First Appearance of Sentry: The Sentry #1 (2000)

The Sentry first appeared in The Sentry #1, cover-dated September 2000, a Marvel Knights series written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Jae Lee (Wikipedia; PriceCharting). The same issue is the first appearance of the Void, his dark other half. Wikipedia credits Rick Veitch with uncredited conceptual work: he and Jenkins first imagined the character as a washed-up man with an addiction and a close bond with his dog, and Veitch suggested threading him back through decades of Marvel history in period art styles.

The Sentry was launched with a publicity stunt. The story went that a forgotten 1960s Marvel artist named Artie Rosen had co-created the character with Stan Lee and that the sketches had just been found. Artie Rosen never existed; Wizard magazine helped run the story, and Stan Lee took part knowingly (ComicBook.com). The comic itself uses the same idea: Bob Reynolds is a hero the whole world, including him, has forgotten. The period-style art in the series follows Veitch's idea of placing him across Marvel's past decades (Wikipedia).

PriceCharting values, retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $69.69 (about three sales a week)
• 4.0: $42.34
• 6.0: $70.22
• 8.0: $93.86
• 9.2: $103.53
• 9.8: $250.00

The ungraded figure is higher than the 4.0 figure because most raw copies of a 2000 book are in good shape. Since 9.2 is only about $34 above raw, grading pays mainly for copies that can reach 9.8. PriceCharting's sale list also shows a San Diego Comic-Con edition; check which cover you have before comparing prices.

Not literally, but his power level is written close to it. His powers come from a variant of the Super-Soldier Serum that, in Wikipedia's summary, moves his molecules an instant ahead of the current timeline, and he is described as having the power of a million exploding suns: great strength, durability, speed, flight and energy projection (Wikipedia). The catch is his mind. The Void is his own destructive side, and his strength depends on how stable he is.

Thor. In the Siege storyline (2010), after the Sentry loses control to the Void, Thor carries out his wish to die (Wikipedia).

Thunderbolts* (2025), in which Lewis Pullman plays Robert "Bob" Reynolds. Wikipedia lists him returning in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).

Northstar is the answer usually given. He first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979), but an editorial policy against openly gay characters kept his orientation implied for years; in Alpha Flight #106 (1992) he said on the page that he is gay, making him the first openly gay character to come out in a Marvel comic. He married Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X-Men #51 (June 2012), the first same-sex wedding in mainstream comics (Wikipedia, Northstar).

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode that did not exist in the cover year means a later edition.
• Paper: decades-old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service such as CGC can detect them. See spot a fake or restored comic.

Shoot the front cover flat and straight on in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. The Sentry #1 is a 2000 Marvel Knights book, so the main checks are the cover (standard or convention edition) and whether it is a later printing or a collected edition. ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover art from the photo and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick; there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market.