Fifty years and two months ago, the ninth issue of Warlock ended with a shocking revelation — Thanos, the Mad Titan, who’d been missing and presumed dead since the climax of Captain Marvel #33 (Jul., 1974), was alive — and had shown up to offer Adam Warlock his personal assistance in the latter’s battle against his evil future self, the Magus. Could it be true? Going by the cover of Warlock #10, which boldly promised us readers of September, 1975 “Thanos versus the Magus”, both in its blurb copy and in its spectacular illustration by Jim Starlin and Alan Weiss, it sure seemed like the return of the villain of Starlin’s last great cosmic epic was indeed back, and ready to throw down with the villain of Starlin’s current great cosmic epic. But, of course, if we wanted to know for sure, we were going to have to turn past the cover and dig into the comic’s contents, beginning with its opening splash page…
I doubt anyone reading this blog post had any difficulty just now separating out the names included in the credits line above (or in figuring out who did what, for that matter), but, just for the record, this story has been brought to you by Marv Wolfman (editor), Jim Starlin (writer, penciller, and colorist), Steve Leialoha (inker), and Tom Orzechowski (letterer).
Before moving on, we should note that on the next to last page of Warlock #9, the Magus stated he was sending “2500 religious fanatics” against Adam and his companions. As of this page, that number has become “25,000“. Did Starlin forget exactly how many Black Knights he’d specified in the previous issue’s script? Or did he decide that the overwhelming odds of 2,500 against 4 just weren’t overwhelming enough?
As he has in previous issues, Starlin adds extra visual zip to what is already a rousing action scene with his varied panel shapes and page layouts.
Adam is hoping that once they’ve made it outside the palace, they’ll be able to lose themselves in the crowded nighttime streets. But after Thanos blasts open the door of the main entrance, and the group sees what waits for then beyond, they realize that’s not going to happen…
This relatively quiet stretch in the story allows Warlock a moment or two of reverie, which he naturally uses to recap the main events of the saga to date. It’s very well done, but we’re going to skip ahead nonetheless, picking up the narrative as Adam’s thoughts return to the present situation…
In the previous issue, we saw the Magus summarily drop the Matriarch through a trap door, presumably to her death. Her reappearance here is thus somewhat unexpected, and some readers might feel that it slows down the action unnecessarily. Given how important this character has been to the earlier chapters of our storyline, however, I think it’s appropriate for Starlin to give her the courtesy of a more dignified exit than she received in Warlock #9.
OK, so we have a chapter break, here. Maybe this would be a good time to fill newer Marvel Comics readers in on the background of Thanos. I wonder who might be available to handle such a assignment?
Mar-Vell continues to tell us what went down in his own book, up to the point in Captain Marvel #33 when he defeated Thanos by shattering the Cosmic Cube. As Marv notes, he’d assumed that Thanos had been destroyed along with the Cube — and a mostly-wordless page that showed us readers a silently screaming Thanos trapped in the eye-socket of an exultantly laughing Death had sure seemed to imply that the mad Titan had, in fact, rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. But, as the cosmically-aware hero goes on to explain, both he and we were mistaken…
And having done his duty to his former chronicler, Captain Marvel flies away, back to his own book — the latest issue of which had happened to include a subtle reference to recent events in Warlock, as Mar-Vell and his partner Rick Jones encountered a representative of the Universal Church of Truth on the Kree homeworld of Hala. (Given that Captain Marvel was at the time being produced by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom, both pals of, as well as sometime collaborators with, Jim Starlin, the cross-referencing hardly came as a surprise.)
This is the first appearance of Thanos’ “space ark”, Sanctuary; it (or other, nearly-identical ships of the same name) will prove to be a forebodingly familiar presence in the Marvel Universe, going forward.
As Thanos winds up his tale of Gamora’s origins, notice how the next tier of tier panels parallels (in reverse) the tier in which this monologue began, two pages back:
The Magus recognizes the name of Thanos, as his intelligence services have previously tagged the Titan as someone who could possibly become a threat one day. But though the Magus respects the “keen and powerful mind” of his newly revealed foe, he’s confident that, despite Thanos having been able to alter his past somewhat, he’s in no danger of having his whole existence terminated. “Too deeply are my roots buried in the cornerstones of Order and Chaos for a worshipper of Death, such as Thanos, to effect me!” the Magus declares. “For I am pure Life and only I can determine my future!”
And so we come to the end of Warlock #10… which, as you might have noticed, never quite managed to get to the “Thanos vs. Magus” tussle that the book’s cover seemed to promise. Did this disappoint my younger self when I first read this issue, half a century ago? While I can’t claim to clearly remember my immediate reactions way back then, I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the least bit let down by this installment of Jim Starlin’s epic. For one thing, as a jaded fan with over a decade’s experience of reading comics, I’d already seen a lot of covers that were way more misleading than this one. More importantly, it wasn’t like the actual contents of the comic had been anything less than spectacularly entertaining, so why quibble? And, finally, there was still plenty of time for the two super-heavies to trade for-real, one-on-one blows… or so at least it seemed to me.
