Warning: The following contains spoilers for Annihilation Scourge: Fantastic Four #1 by Christos Gage, Diego Olortegui, Juan Vlasco, Cam Smith, Scott Hanna & Erick Arciniega and Annilhation Scourge: Nova #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Ibraim Roberson, Carlos Lopez, VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.

In Annihilation Scourge, a new infection from the Cancerverse risks bringing darkness to the entire Marvel multiverse. Things are only further complicated by their apparent chosen one and leader, the Sentry. While Bob Reynolds might be one of Marvel's strongest heroes with the power of a million exploding suns, this would hardly be the first time he's found himself facing off against the rest of Marvel's heroes.

While he seems to have warded off the Cancerverse infection, the Sentry has fallen into the grip of The Void once again, which might even be worse.

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THE VOID & THE CANCERVERSE

Bob Reynolds might be one of the most powerful figures in the Marvel Universe, but his incredible powers come with a heavy burden. Bob is constantly at war with himself, specifically an aspect known as the Void. The Void is the negative reflection of the Sentry, a being powerful enough (and demented enough) to destroy the entire universe if unleashed. One of Bob's recent attempts to contend with the entity was to work with Doctor Strange to contain it separately from him, but he ended up embracing the Void after that failed.  The other heroes were scared that the Void had corrupted Bob, something he claimed wasn't the case. But it would go a long way to explaining why Bob is aligned with the Cancerverse.

In this world as in our own, Mar-Vell contracted cancer. But in the Cancerverse, Mar-Vell convinced the various superheroes who'd gathered around him to accept his power. He convinced them to open themselves up to him, allowing them to perform a ritual that targeted death itself. By destroying the avatar of death, the concept itself was destroyed in the Cancerverse. This opened the world up to infection by the Many-Angeled Ones, an ancient and powerful force that wishes to spread a corrupted and dark unlife across the multiverse. The heroes have been twisted into their foot soldiers, turned into monstrous versions of themselves who want to spread the Gospel of the Many-Angeled Ones. The Cancerverse has attempted to spread, only to be halted by the cosmic beings of the core Marvel Universe. But finding a backdoor in through the Negative Zone might give them the chance to finally breakthrough.

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THE DARKNESS INSIDE

Sentry Annihilation Scourge

Before Annihilation Scourge, the last time the Sentry appeared was in Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda, where the Void was seemingly exorcised. After merging with the Void in an attempt to find peace, the evil energies of the Void started seeping out of him and into the world once more. Considering Sentry can change the reality around him, that was a very dangerous thing to leave in the world. Annihilation Scourge: Fantastic Four revealed that the Sentry went to Reed Richards for help figuring out what had happened to him, and how to stop the Void from spreading like that again. B

Richards tried to help find a way to separate the two, but there was no possibility of achieving it in this universe. However, different rules apply in other dimensions - like the Negative Zone. The Sentry went into the Negative Zone alone, promising to alert Reed if something went wrong on his journey. But instead of figuring out how to expunge the Void, the Void may have figured out how to control the Sentry. The different laws of that dimension may have even made it easier for him.

Reynolds no longer goes by Sentry, something he said when he first bonded with the Void. Even though he confirms he's not infected by the Cancerverse, it "agrees" with what it's doing. It would make sense for the Void to see what the Cancerverse is doing as an extension of his own desires, spreading darkness across the multiverse and making everything just as bleak as it is.

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