He’s often regarded as Marvel’s Superman, but the Sentry is one of the publisher’s few heroes who has yet to make the jump to live-action. With rumors swirling in regard to Sentry appearing in the MCU, co-creator Paul Jenkins discussed how he thinks the character should be handled in the movies.
Appearing at the 2023 Dragon Con panel “Marvel’s Sentry: A Superhero Identity Crisis,” Jenkins described what the Sentry could bring to the MCU:
“I think it would be great to give people with mental health issues something to relate to. Black Panther resonated with people of color because they saw themselves represented on-screen in a major way, and a Sentryfilm could do the same for those dealing with mental health.“
Related: Marvel’s Own ‘Reign of Supermen’ Event Is Tearing The Sentry Apart
Sentry Creator Wants MCU Film To Focus On Mental Health Issues
Jenkins raises a good point with his argument. Mental health isn’t something that has been seriously dealt with in the MCU yet, and the Sentry could be the perfect character to tackle these issues on the big screen. First appearing in his own eponymous series in 2000, the Sentry was created by Jenkins and artist Jae Lee, although he was originally presented as a lost creation of Stan Lee from the sixties. After imbibing a secret serum and gaining the “power of a million suns,” Robbie Reynolds became the most powerful man on the planet. However, he quickly proved to be his own worst enemy.
Marvel’s Sentry Could Tell A Powerful Story On Screen
When his arch rival the Void was revealed to be none other than Reynolds’ darker half, the Sentry decided to make everyone forget he ever existed, in order to save them from himself. Subsequently, Robbie Reynolds lived a quiet, suburban life until he remembered his past as the Sentry, threatening the entire planet in the process. The original series, and its 2005-2006 follow-up, delved deep into the psyche of the titular character, examining the life of a superhero through a psychiatric lens. Fascinated by the psychology of his characters, Jenkins even wrote his own diagnosis of the Sentry, classifying him with “dissociative schizophrenia with agoraphobia.“
The second series in particular (featuring art by John Romita, Jr.) portrayed the Sentry’s regular visits to his psychiatrist, Dr. Worth, as he reckoned with his illness, as well as keeping his dark half the Void in check. For Jenkins, Sentry was metaphor for struggling with mental wellness. As he told the audience at Dragon Con: “There’s this thing about heroism…We all have that capacity. But there’s another side to it – we also have the capacity for the negative. That’s what the Void was.” Invariably, Sentry will make his MCU debut, and hopefully the filmmakers will take co-creator Paul Jenkins‘ words to heart and bring the issue of mental health to the forefront.
Source: “Marvel’s Sentry: A Superhero Identity Crisis,” Dragon Con 2023
Sentry in the MCU? Read More