- —Adam Warlock[src]
Quick Answers
Who created the character Adam Warlock in the Marvel universe?
What are some of the notable powers of Adam Warlock?
How did Adam Warlock come to fight alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers?
What role did Adam Warlock play in the Infinity Gauntlet saga?
What is the significance of the Beehive on Shard Island in Adam Warlock's story?
History
"Him"[]
Warlock was created by the group of researchers who called themselves the "Enclave."[18] The goal of the researchers was to create the perfect human being, the pinnacle of future human evolution. Fortunately for the denizens of Earth, the new being was a creature beyond the control of his creators. The creature whom they had created, then known only as "Him," emerged—and immediately sensed, upon his emergence, that his creators sought to use him for evil ends. He lashed out, damaging the complex and injuring his "fathers," and promptly escaped.[6]
Unfortunately for "Him," he was a being with no life experience due to his unique conception. He promptly encountered Thor, and attempted the abduction of the Lady Sif in order to mate with her.[19] (This act would be repeated in a more benign, but no less infuriating, fashion by his gene-sister "Her," now known as Kismet.) Thor naturally took offense to this kidnapping, and promptly beat the young Godling near to death. "Him" promptly retreated to the safety of a regenerative cocoon and thus was later reborn.[20]
Rebirth[]
Upon his rebirth, "Him" was renamed as Warlock by the High Evolutionary, who became a guiding force in the life of the reborn Godling. The High Evolutionary gave Warlock purpose, direction, and the vampiric Soul Gem. Soon afterwards, Warlock journeyed to the planet called Counter-Earth, one of the High Evolutionary's experiments, that had recently been contaminated. Counter-Earth had been an attempt to create a Utopian society, and it had been so till the evil Man-Beast, a renegade creation of the High Evolutionary, had corrupted it;[21] the Man-Beast was to become Warlock's greatest enemy. Warlock met four teenagers, David Carter, Jason Grey, Eddie Roberts, and Ellie Roberts. Ellie gave him the name "Adam," because she thought he needed two names instead of one, as it was on their planet. Following Warlock's arrival, Kohbra located him for the Man-Beast, and sent Rhodan after him. Warlock faced off against Rhodan, and ended up returning him to his original form.[1] The group traveled to the city, and were tricked by the Man-Beast (disguised as a prophet) into finding his lair. Warlock was captured and was forced to join the Man-Beast's side or be killed.[22] Warlock told the Man-Beast that he would never join his (the Man-Beast's) side, so the Man-Beast resorted to making Warlock think that his friends had betrayed him. But this backfired on the Man-Beast, for it enraged Warlock even more, and he ended up defeating the Man-Beast.[23]
Counter-Earth's Champion[]
Warlock became the first superhero on Counter-Earth. He traveled that world with David, Jason, Eddie, and Ellie, trying to rid Counter-Earth of the evil presence of the Man-Beast. Eddie's and Ellie's father, Col. Barney Roberts, asked Warlock to be present during the launching of a rocket. However, during the launch, onlookers were attacked by evil New-Man Triax. Triax grabbed Eddie and Ellie, and brought them atop a building. Warlock fought Triax, but it was the intervention of Col. Roberts's attack planes that made Triax throw Eddie off the building, to his death. Warlock was unable to save Eddie Roberts, and this angered him so much that he killed Triax.[24]
