Send In The Clowns

Just before Jim Starlin's revitalization of Warlock made the move back to the character's stalled title, his brief trial run in Strange Tales was wrapped up on a humorous note--though for Warlock himself, the treatment he finds himself subject to isn't amusing in the least.

Aside from fueling the fire for those of us who are for whatever reason terribly afraid of clowns, the issue uses that motif to undertake an exercise into the bizarre--its way paved by its dedication to artist Steve Ditko, the unquestioned pioneer for Marvel in that respect. And there is method to the madness that Starlin inflicts Warlock with, as he continues with Warlock's investigation into the crimes and widespread reach of the insidious Universal Church of Truth and his other, sinister self, the Magus.

In a prior issue, Warlock has confronted the Church's temporal leader, the Matriarch, in an effort to learn more of the Magus. But in using his soul gem against one of her subordinates (Kray-Tor, the "Grand Inquisitor")--his first time commanding the gem to steal a soul--Warlock was overwhelmed by the influx of the monstrosity's thoughts and feelings and sank into oblivion, now vulnerable to the Matriarch's brand of "indoctrination."

And now, he awakens to find himself in a realm where his very sanity might be at stake.

In the early stages of this farce, we're given the impression that there's more going on here than meets the eye, particularly for Warlock. But if this is the Matriarch's doing, what could possibly be her plan with such methods? Like Warlock, we'll have to unfortunately go along* with the preposterous events occurring here; but the up side is in seeing Starlin take off the gloves and letting his imagination run wild with this theme, something which he and Ditko clearly have in common.

*Somewhere along the way, Warlock took liberties with the head clown's name, "Lentean," and shortened it to "Lens"--which admittedly is out of character for him, though this is an issue where the reader as well might simply have to go along with the unexpected. (It really only merits a shoulder shrug, considering the subject matter!)

The parallels which Starlin strikes up between the "lessons" being imparted to Warlock and the real world of 1975 are unmistakable--the exhortation to simply accept the way things are, to never question the system, to conform to the appearance and mindset of the socially acceptable. Yet as Warlock continues to take action in ways that are just the opposite of conformity, we finally learn the details of what's behind his experience in this strange and nonsensical setting.

The Matriarch has self-serving ends, to be sure, with Warlock being the means for her to usurp control of the Church's empire from the Magus and supplant him as its dominant force. For that to happen, Warlock must become her willing servant or, failing that, a brainwashed one.

Toward that end, the Matriarch's programmer, Prof. Teans, goes for broke and opts for the madness route in order to rip away Warlock's discipline--which, in turn, gives Starlin one final tirade of foolishness to touch on, namely, the futility and fragility of perpetual ambition.

Our clown implies that the so-called Door of Madness offers Warlock release from the pointless trials of this realm. Yet the "Madness Monster" is mostly a lure by Teans, a conduit to having Warlock face the dark side of himself which led to the creation of the Magus. Yet Teans again underestimates Warlock's ability to put in perspective the "wisdom" these images and experiences are coercing him to come to terms with. In the case of the Madness Monster, he instead accepts this part of himself for the insight it offers him vis-à-vis the Magus.

As we can see, Warlock's friend, Pip the Troll, has fought his way to Warlock's side alongside the character Starlin has recently introduced to the book--Gamora, who for reasons of her own wishes no harm to come to Warlock. With Warlock having escaped the Matriarch's attempt to subvert his will, he feels more confident in confronting the Magus--though facing the duality in himself means having had to give the "Madness Monster" more of a foothold on his psyche that may, in time, destroy him.

Of course, since the Magus is Warlock, and he faced this moment as well, he's already taken all of this into account in making his plans for dealing with Warlock.  And so he proceeds to reveal himself to Warlock and his companions, proclaiming that Warlock is powerless to affect what for the Magus has already happened--and that Warlock's altered consciousness he gained while enduring Teans' treatment may end up giving the Magus the final victory. A cheery thought, that--but, for Warlock, no laughing matter.

Strange Tales #181 Script and Pencils: Jim Starlin Inks: Al Milgrom Letterer: Tom Orzechowski