Strange Tales #178

History

After an acrimonious departure from Captain Marvel over creative disputes — Starlin was unhappy with Marvel's inability to provide him a consistent inker — he briefly left the publisher entirely; upon returning, editor-in-chief Roy Thomas asked him what he wanted to work on, and Starlin requested Adam Warlock on the spot, going home that same night to begin drawing. The slot opened because Strange Tales had cycled through two failed new features (Brother Voodoo and the Golem), leaving the title free with issue #178. Starlin handled writing, penciling, inking, and cover art himself, with Annette Kawecki on lettering and Len Wein as editor; his complete creative control is evident in the issue's unusually ambitious page design, including multiple full splash pages. At least one panel depicting torture — a character being dipped in burning oil — was altered by the Comics Code Authority before publication, though that original version was later restored in subsequent reprint editions.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of the Magus (Adam Warlock's corrupted future self), who debuts on a dramatic full splash page and declares himself Warlock's 'dark half.'
• First appearance of the Universal Church of Truth, a genocidal interstellar religious empire that serves as the saga's central antagonistic organization.
• First appearance of the Grand Inquisitors, the Church's field enforcers, as well as a cameo-in-flashback appearance of the Matriarch, the Church's temporal leader.
• Written, penciled, inked, and cover-drawn entirely by Jim Starlin (lettered by Annette Kawecki; edited by Len Wein), making it one of the most creator-driven single issues of the Bronze Age.
• Story titled 'Who Is Adam Warlock?' — the issue opens with the character Sphinxor delivering a four-page recap of Warlock's full history, bridging continuity from Incredible Hulk #178 and the cancelled Warlock solo series, with cameo appearances (in recap) by Thor, the High Evolutionary, Man-Beast, and the Hulk.
• A panel depicting torture was required by the Comics Code Authority to be altered for original publication; it was restored in the non-Code-approved Warlock Special Edition reprint and in subsequent digital and print collected editions.
• The story was later reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces vol. 2 #8 (July 1980) and Warlock vol. 2 #1 (December 1982), and has since been collected in Essential Warlock Vol. 1, the Warlock by Jim Starlin Complete Collection, the Marvel Masterworks: Warlock Vol. 2 hardcover, the Warlock Omnibus (2023), and a dedicated Facsimile Edition published by Marvel in 2023.
• This issue launched a four-part run on Strange Tales (#178–181) that fed directly into the relaunched Warlock ongoing series beginning with issue #9, collectively forming the complete Magus Saga, which concluded in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (1977) and first assembled all six Infinity Gems in a single storyline.

Cast · 8 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Strange Tales

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#169 1st appearance — Jericho Drumm

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#179 1st appearance — Pip the Troll

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#172 1st appearance — Loralee Tate

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#173 1st appearance — Mama Limbo

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#180 1st appearance — Gamora

Variants (1)