Originaly posted at:
http://www.zedsjoesite.com/review/warlock/warlock.html
Infinity Gauntlet is one of the very, very few "BIG EVENT" stories that I think works. In fact, I would argue Infinity Gauntlet was and is one of the greatest "Event" comic stories ever. You have an ultimate threat to the universe that is not only credible, but seems unstoppable. Yet this force is not motivated by power or greed, but love, which is something very out of the box for such stories. There are some nice little things in the comic as well, like every time Thanos looks upon Death he sees a beautiful woman under the hood rather than the skull we all see.
In addition there was a very credible moment when the heroes face off against Thanos where Thanos weakens himself (as a gesture to Death) and thus the heroes have a chance (rather than being blinked out of existence) it's a pretty cleaver writing trick that gives us the fight we wanted to see, even though our heroes pretty much fail.
The end is a good twist on the idea of ultimate power and achieving it (I don't want to spoil it for you all) and our villain, Thanos, leaves to a quiet life (and in many ways it makes perfect sense).
When combined with the prequel, Thanos Quest, this whole storyline is hard to beat. You see Thanos in a totally different light at the end of Thanos Quest and almost want to see him succeed, that is until you realize he is certifiably mad. The series has a nice idea of being contained in the main title as well rather than most huge events which seem scattered over a dozen comics. While there were crossovers and supplement issues in the running titles at the time, most of them serve to expand individual stories throughout the overall arc of Infinity Gauntlet and are not required reading to understand Gauntlet itself.
Gauntlet also had a ton of impact. The first main crossover was Silver Surfer #50, which was the first of the "Special" covers with a foil stamped one. I feel it's important to point out that even though Silver Surfer #50 had a stamped cover the price wasn't increased. Well it wasn't increased except for the fact it was double sized, but the increase in price was normal for a double sized issue for the time. After #50 (and Ghost Rider's Glow in the Dark cover) however each "special" cover was given a HUGE price increase (sometimes up to 3 times normal without additional content). The special covers permeated the 90's (To the point of absurdity) and is often attributed to the downfall of comics in the 1990's. While I think it was a contributing factor I don't think it was the only one, but I digress. Silver Surfer #50 was different, it was a new, fresh idea at a time new ideas were wanted and it sold huge (and went into 3 printings) which also enhanced Infinity Gantlet's sales.
So in all of this I wanted to present some context to this comic pack, but also to point out the odd choice of including Infinity Gauntlet #3 with it. This choice is made even odder by the fact that the end of the comic says "Continued in Infinity Gauntlet Trade Paperback." Thing is if someone who picked up this pack read the comic they would have no incentive to pick up the trade at all.
Don't get me wrong, its a good issue an necessary to the story, but a new reader would have no context at all to the story as it's smack in the middle. What is the Gauntlet? Why does Thanos have it? Why is everyone worried about it (The comic barely mentions the fact that half to the Universe's inhabitants had been banished out of existence by Thanos in issue #1), and what is up with all the heroes? Thor is talking like a normal person, Hulk is smart (Granted most of Gauntlet does assume you have kept up with much of the happenings of the time in Marvel). What's Dr. Doom doing working with Adam Warlock and Dr. Strange?
Even more confusing is how the pack is, Adam Warlock actually has the Gauntlet in the pack, Not Thanos (Granted his single-carded release had the gauntlet) even though Warlock doesn't acquire the Gauntlet until issue #6. I suppose I should quit trying to figure out the logic of Hasbro and Marvel's choices for these comic packs.
But I will wrap this overview of Infinity Gauntlet by saying that Gauntlet actually lived up to the hype it generated. Unfortunately the sequels (Infinity War and Infinity Crusade even though they had the same creative teams) did not and in some ways slightly hurt the legacy of Infinity Gauntlet. War and Crusade came across like after thoughts and not further extensions of the original story. In an ultimate irony, the "gimmick" that made Silver Surfer #50 so special was added to Infinity Crusade #1 (Just the foil, by this point Marvel quit stamping the foil covers, yet they had to add a dollar to the cover price for half the enhancement) and people were rolling their eyes. Yes in just two years Marvel had taken an idea that people adored and hailed as unique and run it so far into the ground that people groaned at the next incarnation of it. That is a pretty amazing feat even for the Infinity Gauntlet.
