AVENGERS versus INFINITY WATCHWarlock Must Die! (Marvel)
Where: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27 When: April 1994 Why: Jim Starlin How: Tom Grindberg
The Story So Far...
While Adam Warlock attempts to use the combined Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, and Power to unlock the lost memories of teammate Maxam -- he has no idea forces are conspiring to destroy he and The Infinity Watch!
US Senator Kyle Munson has used his mind-altering powers of hate to turn The Avengers into a bloodthirsty hit squad headed to Monster Island with a mission to kill Warlock!
The hate-mongering Senator is in truth the malicious Man-Beast who is out for revenge against Adam and The Infinity Watch for thwarting his attempts to conquer Counter-Earth and wield the powers of The Infinity Gauntlet!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Drax 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Giant-Man 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Drax 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Adam Warlock 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Adam Warlock 30 (Super)
The Avengers are: Captain America, Giant-Man, Thunderstrike, Black Widow, Hercules, and Vision.
Operating under brainwashing from the former Hate-Monger; The Avengers have already taken out Gamora in the previous issue, but apparently suffered the temporary loss of Vision as a consequence of the beach-side melee.
The Infinity Watch are: Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Maxam, and Pip The Troll.
The Watch are missing one of their best fighters, but they've still got a whole lot of cosmic might on their side! By nature of their assembly, they wield four of the Infinity Stones: Gems possessed of primordial energies of fundamental cosmic elements that once combined to make the Infinity Gauntlet.
Drax The Destroyer wields the Power Gem, adding it to his already impressive physical strength. In this incarnation we saw him team with Hulk to temporarily topple Thanos during The Infinity Gauntlet, and go toe-to-toe with Thor in the Infinity Crusade! He's a natural to neutralize Thunderstrike or Hercules.
Where: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27 When: April 1994 Why: Jim Starlin How: Tom Grindberg
The Story So Far...
While Adam Warlock attempts to use the combined Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, and Power to unlock the lost memories of teammate Maxam -- he has no idea forces are conspiring to destroy he and The Infinity Watch!
US Senator Kyle Munson has used his mind-altering powers of hate to turn The Avengers into a bloodthirsty hit squad headed to Monster Island with a mission to kill Warlock!
The hate-mongering Senator is in truth the malicious Man-Beast who is out for revenge against Adam and The Infinity Watch for thwarting his attempts to conquer Counter-Earth and wield the powers of The Infinity Gauntlet!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Drax 6 (Invincible)Intelligence: Giant-Man 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Drax 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Adam Warlock 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Adam Warlock 30 (Super)
The Avengers are: Captain America, Giant-Man, Thunderstrike, Black Widow, Hercules, and Vision.
Operating under brainwashing from the former Hate-Monger; The Avengers have already taken out Gamora in the previous issue, but apparently suffered the temporary loss of Vision as a consequence of the beach-side melee.
The Infinity Watch are: Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Maxam, and Pip The Troll.
The Watch are missing one of their best fighters, but they've still got a whole lot of cosmic might on their side! By nature of their assembly, they wield four of the Infinity Stones: Gems possessed of primordial energies of fundamental cosmic elements that once combined to make the Infinity Gauntlet.
Drax The Destroyer wields the Power Gem, adding it to his already impressive physical strength. In this incarnation we saw him team with Hulk to temporarily topple Thanos during The Infinity Gauntlet, and go toe-to-toe with Thor in the Infinity Crusade! He's a natural to neutralize Thunderstrike or Hercules.
Maxam lacks the boost of a gem, but his ability to increase his size & strength compliments Drax, taking care of either of the loose Avengers powerhouses, or maybe directly countering the super-sized might of Giant-Man!
With the Mind Gem enhancing her mental powers: Moondragon has the potential to neutralize any of their opponents, and maybe even finish the whole fight by breaking the brainwashing that's turned them against The Watch. Failing that, her hand-to-hand skills are good enough to test Black Widow or Captain America!
Warlock could similarly use his natural super-human gifts to fight The Avengers, or wield the Soul Gem to pull everyone into its pocket reality for a dose of soul-searching. if that fails and an exit strategy's needed: Pip the Troll might just be able to help the team escape with the Space Gem's teleporting potential.
Warlock could similarly use his natural super-human gifts to fight The Avengers, or wield the Soul Gem to pull everyone into its pocket reality for a dose of soul-searching. if that fails and an exit strategy's needed: Pip the Troll might just be able to help the team escape with the Space Gem's teleporting potential.
We've seen The Avengers take on all kinds of challenges, but we've never seen them take this one. Let's find out what happened!
The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)
The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)
What Went Down...
Through gritted teeth Captain America makes his mad declaration: "WARLOCK MUST DIE!"
The sentiment is echoed by Giant-Man as The Avengers square-up against The Infinity Watch. Adam Warlock asks for reason, while Drax mistakes Thunderstrike for Thor, and Pip The Troll leeringly confronts the Black Widow.
Pip disappears as quickly as The Widow's temper flares, while Warlock gives up on diplomacy and knocks Giant-Man to the ground with a flying right hook!
