Marvel 1975.10 - Warlock #9

Warlock #9

Title: The Infinity Effect

Writer: Jim Starlin

Artist: Jim Starlin

Villain: Magus, Matriarch, Thanos, In-Betweener

Regulars: Pip the Troll, Gamora

Note: This story continues from Strange Tales #181.

The last four episodes of this story in Strange Tales were beautifully crafted masterpieces, but Warlock #9 leaves them far behind. I'm almost scared to write about it, because my review can't do it justice. I have the comic open while I'm writing this review, and I feel like I have to write about every single panel to explain what's happening. The best I can do is to refer you either to Marvel Unlimited or to a reprint of this story.

Warlock is challenging the Magus, his future self. He thinks he can defeat him, but the Magus can remember this battle taking place 5000 years ago. Whatever Warlock does is the same as what the Magus did when he was Warlock, battling his future self. The adversaries are caught in an endlessly repeating time loop. The Magus is so confident that he tells Warlock what will happen. He'll zap Warlock with his soul gem to summon the In-Betweener, a being who looks like Frank Gorshin in the Star Trek episode "Let that be your last battlefield". Warlock will be trapped in an alien dimension for centuries before finally returning to his cocoon. He'll emerge from the cocoon 5000 years in the past as the Magus. Then he'll set everything up as he already saw it in the future, his past.

That all sounds complicated, but the story is easy to understand.

I said that the actions are repeating endlessly. Everything is almost, but not quite the same. Gamora is a new factor. The Magus has never seen her before, but her attempt to assassinate him fails. She's been standing in front of him all this time, but he couldn't see her. He was blind to anything that varied from his memories. He notices her at the very moment when he uses his soul gem to cover Warlock with radiation.

The Magus walks away, and Warlock collapses in desperation. He considers himself a failure, and he also thinks he's evil because he's allowed the soul gem to act through him. However, Gamora hasn't been acting by herself. She's been communicating with someone she calls her master.

Gamora's master arrives in person. It's Thanos, who we last saw in Captain Marvel #33. This is something that I didn't expect. It was a shock when I first read it. Thanos was a villain, so why is he offering Warlock his help? The answer isn't a spoiler, because I worked it out for myself in the two months before Warlock #10 was released. Thanos had sought Godhood using the Cosmic Cube. He can't tolerate anyone else being a God.