentry's dog, and two Nick Furies in one place, and then the art changes to a more modern style, as one of the Sentry's villains arrives, with images of planets exploding behind him... phew, good thing Bob just zoned out for a minute there, folks!
* MultipleChoicePast: In truth, it is still not clear ''exactly'' what the relationship is between Bob Reynolds, the Sentry and the Void (Is the Void the real Bob Reynolds, or is the Sentry, or is neither, or are they both?), exactly what the serum was he took or even whether it actually ''did'' anything, what the exact nature and source of his powers is (I am a superhuman! I am actually the angel of Death! I am a refugee from another universe! I am Galactus!), how the Void really came into existence and whether he is really dead. This, of course, fits in very nicely with the notion that the Sentry is bugnuts insane, and genuinely does not know what happened, being a RealityWarper of undefined limits, subconsciously even altering reality to suit whatever his psychosis says is the real story that day. Or perhaps reality warps ''itself'' around the Sentry to accommodate him, creating things from nothing to enable him to exist. Suffice to say, take ''nothing'' for granted when it comes to anything about the Sentry's origin and nature.
** The last issue of ''The Age of the Sentry'', framed as an "Imaginary Story", puts forth the idea that the Void was once a separate person, a gangster named Eddie Emmerick who got his light absorption and shadow projection abilities through a neutrino ray accident, then -- on the day Rob Reynolds became the Sentry -- transformed into a HumanoidAbomination, a negative force to balance out the Sentry's positive. Eventually, in collaboration with Cranio, the Void absorbed the Sentry's power via the brain of Gorax, until he was no longer Emmerick, but a doppelganger of Reynolds, while the real Reynolds died.
* NeckSnap: Thor snapped the Sentry's neck in a ''What If?'' centered around ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''.
* TheNeedless: Becomes this as the Void.
* NighInvulnerability: To an absolutely ''insane'' degree. He was bodily disintegrated by both Morgana leFay and Molecule Man, and simply ''re-appeared with no explanation''. When he tried to commit suicide by flying into the sun, he was already swimming in superheated solar plasma when his evil self basically said "Don't be silly, kiddo".
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: To Thor, after he returns as a Horseman of Apocalypse.
* OffWithHisHead: The Sentry killed ComicBook/SubMariner villain Attuma [[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/File:Attuma_(Earth-616)_killed_by_the_Sentry_from_Sentry_Vol_2_1.jpg in this manner]].
** Sentry rips the head off things quite a bit. Not just fodder opponents either. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/24463/456049-sen_rips_u_super.jpg Even Ultron's head isn't safe from the Golden Guardian of Good]].
** And [[https://readcomicbooksonline.site/reader/Dark_Avengers_2009/Dark_Avengers_2009_Issue_02/18 Morgan Le Fey]].
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Void might have been around since Biblical times as the Angel of Death.
* PlayingWithFire: And what powerful fire it is.
* PowerCreepPowerSeep: In his miniseries, the Sentry actually bled after being bitten by a dog. By the time ''Siege'' rolled around, Bob was shrugging off blows from Thor's hammer without a scratch on him.
** This could be something to do with his psychosis, as his strength levels yo-yo almost as much as Gladiator's.
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: Bob's hair is of average length, but becomes quite long when he's the Sentry. This wasn't present in the original miniseries, but was added when the Sentry was introduced to the main Marvel Universe to distinguish him from other blonde heroes when unmasked. This was such a late change that the cover of New Avengers 3 [[CoversAlwaysLie has a short-haired Sentry.]]
* PowerGlows: He's not called the "Golden Guardian of Good" for nothing.
* PsychicPowers: The Sentry has shown psychic powers strong enough to give Comicbook/DoctorStrange pause.
* PsychoSerum: The serum that gave Bob his powers was a new version of the Super Soldier serum [[UpToEleven amplified 100,000 fold]]. According to the second mini, Bob became the insane Void persona from the moment he injested the serum.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: See [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/110794/2411960-what_if___secret_invasion_019.jpg here]] for example.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Sentry's pupils start to glow red when the Void is about to emerge, while the rest of his eyes turn [[BlackEyesOfCrazy pitch black]].
* {{Retcon}}: Sentry is retconned into having been an important person to many [[CharacterTitle title characters]] in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks silver age]].
* {{Retraux}}: The ''Age of The Sentry'' mini-series, focusing on the Sentry's supposed Silver Age era exploits.
* SamaritanSyndrome: A sad Deconstruction. He can't prioritize where his help is needed the most and thus often falls into despair.
* SanityHasAdvantages: He's insanely effective once he stabilises his psyche vis-a-vis [[spoiler:merging with the Void]] in ''Fresh Start'', creating a godlike vigilante who is, for better or worse, his own man.
* SealedBadassInACan: He is both SealedGoodInaCan and SealedEvilinaCan, so he's had to be either eliminated or contained to keep the world safe.
** The Sentry was voluntarily imprisoned at the start of the 2005 ''New Avengers'' series, sporting a scraggly BeardOfSorrow.
** Post his stint as Death in ''Uncanny Avengers'', he's cured, but voluntarily inside one constructed by Doctor Strange, inside his own mind, while his body is floating in deep space. A desperate Strange lets him out. He willingly went along with this, but was deeply unhappy when [[spoiler: Strange unleashed the Void]]. This resulted in the Lemire miniseries, which had Bob willing limit himself on a kind of parole use a device to periodically visit an alternate universe where he can be both Sentry and the Void. [[spoiler: Things start to go wrong when the device, a one-of-a-kind gadget Tony Stark and Dr Strange made for Bob, gets stolen by Scout, his bitter ex-sidekick who ended up being driven AxeCrazy by the Sentry's powers. The result was a merger of Bob, the Sentry, and the Void, with the new Merged Sentry]] decidedly ''not'' being in the mood to be imprisoned.
* SexierAlterEgo: Bob's wife, Lindy, prefers sleeping with him while he's in Sentry form.
* ShapingYourAttacks: A rarer skill, the Sentry can create yellow HardLight constructs similar to ComicBook/{{Quasar}}'s quantum constructs. In a fight against Terrax, Sentry created a bubble construct to block the Herald's HandBlast.
* ShockwaveClap: One of the Sentry's attacks. He uses this one against a bunch of the Void's attack drones in ''The Sentry'' v2 #8.
