Who is Adam Warlock: The Villain of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Origin and Powers Explained?

After the success of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Marvel Studios has presented the first trailer for the third and final film in the trilogy with Adam Warlock as the main surprise. In it, Will Poulter makes his MCU debut as this powerful artificial being created by the Sovereigns to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy. But who exactly is Adam Warlock, and why could he turn the entire MCU upside down? Keep reading what we tell you here.

Who is Adam Warlock: First Appearance?

Adam Warlock‘s first appearance was under the name “Him”, and took place in the pages of Fantastic Four, although the story told by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did not focus on him as a character but was only used as a resource narrative. The plot revolved around the group of superheroes and “The Hive”, an enclave of scientists who had kidnapped Alicia Masters to help them with her experiments.

In 1972, Roy Thomas and Gil Kane decided to expand the outline of Lee and Kirby into a character, renaming him Adam Warlock and putting him to the test in two issues of Marvel Premiere magazine. Although he had his comic, it was not successful and was canceled after eight issues. Jim Starlin later reprized the character, and the character once again had a comic of his own, in which he even faced off against Thanos. The comic was cancelled, but Adam Warlock remained a recurring character for decades to come.

What is the origin of Adam Warlock?

Adam Warlock is an Eternal created by the Enclave, a group of scientists to create the perfect human being, the projection of Humanity’s evolutionary future. The resulting creature, known as He, immediately understood that his creators intended his abilities for evil use and rebelled against them, injuring them and damaging the compound in which he was confined.

While fleeing the planet, the Watcher caught him next to some asteroids he was going to investigate. This led him to meet Thor, even trying to kidnap Lady Sif to be his partner. His confrontation with Thor left him on the verge of death. After this, Warlock wrapped himself in a regenerative cocoon to be reborn later.

Upon being reborn, he encountered the High Evolutionary, who renamed him, Adam Warlock. In addition, he gave him the Soul Geforfor him to fulfill the mission of correcting the results of his last experiment. It was Counter-Earth, a planet very similar to Earth created by the High Evolutionary in an attempt to build a utopian society, however, Warlock fell under the influence of the Man-Beast, a wolf that was genetically modified into humanoid by the High Evolutionary. Although Warlock’s path goes much further and he came to cross the path of Thanos, many believe that the third installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy will be linked to his story with the High Evolutionary, who will appear in the film.

Let’s remember that in the MCU the writers have given themselves many creative licenses, so the origin of Adam Warlock and the development of his story point to be different. Let’s remember that in one of the post-credit scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it alluded to that Warlock is a creation of the Sovereigns.

What Are Adam Warlock’s Powers?

Adam Warlock boasts several superhuman powers and characteristics derived from his artificial genetic makeup. Warlock has superhuman strength and stamina due to his bones and muscles being much denser than a human’s, allowing him to lift up to 4 tons of weight. However, he can use his cosmic powers to increase his strength level to carry up to 40 tons for at least one hour.

One of his special adaptations is a network of cells capable of absorbing and transforming cosmic energy for his personal use. Warlock can also use this energy to increase his physical strength, stamina, and resilience, as well as fly, reach the speed of sound, and project energy from his hands. His cosmic energy is also used to locate and enter natural space portals to travel through interstellar space. Warlock is also capable of raising a cocoon around himself in mere seconds to protect himself from deadly harm and typically emerges from the cocoon upon reaching a state of mental and physical maturity. In addition to being an expert in hand-to-hand combat, he is also a notable self-taught philosopher.