"Dibs."

...Does anyone still say "Dibs"? I don't think I've ever heard it in real life! Jake saying it, well, maybe. Especially if he's just Marc Spector's idea of what a cabbie talks like. 

Tigra was an actual cat for a bit, wasn't she? That seems potentially darker than the Void. If she hadn't been cat-sized at the time, I shudder to think what her bodycount would've been. "Dark Quasar" could potentially be the biggest bad of all: in that vein, I loved Adam Warren's Dirty Pair: Fatal but not Serious. A bad guy activates Yuri's clone, tells her this was a simulation, go kill the Dirty Pair. 'Bad' Yuri asks, what are the parameters? How hard should she go? The bad guy doesn't care, which gives her a blank check for mayhem: since she thinks it's a sim, she doesn't have to worry about property damage, innocent bystanders, common decency; she can do whatever to complete the mission. And taking those restraints off, she goes hard. Quasar, without any morality? Could be scary!

Namor didn't just fall out of the last shot; I think he would not be as sentimental as the rest. Even if he thought he would forget, he doesn't care enough to remember. On the other hand, Jake probably seems the toughest, but is pure marshmallow inside. Cries at movies, sad pet videos, etc. 

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"Swear."

Feel like I have a weird chapter break this week, but that could be me feeling my self-imposed deadline creeping up... 

 Also, I swear I had the Cotali mention in there before Dale's comment last week! All the adventures they reference are vaguely intended to call back old Justice League of America covers--really old ones! Go all the way back!

How much claim does Namor have to the Defenders name? I feel like less than the Hulk's, honestly. But when you have a team without any formal structure, yeah, that's pretty much the Defenders, isn't it? Even if you have a moon base...

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"Read Siege #4 before this book!" Uh, no; you can't make me. While I liked his other series, I know this one was reamed when it came out. Has it aged like fine wine, or gone even more sour? From 2010, Sentry: Fallen Sun #1, "Fallen Sun" Written by Paul Jenkins, pencils by Tom Raney, inks by Scott Hanna.

As part of Dark Avengers and Siege, Norman Osborn manipulated the Sentry, giving his Void side more and more control. Osborn also had Bob Reynold's wife Lindy murdered, by Bullseye--yet another crime neither of them will ever pay for--and when the Void took control, Bob begged Thor to kill him. Freed at last, his remains were launched into the sun; but this issue was his funeral: no service, since nobody showed.

But, when his former sidekicks Scout and Watchdog don't think anyone is going to show; they're joined by Tony Stark, the Fantastic Four, Steve Rogers, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and the X-Men's Cyclops, White Queen, and Rogue. (Since they were in civilian clothes, I had Tony and Stephen mixed up for a second, and thought Tony had gone with Rogue's hair!) While Reed tries to comfort Scout, Sue and Johnny notice Rogue seems to be taking this pretty hard. Tony starts with the first story, explaining how Bob had always been there for him, even in the lowest depths of his alcoholism. Tony is furious with himself, for his shoddy behavior, where he perhaps did not realize what Bob was going through. (Iron Man 2 was in theatres, so it's weird to see AA Tony there and party Tony on screen.) The Torch tells Scout Spidey sent his regards, and that Thor was visiting Bob's aged mother: while really senile, she vaguely recalled him from Bob and Lindy's wedding. (Dealing with old people can't be easy for Thor; possibly harder than telling her he killed her son.)

Strange recounts how Bob gave up his power, and everyone's memory of him, to save everyone: to be a hero without recognition. Reed is visited by Bob's computer, CLOC; who gives him Bob's diary. It asks Reed to read a section, which surprises him, then says it will rebuild the tower, to await his master's return. Reed tries to talk it out of it, but CLOC says his access is revoked, and drifts off. After some brief remembrances, Rogue takes off crying: the Sentry had been able to touch her, without her stealing his powers or memories. Johnny and Cyclops seem to confirm there was more to their relationship: this was greeted by fandom at the time like a wet fart at a water park.

