Issue(s): Silver Surfer #57, Silver Surfer #58
Cover Date: Oct-Nov 91
Title: "Inquisition" / "Forgiveness"
Credits:
Ron Marz - Writer
Ron Lim & James Brock / Todd Smith - Penciler
Tom Christopher - Inker
Craig Anderson - Editor

Review/plot:
Two more issues of dream sequence water treading. These issues have slightly more significance, since they serve as a clunky way for the Silver Surfer to deal with the revelations from Silver Surfer #50. But it's still a waste of two issues.

We see that after the Silver Surfer tried to grab Thanos' Gauntlet in Infinity Gauntlet #4, Thanos blasted him.

And that blast sends the Silver Surfer into a dream world where he's given a tour of his psyche by a guy named Virtual Reality (or is he King Mob from Invisibles?).

For the same reasons i don't like issues featuring D'Spayre, i find these issues to be too overt of a way for a character to deal with psychological issues.

In the end, the Surfer learns to forgive those who have wronged him (like his parents, who committed suicide), accept the forgiveness of others, and forgive himself.

Again, it ties back nicely to the story from Silver Surfer #50, but to do it over two issues of heavy symbolism and characters named Virtual Reality is very tedious. And it's hard to believe that the revelations about the Surfer's past came eight issues ago. What has happened in this book since then? Virtually Nothing.

Of more long term consequence, Reptyl is reborn in this issue.

And something is going on with the Collector, whose silhouette you may recognize if you made it all the way through The Collection Obsession.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place after the Silver Surfer tries to grab the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #4.

References:

• The Surfer tried to grab Thanos' glove in Infinity Gauntlet #4.
  
• Mantis is one of the characters that appears during the Surfer's tour, and he brings up the fact that he failed to save her in Silver Surfer #9.
  
• Super-Skrull seemingly killed Repytl in Fantastic Four annual #24.

Crossover: Infinity Gauntlet

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Pointless story, sloppy art.

Yep, skipped these when reading to my kids.

Yeah, this was pretty much when I gave up on "Silver Surfer" too. Two consecutive two-part stories that are both dream sequences? For good or bad, previous crossovers were much better integrated. I probably kept reading this title for a few more issues, and "Dr. Strange," the only other non-X-title I followed, but I'll bet that I won't be able to tell when you get to the stuff I didn't read. These stories are just that unmemorable.

There's a footnote to the Super-Skrull leaving Reptyl in space in Fantastic Four Annual 24- shouldn't that be listed in References?

Yes, thanks.