Warlock and the Infinity Watch #39: Review

Apr 1995

John Arcudi, Patrick Olliffe

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Story Name:

Domitian over all

Review & Comments

Rating:

Warlock and the Infinity Watch #39 Review by Rob Johnson (June 7, 2024)

That's the end for Harkort and the other Luareians, Domitian and Zakaius, and Kaef who's dead.

Firelord will have his history summarised in Uncanny Origins #4. But his next actual app will be Silver Surfer #146, the last issue of his longest series, where as frequently happens the 2 former Heralds Of Galactus fight each other.

The fate of the Infinity Watch will unfold in the last 3 issues of this series.

But before then Warlock and Gamora will cameo in a Silver Surfer/Thanos tale in Cosmic Powers Unlimited #1.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Warlock and the Infinity Watch #39 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Adam Warlock was alerted by the soul of Firelord, currently residing in Soul World inside Adam's Soul Gem, that Zakaius had stolen his life-force and was currently on Earth (coming for the Infinity Watch). It turns out that Zakaius was sent by Domitian to harvest the life-force of cosmic villains, but when he witnessed the selfless heroism of Warlock and friends last issue he realised that his faith in Domitian was misplaced and he took them to confront his aged Lord and ask for Firelord's life-force back. But angry Domitian set a cyborg army on them and also empowered himself from the stolen life-forces to join the attack. Meanwhile Firelord's dead body was found by the alien Luareians who revered it as a god but gave it a funeral by fire.

Now on the planet Luarei the people find Firelord and his staff unharmed by the flames, confirming their view that he is a god.

On Domitian's planet the old Lord in his new muscled youthful body attacks with hand-blasts and invites Zakaius to renew his faith. Zak is indecisive. Maxam picks up an extremely large chunk of metal (a cyborg?) and drops it on the foe, but Domitian pushes his way out with an expanding force-field. Impetuous Gamora wants to attack him but Adam points out that she won't get through the force-field. He sends Pip the Troll to teleport inside it instead. Domitian easily shrugs him off then drops the field and blasts Gamora anyway. Drax the Destroyer and Maxam continue holding off the cyborgs while Moondragon invades the enemy's mind. She sees the cyborg guardian Kaef operating a system which sends energy to Domitian from a roomful of runes. Zakaius now realises that his Lord is powered by the life-force runes he acquired for him and Heather Douglas warns Adam that the battle is consuming those life-forces, including possibly Firelord's. Domitian rewards her by very severely blasting her with both hands. And Drax, driven by the deep connection he feels with the woman he's forgotten is his daughter, leaps angrily on the villain.

On Laurei the people have interred Firelord's body in a mausoleum with urns containing the ashes of hundreds of their kings. The child Harkort who found the body and staff in #37 retrieves the staff again.

Maxam holds Drax back from his assault to preserve the runes, and the badly-burned Moondragon enters his mind to show that she's still alive. So Drax rushes to her side. Warlock again asks Zakaius to take them inside the Holy Palace but he again replies that it is physically impossible for him. But Pip now uses *his* power. When Zak touches his shoulder and thinks of the target the Troll can teleport them both there. Kaef attacks them but Pip keeps porting out of his reach, leaving Zak to work on the controls. Outside Warlock is also physically dodging Domitian's blasts until he sends a wall of energy to pin Adam against a real wall. Pip realises that his dodging is only prolonging things so he closes in to grab Kaef and port them both outside where he leaves the cyborg to take the full force of a killing blast aimed at Warlock. Domitian is now really angry at being tricked into killing his 'faithful' servant and lifts another large chunk of metal (cyborg?) to squash them all with. But he drops it when he feels his strength and size fading as Zakaius resorts to destroying the machine that feeds him.

The old Lord is reduced to ranting. Pip teleports most of the Watch back to Earth to get treatment for Moondragon. Zakaius is left with the task of restoring as many life-forces as he can to their owners. He gives Firelord's still-intact rune to Adam who combines it with the soul from Soul World which flies off as a ball of flame ...

... to Luarei where it enters Harkort's bedroom and sets Firelord's staff alight. The staff then flies out of a window and the boy follows it to the mausoleum where it blasts its way in and revives its master. Harkort sees the flaming 'god' fly away.

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