There is no shortage of hype preceding Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn is back in the director’s seat and the last time fans saw the team, they helped defeat Thanos and save Earth. Most recently, Will Poulter (The Revenant) has been cast as Adam Warlock, a character that Marvel has vaguely teased since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World.
When Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 comes out in theaters, it will have been exactly a decade since die-hard Marvel fans first caught a glimpse of Adam Warlock’s first easter egg. However, for mainstream movie-goers, a bizarre cocoon featured in two post-credit scenes might not mean much. Once audiences become more informed, the being inside the cocoon will be of utmost significance in the cosmic realm of the greater MCU.
Adam Warlock is an incredibly powerful character in Marvel comic book lore. Created in the 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character was first only known as “Him.” He would earn the moniker of Adam Warlock five years after his inception, by the direction of Roy Thomas and Gil Kane. Adam Warlock has ties to the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics, so it makes sense for him to take a starring role in the upcoming film.
Adam Warlock is an artificially-created human with powers of epic proportions. He possesses the usual traits of a heavy-hitter from a superhero comic: otherworldly strength, enhanced speed, lasting endurance, and more. However, the fine creators at the House of Ideas thought that Adam Warlock should be much more than a mere physical presence. So, they endowed him with flight, the ability to regenerate while cocooned, and the humble gift of immortality.
Additionally, each time Adam Warlock emerges from his cocoon-state, he is imbued with enhanced abilities. This eventually leads Adam Warlock to be able to teleport, harness something called ‘quantum magic’, transmute matter, and possess the soul stone. In a powerful nutshell, Adam Warlock is something akin to DC characters Doomsday and Dr. Manhattan, albeit a venn diagram of the two. However, Adam Warlock was created decades before either of those all-powerful characters hit the bookshelves in Superman and Watchmen comics, respectively.
Arguably the most curious and fascinating of Adam Warlock’s powers is his ability to use quantum magic. But what exactly does that mean? Well, in 2008’s Guardians of the Galaxy series by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Adam Warlock displays several logic-defying abilities: the means to travel faster than the speed of light, teleportation, and creating wormholes in the cosmos. The Dr. Manhattan comparison grows more apt with each examination of Adam Warlock’s powers.
Adam Warlock’s connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy is obvious. He’s one of the lead members in a 21st century run in the comics and was very obviously teased in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s post-credit scene. He has also made an appearance in a 1969 Thor comic book. With Thor now a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, it seems fairly obvious that the God of Thunder is not on the team merely for his comedic chops and banter with Star Lord. Thor joining the team and Adam Warlock being featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 must have been in the works for some time on Kevin Feige’s storyboard.
Next, there’s Adam Warlock’s connection to the High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary is another incredibly powerful cosmic character in Marvel lore, albeit one that has yet to make an appearance in the MCU. His comic book tale is a long, complex telling that would take up an undue amount of time in this article if he were delved into with great detail. Suffice to say the High Evolutionary grants Adam Warlock possession of the soul stone in return as a reward for coming to his aid in a time of need.
However, in the MCU, Steve Rogers returned the soul stone to planet Vormir at the end of the events in Avengers: Endgame. As MCU fans know, on Vormir, one must tragically trade a ‘soul for a soul’ in order to claim the soul stone (that is, to sacrifice someone they love). Fans do not know what transpired with Steve Rogers on Vormir, as this encounter was off-camera. Will the Guardians of the Galaxy and/or Adam Warlock travel to Vormir in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Will the Red Skull make another cameo, since he is the one damned with guarding the soul stone? Only the upcoming film will answer these questions, but no doubt fan theories about these ideas are already swirling around the interwebs.
Lastly, Adam Warlock’s connection to magic, however cosmic, must be considered in the greater mythology of the MCU. Kevin Feige already has two incredibly powerful magic-wielders in his Avengers arsenal in the forms of Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange. If Adam Warlock were to join the Avengers down the line, this would make for a powerful magical trifecta. In the aftermath of the events in WandaVision, it’s abundantly clear that Wanda is the most powerful magic-wielder in the MCU… that fans know of. Perhaps Adam Warlock, no matter how much he is shrouded in mystery now, will change what audiences think they know.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 comes out in theaters on May 5th, 2023.