The MCU is about to have a major power shift when Adam Warlock makes his debut, most likely in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. Although we still don’t know how much different the MCU Adam will be from the comics, we do know that in the comics, Warlock is amazingly powerful. So, how strong is Adam Warlock, really?
Adam Warlock is one of the most powerful Marvel characters to date. He’s strong enough to match Thor, Thanos, or the Hulk and practically immortal, as he can regenerate even from near-death injuries. The true limit of his powers is unknown.
Warlock wielded the entire Infinity Gauntlet at times but never used it for evil. However, his permanent connection to the Soul Gem makes him much more powerful, although he’s super strong even without it. Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about Adam Warlock’s origins, powers, abilities, weaknesses, and more.
Adam Warlock Origins
There was this group of highly-intelligent researchers called the Enclave, who wanted nothing more than to create the “perfect” human being, the very best that human evolution could bring. That led to the creation of Adam Warlock – who was, back then, only referred to as Him.
However, the Enclave didn’t realize what they had created. The being was sentient and highly intelligent and almost instantly sensed that his creators had evil plans for him and wanted to use him as a weapon. So, Him retaliated, attacked his creators, and escaped the complex where he was held.
Soon after, due to having no life experience whatsoever, Him acted solely on urges. So, he tried kidnapping Lady Sif and mating with her, which, of course, angered Thor, who almost beat Him to death. It was the first time we’ve seen Him go into his regeneration cocoon, where his body and vitality are restored and improved.
Later, the High Evolutionary found Him, merged him with the Soul Gem, and gave him a life purpose. That’s when Him got the name Warlock. As Warlock’s experience grew, so grew his powers. I mean, he gave Thor a hard time when he was practically born yesterday. Now, Warlock was already more experienced, with a purpose, and the mysterious Soul Gem.
Soon after, Warlock ended up on Counter-Earth, an attempted utopia that the High Evolutionary created, where he became their first superhero. They gave him the name Adam because they thought he needed two names, like everybody else on the planet. It was the birth of Adam Warlock as we know him.
As time passed, Adam Warlock’s power and experience grew. He fought the likes of Thanos, the Stranger, Mephisto, Count Abyss, Magus, and numerous other incredibly powerful foes. Warlock’s powers became somewhat of a plot device – eventually, he can do whatever the plot requires him to do.
Now, I doubt the MCU will go to those lengths, and I do believe that his powers will be more determined and “realistic,” at least by MCU standards. Especially considering the fact that the Infinity Stones are behind us now and that Warlock likely won’t have the Soul Stone to improve his power.
Let’s take a look at what powers, abilities, and weaknesses Adam Warlock usually has in the comics and see which of those we might see in the MCU.
Adam Warlock Powers
Superhuman Physiology
As I’ve mentioned before, Adam Warlock was created artificially as the pinnacle of human evolution. The being turned out to be more advanced than the creators ever imagined. Adam, as he was later named, has vast superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability.
He’s strong enough to match Thor physically. Warlock’s stamina is much, much higher than any human being, capable of maximum physical exertion for hours before feeling any fatigue. Also, he’s extremely quick – which is only amplified further with his ability to teleport.
As far as his superhuman strength is concerned, it’s actually not his strongest attribute, but it’s still incredibly tough. Adam Warlock can focus his energy to increase his physical strength, although it’s not always necessary, as he has plenty of other powers he can use instead of brute force.
In Annihilation: Conquest #2, the High Evolutionary himself states that Warlock’s genetic structure is so perfect that it would be difficult to replicate even to himself.
Immortality
While Adam Warlock can be killed, he never really dies. Instead, Warlock always comes back, reborn, new, and improved. You see, in Strange Tales #178, we learn that Adam’s soul is so strong that not even Death herself can claim it. That’s partially due to his genetic perfection but mostly due to the long symbiotic bond he had with the Soul Gem.
Also, it’s quite difficult to harm Adam, be it with physical damage, psychic attacks, or energy blasts. Even if he gets hurt, the cellular regeneration Adam Warlock possesses is incredible.
When he’s beaten to the brink of death, his life essence gets enclosed into a regenerative cocoon, where it revitalizes and subconsciously improves his body, making Warlock even more powerful. Adam is the literal interpretation of the phrase: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Mental Powers
Apart from physical powers and attributes, Adam Warlock has insanely strong mental capabilities. He possesses Ultra Senses, granted to him after he took the memories of Magus, gaining some of his abilities in the process. He could locate cosmic anomalies, such as black holes, timeline shifts, etc.
