The
Sentry #5
The
Sentry #5
Title: “The Sentry Act 5: The Betrayal”
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciller: Jae Lee
Inker: Jae Lee
Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Editor: Joe Quesada
Inside the Watchtower, the mechanical caretaker Cloc tells Sentry that it is good to have him back. Sentry thanks Cloc and asks it if it knows where he has been. Cloc says that he is unable to answer that question as it seems that he has a self-modifying loop virus implanted in the deepest levels of his sub-system. He says that he is aware of the virus, and that it requires him to inform him that it is there, but that it requests that you do not remove it. Sentry sees new hardware and asks Cloc if the new device is part of its new programming. Cloc says that the device is a transmitter. It says that it detects that it emits a subliminal message on a signal capable of reaching across the planet and far outside the atmosphere. Cloc says that the device seems to be powered by his serum. Sentry asks if it knows why the device is there. Cloc says that it is forbidden to answer. Sentry can detect that Cloc is trying to fight the virus and that it is trying to tell him something through its nuances. Sentry tells Cloc to set up a containment field around the transmitter and that he wants a detailed analysis before they touch it. Sentry tells Cloc that he wants him to disable the transmitter. Cloc says that he can’t. Sentry asks by whose orders. Cloc says that they are Sentry’s orders. Sentry says that doesn’t make any sense. He tells Cloc to countermand the order. Cloc says that he has to urge caution and that he is obliged to inform him that the virus will disable his operating systems rendering him unsalvageable if Sentry tampers with the transmitter. Sentry asks Cloc if he remembers the last time they saw each other. Cloc says it does. Sentry asks who was present. Cloc says Sentry was. Sentry asks Cloc if it can access the last order it was given before the device was activated. Cloc tells Sentry he can, but that he is forbidden. Sentry asks Cloc who gave him that order. Cloc says that order was given by Reed Richards.
Ororo and Warren watch Xavier sitting before some new equipment. Ororo asks Warren what he makes of it. Warren says that he doesn’t know and that Xavier seems to be secretive, almost protective, of something. He won’t talk about what is upsetting him. He says that Xavier told him that the new equipment measures psionic activity. Ororo wonders why that is so important all of a sudden. Warren says that he doesn’t know, and that Xavier just keeps saying that they should be patient and stay alert. He says that if he didn’t know any better that he would swear the Professor was spooked.
Sentry sees that the transmitter is almost crudely and hastily put together. He says that there are new hidden tripwires, no additional viruses that couldn’t be purged in a heartbeat. As he takes the transmitter apart he thinks to himself that it is almost too easy. For a moment nothing seems to happen, but then suddenly there is a change in perception… a shift in reality. The effect spreads out of the Watchtower like an animal freed from a cage.
Outside, as if waking from a dream, people begin to remember Sentry.
Kyle Watson rediscovers his old Sentry toys in a forgotten trunk placed long ago under his bed. A poster of the hero appears on the wall as if he had merely forgotten to look at it for the last few years.
Billy Turner finds his old blue and gold pajamas hanging in his closet after all this time, but they aren’t pajamas. They are some kind of uniform.
All over the Earth people remember the Sentry and breathe a sigh of relief that they will be able to sleep better at night, but then they are also remembering the Void whom they had hoped to forget. All over the world, everyone starts to remember.
Reed looks at his unicorn and remembers Sentry.
Sentry finally remembers it all.
Sentry
lies in the rubble, his cape hanging off a stick. Sentry stands in his
Watchtower remembering his funeral. He recalls that he wasn’t really dead and
that it was all some kind of set up. Rob Reynolds was supposed to pretend. He
remembers the mourning people and the unprecedented fifty-one gun salute. He
remembers the eulogy delivered by his best friend. Reed Richards says, “The
Sentry was a traitor. I come to bury the Sentry, but I cannot praise him.
Despite his many heroic exploits, disturbing evidence has come to light that the
Sentry betrayed the trust we placed in him. In order to finance his addictions,
he accepted bribes from known underworld figures in Miami and Chicago. He used
his powers to commit murders and other violent crimes for personal gain. The
Sentry was never one of us. The sad truth is: he was never a hero. He was no
more than a common criminal.” Sentry tears apart the railing in the Watchtower
as he thinks about it. He thinks about the lie and that his best friend sent him
away and destroyed him in the eyes of the people. Sentry says that he wasn’t the
betrayer he was the betrayed.
Billy Turner’s mother tells him to be careful. Billy promises his mother that it will be okay. He tells her that if she needs anything to use the red phone in the basement. Billy remembers Sentry saying, “To the watchwagon, Scout… we’re humanity’s only hope!” Billy gets in his car and says, “Yeah, sure.”
Sentry lands outside his
house. Normie the dog is barking at him. Sentry asks him if he missed him. Lindy
says, “Bob? Oh, God, Bob… I’m so sorry.” She asks how she could have doubted
him. She says that she didn’t know… didn’t remember about him being the Sentry.
