Warlock 13: Priceless Beyond Measure

From Warlock #13: "Because as pitiful as they may be, they are still life, and as such are priceless beyond measure."

Adam Warlock spells out his ethical code - he may be a freak of science, but he's only a monster if he acts like one.

When the Star-Thief invited Warlock to join forces against humanity, the golden man rebuffed him without hesitation. "You clearly place no worth upon that one treasure that once gone, can never be replaced."

Writer/artist Jim Starlin designs this scene as grand space opera, where a barren alien world is a stage for archetypal characters. The core of the scene relies on Warlock's body language (what Will Eisner called "expressive anatomy") and the panel compositions. Star-Thief is a looming psychic horror, Warlock is a steadfast paladin. Any flamboyant excess you see is there by design; this story was carefully crafted to make its philosophical conflict accessible. Even a child can follow this, and that's not an easy trick to pull - questions like morality and the meaning of life have been tormenting humanity centuries before any of us existed.

This is the great thing about superhero comics: these bombastic, larger-than-life allegories can express so much between their colorful lines. This doesn't look political or philosophical, but it really is.

Story and Art by Jim Starlin.