The
Sentry/Fantastic Four
The
Sentry/Fantastic Four
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciller: Phil Winslade
Inker: Tom Palmer
Colors: Tom Chu
Editor: Mike Marts
The heroes stand on Liberty Island watching the Void’s storm approaching. Reed has stretched all the way up to the Statue of Liberty’s torch. He think to himself that this used to be an adventure. Back in the glory days when there were a lot less heroes and a lot less villains… before anyone ever heard of the Void. Before Void was devouring the souls of men. He realizes that it almost killed him last time, and that now he has returned stronger than ever. Reed thinks to himself that he and the other heroes wait there trying to hide that the battle is already lost. Only the Sentry can save them. He is humanity’s only hope. Reed knows that he and the other heroes will do what they can, but that it won’t be nearly enough. So they look to Sentry… his best friend… the man he betrayed and confined to oblivion along with the memories of the wonderful adventures they shared.
Sentry and the Fantastic Four fight Dr. Doom.
Sentry and Reed talk to Sue in the lab.
Reed toasts Rob and Lindy on their wedding day.
The Thing punches Sentry.
Sentry and the Fantastic Four battle the Void.
The Fantastic Four are fighting against the Android Pirates of Dimension Nine. Thing is taking their blasts and telling them that they have to do better than that. Sue asks Reed why Sentry left like that. Reed says that he isn’t sure, but that he knows Robert and that he must have had a good reason. Thing says that he turned tail and ran. He says that he always told Reed there was something wrong with that guy. Sentry smashes through the robot Thing was fighting. He says that he is sorry to disappoint him, but that he was just creating a diversion. Sentry tells Reed that he accessed their main terminal. He says that their exit codes are recalibrated and the tractor beam disengaged. He mentions that the place is about to blow up in thirty seconds as well. Torch says that he told Thing that Sentry was the best. Thing says that they aren’t out of the woods yet as a horde of robots rushes them. Sentry tells them to get going and that he will hold them off. Reed and the others rush to the ship. Reed says that they have to get the information they’ve recovered or they are all as good as dead anyway. The ship takes off and just as the big ship explodes the Sentry flies out of the explosion.
Reed thinks how the Sentry always worked like that. You would be certain that he was gone, but before you could exhale he would be back, a little messed up, but with that look in his eye. Reed wonders when it was that he last enjoyed his job. Reed watches Sentry land next to the Hulk. He thinks about how there are so many more complications today. The Void is returning and bringing the end of the world with him. Reed wonders why things couldn’t remain the way they were.
Sentry stands there trying to contain the Cosmic Cube, but the enigmatic machine refuses to yield its secrets. Sentry tells Reed that he has the Cube stabilized but that even he can’t hold it much longer. Sentry says that his arms are going numb. Reed asks him to try and stay with it. He says that if they can contain the Cube for study that it will be the discovery of the century. Sentry says that is a big “if” and that something is happening. Reed says to wait one more second. Suddenly the Cube is gone and Sentry falls to the ground. Sentry asks Cloc to locate the Cube’s whereabouts. Cloc says that the Cube is located in the main room of the Alpha level. Reed says that is impossible and that it couldn’t have gotten there that fast. Reed points out to Sentry that the Cube may be going for his computer systems. Sentry tells Cloc to keep an eye on the Cube and to send down the turbavator. He says that they need to get up there as fast as they can. Cloc says that he can’t permit him to do that and launches missiles at them. Sue traps the missiles in a force field. Johnny cauterizes the blasts and changes the plasma’s form. Thing smashes them apart with a punch. Sentry says that he hopes Reed isn’t as clever as he thinks. Reed asks what he means. Sentry says that they have to get past Cloc’s defenses to get to the Alpha level, and that Reed designed them to be impregnable even by him.
Cloc is talking with the Cube. It tells the Cube that it is not permitted to take a human life, but the Cube prioritizes its protection above all the rest of Cloc’s programming.
Sentry tries to reach Cloc, but Cloc is no longer answering. Sentry says that Cloc is transmitting, but that it isn’t to him. He says that he thinks it is talking to the Cube. Sentry and the Fantastic Four come upon an entrance blocked by negative space. Reed says that he didn’t build that into the design. Sentry touches the negative space and is shot back. Reed says that Sentry actually touched an extension of N-space. He asks what it felt like. Sentry says, “Interesting. Painful.”