Granted Infinity War #1 had a huge gatefold cover, but in light of foil covers on Infinity Crusade (and other books) that jacked up the price (Somehow it didn't on Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider though) it's not as tough a gimmick to deal with.
So enough comic fanboy rambling, on to the figures:
Adam Warlock is a funny character to me. He is far from a favorite of mine but when he is done right as a character I do enjoy him. However, I only think he has been handled well maybe twice. The first time was the classic tale where he discovered Magus, an alternate future version of himself who had turned to evil. The other time was the lead up and his part in Infinity Gauntlet. The figure overall is very cool but of course reuses parts we have seen plenty of times. At least the base figure is one of the good ones that includes thigh swivel and rocker ankles. The cape really sells the figure though as does the paint which is a nice sheen for Warlock's red parts (yeah I know how that sounds). One thing that really surprised me was Warlock's Gauntlet:
Several people online assumed the gauntlet was a swappable forearm piece, but instead it's more of a slip on sleeve. This makes me think that the gauntlet with the upcoming Dr. Doom from the digital subscription service is made similarly.
It's hard to say for certain, but it does look like a repaint of the gauntlet with Warlock. I know some were really hoping for a swappable forearm just like the single carded version of Thanos, but the good part about this gauntlet is that you can give it to virtually anyone you like as long as it fits their arm.
This gives you a ton of versatility and fun in relation to the gauntlet itself.
Back to Warlock, his staff is made from very soft plastic that bent when it came out of the box. This is kind of unfortunate as it seems Hasbro's accessories are getting to be more and more flimsy.
Still it looks the part and fits with him rather well. Ironically his cape seems stiffer than Dr. Strange's but it also helps his ability to stand in certain instances. For whatever reason my Warlock likes to lean, I have yet to figure out why as his legs are even but it just seems to be that when he stands his torso joint has to be positioned to where he leans just a tad. The only paint issue I have had with him is a slight run on the inner thigh, this is pretty mild compared to some of the paint issues I have dealt with this year.
Warlock is one of those characters I felt did need to be present in my Marvel collection, but at the same time he isn't the type of character that needs multiple figures. I would like to see these same parts reused for a Magus figure in the future (preferably with his own gauntlet) just because he is an interesting villain.
Now on to the surprise star of the pack.
He has the brains of Batman, the brute force of the Hulk, and can outclass any hero or villain set before him. He's Thanos.
Infinity Gauntlet was the point where Thanos finally got to shine as a villain. He was one of the most popular villains in Marvel's rouge gallery at the time and yet he had never had a big story before. Gauntlet let him show his stuff in a huge way. He used his brains, his brawn and his abilities to the fullest and it paid off with a great story.
And I only say surprise because after the first stab at Thanos I thought that there was no way to improve him. However, changing the expression on the face has done wonders for this figure. To be honest I had been paying so much attention to Warlock I hadn't noticed Thanos had a new head until I had him in hand.
The expression is much better than the single pack release of Thanos as it's got that sinister grin that just spells trouble for our heroes. My one minor knock to the figure would have to be that his black eyes have red pupils instead of the striking white ones he has had for years. It's not a huge thing but enough to make note of.
Even though in the issue he is packed with Thanos has the Infinity Gauntlet it is not included with this figure as it was with the single packed release. It's kind of odd as I mentioned but if you have the first Thanos you can switch out the hands. Unfortunately it doesn't match this Thanos's outfit. I suppose you could argue the Gauntlet is special and would be a different color though.
Another irony is the color is totally inaccurate to Thanos at the time of Infinity Gauntlet, but the markings are much more in line with his outfit than they were with the single pack release. The added paint helps enhance the figure a great deal.
So overall a good comic pack. The comics included with some of the recent comic packs have been a great deal of fun and cool issues, so I guess a bit of the confusion is the comics have been so spot on lately. Still it's the figures that matter most and these are some cool quality figures to add to a cosmic fans collection.
