Marvel has a bit of a Superman envy problem. There's a good reason for this, of course - Superman is the first, and arguably best, costumed superhero of them all. He was the one who started the whole shebang. It's only natural for the powers that be over at Marvel to want their own version of the character.
Superman can be a very fun character to play with and when Marvel does create their own version of the character- of which there are several - they always do something different with the character, taking the Superman archetype and tweaking it a little bit. Case in point - the Sentry. The character was created to be a Marvel version of Superman, but with some intriguing twists and foibles. This list is going to look at the ways those twists and foibles kept him from being the Marvel Superman and all the ways he is Marvel's Superman.
10 Isn't The Marvel Superman: His Origin Story
Everyone knows Superman's origin story- rocketed from a dying planet by desperate scientists and found on Earth by a kindly couple and raised to be the best person he could be. The Sentry's origin is very different.
Robert "Bob" Reynolds was a junkie who broke into a lab looking for drugs and found a special serum. He injected it and gained amazing powers. While he would choose to use his powers for good, his origin lacks the all-American wholesomeness of Superman's.
9 Is The Marvel Superman: Superheroic Connections
After gaining his powers, the Sentry would become a part of the superhero community of the early Marvel Universe, making friends with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. Strangely enough, his golden aura had a soothing effect on the bestial Hulk of the day and the two would work together.
Much like Superman, the Sentry became one of the most important heroes around, making connections and becoming a leader in the superhero community.
8 Isn't The Marvel Superman: Easily Manipulated
After Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn was given control of the Fifty States Initiative and the superhero community and formed his own team of Avengers. Ares and the Sentry would both stay on from the previous incarnation of the team. Ares didn't trust Osborn and stayed around to keep an eye on the team he had formed.
Osborn was able to manipulate the Sentry, though, telling him what he wanted to hear and keeping him around to intimidate his enemies. Superman would never have allowed himself to be manipulated in the same way as the Sentry.
7 Is The Marvel Superman: He Has His Own Secret Headquarters With A Robot Servant
Superman has his Fortress of Solitude. It's the place he goes when he needs to be alone (hence the name). He does his science experiments and such there and keeps all kinds of trophies form his exploits. The Fortress is run by a Kryptonian robot called Kelex when Superman isn't around.
The Sentry has something similar- the Watchtower. It served a similar purpose to Superman's Fortress (except Sentry and his wife lived there) and also was run by a robot- CLOC.
6 Isn't The Marvel Superman: Head Case
Superman is known for being a remarkably well-adjusted person and this has a lot to do with his upbringing. Ma and Pa Kent taught him how to deal with his problems in healthy ways and he's always in complete control of his emotions. That doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything, he just doesn't let his feelings consume him.
The Sentry is very different. He has a variety of mental problems, which manifest themselves in terrible ways and he didn't deal with his problems in very healthy ways at all.
5 Is The Marvel Superman: Has A Superdog And Young Sidekick
Superman has always had a large cast of Kryptonian characters to hang out with. His parents had sent his dog Krypto in a separate rocket and the two would go on to have adventures together. Beyond that, there was Supergirl, his cousin, and later two different Superboy, the first being a clone of him and the second his son Jon.
While the Sentry never had as large an extended Sentry family as Superman had, he did have his sidekick Scout, who had similar yet weaker powers as the Sentry and his own super-dog, named Watchdog.
4 Isn't The Marvel Superman: Superman Never Would Have Sided With Iron Man After Civil War
After Civil War, superheroes were forced to either register with the government and work for SHIELD, following the orders of Iron Man or face incarceration if they continued to be superheroes. The Sentry chose to work with Iron Man after the conflict.
Superman would never support a wannabe fascist in armor who betrayed his best friends because he thought he could run the superhero world better than anyone else.
3 Is The Marvel Superman: The Golden Guardian Of Good
During the early days of his superheroic career, the Sentry became an inspiration to the assorted heroes of the Marvel Universe. He was a very stalwart hero, always protecting the Earth from the worst threats and fighting the good fight but also always willing to help out his fellow heroes, whether it be in battle or if they just needed someone to talk to.
This is pretty much the exact same kind of behavior that Superman is known for and it earned the Sentry the nickname of the Golden Guardian of Good.
2 Isn't The Marvel Superman: The Void
The one thing that holds the Sentry back the most is the Void. The Void is the dark side of Robert Reynolds, all the neuroses, phobias, mental problems, and darkness combined with the near-limitless power of the Sentry. Back in his early days, when the heroes realized the Sentry and the Void were the same person, they erased the world's memory of the Sentry to keep everyone safe.
Of course, the Sentry would get his memory back and become the Sentry again and the Void would always be there, waiting in the shadows, ready to destroy everything.
1 Is The Marvel Superman: The Power Of A Million Exploding Suns
The one place where Superman and the Sentry are most similar is in power level. Both characters are just phenomenally powerful, usually much more powerful than any one of their fellow heroes.
This amount of power has usually made the Sentry the powerhouse of any group he's a part of and with powers like his, it's no wonder. While he has a lot of powers that Superman doesn't, like psionic skills and matter manipulation, their sheer power level is on par with each other.