Issue(s): Hulk #176, Hulk #177, Hulk #178
Cover Date: Jun-Aug 74
Title: "Crisis on Counter-Earth!" / "Peril of the plural planet!" / "Triumph on Terra-Two!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Roy Thomas - Plot on #176
Tony Isabella - Script on #178
Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Jack Abel - Inker

Review/plot:
The Hulk lands on Counter-Earth and gets involved in their weird animal-men politics again.

The Hulk basically has intruded on Warlock's Easter Story.

Warlock plays out his Jesus role, having a last supper...

...getting nailed to a cross-like object by the Man-Beast...

...saying "High Evolutionary, why have you abandoned me?"...

...and rising from the dead.

In the end, the Hulk's smashyness prevails...

...and Warlock ascends into the heavens, leaving Counter-Earth.

Warlock was revived by the Rigellian Recorder, who takes a rare break from his Watcher-like observation-only directive.

The art is generally OK, but the animal-men are just terribly goofy looking.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - Warlock leaves Counter-Earth.

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Betty and General Ross believe Bruce Banner was blown up in Hulk #174.
  
• Glenn Talbot and Colonel Armbruster rescued General Ross from a Russian prison camp in Hulk #166. Glenn seemingly died in the rescue attempt but he actually escapes the camp this issue.
  
• Adam Warlock arrived on Counter-Earth in Marvel Premiere #1
  
• The Hulk previously visited Counter-Earth in Hulk #158 (in one footnote, incorrectly listed as Hulk #148).
  
• Events from Warlock #3-8, especially regarding Counter-Earth's US President, are referenced.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

FOOM#5 stated outright that this story was done to end Warlock's dangling story and clear the deck for Starlin's upcoming series, which shows how much clout he had at Marvel early on.

I've always wondered which writer (Thomas, Conway, Isabella) was the one responsible for the heavy Easter themes in these issues? Given that Isabella was inserting Jesus Christ himself as a recurring character over in Ghost Rider at the same time, I'm going to go with Isabella. The "POTUS is actually Man-Beast" plot seems to fit much better with Thomas or Conway.

The writer to blame is Mike Friedrich, who had turned the Warlock series into a Marvel-style riff on Jesus Christ, Superstar. These issue wrap up that plotline by following the themes Friedrich was using to their logical end.

The spring/summer of '74 was WILD in the Marvel Universe. The President killed himself in front of Captain America; Mandrill, Nekra and Black Spectre took over the White House lawn shortly thereafter (until defeated by Daredevil). Meanwhile in NYC you've got an invasion of Namor's undersea hordes for the FF to deal with AND Galactus popping by to have a chat with Thor.

About as subtle as Snyder's Man of Steel Jesus allegory, at least this has color.

There's also a Watergate theme in this storyline. This is clear in one panel where the Man-Beast's four Presidential aides are shown in their human guises to resemble Robert Haldeman, Charles Colson, Spiro Agnew and John Ehrlichman.

Oops - that should be HR Haldeman, not "Robert". He was called "Bob" but his first names were Harry Robbins.

Wow, they should have called this one "The Passion of Warlock." I had no idea. Thank goodness Jim Starlin is on his way to rescue Him.

"Passion" in this sense is the same as the passion of Christ, i.e. crufixion and martyrdom for the world's sins.