Reed thinks to himself that was the way the Sentry was. He was half hero and half science geek. His impossible fortitude was matched only by his appetite for understanding the universe around him. Reed thinks about how it was that which caused them to be friends in the first place. Sentry was a hero before he and the rest of the Fantastic Four gained their powers, but there was never a barrier between them. He thinks about all the discovery that they found together and all the danger they faced. He thinks about the cabin in Maine where he and Sue stayed with Robert and Lindy. He thinks about the day Robert and Lindy were married in front of fifty heroes. He mourns those times because when he lost the Sentry he lost one of his family.
Torch says that the Watchtower is like a maze.
Sue is with Thing, but radios Reed to tell him they lost Johnny. Reed says that he will keep an eye out for him, but asks Sue to re-establish contact with Sentry. Thing says that he is the clown that got them into this mess in the first place. Sue asks Thing if he isn’t still jealous.
Torch sees his destination, but before he can get there Sentry tackles him. A large robot was about to attack Torch.
Sue, Reed, and Thing hear
something. They find the large robot with Johnny in one hand and blasting Sentry
with eye beams.
Thing
tells the “big metal weenie” that “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” He tells “pretty boy”
to stand back and let him show him how it is done.
Reed thinks about how the five of them were in “the zone” that day. He thinks about all the courage, common sense, and good luck. He remembers never imagining that someone would get hurt. He remembers each of them saving the others’ lives and he just figured that it would be that way always. Onward and upward for the rest of their lives.
They finally find the Cube with Cloc. Reed says that he doesn’t like this and that it isn’t a secret that Sentry is connected to the Pentagon from here. Sentry says that they should do something instead of talking about it. He asks Reed if he remembers when they talked about using the E-Nullifier against the Cube to harness its inconsistencies at a quantum level. Reed says that he also remembers that they decided that it would be tantamount to suicide. He says that they don’t know what could happen. Sentry says that they will find out. Reed says that he can’t be serious. Sentry tells Reed for once in his life not to argue with him. He says that it is the only way. Reed tells Sentry to be careful as he shoots the E-Nullifier at the Cube. He says that he can only take so much of the residual feed before his chemical structure is altered. Sentry says, “Nnowww… yyoouuu… tellll… mmmeee…!” There is an explosion, but when everyone looks up Cloc is restored to normal. Cloc asks if it has been off-line.
Later at a barbeque, Lindy and Sue are talking. Thing is using a ball to play with Watchdog. Torch is cooking and tells Thing to be careful since Watchdog is more powerful than he looks. Reed and Rob watch Lindy and Sue talking and bet that it is about hairstyles. Reed wonders why the Cube targeted Cloc. He wonders what it wanted. Rob says that he doesn’t know if they are built to understand that kind of enigma. Reed says that maybe it just wanted to learn about them. Rob says that maybe it thought they were bored and wanted to give them something interesting to do. Reed toasts Rob’s martini glass with his own and says, “Touché.”
Reed wishes that the memories would have stayed with him forever. Reed thinks to himself that forever might not be much longer. Reed says that those times will be lost, but wonders if they were lost anyway the day he betrayed the Sentry. He didn’t just betray his best friend… he betrayed an ideal… an age of innocence.”
Forgotten… but not Gone rating: 8 out of 10
This is a pretty cool story about the Sentry, but I fail to see how it really fits in with the theme of the boos previous to this one. Don’t get me wrong, in my opinion, there should be a Marvel title written by someone steeped in continuity (like Kurt Busiek) that just tells old tales of the Sentry. I like the premise, but I just don’t see how it fits here. Does Thing know something about the Sentry, or is his misgivings about Sentry simply jealousy since, next to Sentry, Ben Grimm was Reed Richards’ best friend? It’s interesting to see how Sentry’s presence seems to change almost everyone in the Marvel Universe. Reed’s regular Marvel continuity best friend is Ben Grimm, but he’s still aloof and immersed only in his experiments. It kind of defines who Reed is. With the Sentry there… Reed almost seems personable. He has a peer with which to conduct his experiments and as such he almost doesn’t seem like the same character. Winslade does a nice job with both the “modern” look of the comics and the “retro” style this story seems to be centralized in. 4 out of 5 for both story and art.
RETURN TO FORGOTTEN... BUT NOT GONE