Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Warlock and the Infinity Watch #4 Synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Adam Warlock has gone to see his old mentor High Evolutionary but found that his mind has been blown by witnessing the birth of a Celestial. Also HE is being pursued across the Galaxy by some cyborg warriors who have arrived and just slaughtered his defending New Men. Now only Adam and Thor-clone Nobilus are left to save Herbert Edgar Wyndham. But Warlock has left his post like a coward. But of course that last bit isn't really true.
As the foe descend the cave tunnels that lead to HEW's lab Warlock starts to stealthily pick them off 1 at a time. But his combat skills are a bit rusty so 1 of them gets the drop on him. However his Soul Gem automatically sucks in the warrior's soul. But as usual this overwhelms Adam with the memories of the victim and he collapses. The other warriors think him dead and continue on their way.
While recovering Adam conveniently reviews his past history (again). Born in a laboratory he wandered the universe without purpose until he met the High Evolutionary who sent him to his creation Counter-Earth to save it from corruption by another creation the evil Man-Beast (Marvel Premiere #1-2). This set up the storyline for his 1st series which only lasted 9 issues. The story was completed in Hulk #176-178 where Warlock died and was reborn 3 days later to finally defeat Man-Beast by devolving him back to his original wolf state.
In #2 we saw Adam hand out 4 of the 6 Infinity Gems to Drax The Destroyer, Gamora, Moondragon and Pip The Troll for safe-keeping. He kept the Soul Gem for himself. But last issue we saw Drax and Pip captured by 2 armoured beings. Now we catch up with Gamora and Moondragon in a spaceship Moonie cobbled together with her newly-enhanced mental powers. Unfortunately it's not good enough to withstand attack by a much larger vessel. Ultasonics knock them out and 1 of the armoured beings comes to collect their unconscious bodies.
Nobilus defends his babbling master with a machine gun but he's soon overcome. But Herbert Wyndham recognises his attackers.
When Adam wakes he has learned from the fallen warrior's memories why they are after HE, and now he can remind us of the latter fate of Counter-Earth (described in Marvel Two-In-One #63-64). Alicia Masters, Her (Adam's later female counterpart), Starhawk and Thing found the planet gone and the HE seemingly dead. They revived him and learned from Sphinxor of the Prime Movers Of Tarkus that they had towed the planet away to a museum belonging to the ultra-advanced Beyonders.
That's where we left it but now Warlock can tell us new info. The advanced energies of the Beyonders mutated the population of Counter-Earth. And then when Thanos was playing with reality in the Infinity Gauntlet event the planet was destroyed. But a being called Omega (looking exactly like the armoured char who's just captured Gamora and Heather Douglas) rescued 12 of the inhabitants and cyborged them. He convinced them that all that had happened to them was HE's fault, and sent them on a hate-fueled quest for revenge.
Now Adam Warlock confronts these men and makes them remember that he was their saviour. And he commands them not to kill the Evolutionary. The conflict between their beliefs in Adam and Omega literally blows their minds.
Nobilus is still alive, and Adam commends Herbert into his care. He himself says he'll chase down this Omega sometime. But for now he'd better check on the people he left in charge of the Infinity Gems. He tells Nobilus of the 4 we know, but when he gets to the unknown 5th he suddenly realises his choices might not have been as good as he thought.