Issue(s): Silver Surfer #46, Silver Surfer #47
Cover Date: Feb-Mar 91
Title: "...The Soul World!" / "Adam Warlock, protector of the Soul World!"
Credits:
Jim Starlin - Writer
Ron Lim - Penciler
Tom Christopher - Inker
Renee Witterstaetter - Assistant Editor
Craig Anderson - Editor

Review/plot:
Thanos has zapped the Silver Surfer and Drax the Destroyer into the Soul Gem. This allows Jim Starlin to show us the inside of the gem, the Soul World, where a number of his other characters have been biding their time during Starlin's absence from Marvel. That includes Adam Warlock, Gamora, and Pip, as well as more minor character like the awesome Judge Kray-Tor...

...and Autolycus.

The problem is that Drax, with his one track mind, wants to continue his attack on Thanos, and he's willing to destroy the Soul World to break out of the gem.

The Surfer is powerless inside the gem and unable to stop Drax. So the Surfer, Pip, and Autolycus have to go and find Warlock, who is currently meditating on a mountain (it's said that everyone in the Soul World are connected and share knowledge, but that connection is slow to come for the Surfer, Drax is mentally deficient, and the Warlock has temporarily withdrawn to meditate). Gamora keeps Drax busy in the meantime.

When the Surfer reaches Warlock, Warlock detecs a "radical alteration" in his soul, which seems to have taken place "decades ago". The Surfer suspects Galactus and Warlock concurs. Warlock then goes to stop Drax just as Gamora is getting defeated.

For a guy that's been meditating on a mountain, it's a violent resolution to the Drax problem, but Warlock is able to defeat the rampaging green guy. The Silver Surfer then asks Warlock if it's possible for him and Drax to be freed from the gem. Warlock can do it, but it will alert Thanos to the fact that Warlock and company are "alive" within the gem. Warlock nevertheless agrees to do it, saying "your struggle has become mine, also". Gamora wonders if that means that they're all going to leave, but Warlock just means the Surfer and Drax for now.

Drax and the Surfer are returned to the real world expecting to continue their fight with Thanos. But Thanos isn't in the area when they return (i guess they didn't have to literally pop out of the Soul Gem; they are appearing where Thanos left their bodies). Mephisto pops up with a message for them, saying that Thanos has currently withdrawn from the universe.

Thanos is aware of Mephisto's message. And he's also decided to attack the Surfer again, but this time through agents.

I am enjoying this book. I will cop to the fact that it is just as "decompressed" as other books from around this time that i've been complaining about. Not a ton of stuff happening in each issue, and most of the pages being devoted to big fights from Ron Lim. But the Surfer has always had that format; it's what John Buscema did in the original series and Marshall Rogers stuck with that approach when this series was launched. The other possible complaint is that the nominal star of this book tends to get pushed to the background, first by Thanos and now by Adam Warlock and his friends. Essentially Starlin is just using this book as the vehicle to tell stories about his characters. But the cosmic Surfer is a perfect place for these stories, and in any event i like these characters and am glad to see them being used.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 156,024. Single issue closest to filing date = 154,825.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - "return" of Adam Warlock, Gamora, and Pip the Troll

Chronological Placement Considerations: I'm allowing an indefinite period of time between the Surfer and Drax being zapped into the Soul World and them waking up in this issue. I'm also allowing for a fair amount of time for them to fly away in space before the beginning of next issue.

References:

• Adam Warlock's origin (as Him) from Fantastic Four #66-67 is recounted, as is Warlock's encounter with the High Evolutionary, from Marvel Premiere #1-2. And we also see a montage of the events of Starlin's run with the character.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"For a guy that's been meditating on a mountain, it's a violent resolution to the Drax problem, but Warlock is able to defeat the rampaging green guy"
To be fair, Drax defeated himself- Warlock told Drax "Why don't you lie down and take a nap?" and then put Drax in a chokehold knowing that Drax didn't need to breathe. Drax passed out due to the subtle suggestion, so Warlock did resolve the situation nonviolently. :)

Sure, after punching him for an entire issue! ;-)

I assume Infinity Gauntlet was originally intended to be merely a Silver Surfer story. The dialogue in the early parts where it is said that the Surfer is the one being who can defeat Thanos, seems to indicate this.

I'm guessing once the story was under way and the higher-ups at Marvel saw what they had on their hands, it was promoted to an event mini and Starlin chose to replace the Surfer with Adam Warlock as the chosen one to take on Thanos.

Good issues. The wind-up to IG was amazing and really made you feel events of consequence were taking place.

Lim's art looks far more lush than usual in that first scan.

How has Marvel not made a Kray-Tor plush doll? I'd totally get one; he looks so huggable!

@Bob

Interesting theory. It is worth noting that Silver Surfer DOES nearly defeat Thanos, isn't it?

Can't believe they still left out so many build up issues for the Infinity Gauntlet story out of the trade.

Having just re-read the trade and given it to my wife so she'll understand who Thanos is, I must say, there's advantages and disadvantages of limiting the trade to just the IG series itself.

The main advantage is that it keeps it from getting too unwieldy in size and also limits them from having to figure precisely what prefacing material to include and what to cut (the most jarring thing to me in re-reading it was Thor's random thoughts to himself about not being the original) and it just focuses on what are some pretty cool issues.

The dis-advantage is getting someone up to speed. I was trying to explain to my wife basically everything that happened when all these characters (Thanos, Warlock, Gamora, Pip) died, well over a decade before:

"So then, Warlock dies although it's not really clear how, then he appears out of time, grabs his own essence into the soul gem, then comes back later out of the soul gem and turns Thanos to stone, and that's how it was for well over a decade in actual time".

Hey I just don't want to have to go to garage sales and ebay to get these preludes to IG when I think Rebirth of Thanos should have had them.

All of the Silver Surfer issues building up to IG are included in the Infinity Gauntlet omnibus, if you want to get them. Sadly, it also includes all the other IG tie-ins in other Marvel comics, most of which are utterly inessential. The Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange issues are the only ones (besides Thanos' Quest, of course) that add anything to the main story.

Hey, who doesn't love Warlock in Liefeld pose #1?

Kray-Tor is awesome.

Recently read these issues and I'm very glad to see Warlock and co. back after roughly 3 years of reading nearly everything that happened in Marvel since his "death". I already knew of the Infinity sagas' existence, but actually reading the build-up is a totally different thing. Especially when it's beautifully illustrated.