** He may have picked it up from or taught it to his buddy, the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk.
* SpeechBubbles: The Void's speech bubbles are black with white lettering, the exact opposite of the Sentry's and most other characters.
* SpeedBlitz: Usually does this when making an entrance.
* SplitPersonality: The Sentry (good) and the Void (evil). The relationship between them is described as a [[AGodAmI god complex]]: every time Sentry did something good, Void did something equally evil.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: At the end of the 2018 miniseries, Bob and the Void merge turning into a black-haired, red-costumed being with the powers and personality of the Sentry and Void combined.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Sentry only gets stronger with time. He cannot be completely destroyed (see his invulnerability trope entry) and can exchange punches with Hulk and Thor. Sentry can impress even Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, with his psychic and telepathic abilities and possesses molecular manipulation on the same level as Molecule Man. Moving faster than the speed of light is a simple matter for Sentry and he can travel distances in seconds that even the speedier characters require minutes for. The only weakness Bob has is his unstable mind but making use of this weakness is a huge gamble even for master manipulators because they risk releasing the Void.
** Sentry while either completely stable mentally or Voided out is a true monster to behold. Sentry's strength depends on his mental stability and Sentry managed to fight World War Hulk after being consumed by his agoraphobia for 29 hours, showing even a weakened Sentry is a force to be reckoned with. The Void managed to [[spoiler: rampage through Asgard and topple foes such as Thor and Ares]] in ''Siege'', and he was just getting started. When Void was not as powerful, he was still able to break every single bone in the Hulk's body.
*** Proof of this is when, as the Horseman of Death (and thereby even crazier than usual), he manages to temporarily stop Exitar, a Celestial, from descending to destroy the Earth long enough for Thor to kill him with Jarmbjorn, when Rogue, who'd taken powers from quite literally all the Avengers and all the X-Men, including the full power of Wonder Man, and a machine powered by the Hulk hadn't managed it (though she didn't stop her effort so it is not known how much either of them contributed).
* SupermanSubstitute: Down to having a huge "S" in his costume.
* SuperReflexes: Catching bullets is quite easy for him.
* SuperSenses: Which can be a real pain factor for him, as he can't prioritize whom to save first.
* SuperSpeed: Sentry can fly to the Sun and back in seconds, and after his resurrection as a Horseman of Apocalypse, cross light years in moments. The narrative acknowledges the impossibility of this, as his moving so fast as Death actually disoriented [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], who himself is able to move at lightspeed.
* SuperStrength: The Sentry is one of the strongest heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, capable of matching strength with the Hulk, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]]. The Void's strength is enough to break almost every bone in the Hulk's body. Much like Superman, his upper limits are subject to change. See StrongAsTheyNeedToBe
* SuperheroesWearCapes: Well, he ''is'' a Superman expy....
* SuperheroesWearTights: Duh!
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: He and The Void are this trope taken to its extreme. They manifested as alter-egos of a single person, representing the good and dark sides of humanity, respectively. The Sentry is a superhero and the Void is a supervillain, and in a slight variation on this trope, the Void is exactly as powerful as the Sentry, and occasionally kills someone for every person the Sentry saves.
** Also, his persona as Death, Horseman of Apocalypse.
* SuperWeight: He is often said to be Level 6. He supposedly stalemated Galactus, has often been compared to ''the power of a million exploding suns'', defeated a Molecule Man without beliefs about his abilities and therefore at full power (Post-Retcon however), and was said to be a Biblical angel of death, capable of causing greater destruction than the multi-universal damage of the Scarlet Witch, but we never actually see anything concrete, beyond easily overloading the Absorbing Man, who has had no trouble copying {{Mjolnir}} in the past. As it is, he is a powerful Level 5.
* {{Teleportation}}: Has done it on occasion.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Compounding his issues with the Void being a part of him, Robert was devastated to find out that the serum he took [[spoiler:would have worked on ''anyone''. He wasn't special, he was just there to take it, leading to those who made the serum destroying all their research because one lunatic with godlike powers was bad enough as is.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: The Void began taking on larger, more powerful forms leading up to ''Siege'', possibly due to the second dose of serum provided by Norman Osborn. Before, during the ''Sentry'' miniseries, the Void seemed to be limited to humanoid size at best.
** Following his becoming a Horseman of Apocalypse, he's even more of a beast than usual, quite capable of handling Thor alone and delaying a Celestial.
* UnskilledButStrong: With the Mighty Avengers, Sentry is stated outright to be the strongest member, but held back by his lack of skill.
** Hercules once hilariously exploited this weakness and [[CurbStompBattle made a complete fool of Robert]] in a very comedic [[GroinAttack and painful]] way.
--> '''Hercules''': Learn to fight like you ''mean'' it, pretty boy.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Unlike the Sentry, the Void can shapeshift at will, sometimes taking the form of whatever its opponents fear most.
* WillfullyWeak: Possessing incredible power, the Sentry holds back because he's afraid of losing control.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: A poster boy. It was suggested by characters that Sentry is addicted to his power, which stems from his past [[spoiler:as a junkie]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: The Sentry is without question a heavy contender for this title and Marvel has no problem with making characters say so. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/10/101644/2057926-silentwar002016.jpg Karnak calls him "Earth's most powerful warrior."]]
** During ''ComicBook/DarkReign'', he's often used as a yard-stick for power, with Osborn specifically stating that Nate Grey is too dangerous to run loose precisely because he could go toe to toe with the Sentry.
* WouldHitAGirl: And kill a girl, too.
* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Basically his entire character in a nutshell. Could have been Earth's greatest defender, but turned out to be a deadly disappointment.
* YourMindMakesItReal: The Void isn't a second personality in the traditional sense but a delusion Bob gets due to his schizophrenia. He believes he is the Void and, due to his powers, he ''becomes'' the Void.