After Eddie's funeral, Warlock went into hiding in the Mojave Desert, where he spun a cocoon around himself and slept in it for a few weeks. He was awakened when two geologists found that President Rex Carpenter was doing bomb tests near the San Andreas fault line, and by doing so would cause massive earthquakes. When the bomb went off, Warlock managed to contain most of the destruction, but the bomb also triggered the activation of the Deathbirds, bird-like robots that kill. Warlock, with the help of Victor von Doom of Counter-Earth, defeated the Deathbirds, and Warlock was praised as a hero by the people. However, his victory was short-lived, because a couple of hours later, the President aired a message on TV saying that Warlock was a menace and a threat to everyone.[25] After that, Warlock was attacked by the United States Army of Counter-Earth, and was forced to go into hiding. Astrella, whom he met earlier, met up with him, and told him where he could find his friends. However, this was a trap, and Warlock had to fight off the Brute and the military at the same time. He met up with Von Doom at the cabin he was going to earlier, where a beaten Jason Grey was there warning them that everyone was in trouble.[26]
Jason filled them in as they put him to sleep. He said that David and Ellie had been falsely arrested for supposedly having started a riot. Warlock went to go bail them out, and when he arrived at the police station, he stopped angry protesters even though they were on his side. Just as Warlock bailed David and Ellie out, Von Doom ran up to them saying that the Brute had returned and was draining away all of Counter-Earth's geothermal energy. Warlock and the others journeyed to Counter-Earth's core to stop him. Warlock fought the Brute, but ultimately, it was Von Doom's heroic sacrifice that saved everyone's lives.[27] A few days later, a riot broke out in Washington, D.C. The riot was caused by two creatures, so Warlock, being the hero, went to save citizens. Though Warlock fought the beasts, they teleported him to the inside of the Oval Office in the White House and disappeared. President Carpenter, who was waiting for Warlock there, revealed that he had actually been the Man-Beast the entire time.[28]
Two weeks later, having presumably lost the fight to the Man-Beast, Warlock was released from captivity by Recorder 211. Warlock gathered his army over the next few days in order to rebel against the Man-Beast. He even inducted the Hulk from the original Earth into his ranks. Seeking to stay evil and stay tyrannical, the Man-Beast used the Hulk as a Trojan Horse to infiltrate Warlock's ranks by implanting a chip in the Hulk's brain that would make him attack Warlock and his followers. Though Warlock was able to free the Hulk of the Man-Beast's control, that ended up getting him and his followers captured. Warlock was then to be killed in a public trial, but he retreated into his cocoon at the last minute. Thinking he was dead, Warlock's followers and the Hulk attacked the Man-Beast in an all-out endeavor. However, Warlock returned, now more powerful than ever, and de-evolved the Man-Beast and all the evil New Men back to their original animal forms. He then left Counter-Earth and all his followers, saying that he was needed among the stars to help other worlds that needed his assistance.[29]
Magus Saga[]
Soon afterwards, Warlock came into contact with a malicious being known as the Magus, a twisted future incarnation of himself, totally insane and horribly powerful.[30] As the head of the Universal Church of Truth, the Magus had ground billions of lifeforms across the cosmos under his heel. Warlock fought the Magus, but could not succeed on his own, for his future self possessed vast might. Eventually, with the help of Pip the Troll, Gamora, and the nefarious Thanos of Titan, Warlock succeeded in eliminating the Timeline from which the Magus sprang, thus canceling his existence retroactively throughout time.[31][32] Then, in a brilliant, yet disturbing counter-move, Thanos projected Warlock two years into the future where he encountered his dying self, embittered, preparing to give birth anew to the Magus. Warlock then took the soul of his dying future self into the Soul Gem, thus ending the threat of his evil counterpart.[33]
Soul Gem[]
