Salvaging the Sentry

Ragnell and Chris Sims, among others, have articulated their complaints about The Sentry: Fallen Sun one-shot, and I couldn't agree with them more. The sad part is, I liked the original Sentry mini-series...even though I disliked the character even then. What made the mini-series work for me was precisely the thing that I've hated in his subsequent appearances...the fact that he was such a "Mary Sue," with Jenkins (and later Bendis) pounding us over the head with the Sentry's alleged awesomeness and his importance to the history of the Marvel Universe. In that mini-series, his too-good-to-be-true nature was just that...too good to be true. His perfection gave me the unsettling feeling that something was very wrong with this picture, and it paid off.

My take on it was that the Sentry wasn't this pivotal figure who sacrificed his place in history to save the world...instead, his powers changed the world into his own wish-fulfillment fantasy, warping reality into one where Bob was the most powerful...and more importantly, the most beloved hero in the universe. When he suppressed the Void, he didn't make the world forget; he just restored the world to the way it had been. The Sentry was no longer a part of the other heroes' lives, because he never had been.

This theory could also explain a great deal of Fallen Sun, such as why so many of the mourners seemed so out of character (Ben Grimm needing to be restrained from killing?) and why Bob's "fall from grace" was glossed over. I believe that, as he died, Bob's final thought was a desperate "Please don't remember me like this!" And his last burst of power once again changed the world to one where he was the greatest person on Earth and everybody loved him because he was such an important part of their lives. And I like to think that in time, that final reality-warp will fade, and everybody will remember their inspiring encounter with the Sentry...then step back and realize "Wait, that didn't happen!"

And when Rogue realizes what he did to her memories, Bob's going to be mighty glad he's already dead.