Moondragon takes the opportunity to launch a jumping martial arts kick, deflected by Captain America's shield. She takes on the hand-to-hand challenge, matching his bitter madness with her own critique of the "pompous" Avenger.
Maxam struggles to land a hit on Hercules, who remains bitter over their meeting during the Infinity Crusade. Herc aims to pay him back, using his own surprise attack to grab Drax by the cape and toss him into the ocean many miles away!
While Drax tries to figure out where he is -- Maxam finds himself caught between a rock lifted by Hercules, and the hard place of Thunderstrike's hammer!
Knowing when he's outmatched: Maxam calls for help, receiving a polite acknowledgment from Warlock, who evades a giant fist swung by Hank Pym -- and unleashes a direct karmic blast from the Soul Gem!
Warlock hops away from the kayoed Giant-Man, but before he can come to his teammate's aid is struck by the massive boulder hurled by Hercules!
A dark shadow watches from nearby island flora, and Pip The Troll materializes at Warlock's unconscious side, tossing his spiked mace "skull-cracker" in favour of brewing a "neat trick" he's been wanting to try out.
Meanwhile Maxam finds a forearm block wanting as Hercules follows it up immediately with a second, more devastating left that catches him across the chin!
Maxam's tired of being a punching bag for two demi-gods, and manages to narrowly avoid the raging descent of Thunderstrike's uru mace!
It crashes into the ground behind him, but Hercules continues his verbal and close-quarters assault, moving in to grab the "varlet" by the collar and punch him straight in the face!
Elsewhere Captain America blocks a kick with his shield, transitioning seamlessly into a shield swipe that Moondragon nimbly leaps over.
She resists Maxam's desperate plea to use a mind-blast: "Don't rush me! I'll be with you as soon as I attend to the good Captain in my own manner!"
A precision chop to the shoulder finds its mark, allowing Moondragon to kick Captain America's famous shield out of his hands! She follows with a stiff right palm strike to his jaw, dodging his right-hand counter punch with a twirl, to strike back with her own uppercut knock out!
Satisfied with her victory over Captain America -- Moondragon is happy to use the Mind Gem's powers to mind-blast Thunderstrike into submission!
The knock-out beam evens the odds for Maxam, but he fails to notice the massive ocean rock suddenly teleported overhead by Pip The Troll, which sends Hercules running clear of the impact zone!
The long thin rock crushes Maxam & Thunderstrike and kicks up a cloud of sand!
Moondragon doesn't even see Hercules coming as he runs right through her like a raging bull with a charging shoulder!
Pip tries to make the save, snapping the wooden handle of his spiked mace as he clobbers Hercules over the back of the head. The demigod shrugs it off, tossing Pip aside as he makes a path toward a recovered Adam Warlock!
Warlock ducks beneath a wild haymaker and returns fire with a jumping kick!
Hercules is unfazed, launching Warlock across the beach with an overhand punch!
He charges after Warlock, who unleashes the awesome mystic power of his Karmic staff, but the demigod "Prince of Power" resists its awesome energy, snatching it by the neck to push it away.
Warlock takes flight, unleashing a blast from the Soul Gem -- but it misses the target, allowing Hercules to grab him by the ankle and smash his face into the sand!
Warlock throws his free foot at Hercules' face, but the Prince of Power absorbs the kick and slams his left fist to the ground -- narrowly missing Warlock, who jumps clear and delivers another kick directly to the face.
Still Hercules shakes the physical assault off, rallying to deliver a devastatingly explosive backfist strike that knocks Warlock off his feet!
Warlock's body stays limp as Hercules walks the distance to pick him up by the collar, but the Avenger doesn't deliver his intended finishing blow.
Instead it's Hercules who is knocked unconscious when the eerie Vision emerges from the beach sand to deliver a surprise attack to his teammate's back!
The synthezoid's artificial brain appears unaffected by the telepathic brainwashing that enthralled his teammates. He reveals the plot to The Infinity Watch, recruiting Moondragon to use the Mind Gem to free them from their hypnosis.
The Hammer...
The last minute save from Vision helps The Infinity Watch secure their victory over The Avengers!His timing might seem overly dramatic, but his actions are justified with cold synthezoid logic.
Knowing he couldn't possibly curb the hypnotized Avengers alone -- Vision used a skirmish with Gamora in the previous issue to feign damage, waiting for an opportunity to render assistance once The Infinity Watch had the upper hand! Or something along those lines... Something that conveniently gives us a "surprise" twist. Why not?
Knowing he couldn't possibly curb the hypnotized Avengers alone -- Vision used a skirmish with Gamora in the previous issue to feign damage, waiting for an opportunity to render assistance once The Infinity Watch had the upper hand! Or something along those lines... Something that conveniently gives us a "surprise" twist. Why not?
Vision shares the victory with Moondragon and Adam Warlock, who secured noteworthy individual triumphs over multiple members of the Avengers, including Captain America, Thunderstrike, and Giant-Man.