But Ben's story, about why he hates the Sentry, might be even more character-assassinating: facing the Wrecking Crew, with multiple civilians in danger, Ben is this close to snapping the Wrecker's neck, when the Sentry stops him. A month and a half later, the Wrecker breaks stir, and kills a busload of kids to make a point. But Ben thinks the Sentry was right, and should've told him so when he was alive; and that he was the better man. Oh, bulls--there's a final recollection and closing by Reed, but I've had it. 

The Sentry would be back, in 2013's Uncanny Avengers #9, as a Horseman of Apocalypse. He's actually been killed again since, which is a hazard of making a big deal about a superhero death.

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"Escalate."

The Sentry! Golden Guardian of Good, with the power of a million exploding suns! Or something. Whose idea was this? I swear somebody else sparked this notion in the comments! But, has this figure ever been used around here? We saw the old, Wal-Mart exclusive giving Clark Kent the hassle with Hyperion, a hundred years ago; as well as him being disarming in Siege. And along with him, old figures for Namor and Moon Knight are there for Nova's "just-us league" pitch in "A League of Their Own,", 13 years back! I don't know if this team is more analogous with the JLA than my last try: is Red She-Hulk closer to Wonder Woman than Ms. Marvel? Quasar feels more like Green Lantern than Nova in some ways, but not in others. The Deathloks get in since Cyborg is movie JLA...

Anyway, I really liked the first Sentry series; and much later Jeff Parker's 60's pastiche Age of the Sentry. And...that's it? I think I've mentioned his appearances in or around Dark Reign, as Norman Osborn's bodyguard, against Moon Knight and the Punisher; but I can't recall if I've read either of those? The guys are outgunned and outclassed, but the Sentry isn't necessarily a gun Osborn can point at someone...more like a water balloon full of acid? It might work, it might blow up on you, it might hit someone and bounce off; you don't know.

 

No doubt more about him next time, but aside from being (more) dated, I kind of prefer the old Wal-Mart Sentry to this one, in a more David Finch style? Wait, it looked like he had short hair on the New Avengers cover he comes back in? But, I would like this Sentry about 300% more, if there were a matching Void figure!

I thought I messed up Quasar's mentor, Epoch; who was maybe slightly less creepy looking than his old boss, Eon; but I can definitely see Moon Knight preferring a bird-skulled lunatic. "Ka nama kaa lajerama" is maybe part of Namor's Atlantean heritage: Robert E. Howard created the phrase in his first Kull story. It cancelled the mystic disguises of the Serpent Men! Shout it out now, see if it reveals anyone.  

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Marvel's What If? hasn't been a regular series for some time, but still returns every so often, usually as a one-shot related to an event. Like today's book! From 2010, What If? World War Hulk #1, with "What If the Heroes lost World War Hulk?" Written by Mike Raicht and painted by Lucio Parrillo; and "What If Thor Entered World War Hulk?" Written by Michael Gallagher and art by Patrick "Spaz!" Spaziante.

Sometimes, What If? seems to be written in defense of how a story actually went down: if you thought that went badly, get a load of this. And it's also an excuse to showcase your heroes getting killed right and left. The first story takes that tack, as the end of World War Hulk runs smack into Secret Invasion: when the Skrulls' queen is killed (I think it was Spider-Woman, but I don't recall) their bishop takes over and declares the Hulk a prophet. Especially since Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man, the two the Skrulls most feared, were killed; their invasion is now wide open, and they begin exterminating humanity.

The Vision manages to convince the Hulk to join the heroes and villains still resisting, but the Skrulls are a step ahead: with Wasp replaced by a Skrull, Yellowjacket is turned into a "genetic time bomb," who blows up everyone except the Hulk. Beyond furious, the Hulk uses a beacon Reed Richards made to summon the Silver Surfer, and the Hulk convinces him to bring Galactus to destroy the Skrulls' new homeworld, just as he did their last one. The Skrull bishop dies wondering if "he" loved them, after all. Against his will, the Hulk survives, to become the new herald of Galactus, the World Breaker.

