10 Superpowers That Prove Marvel’s Sentry Is a God, Not a Superhero

The Sentry is considered by many to be one of Marvel Comics’ strongest superheroes, but such a reputation does Bob Reynolds a major disservice. With the power of one million exploding suns, the Golden Guardian of Good wields abilities far above not only mortal men, but most of his superheroic counterparts.

The Sentry’s powerset is nothing short of godlike. And while he has access to more traditional superpowers like flight and super-strength, it’s these abilities that make him greater than any simple superhero.

10 Invisibility

One of the Sentry’s lesser-known abilities is the classic superpower of invisibility. Using his mastery over energy to alter light rays and avoid detection, Reynolds’ stealth capabilities are startlingly understated. Civil War: The Return #1by Sentry’s creator, Paul Jenkins, Tom Raney, and Scott Hanna puts Bob on the receiving end of these abilities after his powers are mimicked by Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man.

Creel’s turn at invisibility allows him to sneak up on the Golden Guardian of Good – quite the impressive feat considering Sentry’s own highly advanced senses – so it stands to reason that Bob’s innate invisibility powers are equally powerful as those of the copycat Creel. While it’s far from the biggest gun in Reynolds’ arsenal, it’s still quite the skill on top of all his other, more iconic powers.

9 Teleportation

Sentry is most frequently seen streaking through the air in a golden stream of light, but that’s far from his only way to get around. On top of everything else, Reynolds’ power set includes the ability of teleportation. Able to transport himself across vast distances in a blinding flash of light, Sentry has demonstrated these abilities on more than one occasion.

New Avengers #8 by Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven, and Mark Morales sees Bob use these abilities to retreat from Captain America, Iron Man, and even his own wife, Lindy. And there have been other instances where his teleportation powers are strong enough that he’s been able to move from the Sun all the way back to Earth in the blink of an eye, or teleport through high-tech forcefields designed by Reed Richards himself.

8 Psychic Infection

Bob’s twisted relationship with the Void may be one of his greatest weaknesses, but it’s also one of his greatest defenses against potentially hostile psychic intrusions. The Void is sentient darkness, capable of infecting all it touches, including foreign minds, and that’s just what happens to Emma Frost in Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus by Matt Fraction, Mike Deodato Jr., and Terry Dodson.

When the White Queen enters Bob’s mind to take him out of the Dark Avengers’ fight against the X-Men, she succeeds in temporarily separating Sentry from his darker half. Unfortunately, this psychic strike leaves a strand of the Void behind in her own mind – forcing her to remain in diamond form lest it take over her body. This isn’t a weapon Bob uses consciously, but it does make invading his mind all the more dangerous.

7 Superhuman Senses

Bob’s solar-powered musculature may be his most obvious skillset, but they’re far from his only hyper-powered physical attribute. In addition to all his massive strength, the Sentry’s superhuman senses are equally advanced – even compared to other super-sensory heroes like Daredevil or Wolverine.

In Sentry #2 by Paul Jenkins, John Romita Jr., and Mark Morales, Bob even goes so far as to say that he “can hear a butterfly sneeze in Central Africa,” from all the way in his Manhattan Watchtower. With senses that advances, Reynolds’ perceptions border on omniscience, and he essentially experiences the entire world all at one time. With constant awareness like this, it’s no wonder that Reynolds can get more than a little overwhelmed. But if the Sentry wants to find someone, there’s practically nowhere on Earth that they can hide.

6 Umbrakinesis

While the Sentry is most commonly associated with blinding light, his Void persona is the ultimate epitome of darkness. As such, the Void, and Sentry himself, once he’s finally merged with his darker half, are capable of massive feats of darkness manipulation. Able to create and manipulate shadowy constructs of the eldritch darkness associated with the Void, Reynolds connection to the dark is equally as powerful as his obvious connection to the light.

