This week, two characters from the House of Ideas were announced as returning to comics stands. One is kind of a hero, the other is the baddest of the bad guys!
FIRST UP: THE SENTRY
Much like the various “Bat-alikes”, there are now “Supes-alikes” in the comics universes. Some are very good, some are despicably bad, and others are someplace in-between.
One character in that last category is The Sentry from Marvel, and he’s back from one of his original creators, Paul Jenkins.
The Sentry #1 arrived recently, and here’s the book’s description:
>>HE’S BEEN AN AVENGER, A DARK AVENGER AND A THUNDERBOLT! THE SENTRY IS BACK – BUT SO IS THE VOID! From creator Paul Jenkins comes a bold, high-stakes epic about MARVEL’S most dangerous hero – the SENTRY, a man with the power of a million exploding suns- and the dark entity born from his own psyche: the VOID. When the Void resurfaces, threatening to unravel reality itself, the Sentry must battle not only cosmic forces and criminal empires, but the monster within. Guest-starring REED RICHARDS, SPIDER-MAN and the KINGPIN in a tale of impossible choices and devastating consequences. Can the Sentry save everything when the cost might be everything he loves?<<
Sometimes it seems that “with great power comes great” confusion! What is an average joe to do with all that power? Apparently, some need time and help to sort out what being that “super” involves, and The Sentry is just such a guy.
Of course, Superman is the most moral of the heroes in DC (and probably most of Marvel as well). We KNOW he will do the “right thing” when presented with a problem.
But what happens when doing the “right thing” has consequences that makes it hard to follow through with?
That’s kind of what The Sentry seems to have to deal with, so it’s time for him to try to reasonable about this super-hero business.
I think Jenkins is the best creator to guide this character forward. He did develop him, after all. I’ll be curious to see how he develops in the months ahead!
NEXT UP: DOCTOR DOOM
Yes, he ruled the world not that long ago, so the big Doc wasn’t going to be off center stage for very long, was he?
This is one thing in comics that frustrates me… an earth-shaking event happens, it lasts a while (usually not long enough for me), then the status quo is restored “because YOU demanded it!”
Doctor Doom is often called the “biggest” and best bad guy of them all. I particularly enjoy it when he’s up against the FF, and after that, Iron Man. But it is starting to feel like the Marvel writers are struggling to figure out what to do with old Doc.
Should he rule the earth or just be a big baddie? It’s a tough call for some, apparently.
Anyway, he’s going to be back to vex Captain America in June, and here is what we know about it:
>>CAPTAIN AMERICA #12
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art and Cover by VALERIO SCHITI
Variant Cover by CORY SMITH
On Sale 6/24
After S.H.I.E.L.D.’s campaign in Latveria meets a brutal and violent end, Captain America finds himself in the last place he expected to be, alongside the last person he expected to see again. Where has Victor Von Doom been since One World Under Doom, and what does he want with Steve Rogers? Find out here as everything hurtles toward ARMAGEDDON!“The current arc sees Captain America accompany the all-new S.H.I.E.L.D. into Latveria to maintain order in Doom’s absence. But Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, A.K.A. Red Hulk, is determined to enact revenge on Latveria, and his actions have dire repercussions, both for Captain America and the world. As the world—and a new team of Avengers—unites against Red Hulk in AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, Captain America finds himself enlisted in a startling war against his will, serving at the behest of Victor Von Doom! Doom, not seen since his fall in last year’s One World Under Doom, needs Cap’s help for his most ambitious plan ever in a shocking arc that continues to boldly redefine Captain America and Doctor Doom’s dynamic and serves as a key companion piece to AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON.”<<
The thing that bothers me is that I always felt it was epic when Doctor Doom took on the FF. But some of my comics friends feel that kind of encounter is “been there, done that,” and when Doom took on Iron Man, that opened the door for him to fight other Marvel people.
I guess that would still make it a big deal when the FF encounters Doom, who used to escape without us knowing how he got away. I’d still like to know how he dropped out of a plane with no rockets or parachutes or all. In that way, he’s like the Joker in DC, who survived explosions and many other kinds of attacks. But as a friend used to tell me, if you can’t figure out how he does it, it proves you aren’t a genius like he is. Sigh.
I have to point out what my brother always used to say, that Marvel enjoys the illusion of change, not change itself. I guess if you like a hero or a villain in the House of Ideas, just wait a while and you’ll likely see them come back before too long.
About Author
