No Name

In both instances, with Robert’s powers comes an amplification / personification of his mental illness. However, Sentry/the Void represent different things between the comics and MCU.

In the comics, Sentry is everything people want to see from Robert. A savior, a golden boy and a perfectly well adjusted individual with no illness in sight. His wife even refers to Sentry as Robert’s lingerie. On the flip side, the Void is everything no one wants to see from Robert, his mental illness, his flaws and his problems. Both together make Robert Reynolds who he is, a mentally ill man with the power to either save or destroy the world. A man who has 3 sides to him, and only 1 side people want to see and accept: Sentry.

MCU Bob Reynolds, on the other hand, is a metaphor for bipolar, at least in my eyes as someone who also has bipolar. He has episodes of highs and lows, in his own words and according to his files he experiences delusions of grandeur and depression. Apply those to Sentry and the Void and you get Sentry as a representation of mania and the Void as major depression. Both sides of Bob, Sentry and the Void, are portrayals of mental illness. They just happen to be on one end of the extreme. Once again the power to either save or destroy the world is entrusted to Bob, who’s stuck between his own two worlds and extremes.

The two metaphors explore different aspects of mental illness. Robert is faced with hiding and silently battling a major aspect of himself, the Void, in the comics. In the movies Bob finds himself between two distinct states of mind, one where he is above everyone else and one where he is rock bottom. In both cases he also has a history of drug abuse which led to him developing his powers in the first place.

My personal thoughts on the two metaphors is that I prefer the comic one (I was personally moved by it more), but I was pleasantly surprised while watching the movie because I never expected Bob to be depicted as (possibly) having bipolar since I have bipolar myself. My best friend even texted me that Bob reminded her of me because the way he describes his illness is exactly how I describe mine. I hope in future appearances his character is delved into more because Sentry is such an interesting character to me. Unfortunately his writing isn’t always the best, but in his original two runs his character truly spoke to me and I implore everyone to read them.