Marvel Premiere #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Premiere #1 marks the pivotal transformation of the anonymous Silver Age construct known only as 'Him' into Adam Warlock — one of Marvel's most philosophically ambitious characters — giving a previously directionless cosmic being a name, a mission, a home world, and a soul-gem that would eventually seed the entire Infinity Stones mythology. The issue also introduced Counter-Earth, a planet engineered by the High Evolutionary and set on the far side of the sun, which provided Roy Thomas with an isolated stage on which to stage a sustained biblical allegory that pushed Bronze Age Marvel storytelling toward territory few superhero comics had dared to explore. Its launch as the very first issue of the Marvel Premiere tryout anthology was itself significant: the series was one of three such proving-ground titles Stan Lee proposed to test characters without the full commercial commitment of an ongoing series, and Adam Warlock's two-issue audition here sold well enough to earn him his own solo book within months. The cosmic sensibility established in this issue — a messianic super-being embedded in questions of creation, corruption, and sacrifice — laid groundwork that Jim Starlin would later amplify into the Magus Saga and the Thanos mythology that underpins Marvel's modern Infinity narrative.
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Writer Roy Thomas, then serving as Marvel's editor-in-chief, drew direct creative inspiration from the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which had debuted in the months before the comic went into production, and he recognized that the existing but dormant character 'Him' — a synthetic being created by the Enclave and last seen drifting through space after a battle with Thor — offered the right blank-slate template for a science-fiction messiah story. Thomas later acknowledged he also drew in a vaguer sense on Jack Kirby's Fourth World work at DC, seeing in its god-among-mortals framework a parallel to what he wanted to build on Counter-Earth. Penciler Gil Kane and inker Dan Adkins executed the visual side, and Thomas noted in retrospective interviews that he held real anxiety about whether Stan Lee or the Comics Code Authority would object to a panel depicting the Crucifixion within Counter-Earth's compressed history — concerns that turned out to be unfounded, as neither raised an objection. Thomas and Kane also collaborated on Warlock's costume design, and the red tunic with its golden lightning bolt was conceived as a deliberate homage to Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of the character 'Him' under the identity of Warlock — the name 'Adam' is not yet used; that first name is given by teenagers on Counter-Earth in Marvel Premiere #2.
- First appearance of the Soul Gem (later codified as the Soul Infinity Stone), placed on Warlock's brow by the High Evolutionary before he is sent to Counter-Earth; the gem was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.
- First appearance of Counter-Earth, a duplicate planet fashioned by the High Evolutionary from a fragment of Earth and placed in orbit on the opposite side of the sun.
- The issue's story title is 'And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock!' and functions partly as a recap of Him's prior appearances in Fantastic Four #66–67 and Thor #165–166, with the Hulk and Thor appearing only in flashback sequences.
- First appearances of the villain Kohbra and the supporting character Sir Raam (who dies in this issue), both associated with the High Evolutionary's New Men / Man-Beast conflict.
- Marvel Premiere was one of three tryout anthology series proposed by Stan Lee as he transitioned from editor-in-chief to publisher — alongside Marvel Spotlight and Marvel Feature — designed to test characters' viability without launching a full ongoing series.
- The two-issue tryout in Marvel Premiere #1–2 led directly to Adam Warlock receiving his own ongoing series, The Power of Warlock, which debuted in August 1972 with Thomas and Kane continuing as the creative team; that series ran eight issues before cancellation in 1973, with its storylines concluded in Incredible Hulk #176–178 (1974).
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Reprints
Reprinted in The Rocket's Blast-Comicollector #94 (1973), Gli Albi dei Super-Eroi #1 (1973), Super Giant #9 (1974), Etranges Aventures #35 (1974), Planet of the Apes #28 (1975), Planet of the Apes #29 (1975), Planet of the Apes #30 (1975), Future Tense #1 (1980), Future Tense #2 (1980), Future Tense #3 (1980), Future Tense #4 (1980), Future Tense #5 (1980), Marvel Visionaries: Gil Kane #[nn] (2002), Annihilation Classic #[nn] (2008), Annihilation Classic #[nn] (2009), Marvel Firsts: The 1970s #1 (2011), Essential Warlock #1 (2012), Marvel Gold. Warlock: La Saga de la Contratierra #[nn] (2012), Marvel Classic #11 (2013), Marvel Masterworks: Warlock #1 (2014), Marvel Masterworks: Warlock #1 (72) (2014), The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection - Classic #18 (2016), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #116 (2018), Adam Warlock Omnibus #[nn] (2022) + 2 more
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