Following the defeat of his future self, Warlock encountered a being known as the Star Thief, a comatose man from Earth who had achieved cosmic awareness. The Star Thief revealed to Warlock his plans of exacting revenge on the human race by making the stars around them vanish in order for their planet to be destroyed. Warlock was forced to return to Earth, but upon his arrival he found that having been thousands of light years away from Earth he had grown at a quicker pace than Earth, thus being many times larger than the planet.[34] Warlock then left to find himself a new home, however he met an alien calling himself the Ancient Traveler. The Ancient Traveler looked into Warlock's future, and told him that before he died, he would see many of his friends die, and would be the cause of the High Evolutionary's death as well. Now knowing this, Warlock left to find the answers he sought within the Soul Gem. The Gem revealed that it was one of the six. The Gem then tried to enslave Warlock, but Warlock overcame the Gem by threatening to commit suicide so that it would lose its host, leaving it alone on a deserted planet. Warlock then left the planet to travel the stars yet again.[35]
After traveling the stars for quite some time, eventually returning to the Milky Way Galaxy, he noticed that he had shrunk back down to normal size. He then intercepted a rocket that was drifting away from Earth. Sensing a life form in that rocket, Warlock used his Soul Gem to transport himself and the rocket to the oxygen-rich Blue Area of the Moon. There he met Spider-Man, and while deciding on how to return him back to Earth, they were attacked by the Stranger, who was looking to claim Warlock's Soul Gem. With the help of Spider-Man and the Gardener (and his own Soul Gem), they managed to defeat the Stranger. In the aftermath of the battle, Warlock left the Moon without noticing the presence of a metallic egg that was waiting for the moment it would open.[36]
Thanos, who was insane and evil, had fallen so deeply in love with a female manifestation of Death that he planned to destroy the stars themselves, annihilating everything that lived as the greatest gift to "her" that "she" had ever received, and his ward, Gamora, found out about his plan. She attacked him and was struck down brutally. Warlock found her soon afterwards and took her soul into his Gem, learning the full extent of Thanos' plan in the process. Distraught and enraged, Warlock sought out allies to assist him in his gambit against the mad Titan. He journeyed to Earth, and to the mansion HQ of the mighty Avengers. There he told them, and the recently arrived Captain Marvel and Moondragon, of Thanos' plan to detonate all the stars. The Avengers then made immediate plans to attack Thanos's starship, the Sanctuary II. However, as he had in an earlier scheme to gain ultimate power, Thanos would sow the seeds of his own Destruction. Thanos purposely enraged Adam Warlock, by wiping the mind of Adam's companion Pip, and leaving him to be found. When Warlock found Pip's mindless form, he drew his friend's spirit into his Soul Gem. But before attacking Pip, Thanos had told him of his plan, and drawing Pip's soul into the Gem caused Warlock to learn of the plan. Warlock and Captain Marvel immediately attacked Thanos, destroying his projector. Mar-Vell was rendered unconscious, but Warlock savagely attacked Thanos, who promptly struck him down. Before Thanos could move his Star-Gem into another Projector, he was attacked by Thor and Iron Man, who followed behind Warlock and Mar-Vell. Thor attacked Thanos, while Iron Man shattered the Star-Gem. A few minutes later, Mar-Vell bore silent witness as the time-displaced past version of Warlock ended the suffering of his present self, drawing his restless spirit into the Soul gem where he at last found a measure of peace.[37]
Immediately after, Thanos teleported away with Warlock's body, and led his crew to defeat the Avengers. With Warlock's gem, he possessed enough power, at least, to destroy Earth's primary, Sol. But before he could do so, a wild card was introduced in the form of the Thing and Spider-Man, who were compelled to find the battleground by Lord Chaos and Master Order, whose agent the In-Betweener is. Spider-Man freed the Avengers and in the melee that followed, he shattered the sphere holding the Soul Gem. Inside the gem, Warlock sensed that he had one final task to perform. The gem struck the floor and, in a flash of light, the soul of Adam Warlock appeared from within the gem. Now a being of pure energy, Warlock lunged for the panicked Thanos, and killed him, transmuting the Titan's body to solid granite. Afterwards, the spirit of Warlock retreated back into the blissful world inside the gem itself.