That last supposition would turn out to be accurate, as it happened. But something that I’m pretty sure I wasn’t expecting in November, 1975, was that Warlock #11 would mark the end of the story of Adam Warlock’s struggle against the Magus (for now, anyway). After all, there still seemed to be plenty of stuff that needed to happen before our hero could claim victory, as of course we all knew he ultimately must. Yeah, sure, issue #10 ends with Thanos telling Adam he has to commit suicide, and the “next issue” blurb promises “The Bizarre Death of Adam Warlock!” But we all know that’s got to be a dodge… don’t we?
Most of y’all reading this already know the answer to that question, I realize. But it’ll still be fun to watch how it all unfolds two months from now, won’t it? In any event, I hope to see you then.
Another fine discourse on the latest chapter of the Warlock vs. Magus epic, Alan! I wasn’t the least bit disappointed in this mag. Admittedly, even in 1975, I thought having 25,000 fanatical religious warriors take on Warlock, Gamora, Pip & Gamora was a bit much, and having even Pip get through it without injury was rather absurd. But, hey, it’s all fantasy, and Starlin draws it all so well! I did love the scene wherein our golden hero encounters the dying Matriarch, and Warlock strikes out in adolescent rage after she breathes her last, expressing outrage at the tribulations of life. And then Thanos makes his very timely return, sounding rather fatherly, with almost soothing words of wisdom. Except, of course, he IS Thanos. And he only serves his own purposes and even admits to Warlock that he is doing so and is only helping Warlock beat the Magus because he considers Warlock the lesser threat to his future plans. A lot of exposition in this issue, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Also notable was the reference to Thanos’ time machine prior to the description of how Thanos found Gamora and re-shaped and trained her to be a match for and intended assassin of Warlock/Magus. Given that it had been less than two years since Thanos’ seeming demise in Captain Marvel #33, seems there was hardly time for Thanos to have done all that, but given the time-machine, Thanos had all the in the universe to do so, which is hinted at but not made explicit in the telling.
A lot to take in before the final showdown, with promise of more “strange” things to come and an anxious two-months to see what Starlin would deliver. And for now, two-months’ wait to discuss that classic mag!
I was completely hooked on the story reading this (as I’d been from the get-go). Can’t say I recognize Thanos’ ark — it’s not that distinctive a ship that I’d remember it (other than Starlin’s style depicting it).
And here we see the beginnings of the end, that for Magus to die, so must Warlock. A shame they didn’t stick with that and spare us the Infinity Toe-Fungus of the 1990s (nope, no strong opinions).
Conversely I’m surprised Starlin (or anyone) never resurrected the Matriarch. But she does get a good death scene here and I love Warlock realizing Had He But Known, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
Didn’t she have at least a one panel cameo in her new life after Warlock won?
Yes, she did. There’s also been a Matriarch of the Universal Church of Truth that appeared in the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy series — although there seems to be some confusion about whether this is supposed to be the same woman or not. See links for more info.
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Matriarch_(UCT)_(Earth-616)
https://www.marvel.com/characters/matriarch
Helpful, thanks.
Over in *Spidey Super Stories,* Thanos didn’t have an ark, but a helicopter (with THANOS on the side).
He had to ensure his helicopter wouldn’t be mistaken for anyone else’s helicopter, such as Mephisto’s Hellicopter or Captain America’s heliCapter.
A bit surprising that the Matriarch doesn’t seem to have comeback in all this time. Sure she died, but one doesn’t have to look far (as frasersherman alludes) to find characters who weren’t bothered by that.
Eric, please see my reply to Steve McB.’s reply to fraser’s earlier comment!
Trying to avoid feeling smug that I had remembered ‘2500 religious fanatics’ had become ’25,000’ between issues when I commented on Warlock’s previous issue, #9, back in July. Possibly a less-specific ‘thousands’ used across both issues might have kept smart*sses like me quiet.
This was really quite strong stuff for a mainstream comic published 50 years ago – the hero’s future self is fated to become irredeemably evil and the only way to prevent this is for him to agree with another irredeemably evil bad-guy to commit suicide? Where were the comics code authority while this was going on? Were they too dazzled by the amazingly confident story-telling and dramatic and imaginative artwork to notice? Feels quite a distance away from heroes worrying about preserving their secret identities and the like…
Gamora’s people, the ‘Zen Whoberis’… Zen Hubris, maybe? Hubris, says Wiki, is “extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency”. Was Starlin that clever with word-play, to suggest that there might be a question mark over this race’s attitude?
Also a little bit of a grandfather paradox if Gamora was allowed to exact vengeance on those who took part in her people’s genocide years before it happened. If it therefore never happened, what did Thanos rescue her from, and what motive for revenge did she have? Divergent timelines, as Thanos hints, or Dr Who’s ‘timey-wimey’ stuff?
