The Void
I’ll label Reynold’s comic appearances according to what he looks like:
[LIST]
[*]Sentry: Golden-clad caped superhero
[*]Sentry/Void: Same as above, but has some inhuman features, mostly black eyes
[*]The Void: All-out monstrous appearance, or the Sentry acting villainous plus having monster eyes/black speech bubbles
[/LIST]
But in fact the Void is always supposed to be there to some degree.
Writer Brian Bendis on the Sentry’s varying comic incarnations and the nature of the Void:
CBR News: With the Void about to unleash hell on the Avengers, I suppose it's a good time to ask you about his partnership with Osborn. We know why The Sentry's alter ego, Bob Reynolds, worked with Norman, but why did his dark half, The Void, also choose to play along?Brian Michael Bendis: They are the same person. I don't think it's clearly a case of The Void and Bob. It isn't like one personality takes over the other. I think there's varying degrees of each in the different versions that you see, like the best version of Bob had a little bit of The Void in it so he could kick some ass. That was the Sentry who ripped Carnage in half. Without that influence, you get this simpering guy who can't move. That's Bob on his own.
Brian Michael Bendis: What I've always enjoyed about The Void is, the character itself has all these different physical manifestations. They're unexplained until you realize he's got the power of someone, say, like a Molecule Man. He's got power over physical space, but his mental illness makes it where he creates these creatures. Some people with severe bipolar disorders see these creatures in the corner of their eye, and I've actually known people who this has happened to. I knew someone who literally had to sculpt them into creation to make them go away. So my version of this is he is someone who, with his power, literally creates them in the persona of the Void.
CBR News: So, The Sentry is not a classic case of Multiple Personality disorder?Brian Michael Bendis: No. I've done those stories before, and I wouldn't classify it as this. Bob is a sick man, with the power of a god, who created The Void to be all these things that are in his head that he cannot control. Scary!
Link:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25450
Bendis on Reynold’s sanity slippage and physical forms through his comic history and Siege #4:
IGN Comics: I want to talk about Sentry really quick. I know this will be explored to some extent or another in issue #4, but has Sentry completely lost control at this point? Is that kind of what's happening as we see this tentacle, lobster thing emerging from him?Bendis: Yeah, this is a very interesting interpretation by Olivier Coipel. What I've liked about the Void overall is that because of the nature of it, every artist has had an original take on it. I kind of try to explain where the character is at to the artist – and sometimes only to the artist – and see what kind of incarnation they come up with. When I first saw it, I was intrigued, because that's not quite what was written. I had said this is the creepiest, worst manifestation of the Void. This is the Void unleashed. There's nothing human tethered to it like there has been in the past. And this is what he came up with. It just made me feel like Coipel had something horrible happen to him on a beach in his childhood.
But I do think it's a great, horrific image. It stands out and it's iconic. There's just something about it that you don't expect at all. So that's what's upon them and it's as Norman said: "There's nothing holding him back now." There was always someone massaging his shoulders – Hulk, Reed, Tony – there was always someone calming him down. And now that's been removed. For those watching Dark Avengers, we've seen just how far he's fallen from what was not that strong of a foundation to begin with.
Link:
http://comics.ign.com/articles/108/1082238p1.html
People in the know commenting on the Sentry’s power and his “thousand/million exploding suns” imply it’s not literal, or that there’s more to it:
Civil War Files
Tony Stark: Rob consumed the serum and gained powers compared to “exploding suns” (whatever that means in this context).
Mighty Avengers # 14
Skrull Jarvis: No one knows the limits of his power set. Not even Stark. That’s why we can’t duplicate it.
Dark Avengers #13
Lindy Reynolds: What did he turn into? What exactly is the power of a thousand exploding suns?
Siege Storming Asgard: Heroes & Villains
Victoria Hand: Everyone knows the Sentry has the power of a million exploding suns. What eludes our scientists, despite months of study, is exactly what that means. His power defies measure.
