Adam Warlock is having a bad day. He is confused by his surroundings and ultimately wonders why he seems to be at the end of time. Kang meets Warlock and proceeds to play a cosmic version of ‘this is your life’.
Adam Warlock was born from the knowledge of four of Earth’s best scientists, but he never obtained a soul until he entered the soul gem. The peaceful times are over and Thanos is assembling the Infinity Stones.
Warlock wants to summon the Guardians of the Galaxy and fight, but Kang has a different plan. Kang has tried over 113 times to help Warlock fight off Thanos but has only seen a result that ends in the death of the universe each instance. So, Kang plans to reposition Warlock to a more advantageous time.
Dispatched to ancient Egypt, Adam Warlock finds a version of Kang in this new time and soon learns that what Kang thinks is advantageous, is going to be a long wait for battle.
My Opinion
Adam Warlock is dubbed the pinnacle of creation. The references to him being a savior are constant in the text and throughout the visuals in the comic. Infinity Countdown: Adam Warlock #1 is not joking when they believe that Adam Warlock to be a god. The cover artwork by Aaron Kuder and Ive Svorcina show minimal words, and a divine like Jesus pose for Warlock rising in the distance. Readers are expected to know and believe and trust that Adam Warlock is God in the flesh.
He’s not.
Readers are pummeled with images of perfection and language that uses words like ‘pinnacle’ to describe a man that is not perfect. He started his life battling Thor and ultimately found a soul, which made him a better person. Adam Warlock became a champion for everyone.
Now after 113 times of trying to defeat Thanos, Kang has a crazy plan to send Adam Warlock back to ancient Egypt, where he will ultimately wait around as time passes before he can engage in battle with Thanos. The idea being that Thanos would not be able to control this event, which would make Warlock unpredictable and able to defeat the galactic bad guy.
Adam Warlock is being told he must find the time stone and deliver it to Kang in the past. But if Thanos has the time stone already in the present, how would Kang think that Thanos wouldn’t follow Warlock to the dawn of the pyramids and defeat him there.
This makes me wonder, what exactly is Kang up to? He seems to be a good guy. Kang appears to be the help that the universe needs, and his plan, for all intents and purposes seems to be on the up an up. I never would have expected to see Kang in the past ‘help’ Adam Warlock the way he did which makes me question how much of a good guy is Kang.
So where does the series go from here? Will there be more flashbacks to what Adam Warlock did while he waits to emerge out of a pyramid in the present day. Is Adam Warlock going to regenerate into a newer version of himself which makes him the best of all previous Adam Warlock’s? I think it’s this last one.
Perhaps writer Gerry Duggan is focusing on the idea that somebody who seems to be perfect, needs to be willing to grow to meet the changes in the world. Imagine if you were always told that you were perfect, and you met someone who was stronger, faster, and better than you, the realization would be crushing. Adam Warlock still has room to grow and mature.
I have a lot of questions after reading this comic, and that’s ok. I enjoyed Infinity Countdown: Adam Warlock #1 because I don’t know all the answers, and I am left wondering.