Mike, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have noticed the 2500/25000 discrepancy if you hadn’t pointed it out in July — unfortunately, by the time I got around to writing this post I’d forgotten where I picked that particular tidbit up from. My apologies for not giving you the credit before; please take as smug a bow as you want!
Starlin was great on Captain Marvel but he was on fire on Warlock. I loved his very complex philosophies that he managed to make fit in a comic book and the amazing way he could lay out a story. Leialoha also manage dto make him look where I often found him a detriment as an inker and absolutely disliked his work as a penciller. And I agree that the Matriarch should have returned. Another menace with knowledge of the aborted timeline could have known of known of her potential and trained her to use it.
One of my all time favourite single issues. And much to be thankful for: Starlin’s satirical commentary on organised religion started me on the path to atheism at the tender age of 13.
Jim Starlin, like Neal Adams, grew up Catholic. Berni Wrightson did, too, and despite being punched out by a would-be boxer priest as a schoolboy and being ill-treated by nuns, he said in an early ’80s Comics Journal interview that he still believed in God.
There are many whose faith has been shipwrecked by men (and institutions) which have grossly misrepresented God. I’m not just speaking about Catholic and Orthodox prelates, but commercialized (Protestant) “churchianity” as well.
If it weren’t for Jesus Christ, I wouldn’t be a Christian. Yes, there is much irony and a bit of humor in that statement.
So I understand why Starlin and Adams — and so many others like them — reacted as they did, and it seeped into their professional work as well.
For anyone who is well read in the Bible, the disparity in the tenets and practices of 1st century Christian leadership and their 21st century counterparts, especially in the western world, could not be more evident.
So I understand where you are coming from, Chris. It takes nothing less than a miracle, a revelation of the risen Christ, to be a born again believer. Nothing less will do. Neither staid, rote religious rituals nor a mini-rock concert with a little motivational speaking at the end will suffice. Both are standard Sunday morning fare these days.
Some great Starlin art there, fascinating how an artist can emphasise certain visceral features for expressiveness in a character and for Thanos, it was often his teeth . Notice how other characters usually don’t have that attention to oral detail. Kirby did similar with Dr Doom’s eyes behind the mask whereas Thanos’s eyes are usually just dark shadows so the menace is expressed differently.
Since when is Titan an “artificial satellite,” Captain Marvel? Also how did the Titans cope with all those rivers and lakes of methane there? Sure hope they weren’t smokers.
Pure bliss. For me, as an almost adult in the 70’s (and I still pretty much feel the same way fifty years down the pipe), Starlin’s Warlock was as close to perfection as a comic could get. No notes. From the cosmos-spanning story to the dynamically rendered artwork, every line, every stroke every word (2,500-25,000 not withstanding) was pitch-perfect. Stan Lee at his highest couldn’t have created a story like this and Englehart and Gerber, the only two writers in my opinion who could have come close, would have been hampered and hamstrung by the fact that they would have had to depend on others for the artwork. At this point in history (and perhaps for all time), Starlin stands shoulder to shoulder with Jack Kirby as the one of the greatest creators comics has ever produced.
Hyperbole aside, this issue was great. The arrival of Thanos and the fact that we all KNEW he was up to no good, while Adam was grasping for any port in a storm to save him was a perfect extra layer of story-telling, and how could any of us fifty years ago have known what Gamora would come to mean to the Marvel Universe? I also love the quiet anti-climactic denouement afforded the Matriarch. She had been a formidable opponent in the early chapters of the saga and her untimely exit down an endless hole never quite seemed to give the character the send-off she deserved. This did. A quiet moment of tender regret with Warlock, where he almost looks like he’s going to kiss her good-bye was just what the character needed.
Honestly, Alan, with as much story as was going on here, I don’t think I even noticed that the events on the cover took place! What a great time to be a comics fan, this was. And so much great stuff on the way from both Marvel and DC. Onward and upward! Thanks, Alan.
By the way, Starlin’s cover seems to have been inspired by an interior page from Steranko’s Captain America no. 113 from 1969:
https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/cap113e.jpg
This was good work, although I found the ending in the next issue somewhat underwhelming . . . .
Work this ambitious sometimes disappoint.
Hi, Alan,
Wonderful recap. I have to confess that, at the time, I didn’t put WARLOCK in the topmost tier of my Marvel reading, besotted as I was by Englehart, Gerber, and McGregor. The value of your blog is the chance to not only revisit the stories I remembered loving but also to reassess other books, and this definitely falls in that category. I recalled thinking that Starlin was doing pretty innovative work in his storytelling, but now I get to appreciate what he was actually trying to achieve. Heady stuff!
This issued covered so much, brilliantly, featuring:
amazing action
ambiguous antagonists
bizarre backstories
cosmic characters
introspective contemplation
innovative interludes
laudable layouts
mourning moments
moral corruption
overwhelming odds
reprehensible evil
but was, in truth, just setting up the denouement in what is one of my all time favourite comics, #11.
Starlin at this stage was truly outstanding.