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.
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