Also, after several rebirths, Warlock could see the auras of others, as well as their souls, genetic structures of all living things, and much more. Those powers are all a part of the Cosmic Awareness Warlock possesses, knowing exactly what’s going on anywhere in the universe – and his teleportation powers allow him to be omnipresent.
Finally, Adam is clairvoyant, can see back and forth in time, and also possesses a certain level of telepathic powers. His telepathy is the only power that grew weaker after his cocoon rebirths – it was the strongest when Adam was still Him. However, it’s actually unknown how powerful his telepathy is – all we know is that his telepathic defense is incredibly strong.
Energy Projection & Manipulation
These powers also grew stronger over time, especially after each rebirth, and got to the point where his energy manipulation, projection, and control are Adam Warlock’s greatest powers.
He can manipulate energy and matter to a molecular level, absorb and project cosmic energy at will, create objects and other constructs from pure energy, use magic and mystical energy in numerous ways (be it spells, portal creation, time travel, the resurrection of other beings, astral projection, body transmutation, etc.).
Warlock has incredibly strong pyrokinesis and can summon magical lightning, force fields, energy blasts, etc. It came to a point where it’s harder to name all the things Adam can do than those he can’t.
And, I haven’t even mentioned his powers related to the symbiotic bond with the Soul Gem because I don’t think those can relate to the MCU at this point. Now, what about Warlock’s abilities, apart from superpowers?
Adam Warlock Abilities
Genius Intellect
With a perfect genetic structure, it’s only logical that Adam Warlock has a brilliant mind as well. At first, he was only intuitive, but as he gained experience dealing with problems all over the cosmos, Warlock’s knowledge grew exponentially.
He has knowledge of mystical arts and occultism, technology and hacking, celestial navigation, piloting, etc. Adam is also a Xeno-Multilinguist, meaning he knows many different alien languages.
Master Tactician & Strategist
We know that Adam has incredible powers that allow him to go head-to-head against practically anybody. However, he usually faces threats that also have such powers, so he gains an edge over them by being an incredible strategist. Most of Warlock’s wins come from meticulous planning, developing a strategy, and changing tactics midway through the fight.
Additionally, he’s a master manipulator, often allowing him to either avoid conflict or get the enemy to his side. The Silver Surfer hated Warlock for this, as he considered that Warlock’s manipulative decisions were never made towards the greater good of the universe but himself (Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1).
Master Martial Artist
Over the years, Adam Warlock had tons of experience in hand-to-hand combat, sometimes even getting his butt whooped. He had seen the fighting skills of beings throughout the universe and picked up on many of those skills, eventually becoming a very formidable martial artist.
What is more, his ability to absorb others’ memories and skills made him an even better fighter, especially after absorbing the skills of extremely deadly combatants such as Autolycus or Gamora.
Adam Warlock Weaknesses
So, the guy can be harmed but essentially can’t be killed. Well, does Adam Warlock have a weakness then? Well, yes – depending on what you consider a weakness. If you mean permanently killing him, then no, Adam has no weakness. If you mean hurting him, though, then Warlock has several weaknesses.
First, as strong as Warlock is physically, he’s Class 50+ at best when his physical strength is altered. That means he can’t match the likes of Thor, Thanos, or Hulk physically, and they can hurt him. Sure, he cocoons up and regenerates, but still, Adam can get hurt, which one has to consider a weakness.
He also has a vulnerability to magical weapons. Not only can they hurt him, but they actually kill Adam. I mean, yes, Death can’t claim his soul, so he resurrects, but he actually dies before that. We saw that when the Godslayer created a sword designed to kill Magus, an evil future version of Warlock, or in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 #19 when Phyla-Vell hurt Adam with her sword.
However, the biggest weakness Adam Warlock has is his Inner Darkness. It’s an evil personality within himself that manifests itself as Magus, the future evil Adam Warlock that is insanely more powerful but adamant about destroying billions of life forms throughout the cosmos.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 # 17, we learn that Adam does his best to suppress the Inner Darkness. However, if he grows weak enough or is killed in his normal, un-augmented state, the evil personality can emerge, and Magus can take over Adam Warlock completely.
I can’t wait to see what the MCU has in store for Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock. We already knew his origin story would be different from the comics, so his powers will probably be changed as well. Whatever it is, get ready for a major shift in the MCU’s power rankings among superheroes and supervillains.