----

* BadassBoast: From ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'':

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Gives a brief one during the events of World War Hulk. The Hulk contends that the Sentry doesn't want to fight him. The response (paraphrased): "God help me, I do... because you're the only one I can hit like ''[[MegatonPunch this]]''."

** The ''Age of The Sentry'' miniseries manages to take the Superman comparisons further. He's got the Sentress (otherwise known as ''ComicBook/CarolDanvers''), who's a Supergirl / Wonder Woman mash-up (the DistaffCounterpart but with a Wonder Woman-esque supporting cast), the ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' are the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperheroes, and even some of the Sentry's unseen villains resemble Superman's.

* YourCheatingHeart: Lindy has this issue in The Sentry V2; besides preferring the Sentry persona instead of ol' Bob, she also had to cope with her husband's unstable presence by seeking an affair with her Yoga instructor Ramón.

* InformedAttribute: The Sentry was often pushed as being the ultimate hero that aside from being the most powerful was an inspiration to everyone, their best friend, as smart as Reed Richards, and involved in nearly every major Marvel event from convincing [[IronMan Tony Stark]] to stop drinking to being the best man at [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed and Sue's wedding.]] Outside of stories written by his creator and maybe one or two others, these attributes were never demonstrated. He never demonstrated intelligence on par with Reed or being a major inspiration or friend to anyone. The attempt to force the idea down readers' throats that he was all that yet it was never demonstrated is another reason he is despised.
** FridgeBrilliance kicks in - the Sentry is heavily implied to be a major league RealityWarper, and definitely has massive PsychicPowers. It's entirely possible he subconsciously fit himself in like that as part of the IdealHero shtick he had going.