Infinity Gauntlet[]
Warlock lived peacefully for several years in Soulworld, with Pip and Gamora, until Thanos again became a threat to all who lived. Encountering Drax the Destroyer and the noble Silver Surfer after Thanos abducted their souls, Warlock again made plans to thwart the Titan. To execute these plans, Warlock projected the souls of himself, Pip, and Gamora into three recently deceased humans.[38] His powers reshaped their shattered bodies into new, more powerful versions of their old bodies. Then he went about gathering Earth's remaining Champions to attack Thanos on his space platform. these included Hulk, Wolverine, and many others.[39] However, the attack by Earth's heroes was a distraction designed to allow the Silver Surfer to snatch the almighty Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos's grasp. He failed.[40] After ascending to the crux of all reality after defeating the Universe's mightiest cosmic beings, Thanos lost his divinity due to the machinations of his "granddaughter" Nebula. Thanos was then talked into assisting Warlock in Nebula's defeat, whereupon Warlock himself gained the Gauntlet and ascended to Godhood.[41] Warlock was soon afterwards convinced by the Living Tribunal that he was unworthy to become supreme, and then divided the gems amongst Himself (Soul), Gamora (Time), Pip (Space), Drax (Power), Moondragon (Mind), and secretly Thanos (reality).[42]
Infinity Watch[]
The newly formed Infinity Watch defended the Gems against the machinations of those who would misuse them. This included the return of Warlock's old foes, Triax and the Man-Beast, which lead them to set up a base on Monster Island, an island ruled by the Mole Man.[43]
Not long after the Watch was formed, the Magus reappeared with five cosmic containment units and an army of doppelgängers of Earth's heroes to wage war in order to get his revenge on Warlock and Thanos. After investigation by the Watch and Thanos, it was revealed that when Warlock had ascended into godhood via the Infinity Gauntlet, he had expelled the good and evil aspects of his being to become a totally logical being, and by doing so, he had recreated his evil persona, the Magus. It took the combined efforts of the Watch, Thanos, and the majority of Earth's heroes to defeat the Magus, and in the end, Warlock banished the Magus into Soul World. However, doing so plunged Warlock into a comatose state.[44]
Soon after, Eternity visited Warlock in his deep sleep to wake him up from his coma.[45] With Warlock back in leadership, the Watch, using the powers of their Infinity Gems, faced off against enemies such as Mephisto,[46] Count Abyss, and Maxam.[47]
When a being known as the Goddess kidnapped many of Earth's heroes in order to eradicate the Universe of sin by means of killing off every living being, Warlock learned that his good side was just as dangerous to the Universe as his evil side was. Physically absent from most of the fighting, Warlock and Thanos once again teamed up to save the universe. While Earth's heroes were divided and fighting each other, Warlock and Thanos executed their complicated plan behind the scenes. The plan was a success and the Goddess was defeated, and also banished to Soul World along with the Magus.[48]
Not long afterwards, Warlock found through his magical orb that a mentally insane Thor had attacked the Silver Surfer. Warlock formulated a plan that would help both Thor and the Silver Surfer, and that would put Thor in his debt. He asked Pip to teleport him to Thor's location, and for him to get the Watch ready to come in for backup. He fought Thor and barely escaped, but he did discover that he could control the Surfer's board due to them connecting during the Infinity Gauntlet crisis. The two fled to seek aid from Doctor Strange. After they explained the situation to Strange, and after he agreed to help, Pip and the Infinity Watch suddenly appeared in Strange's home. They explained that they had gone to fight Thor to find Warlock, but they had ended up failing and losing the Power Gem. Warlock, the Surfer, and Strange then decided that they would have go to Asgard to get help from Odin himself. When they traveled there, however, they were soon led into a Troll trap by Lady Sif and Beta Ray Bill. Warlock and the others were all locked in the Troll dungeon awaiting to be executed, but then Pip managed to get Warlock into a trial by combat, and so Warlock fought in the arena while Pip rescued everyone else. By the time they escaped, they had wasted so much time in the dungeon that Thor successfully caught up to them and fought them once again. Nearing defeat, the Silver Surfer teleported Thor and himself to another location while Warlock stayed behind to take care of those injured. Once everyone was up to it, they followed the Silver Surfer to Thanos's space station, the Sanctuary, where the Titan had imprisoned Thor for the time being. They debated on what to do with him, and when their plan of freeing him from his psychological state failed, they decided it was time to take him to Odin. Pip teleported them onto the Bifrost, where they were attacked by many Asgardian warriors, and even Odin himself. After a battle that destroyed a small portion of Asgard, they managed to convince Odin to settle and help Thor, and so he did and Asgard was indebted to Warlock and the Infinity Watch.[49][50][51][52]
