Iron Man has gone up against just about every villain the House of Ideas can throw at him – but it was another Marvel hero, and fellow Avenger, the Sentry, that put Tony Stark to his greatest test. With Sentry considered one of Marvel’s most powerful characters, few might have expected Stark to walk away from their fight, but shockingly, Iron Man came out on top.
Iron Man #9-11 – by Daniel and Charles Knauf, Patrick Zircher, Scott Hanna, Studio F’s Antonio Fabela, and VC’s Joe Caramagna – found the Armored Avenger on the run, with the Sentry on his tail. Tony was instantly overpowered, and it became clear there was no way for Iron Man to win in a straight-up brawl.
Instead, Stark gained the advantage by hacking into Cloc – the crisis management line, designed by Reed Richards, which directs the Sentry towards disasters, overloading the most powerful Avengers member with cries for help. This psychological attack sent Sentry into a spiral, giving Tony time to escape, and reminding fans of Iron Man’s greatest strength: his intellect.
10 Most Powerful Characters Who Beat the Sentry (aka Marvel’s Superman)
The Sentry has a reputation as Marvel’s Superman for a reason, but despite that, he’s not invincible. Here are the 10 Marvel characters who beat him.
Iron Man Couldn’t Physically Beat The Sentry – & He Didn’t Need To
As one of Marvel Comics’ foremost Superman alternatives, Sentry is far and away one of its strongest heroes. Rivaling even the Hulk in terms of raw power, Bob Reynolds supposedly has the power of one million exploding suns. While Iron Man has undoubtedly created some pretty impressive armors over the years, there’s nothing in his arsenal that can truly compete with power on that scale. Despite his strength, Sentry’s disadvantage is his fragile emotional and mental state – a fact that Stark recognized and was able to exploit. With Iron Man’s comparably weaker power levels, his ability to outwit his opponents remains his best asset against a being as powerful as the Sentry.
Despite his incredible stockpiles of armors and tech, Tony Stark’s greatest advantage will always be his mind. Time and again, readers have seen Iron Man prevail with his back against the wall, overcoming great odds even without his armor, his allies, or even his incredible wealth. Even now, during the Fall of X, Iron Man is fighting the good fight alongside the X-Men, largely through his intellect and strength of will: two areas in which he clearly had the Sentry beat. Iron Man may not be able to out-punch all of Marvel’s strongest characters, but it’s been made clear that he can out-think most of them, and the Sentry is yet another example.
Tony Stark Is One Of Earth’s Mightiest For A Reason
On his own or with the other Avengers, Iron Man is one of Marvel Comics’ foremost heroes, and it’s not just because of his impressive armor. Tony Stark has long since proven that it’s the man behind the iron that is one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and against more powerful foes, he’s more than capable of thinking his way out of any situation. The Sentry may be one of the House of Ideas’ most unstoppable powerhouses, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t have the iron will that one needs to go toe-to-toe with Marvel Comics’ Iron Man.
