Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
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Arriving as part of the Secret Invasion storyline, Mighty Avengers 14 centers on The Sentry. Even though this issue does intersect with Secret Invasion 2 at one point, it is primarily a tool for fleshing out the background of the invasion and how the Skrulls view the mentally unstable super-hero. For anyone unfamiliar with Robert Reynolds and his dual personalities, this issue has all the information you need to keep from getting lost in the story.
The issue begins with a flashback showing The Sentry's first encounter with the Skrulls. While it is nice to see a past Skrull event referenced in current Skrull story, there is no point for the flashback beyond that. There is nothing about this encounter that seems to play a part in any later encounter, other than to say that The Sentry has run into the Skrulls in the past. Perhaps something from that initial event will become important at a later date but nothing of value seems to occur here.
Moving on, the story follows Jarvis, the Avengers' butler. It is no spoiler that Jarvis has been replaced by a Skrull and here we see Skrull-Jarvis using his relationship with Tony Stark to gain access to The Sentry's personal file. The odd thing about it is that Skrull-Jarvis reads the file on a computer terminal in a room full of The Avengers. I would think that he would try to be a bit more discreet, but apparently no one was bothered by the butler reading personal personnel files. The Sentry is later discussed by Skrull-Jarvis at a meeting of undercover Skrulls. Some feel that he should be brainwashed by a Skrull since he is so unstable and close to Iron Man, however Skrull-Jarvis argues that Reynold's mental instability may be enough to sideline him during the invasion with only a few choice words.
Then we arrive at the point where the story crosses over into Secret Invasion 2. The Skrull acting as The Vision turns his attention to The Sentry and plays off of The Sentry's mental instability just like Skrull-Jarvis had suggested. Not only does this explain why The Sentry bailed out on the fight in Secret Invasion 2, but it also shows what happened afterward. Zooming off into space to get away from what he thinks is his biggest mental breakdown ever he sees a new figure in the rings of Saturn. This figure overtakes him and we next see him in Times Square during the battle at the end of Secret Invasion 2. Robert Ryder returns to rescue his wife, but he is no longer The Sentry or The Void. He is something new and different made from a combination of the two.
Even though this issue is emblazoned with a Secret Invasion tag and crosses over into that story, there's very little here that seems to give insight into that story. Instead we have the crossover event adding something to the story of The Sentry. For anyone who might be reading The Mighty Avengers and not Secret Invasion (although I can't fathom who that might be), this is an exciting and well done issue that doesn't rely on you being too familiar with the events of that series.
Mighty Avengers 14 is $2.99 and is available at your local comic book shop.