This versatility makes Bob even more powerful than many may realize, as his connection to such starkly opposing forces reflect not only his internal struggle against the Void but also the full spectrum of pure power to which he has access. With enough practice, the Sentry can master both darkness and light, adding yet another layer to his already impressive skillset.

5 Energy Absorption

While the Sentry’s abilities may at first seem to be solar-powered in nature like DC Comics’ Superman, the source of Reynolds’ power is actually far more expansive. Able to draw in practically any form of energy in order to fuel his power of one million exploding suns, it’s quite difficult to totally cut the Sentry off from any and all power unless he manages to expend all of his energy at once.

New Thunderbolts #14 by Fabien Nicieza, Tom Grummett, and Gary Erskine describes this ability quite succinctly, simply stating that “Sentry can draw energy from anywhere and everywhere.” With such energy reserves at his command, Reynolds’ stamina is beyond superhuman. And only a handful of similarly powered heavy-hitters, like Thor or the Hulk, have ever truly pushed him to his limits.

4 Power Lending

Sentry’s abilities are such that he is already godlike unto himself, but it is ability to share these powers with others that helps elevate him to the status of near-deified proportions. On more than one occasion, Bob Reynolds has shared his considerable powers with those close to him. From his superpowered pup, Watchdog, to his former sidekick known as Scout, a handful of being have been given the chance to wield the abilities of the Sentry for their own – even after his apparent death at the hands of Knull.

And not every bit of power he shares has to perfectly replicate his own innate abilities. There have been several instances where he uses his power to simply reinforce those of others, either by reinforcing the Hulk against the menace of the Void or recharging Iron Man’s armor.

3 Biokinesis

In addition to empowering others as he sees fit, Reynolds is also capable of further feats of biophysical manipulation to a potentially limitless. As the Sentry, Bob has healed others from seemingly incurable circumstances – he even managed to heal the daughter of his therapist, bringing her out of a vegetative state and healing her spinal issues with his mere presence. But for Sentry’s every action, the Void responds with an equal and opposite reaction.

This theme extends to Reynolds’ biological manipulation abilities as the Void harms where Sentry heals. In Sentry #8 by Paul Jenkins, John Romita Jr., and Mark Morales, the Void is said to have given a young mother an incurable form of breast cancer from across the country. In the right hands, these abilities are world-changing, but for Bob, it’s yet another power in a never-ending list.

2 Resurrection

The Sentry’s biokinesis isn’t limited to simple healing, and he’s even managed to unconsciously resurrect the dead under times of great duress. After the murder of his wife, Lindy, at the hands of Ultron, Reynolds returns the Watchtower to find her alive and well in Mighty Avengers #6 by Brian Michael Bendis, Frank Cho, and Jason Keith.

Totally unaware of her death, Lindy tells her stunned husband that she was only asleep as the shocked Sentry breaks down, but the ramifications of this trauma reinforce just how insanely powerful the Golden Guardian really is. Should he ever truly master this ability, it would be a paradigm shift not unlike the advent of the X-Men’s Krakoan Resurrection Protocols. But in the meantime, Sentry will have to work on a smaller scale.

1 Molecular Manipulation

What truly places the Sentry in a tier far and away above his fellow heroes is the power that he’s never truly mastered: molecular manipulation. Presumably the source of the rest of his impressive array of abilities, Reynolds’ control over molecules is such that his abilities are quite literally godlike. Dark Avengers #12 by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato Jr., and Greg Horn pits Sentry against the Molecule Man – a being of godlike power that has rewritten the reality of the Marvel Universe on more than one occasion – and he shockingly came out on top.

While Reynolds lacks Molecule Man’s mastery and finesse, it’s clear that he has Owen Reece outmatched in terms of sheer, raw power, and is capable of creating constructs and even sentient entities by rearranging molecules at will. It’s this ability above all that escalates the Bob to godlike status. And when the Sentry eventually makes his ultimate return to the Marvel Universe, God only knows what he’ll do next.