Marvel Comics has always tried to be all-inclusive when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Black Panther was a great movie that demonstrated that a film could be financially successful with a minority hero.  Sadly Kevin Feige has failed to be as inclusive as he could be and has left one group completely out of their films.

Kevin Feige's Failure

Kevin Feige has been a great steward of the diversity of the Marvel Comic Cinematic Universe.  The one area that Kevin Feige has failed is in portraying physically and mentally impaired individuals on the big screen.  The only Marvel Comics impaired characters to appear on screen that had any significance were Professor Xavier and Blind Al, but they were not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  You could try to argue Don Cheadle's War Machine suffered an injury that left him unable to walk, but that is a stretch.  Kevin Feige could solve this problem by introducing a bold character that would have a lasting impact on the MCU.

Sentry, A Hero Marvel Comics Needs

Sentry is a powerhouse with powers that make him his own Avengers team.  Strength.  Telepath. Power of Resurrection.  He is such a dominant and strong hero he has taken on Galactus by himself.  This is a character that can appear on Earth or travel with The Guardians of the Galaxy to the stars.  He has been a member of the Avengers and interacted with much of the Marvel universe.  Sentry also has more than an arch-villain like most characters because he himself is his own villain. The character of Sentry also serves as the villain The Void.  Imagine for every life Sentry saves Void can take one.  The perfect stalemate.

Sentry offers so much potential and yet it is his one weakness that makes this character story so compelling.  Even with all the power he has, Sentry suffers from a debilitating mental illness that causes him to limit his own abilities to protect the world.  Imagine showing a person with mental impairment in a positive light fighting to save the world instead of showing them as a  villain or as a victim.  If Kevin Feige really wants to diversify the Marvel Cinematic Universe and show characters that inspire us, then Sentry is one character that must be in the next phase of movies.

Investing in Sentry Comic Books

Sentry is a character that has touched many storylines in his 20-year history in Marvel Comics.  The books to invest in would be three versions of his first appearance.  The normal Sentry #1 cover has a great Jae Lee cover. One downside to this cover is the black border around the character makes finding top grade raw copies difficult.  As of this writing, there are less than 575 copies in the CGC census, so this book should have room to grow.  I have managed to see a few at auctions but usually, these books are snatched up by the savvy investors in the room at below FMV prices.

 

 

 

The most valuable first appearance of Sentry #1 features a John Romita Sr. variant cover. This cover portrays the character in a Silver Age type appearance.  This first appearance is the book most investors seem to bet on. Why? Because while it had a lower distribution number than the regular issue, this book has 200 copies in the census.  Again this is not a large number for a book released only 20 years ago, so if you find one raw and it is in a high grade you may want to buy it now.  In all the years I have attended live auctions I have yet to see this book come across the auction table.

 

 

 

 

The middle of the road entry is the San Diego Comic-Con version of Sentry #1.  What amazes me is the book has roughly 350 issues in the CGC census and yet it has an FMV less than the regular edition.  A lower CGC census and sales numbers and yet the FMV is lower than the regular edition.  This is an irregularity that I can only justify because of a lackluster cover. That being said, this book is still the first appearance of Sentry.  The significance of this book may make it the most undervalued of the three first appearances. This may be the book you want to buy because it could be ripe for a market readjustment when the rarity of the book becomes apparent to investors.

A Hero for our Time

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a driving force for investors.  You better be one step too early instead of one step too late to realize any profits from your investments. Banking on a character that has such significance in the Marvel Comics universe is a safe bet. The fact that Sentry represents a group of people that have not adequately been portrayed in the MCU could make these books sleepers.  I would recommend buying a few if you can and waiting to see if these books could explode with an MCU appearance.  Even if there is not MCU appearance you should remember that an undervalued first appearance of a Marvel Comics hero is usually a safe bet to hold its value and only appreciate with time.