The second story is more optimistic, which actually makes it more irritating: Thor and the Warriors Three move their return to America up, and happen to arrive in time to change the end of World War Hulk. While punching it out, Thor and the Hulk pause to help a subway car full of people stranded in the blackout, and call a truce. Everything is worked out far more peaceably, and the Hulk returns to Sakaar to rule. (Which wouldn't really work for future stories, even if it would make sense.)

Fun fact: the Sentry is completely useless here, as usual.
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I didn't think Comics Alliance had much effect on my purchases, then two from the same day. Weird.



First, a week or two back CA had a piece titled "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Guardians of the Galaxy; which covered a wee bit of the history of the older version of the team, which was set in the future. And the present book isn't quite set in the past, but may have a lot of flashbacks...

I know I read the Jim Valentino 90's version for a while; I still have the fancy-pants foil cover #25, where the future Silver Surfer calls himself the Keeper and has Quasar's quantum bands and what appears to be a cape or a shawl...I think I had mostly fallen off the book by that point, since I didn't recognize the cover for issue #50 used in the article.

This one's pretty far afield from where I remember the book, featuring Talon prominently: he was the future Inhuman cat-guy wizard. There's also the girl Yellowjacket from the 20th century (who would be immediately fridged upon her return) and the Beyonder and Mephisto and his daughter and a kid that I think was an offshoot of the Church of Universal Truth from old, better, Jim Starlin comics. The actual Guardians don't seem to have a ton to do, but there you go.

Then, in an interview with Batman '66 writer Jeff Parker, Chris Sims asks if he got the job because of his work on Age of the Sentry. Maybe not...

"Jeff Parker: I don't think anyone read Age of Sentry, I believe I just came up in discussion."

Aw, don't feel bad, Jeff! I read the first five issues...that I fished out of the quarter bin, but still! Never could find that last one, though; and #5 actually ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. A somewhat deranged looking Reed Richards tells his son Franklin, that he's going to tell him "the final Sentry story." Coincidentally, the classic Guardians of the Galaxy guest-star in issue #5 as well!

Even more coincidentally, I picked up Guardians of the Galaxy #50 and the Age of the Sentry trade the day after those articles, for a combined total of four bucks. The latter I had seen multiple times before, and was picking up this time because I had an upcoming strip poking a little fun at the Sentry; but he's a character I've liked on occasion. The occasions being his original limited series, and this one; everything else I've seen with him has been on a sliding scale of "kewl" to "reeks of effort." I haven't read all of the Sentry's funeral issue, but it falls squarely under the latter: let's have every hero say how great the Sentry was, and maybe it'll sweep the lame stories and mischaracterization under the rug.

The last issue is an imaginary story (although the whole series may just be stories Reed tells to Franklin) in the vein of the classic Superman ones; with the death of the Sentry. Even for an imaginary story about death, I felt it was a bit of a downer, as it implies the Sentry may not be what he thinks he is. But up to that point, the series is like the Silver Age Superman in the 60's Marvel Universe; and not too shabby. I wanted to pick it up since I was going to be making fun of the Sentry.

Age of the Sentry, written by Jeff Parker and Paul Tobin, art by Nick Dragotta, Ramon Rosanas, Michael Cho, Bill Galvan, and Colleen Coover. Guardians of the Galaxy #50, "Coldly Sublime, Intolerably Just!" Written by Michael Gallagher, pencils by Kevin West, inks by Steve Montano.


Well, Scathan approves, anyway.



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"More News at Eleven."

The DCUC Clark Kent figure and the new Marvel Legends Hyperion were both on my work table, so I wanted to do something with them both. Then, I wanted to compare Hyperion to the old Sentry Toy Biz figure, since the Sentry is the running change and will get a new figure with the Hyperion body. By that point, throwing in Captain Marvel (or Shazam, if you must) seemed like a given.

Hopefully, this one should remind you of classic wrestling, as Clark Kent is once again overrun on the mike. Both Sentry and Captain Marvel seem baby-faced compared to Hyperion, though.



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