WARLOCK III

Publication Date: 15th Jun 2023
Alternate Versions

ALTERNATE VERSIONS

In the future timeline known as Days of Future Past, an alternate version of Doug Ramsey existed as a techno-organic entity. He was quite mad and aggressive, like the majority of the Technarch race. Given the fact that he went by the codename Magus, it is logical to surmise that he may have killed his reality’s Warlock in single combat, as is the tradition among the Technarchy and their “offspring.”


In the alternate future shown in the Shattershot crossover, Doug Ramsey and Warlock were merged into a composite being known as Cyberlock. Cyberlock was more mechanical in nature than either of his New Mutant progenitors.

Along with Cannonball, Darkchild, Powerpax, Siryn and Sunspot, Cyberlock was a member of the X-Men. These X-Men helped overthrow Mojo and establish Shatterstar as the ruler of Mojoworld, but years later Shatterstar’s regime had become corrupted from within. Arize, the creator of the artificial lifeforms of Mojoworld, sought the X-Men’s help in overthrowing Shatterstar.

The arrival of his former teammates helped Shatterstar realize how oppressive his governance had become and he joined them in defeating the evil influences within his ruling class.

 

 


In an apocalyptic future timeline similar to the Days of Future Past, shown in Excalibur (1st series) #94, Sentinels ruled America and Black Air had assumed control of England. Both nations were dark and oppressive places as a result. The remnants of the Excalibur team had long been searching for their lost teammate, Douglock, and had finally gotten information on where Black Air was holding him. Their rescue attempt proved fruitless. Rather than finding Douglock held against his will, they discovered that he had been subverted by Black Air and his techno-organic form had been built into the heart of Black Air’s headquarters.


On the Earth visited by the reality-hopping Exiles in Exiles (1st series) #20-22, the merging of Cypher and Warlock had disastrous results. On this world, Doug Ramsey had contracted the Legacy Virus and  Warlock had merged with him in a desperate attempt to save his beloved friend. However, when the Legacy Virus interacted with Warlock’s techno-organic Transmode Virus, it created an even deadlier disease. It spread rapidly, voraciously infecting others and transforming them into crazed techno-organic beings called Vi-Locks. More than 75% of Earth’s population had been transformed into Vi-Locks, both super-powered individuals and average humans alike. The Exiles joined with this reality’s remaining heroes and set out to collect samples from the original Cypher/Warlock entity in the hopes of creating an antibody. They were thwarted by Forge, who destroyed Cypher/Warlock. The Exiles retreated and planned an all-out assault on the Vi-Locks. With some help from the long-absent Norse gods, they managed to destroy much of the Vi-Lock collective ruling the planet. This decisive victory helped pave the way for a more successful rebellion against the remnants of the Vi-Lock infestation.


Warlock was among the remaining mutants living in Xavier’s mansion in the variant future that is home to Professor W’s X-Men.  Warlock was a student alongside the later Exiles team member called Nocturne. While he did not go on to become an X-Man, he did stay with the team and appeared to serve as the caretaker for the mutant children at the mansion. When the mansion was attacked by Cyclops and his team of evil mutants, Warlock joined in the defense of his home. However, he was defeated by that world's Rogue.


Whilst he wasn’t explicitly seen in the Age of X reality, the ramifications of his presence on Earth were obvious. Doug Ramsey had been at ground zero when a meteor struck Earth and was infected with a techno-organic virus. Now calling himself Warlock, he made his way to Fortress X and teamed up with the few remaining mutants to fight against the oppressive human forces. Doug’s body was comprised of circuitry and he was able to shapeshift, including regrowing damaged parts of his body.


In the main universe, Doug had confronted a future version of himself, named Truefriend. In this dark future, Doug had killed Warlock and used the techno-organic virus to enslave the world to bring about an enforced peace.


In one of the many realities where a Zombie Plague wreaked havoc, Warlock was one of the few surviving heroes, having taken shelter with Doctor Strange. When Spider-Man came, begging for Strange to help Franklin Richards, who had just been bitten, Warlock stepped in. He created a new techno-organic body for Franklin, which Strange managed to transfer the young boy’s consciousness into before he died. Sadly, Warlock was killed not long after, but his selfless act of saving the boy had unforseen consequences. Franklin became impervious to the zombie virus thanks to the TO virus within him. When the zombie hoard looked to turn Franklin into one of their own they were shocked when the boy unleashed the TO virus on them. 

 

 


On Battleworld, in a domain that had followed the same events of the X-tinction Agenda, Warlock had been killed by Cameron Hodge. Havok, Wolfsbane and a number of other mutants remained behind to help the island of Genosha, but in time a mutant plague was unleashed by a scientist called Aldus Kluge. He wanted to wipe out mutants, but his plan failed, and so he revealed his back-up plan. Using Warlock’s remains, he extracted and modified the TO virus and used it to resurrect Hodge. The X-Men banded together to destroy Hodge once more and, in a surprising twist, Warlock was reborn. Kluge’s experimentation on Warlock’s remains had stimulated them enough to come back to life again. 


When Magik and a group of New Mutants travelled to Limbo, they found an older version of herself, who wielded Warlock as a sword. The older Magik explained that at some point in the future, Krakoa would fall and Warlock would flee to Limbo. Somehow, the demons of the realm became infected with the TO virus, making them even deadlier as they were more resistant to sorcery. Using Warlock’s essence, she cast a spell to make them vulnerable once more, but the spell would weaken over time, and needed to be cast again and again. Years past and Warlock grew weaker and was unable to hold his own form. Instead, he reverted into Magik’s body, where he would merge with her Soulsword. When the present-day Magik arrived, the duo saw their chance to finally destroy the TO-demons and their leader, S’ym. The older Magik challenged S’ym to a duel and, during the fight, she stabbed the demon with Warlock, allowing the Technarch to purge the TO virus from the inside. The demon hoard fell soon after, leaving Warlock and Magik to travel back to their own Earth to discover what became of it.


In the reality depicted in New Mutants Forever, Warlock had left the team a while before, but rejoined them when Cypher and Magma were kidnapped by the Red Skull. After getting word that his friends had been taken to Nova Roma, he and the group teamed up with Selene to save them. When they arrived in Nova Roma, they discovered the two had been brainwashed, with Cypher being physically transformed to look like the Red Skull. Warlock fought them but was seemingly killed by Magma. Having survived the assault, he snuck into the Red Skulls’ base afterwards to exact his revenge. Believing that he found the Red Skull, he was unaware it was really Cypher, who was struggling with his brainwashing and still in the Skull’s form. The two fought, and Warlock soon realized he was fighting his friend but decided to commit to the pretense as the real Red Skull was likely watching. In the final battle with the Red Skull’s forces, Warlock was shocked to see Cypher had been brainwashed once more and converted into an even more monstrous form. The Red Skull was defeated, with Cypher being saved but the damage was done and he was stuck in his new body. Warlock was worried about his friend and so used the TO virus to rewrite Doug’s physical structure to resemble his original body.