Synopsis
Warlock and the Infinity Watch #42 Synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Last issue Gamora quit the Infinity Watch and their guest Maxam got his memory back and tried to complete his mission to kill Adam Warlock. All this before a tidal wave menaced their base Monster Island (courtesy of the Atlantis Rising event).
Now Pip the Troll teleports Drax the Destroyer and the severely injured Moondragon in her intensive care bed to a hospital in Chicago to keep Heather Douglas safe. And he demands instant service.
On Monster Island Warlock watches Mole Man and his Moloids herding the monster population deep underground in Subterranea to keep *them* safe. He offers Adam and his team sanctuary too but Adam has other things to worry about. Back on the surface he sees Maxam awake wrapped in steel girders courtesy of Moondragon's telekinesis. She's also mentally keeping him sedated so he can't break free. Maxam is extra surprised at that because she previously couldn't even read his mind. Adam tells him that it's probably due to the Time Gem he now sports on his forehead, which has also revealed to them his past in the future.
A doctor tells Pip that they can't treat Moondragon. Pip tries bribery but the doc says it's the big Drax in the way. Pip advises him to work around the green guy 'cos there's no way he'll leave Moon Lady's side. He prepares to 'port back to the Isle but Moondragon mentally tells him to follow Adam's orders and stay there. She mentions that she planted a mind node in Adam's brain which allows her to send her consciousness wherever she wants.
Last issue Thanos asked Gamora to join him. Now they're in his Dreadnaught-666 starship not far from Earth, and he's asked her to help him get the Time Gem (when he picked her up he may have thought *she* still had it) but she's not happy about that. She says that he may once have been her adoptive father but she broke that bond long ago. The Titan counters that she's the last of her species and she doesn't belong on Earth. She might have been fine alongside the equally-unique Warlock but he's shown he doesn't want her. But *she* counters that *he* tried to destroy half the universe. Thanos admits his mistakes and says he wants to use the Time Gem to change himself and his past. Gamora points out that he has the Reality Gem, and it is said any attempt to use those 2 together without the other 4 Infinity Gems would be disastrous. He replies that he's good at getting round problems. Gamora knows she can't trust Thanos but she's desperate for an ally against Maxam (who the Time Gem showed her standing over Adam's dead body). So she asks him to give her time to think about it, and he agrees.
On the Island Warlock has told Maxam what he and MD found out about his mission to kill him before he becomes the evil Magus who will ravage the universe. He says that he's already fixed that by banishing Magus to Soul World (at the end of the Infinity War event). Maxam points out that the villain still exists so he can escape. Warlock pledges to ensure that doesn't happen, but Maxam can't take that chance. Moondragon mentally suggests Adam take the Time Gem and they leave the Island and Maxam to his fate. Warlock is about to do just that ...
... as the Time Gem vanishes from Maxam's brow. And the Soul Gem from Adam's forehead, the Space Gem from between Pip's toes, the Mind Gem from Moondragon's body, and the Reality Gem from it's container on the Dreadnaught. (We don't actually see the Power Gem go from Drax' belt, but it does.)
With the TG gone the artificial barriers in Maxam's brain regain control and MD can no longer read/affect his mind. So her sedation effect wears off and he bursts free of the girders to attack his target again. And without Warlock's Soul Gem it's just physical might against might. Maxam is surprised that Warlock can withstand his blows and fight back. But eventually he wins out and is about to deliver a death blow when the tidal wave hits. (An editorial comment says that a continent is being reborn - Atlantis is rising from the depths.)
When the tide ebbs away Maxam rises and sees Warlock's body lying limp before him. So he swiftly breaks his neck. Then he begs his friend's forgiveness but he had to do it. And mission accomplished he returns to his own future.
But we then see that Adam is alive and well. We then learn that some or all of the preceding was an illusion generated by a mind node Moonie had planted in *Maxam*'s brain which played out the scenario that he desired.
Adam now ponders the fate of his team. Gamora gone, Moondragon injured, the tidal wave wrecked their castle base. And without the Infinity Gems to guard (which MD has told him have all 5 disappeared) there's no reason for the Infinity Watch to exist.
On his ship Thanos has also detected that all the Gems have gone, and he can find no trace of them anywhere. He assures Gamora that Warlock is alive and well, and Maxam is gone. They wonder if the 2 events are connected. He considers that the Gems loose in the Galaxy is a grave problem and proposes to find them all. Gamora says she'll accompany him to make sure *he* doesn't become the problem.
Moondragon's mind explains things to Drax and Pip beside her body. What Gamora saw via the Time Gem (in #12) was what Maxam believed happened. She says she doesn't know whether Thanos has also lost the Reality Gem, so Pip suggests their 1st move is to find *him*. But MD says that the search for the Gems is beyond their powers without them. And we see that Warlock has set out to locate them.