YMMV / Warlock (1967)

• Base-Breaking Character: Pip the Troll. People either like him as a Lovable Rogue and loyal companion of Adam that gives the story some needed levity or hate him for being an annoying jackass that only manages to steal page space from Adam and Thanos.
• Complete Monster: Count Abyss, from Warlock and the Infinity Watch, was once a human scientist named Milos who voluntarily threw away his own soul to become the champion of a malevolent Eldritch Abomination named Zalkor, and proved he had no conscience to begin with by slaughtering his fellow researchers beforehand. With nigh-omnipotent power and an ego unconstrained by anything, Count Abyss decided to take over the universe, subjecting galaxy after galaxy to a campaign of genocide, torture, and slavery. Those he doesn't wipe out are subject to worse fates; the population of Egolix-7 were permanently reduced to deformed monsters, save for their teenage princess Maya, whom Abyss made his consort. Abyss later tortures Maya with a Love Potion he uses to have her fall for Adam Warlock, falsely promising her an antidote before revealing the truth and forcing her to torment Adam, gloating that she might take comfort that it was a "false love" breaking her heart. Seeking a soul again, Count Abyss stole the Soul Gem and ripped out the souls of hundreds of thousands, permanently tainting them with his evil and corruption.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: The Magus, the powerful and conniving ruler of an empire of religious fanatics, has a rather goofy Afro hairdo.
• Faux Symbolism:
  • It's amazing that Marvel got away with publishing a science fiction faux-Crucifixion in the early 70s.
  • The Church of Universal Truth, an evil religious alien organization that Adam battled, is also heavily influenced by the Church - it was largely Author Appeal at the time. Jim Starlin is an atheist/Recovering Catholic and was a very strong opponent of organized religion. Starlin would later concede he was a little anvilicious about it.
  • The 1000 Clowns chapter features Adam meeting thinly veiled versions of 1970's Marvel editors disguised as clowns, who are trying to brainwash him into a loyal and conformist follower of the Church. It's basically Starlin's making fun of Marvel editorial and getting back at them for removing him from the Captain Marvel book due to his more trippy and experimental approach he put in his run.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • Warlock infiltrating Autolycus ship and knocking out his underlings one after the other with stealth.
  • Warlock breaking free of the Universal Church of Truth conditioning by embracing the embodiment of madness.
  • Thanos making his entrance in the story to help Warlock defeat the Magus.
  • From Warlock & The Infinity Watch #14 we have Gamora defeating an entire army of UN troops all by herself!
  Gamora: I tried to be reasonable with them. The gods know i tried. I really did.
• My Real Daddy:
  • While Jim Starlin did not create Adam Warlock, he is certainly a favourite character of the author who took him from an obscure Fantastic Four side character to one of the foremost tacticians of Marvel Comics in The '90s. Indeed, outside of mentioning his genesis as a Lee/Kirby character, in the beginning, non-Starlin Warlock stories are basically never brought up.
  • Roy Thomas also deserves credit for naming the character "Adam Warlock", giving him the Soul Stone, and establishing the character as a Messianic Archetype
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Marvel apparently decided they couldn't have two Warlocks (who were completely separate, dissimilar and had never met), so they threw the New Mutants' Warlock under a bus when they brought back Adam. The two would finally meet and team up to fight Ultron in "Annihilation Conquest".
• Tear Jerker: Adam Warlock meeting his future corrupted self shortly before he becomes Magus and giving him a Mercy Kill with the Soul Gem.
  Future Adam: Short time?! You fool. It's been an eternity! During that time, everything i've ever cared for or accomplished has fallen into ruin! Everyone i've ever loved now lies dead! My life has been a failure! I welcome its end.

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