You already know who scored the double kayo because you just read the scintillating recap above, but it feels especially noteworthy that Moondragon managed to best Captain America in hand-to-hand martial combat!
Cap actually has one of the worst defeat tallies recorded on the site, [second only to Superman at the time of writing], but he balances significant losses with a high number of wins.
You already know who scored the double kayo because you just read the scintillating recap above, but it feels especially noteworthy that Moondragon managed to best Captain America in hand-to-hand martial combat!
Cap actually has one of the worst defeat tallies recorded on the site, [second only to Superman at the time of writing], but he balances significant losses with a high number of wins.
Both stats are attributable to Cap's never-say-die attitude and warrior-like vigor for combat. He boldly risks taking the L by standing ground against obvious mismatches, like Thanos, but to other heroes he remains a mythic benchmark for fighting prowess. He holds top fighters like Black Panther and Wolverine to account, while occasionally becoming the scalp himself to prove another hero's worth, like his epic crossover showdown with Batman.
Moondragon's script notes the interest of comparing their fighting skills, but this one lacks the weight of importance other big time showdowns might aspire to, especially in more recent times where that kind of thing is given a lot of pages.
I'm not sure if Moondragon had the cachet for a bigger marquee spotlight against Cap, and the entire battle comes pregnant with modifiers, noting a compromised Avengers in a guest role.
It's all a little rough in composition, reflected somewhat in art that shows plenty of intent, but is a little sketchy compared to Tom Grindberg's usual work, which I have become a growing fan of in recent years.
Bob Almond is no stranger to inking Grindberg with a more characteristic finish, which leads me to wonder if there were deadline pressures, or late editorial interference that impacted the issue. Perhaps negotiations with the Avengers office?..
As much as The Avengers are here to be beaten by the title heroes in their fleeting guest role, it surprises me how impressive a showing Hercules has!
I like the callback to Herc's brief face-off with Maxam in the still-recent Infinity Crusade, but I'm not sure that justifies such a strong outing. He isn't just the last man standing, but also handily intimidates Maxam, and beats the heck out of Warlock! He's practically served a visual win, if not for the interference of Vision!
Perhaps this all speaks to Hercules' mythic inclination towards violent madness, or perhaps there was a particular vested interest in presenting the Avenger as a legitimate, uncompromised threat.
Although most of the presented group could be found in contemporary issues of Avengers, Hercules is the character I would most closely associate with this era of monthly issues, sharing a spotlight with the likes of Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal -- all conspicuous by absence.
Thunderstrike won't even be back in the fold until next month's issue, May cover-dated Avengers #374, which means he technically showed up two months early as an active Avenger in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #26!
I'm not sure if Moondragon had the cachet for a bigger marquee spotlight against Cap, and the entire battle comes pregnant with modifiers, noting a compromised Avengers in a guest role.
It's all a little rough in composition, reflected somewhat in art that shows plenty of intent, but is a little sketchy compared to Tom Grindberg's usual work, which I have become a growing fan of in recent years.
Bob Almond is no stranger to inking Grindberg with a more characteristic finish, which leads me to wonder if there were deadline pressures, or late editorial interference that impacted the issue. Perhaps negotiations with the Avengers office?..
As much as The Avengers are here to be beaten by the title heroes in their fleeting guest role, it surprises me how impressive a showing Hercules has!
I like the callback to Herc's brief face-off with Maxam in the still-recent Infinity Crusade, but I'm not sure that justifies such a strong outing. He isn't just the last man standing, but also handily intimidates Maxam, and beats the heck out of Warlock! He's practically served a visual win, if not for the interference of Vision!
Perhaps this all speaks to Hercules' mythic inclination towards violent madness, or perhaps there was a particular vested interest in presenting the Avenger as a legitimate, uncompromised threat.
Although most of the presented group could be found in contemporary issues of Avengers, Hercules is the character I would most closely associate with this era of monthly issues, sharing a spotlight with the likes of Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal -- all conspicuous by absence.
Thunderstrike won't even be back in the fold until next month's issue, May cover-dated Avengers #374, which means he technically showed up two months early as an active Avenger in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #26!
They were crazy times, and how ever this issue managed to come together, it's a nice artifact from both catalogues. A nice chance for us to dip into Adam Warlock and The Infinity Watch, as well!
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Winners: Vision, Moondragon & Warlock (w/ Infinity Watch)
#86 (+5) Vision
#200 (+402) Adam Warlock
#382 (+285) Moondragon
#645 (new) Maxam [+1 assist]
#646 (new) Pip The Troll [+1 assist]
#140 (-1) Drax The Destroyer [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America
#48 (-3) Black Widow
#87 (-6) Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
#161 (-4) Hercules
#1040 (-39) Thunderstrike
#86 (+5) Vision
#200 (+402) Adam Warlock
#382 (+285) Moondragon
#645 (new) Maxam [+1 assist]
#646 (new) Pip The Troll [+1 assist]
#140 (-1) Drax The Destroyer [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America
#48 (-3) Black Widow
#87 (-6) Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
#161 (-4) Hercules
#1040 (-39) Thunderstrike
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