Issue(s): Warlock Chronicles #4
Cover Date: Oct 93
Title: "The dark mirror"
Credits:
Jim Starlin - Writer
Tom Raney - Penciler
Keith Williams - Inker
Craig Anderson - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue shows Warlock's conversation/confrontation with the Magus in the Soul World. This is another tie-in that, if not exactly critical, makes the flow between Infinity Crusade issues less weird. Infinity Crusade #4 showed Warlock meeting the Magus. Issue #5 has Warlock announcing to Thanos that he's ready to leave the Soul World. Arguably nothing that is learned in this issue is crucial to understanding the story, but if you're just reading the core series the brief appearance of the Magus must feel like a weird dropped thread.

We still dance around the Goddess' true intentions.

Warlock says that he'd hoped that being in the Soul World would bring the Magus peace, but the Magus finds his inability to be seen or interact with the other denizens to be frustrating. However, he's pleased to learn that he can touch Warlock, and he tries to start a fight with him. Warlock offers the Magus a pardon and the opportunity to re-integrate his aspect into him. But Magus would rather see the entire universe suffer as he is suffering, and he also figures that he might be able to escape the Soul World if he can kill Warlock. So they fight for real.

For pages and pages.

There's very little scripting during the fight, and it really does feel like there was about 2 pages of content in this plot that needed to be stretched out to an entire issue. There's nothing wrong with letting Tom Raney cut loose, but this is overkill.

When Warlock wins the fight, he says that he's going to have to defeat the Goddess without Magus' help, but that the fight has given him a renewed sense of self-confidence, and that he's "complete" even without the portions of himself that he cast out.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Continues more or less directly from the scene of Warlock meeting the Magus in Infinity Crusade #4.

References:

• We saw in Infinity War #2 that Warlock cast off his good and bad sides to become a being of "pure logic".
  
• Magus reminds Warlock that he once succeeded in becoming the dominant faction in "a reality that no longer exists", as we saw circa Strange Tales #179.

Crossover: Infinity Crusade

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A