Issue(s): Silver Surfer #37
Cover Date: May 90
Title: "A destructive encounter"
Credits:
Jim Starlin - Writer
Ron Lim - Penciler
Tom Christopher - Inker
Renee Witterstaetter - Assistant Editor
Craig Anderson - Editor

Review/plot:
Two issues ago we saw Drax the Destroyer resurrected. Last issue teased us by sending a different green and purple adversary after the Silver Surfer. But this issue we actually get Drax.

On Captain America's advice from last issue, the Surfer goes to Titan to get more information about Thanos from his father, Mentor.

But then Drax shows up.

Drax is demanding to know where Thanos is. The Surfer and Mentor ignore his single-minded demands initially, instead talking about how Drax used to be able to track Thanos unerringly.

But it soon becomes impossible to ignore him.

It seems the antagonism between Starfox and the Surfer goes both ways.

Mentor notes that Drax suffered brain death in his last incarnation. It's not explained why he's so much bigger this time, though.

The whole thing is really played for laughs. The Surfer is unable to shake Drax, even by flying through the sun. So he remembers the Impossible Man's advice from last issue, and takes Drax back to Earth, and plops him in front of a television in the Fantastic Four's headquarters, telling Drax that it's the "information machine" that will show him where Thanos is.

And eventually the Surfer sneaks off without him.

Frankly, i don't know why the Surfer wouldn't want the formidable Drax along as an ally against Thanos. He only says that it would have been like traveling with the Hulk. But it's a fun issue; it's actually nice to see Starlin keeping a lighter tone in the book even while building up the Thanos threat.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 165,725. Single issue closest to filing date = 163,200.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Silver Surfer describes his meeting with Thanos, in Silver Surfer #34-35, as having happened "yesterday", which is also how he described the meeting last issue. The Surfer is on a planet or moon in space when he says that (and it must still be in our solar system since he's on his way to Titan), and that celestial body may very well have a much longer day than we do on Earth, but i've placed this soon after issue #36.

References:

• The Silver Surfer met Thanos in Silver Surfer #34-35, and that's also when Drax was resurrected.
  
• The Silver Surfer met Eros in Silver Surfer #19.
  
• Drax's brain death happened in Avengers #219-220.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Note that Mentor claims Thanos killed his mom as a kid in a fashion that appeared accidental- this contradicts the previous account that she did when he nuked Titan.
Eros's behavior contradicts the way Stern and Englehart wrote him- previously, he was obsessed with finding Nebula because of his issues with Thanos. Now he doesn't seem to care if the Surfer and Drax live or die, or about anything.

Fnord, I'm not sure if Eros really holds a grudge against Surfer at all--he DID try to warn him about Drax's attack, after all. But given that Surfer's response was to rudely snarl at him rather than let him finish his warning, I don't think Eros was too upset about him getting blasted into the wall.

Surfer needs to grow up and getting over his grudge against Eros here. All he did was try and break up the misunderstanding brawl between him and Firelord peacefully. Its a bit petty for him to be holding on to a grudge about it.

As for Starfox losing his obsession about Thanos and/or Nebula...of course the real world reason is that Starlin wanted to focus on Silver Surfer and later Adam Warlock dealing with Thanos, and didn't want Starfox in the way. But perhaps an in-story excuse could be that he got very badly injured--twice--during his pursuit of Nebula. Perhaps he still isn't quite fully recovered from all of those injuries and doesn't want to go after Thanos until he is back to 100%?

I'm going to defend the Surfer here- Starfox DID make a woman he had the hots for (no pun intended) kiss another man against her will. I don't blame the Surfer for being creeped out. It would be different if Starfox just had Nova zap Firelord with a "repowering ray" or something similar.

No, Starfox did NOT make Nova kiss Firelord against her will. He hit her with his pleasure power--and then she went and kissed Firelord. That was a decision she made, not something he directed her to do.

Yes, she made that choice because his pleasure zap had her not thinking clearly--but that it not the same think as him MAKING her do it against her will. He was not controlling or directing her actions.

I hadn't read Silver Surfer previously. I came into the title under Starlin. I had not read anything of him before, but knew his reputation with Warlock and Captain Marvel. I liked it a lot. There was an energy here. I knew it was building into something.

My take on Eros and Surfer, or rather the 'nevermind' panel. I don't know their history at this point but I took the panel as 'ah-I think you found out.' As in he didn't have time to actually say the warning. Then again he does look concerned in the top left panel.

Regarding Michael's comment about the death of Thanos' mother: the lettercol in issue #40 says, "Thanos did kill his mother much later [than when he was 10 years old] when he fired nuclear devices at Titan. Mentor was naturally quite upset over his loss, and his distraught mind warped the event into the version of Sui-San's death that he tells today."

Starlin would go on to write in Epiphany that he killed his mother by accident when he nuked Titan (though he suggests that he miscalculated their defences possibly suggesting that he did not intend to do as much damage as he did). Thanos said then that she was the one member of her family that he might have spared. The only one who might have one day forgiven me.

I do rather love the interactions between Eros and Surfer. It's good to see that not everyone in the MU has to get along. And the humor in this issue works very well.

My guess is that Eros is a little miffed about being flattened by Drax during his initial rampage and decided to spread the pain around by delaying his warning to Silver Surfer by a few precious seconds.