Issue(s): Warlock and the Infinity Watch #21
Cover Date: Oct 93
Title: "The god and the brute"
Credits:
Jim Starlin - Writer
Tom Grindberg - Penciler
Bob Almond - Inker
Lynaire Brust - Assistant Editor
Craig Anderson - Editor

Review/plot:
This is an expansion of the fight between Drax and Thor. Hulk was supposed to be part of the fight, too, but the fight is in space and (as we've already seen twice now) he gets knocked away and can't get back because he can't fly, so he plummets to the surface of Paradise Omega.

With the Power Gem, Drax's strength is limitless, and Thor is currently out of his head twice over, so he's not in a position to try anything clever to deal with the challenge of an unbeatable opponent. So the two just pound each other until the universe explodes. Moondragon tries to call Thor back but this just makes Thor renounce the Goddess so that he can keep fighting.

I've already talked about the lack of merit of devoting an entire issue to a slugfest, and on top of that Tom Grindberg's abstract style is not suited for this sort of thing.

We also get two whole pages of this sort of thing:

I like that sort of thing occasionally but we had the same type of sequence in this month's Warlock Chronicles and we definitely didn't need it in this book twice by Grindberg.

I said that the Warlock tie-ins had the stories most core to the main series, but i guess it also had some of the least.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is another depiction of the Thor/Drax fight also seen at the end of Infinity Crusade #4, the beginning of Infinity Crusade #5 (well, at least the part with the Hulk falling to Paradise Omega), and in Thor #466. This issue ends with the nova explosion from the end of Infinity Crusade #5. But so does just about every remaining tie-in, including next issue. So most of the tie-ins take place concurrently.

References: N/A

Crossover: Infinity Crusade

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I don't know, I find "You can't beat Drax and neither can your pal Son o' Open! Whoever he is." funny.

I think this exchange makes the issue worthwhile:

Thor: Hold! What be yonder brilliance?

Drax: Is it Just Drax, or... did it just get hotter around here?

Thor: Midgard's star!

Drax: It look bigger.

Thor: 'Tis.

Thor: It doth Double in size and in illumination!

Drax: Pretty.

Thor: The sun doth go NOVA!

Drax Real pretty.

..cont.

(Sun goes nova)

End