She says what he must have endured and that she didn’t even remember about his
agoraphobia. She says that he must have thought she was a total witch. Sentry
says that it is okay. Lindy says that it isn’t okay. She says that Thor just
dropped by for a visit today. She says that isn’t normal. She says that it is
ridiculous. She asks how she is supposed to deal with the fact that he is a
super hero. She says that she was just getting used to this life and being away
from the city. She asks if they are moving back into the Watchtower. She asks if
she can bring the cat. She wonders if she is cut out for that anymore and
wonders if Bob even wants her anymore. Sentry says that of course he does. He
says that he just has some things to deal with before things can get back to
normal. Sentry says that they called him a traitor and he doesn’t know why they
would do that. Lindy says that she remembers that they said he took bribes, but
says that doesn’t make any sense since he had everything he wanted. Rob says
that it was a lie. He says that Reed set him up, but that he doesn’t know why.
He says that Reed was the one person that he thought he could trust. He asks how
he could have seen that coming. Suddenly the dog starts to bark. Sentry asks him
what it is. Suddenly, Void snatches up Lindy. He says, “You could have trusted
me, Sentry. Haven’t I always kept my promises?
Step closer, Golden Boy… decide if you truly value your female’s life. The
darkness has yet to fall… perhaps I’m not yet strong enough to snap her spine
like a dry twig, but can you afford to take that chance?” Void blasts Sentry and
says, “Just as I thought. Ever the same Sentry… pusillanimous little hero child
with a heart of wax. I told you I’d come back, Robert… as you always knew deep
inside your soul I would.” Sentry asks Void what he wants. Void says, “Why,
haven’t you heard? I want it all… the entire universe and more. To devour the
entirety of soulfood in this place… hers first, perhaps? Perhaps last, just so
you’ll know it’s coming. Every single one of them, Sentry… all the way through
to you.” Sentry asks if Void returned just to get him. He asks if he was the one
that made him remember. He asks if he brought him back just to have someone to
defeat. Lindy falls from the sky as Void suddenly disappears. Sentry catches her
and tells her to relax and not to move. Lindy says, “Th… the Void, Bob… he
wanted me to tell you something… he says, ‘You know the answer. Look inside.”
On television, a weatherman points out an unusual disturbance moving rapidly toward them. He says that the most unusual part of this storm is that it is rotating clockwise. He says that it can’t be a natural occurrence and that for more on that they are going to the Sentry in New York City. Sentry tells the people that they know that he is returned. He says that he believes the attempt to tarnish his reputation is part of a conspiracy. He says that he thinks he can prove this and that those responsible will be brought to task. He says that in the meantime a matter of extreme urgency has arisen. Sentry says that the approaching storm is actually the Void. Sentry says that Void’s return signifies the gravest of dangers and that he expects him to make landfall this evening probably in New York. Sentry says that the authorities have been alerted and that evacuations have begun. Sentry promises the people that the Void will submit, and makes a public appeal to the world’s heroes. He says that they have to put aside any differences and work together. He says that their existence depends on it.
Sentry
and the Hulk stand together on Liberty Island. Hulk asks where the puny heroes
are. Hulk says that he is trying to be brave and strong, but that he doesn’t
want to face Shadow Man alone. Hulk says that he is afraid. Sentry says that he
knows. He says that he won’t let Void hurt Hulk again. He promises that they
will be here. Overhead, Archangel arrives. After a bit a trickle of heroes
becomes a surge. Captain America arrives, Spider-Man, Triathlon, and Warbird
among others. Sentry turns to Warbird and thanks her for coming. He says that
she will join the team headed by Storm and the Scarlet Witch. He says that they
are defending the coast toward Jersey. Scout arrives and asks Sentry if he has
room for one more. Sentry asks Billy if that is really him. Scout says that he
is there in the flesh, minus the appendage. He says that if Sentry has any serum
that he will take midtown. Sentry asks Scout if he is sure. Billy says that
yesterday he was a chump flipping burgers for a living, and that now he’s a
superhero with a cape. He asks who would have figured. He tells Sentry that his
mother is having fits and that she says Sentry is a bad influence. Sentry smiles
and says that she is probably right. He says that it is good to have him back.
Suddenly, Reed Richards is hovering there in a Fantastic Four cart with his head
down. Sentry tells Reed that he betrayed him. He says that he helped him design
the Watchtower and that only he would have the know how to bypass Cloc and give
him an order that he thought was coming from him. Sentry asks why he did it. He
asks if it wasn’t enough to kill him, and if he really had to destroy everything
he was. Reed says that he doesn’t remember. Reed says that Rob is his best
friend and that he would never knowingly hurt him. He says that he has to
believe him, but Sentry says that he doesn’t. He says that Reed once told him
that he would trust him with his life, and that he could expect the same from
him. He says how easily they forget.
The heroes stand and wait for the Void to show in a few minutes. Sentry stands there waiting with a terrible doubt in his mind… what if he isn’t really a hero?
Forgotten… but not Gone rating: 9 out of 10
I think that its very interesting that the transmitter seems to have two hypodermic needles extending out of them. Visually and within the context of the story it compliments well the tones of addiction that run through the series. Sentry finally gets some recognition and as soon as that happens the Void is able to make an appearance. I love that the Hulk is right there with Sentry on Liberty Island before anyone else shows up. Hulk, Reed, and Scout- the Sentry sure seems to be a popular guy to have so many best friends. My only critique of the art is that I would have liked to have a more definitive look at the Void. The weird lines to the Void seems contrary to the notion of the “sky” or “black cloud” notion of the Void. He should have been more billowy or something. Minor nitpick.