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Infinity Abyss (2002 series) #2

on-sale: Jun 26, 2002
Jim Starlin

Infinity Abyss (2002 series) #2 cover

Story Name:

Unspecified


Synopsis

Infinity Abyss (2002 series) #2 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
A lot of stuff happened last issue. Thanos' spacebase Sanctuary got blown up by a temporary black hole. Moondragon and Pip The Troll were called on by a fake Thanos to help revive Adam Warlock out of his cocoon where he's been for the past 2 years. Gamora investigated another fake Thanos who was leading a nihilist cult. These 2 Thanos's are part of a group of Thanos-like beings. Meanwhile Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Dr Strange were separately investigating large white cubes of nothingness, and Spider-Man's Spider-Sense led him out of New York City.

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Strange has discovered more cubes in other dimensions but still can't fathom anything about them except a dire threat to all reality. So he isn't surprised when Hulk, Silver Surfer and Sub-Mariner appear at his side, summoned by Yandroth's curse. But he *is* surprised when the 3 merge and get trapped in another of the white boxes.

'Thanos' and Pip watch as Moondragon fights Warlock's psychic defences until she breaks through to his memory centre which contains images of many beings and past events of significance to him. And she locates Adam's inner child brooding atop a giant Infinity Gem. She says she's here to help but he says he just wants to be left alone. She says she can cure his psychic injuries but he says she'll only make it worse. She insists so he turns super-powerful and ejects her from his mind. But the cocoon is now coruscating with energy which signifies a rebirth. Pip helps Heather Douglas to safety ...

... and they leave Thanos to face the new version of Adam Warlock, as usual with a new costume but with his Soul Gem back on his brow. Warlock is angry at being disturbed but the Titan says he's needed to avert a dire threat to reality. He says he can perceive the threat but can't discern what it is, and he believes that Adam has information about it that he may have forgotten. Adam retorts that his memory is intact, but then has to admit that he doesn't know how he wound up in his cocoon in the Dagatorian Asylum (last issue). Thanos asks him to recall the last thing he *does* remember. Adam says he returned to Earth to the ruins of the Infinity Watch's castle on Monster Island when he heard an alien voice calling itself Atlez in desperate need. Warlock agreed to help and went on a long journey into darkness. But he's missing many details and then there's a long gap in his memory. Thanos diagnoses cosmic trauma.

But we skip to Spider-Man riding the roof of a train into Upstate New York. He leaps off when he senses his target nearby and webslings through the trees towards it.

But in another interlude a small spacecraft has been sent by the Skrull High Council to investigate an anomalous event. The research vessel's instruments indicate that a black hole appeared and then disappeared, which is of course preposterous. But the 2 Skrulls don't notice a hulking purple figure behind them (Thanos anyone?).

Meanwhile Captain Marvel, with Rick Jones kibitzing from the Microverse, is examining a white cube in space while Dr Strange is examining 1 in another dimension (but the artist portrays them as the same cube). Both sides now detect 3 rays coming from their cube. Stephen Strange can tell that 1 ray leads to another cube while the 2nd trail heads to reality-616, but he elects to follow the 3rd to yet another mystic realm (a Starlin version of Ditko-space). Genis & Rick see trails leading deeper into space or to another dimension, but Genis chooses a trail that leads back to Earth.

And on the spaceship full of Thanoses they too detect the new rays in 616-space and are interested in the 1 connected to Earth. The large and violent but dim Thanos called Warrior offers to follow the trail and hit things. Mystic suggests to Armour that some of his Nihilist Sect could investigate instead. The 1 called X is still imitating the real Thanos with Moondragon, Pip and the revived Warlock. They agree that its important to uncover who Atlez is. Pip suggests he and Adam go to Monster Island to see if it unlocks more memories, and they go. MD proposes that now would be a good time to do what Thanos suggested last issue, link minds so that she could fully understand the situation. He lets her in and she sees that he's not the true Thanos. But the big-brained X takes over her mind.

Last issue Gamora escaped from the fake Thanos and his Nihilists and set off in her spacecraft to find out what's going on. Now we see her land on the planet where Thanos has his farm. She sees a large crater nearby and a Skrull research vessel. Inside she finds some of Thanos' robots collapsed and a big round hole in the roof which she deduces was precisely targeted to take out the power grid. Someone knew *exactly* how to get through Thanos' defences. Then a functioning robotleads her into another room where she finds Thanos himself with other 'bots tending to his many wounds. Gamora can't understand how he beat her here from the Nihilist Sect, but he guesses she's met another him. She asks what happened to cause him such damage and he says he survived a black hole. He says she might get some answers if she looks in another room. And she comes back saying that he really must be paranoid, the Mad Titan they say he is. But more on that next issue.

But for a last meanwhile we return to Spider-Man as his Spider-Sense leads him to an ordinary-looking farmhouse in Upstate New York.

Oh and 1 more thing, the green alien from last issue, who we can assume is Atlez, wonders if he's selected the right champions or has he doomed his successor?

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Characters
Good (or All)
ADAMWARLOCK
CMARVGVELL
DOCTORSTRANGE
GAMORA
HULK
MOONDRAGON
PIPT
RICKJONES
SILVERSURFER
SPIDERMAN
SUBMARINER
THANOS


> Infinity Abyss (2002 series) comic book info and issue index



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Jim Starlin
Al Milgrom
Christie Scheele
Jim Starlin (Cover Penciler)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Jack Morelli.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: Joe Quesada.



Review / Commentaries


Infinity Abyss (2002 series) #2 Review by (August 9, 2025)
The technomage Yandroth was a foe of Dr Strange, and then of the Defenders. In #1 of their 2001 series he cursed the 4 main Defenders (as seen here) to be automatically brought together to face any sufficiently large threat. That curse continued to act through the 2002 Order mini-series and has struck again here.
But the Curse is irrelevant to this series because Hulk, Subby and Surfer won't get out of their 'prison' until it's all over in #6.
But for the record the 3 of them were with Dr Strange in #1-4 of the 2001 Defenders mini-series. Like him that was Silver Surfer's latest app. But Hulk has since fitted in #27-28 of his 2000 series and his 2001 Annual featuring Thor. And Sub-Mariner popped in to visit old comrades in Citizen V & V-Battalion #2.

Warlock's description of what he remembers of what happened to him doesn't connect to anything we know of his previous life.





Thor

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