Sentry #2 Review

Writer: Jeff LemireArtist: Kim JacintoPublisher: Marvel ComicsRelease Date: July 25, 2018Cover Price: $3.99Review by: Simon West

Here we are, issue two of Jeff Lemire's Sentry run and it appeared that the direction this book was taking was rather obvious, our ticking clock and mystery villain were setting us up for an entertaining if a rather predictable journey.


So as the book begins we get the reveal of who killed Scout at the end of the last issue, it is none other than Cranio!

You might be scratching your head right now and you wouldn’t be wrong. Jeff Lemire has done something a little bit special, he’s created a new villain for the Sentry. For most heroes, creating a new villain is a rather straightforward affair, give them some motivation and a back story, maybe tie them in thematically with something we all know about the good guy and away you go, but the Sentry represents a rather difficult creative challenge, someone who should have seventy years of publishing history, in reality, has a library of less than two dozen issues to draw from. This makes his rogues gallery rather thin, combined with the Sentry’s power levels and the act of creating a new villain becomes incredibly difficult, because if you create a new villain to fight the Sentry you also have to explain why he too has not been seen as a part of the Marvel universe for so long.

It’s the effortlessness that Lemire displays as he navigates this challenge that makes this issue of The Sentry so special. As Bob Reynolds rushes about town in a panic trying to find his stolen confluctor he’s taken by Misty Knight and Tony Stark, and with the attitude displayed by these two to the plight of their friend, Bob probably doesn't need too many enemies. Our ticking clock expires and the Sentry is brought into our reality, however, complications from using the confluctor has caused Bob himself to be transported into the pocket dimension usually reserved for his adventures as the Sentry.

As Bob is forced to watch Cranio destroy the Sentress, a sidekick that never truly existed, the truth is revealed to the reader, Billy, Bob’s friend and former sidekick is the one behind the disappearance of the confluctor. He stole the device and allowed Cranio, revealed to be severely mentally disabled in the real world, access seemingly so that Billy can relive his glory days.


Bits and Pieces:

While the first issue was excellent in its execution of simple storytelling devices and bringing everyone on board, this issue excels by upping the stakes and layering plot twists with an exceptional craft. Where Jeff Lemire takes us next is anyone's guess but I’m fully on board for this ride.

9/10