Warlock and his Watch returned to Monster Island, where he continued to work on Maxam getting his memory back. He, Moondragon and Drax combined the power of all their Infinity Gems to retrieve a single portion of Maxam's memory back. He seemed to have come from another reality, and was connected to the Badoon in some way. Warlock voted to keep this a secret from Gamora, since she had had a complicated history with the Badoon and it would only have instilled more distrust in Maxam. Later that day, the Infinity Watch were attacked by the Avengers. It was later revealed by the Vision that the Avengers had been brainwashed by Senator Kyle Munson, secretly Warlock's greatest enemy, the evil Man-Beast, in a plan to get Warlock marked as a villain. That plan had obviously failed, and so when Warlock, Captain America, and the Vision went to confront the Senator, it was revealed that he was actually Warlock's old foe, the Man-Beast. They fought, and Warlock (as per usual) won. Warlock delivered a speech in front of the United Nations, and managed to convince them never to bother either him or the Watch ever again.[53]
During the Avengers and the Infinity Watch's battle on Monster Island, a woman by the name of Maya had sneaked onto the island, but had been knocked unconscious by one of the Avengers. She awoke only to discover that Warlock and his Infinity Watch had nursed her back to health, but now they had questions. She explained to Warlock that she lived in a different dimension where she was part of an alliance against Count Abyss. She only came to Warlock to ask him for aid in the rebellion against Abyss, and that it would be mutually beneficial. Warlock agreed to this deal, against the decision of the rest of the Watch, and he drank the cup of wine that Maya had brought with her, only to find out that it was a love potion. The two ended up kissing and falling madly in artificial love. The Watch spent a few hours trying to cure him of the ailment, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Just then, a void opened up in Monster Island where many demons came out, and kidnapped Maya. Warlock soon realized that he had been deceived, and that Maya had been working for Count Abyss the entire time.
Warlock decided the next best course of action was to go to his orb for all known information on Count Abyss. He got the whole story of how Count Abyss came to be, and he was ready to fight him. He and the Watch travelled to Count Abyss's continuum, where he was reunited with old acquaintances, Darklore and Meer'lyn, two beings he had met during the Infinity Crusade who were indeed enemies of Count Abyss. He joined forces with them and went to fight Count Abyss, only to suffer a brutal defeat. Warlock then launched another plan, where he regretfully transferred one of the souls in his soul gem into Count Abyss's own soulless form. The plan worked, and he was able to defeat Count Abyss. The team celebrated victory, but Warlock was devastated when he found out that Darklore was to marry Maya, his first love. Though he would obviously never publicly show it, for the first time in his life, Warlock was heartbroken.[54]
End of Watch[]
Division among the ranks of the Watch emerged when Moondragon was nearly killed in battle against Domitian. With Moondragon in a coma, and Drax not leaving her side, the Watch's active members consisted only of Warlock, Pip, Gamora and Maxam. Tensions escalated once more when Maxam made an off-the-cuff joke about Gamora's obvious "puppy love" for Warlock, which caused Gamora to get very angry. The two fought, and in the end, Gamora left the Watch due to Warlock's wholehearted trust in Maxam. Warlock then gave the Time Gem to Maxam. The next day, Maxam would attack Warlock, but Warlock managed to defeat him, with the aid of the still telepathically active Moondragon. Warlock concluded that due to Maxam coming from a different time period, the Time Gem most likely triggered the memories of his past (the future) to return to him.
Almost immediately, a threat arrived from a different Universe who managed to steal all of the gems from their guardians. The Infinity Watch then fell apart, having no gems to protect. Afterwards, Warlock promptly left to search for the Infinity Gems.[55]
There and Back Again[]
During his long search, Warlock was pulled into a gateway between our Universe, and the neighboring Ultraverse. He awoke, projected into the distant past, to discover a gathering of worshipers hailing him as their Messiah. In the weeks that followed he discovered that he was upon a vast construct called the Godwheel, and in the presence of Warrior Priests of the Dilhaabi race who needed a savior to help them defeat a vampiric Dark God called Rune. Soon, the hordes of Rune attacked, killing scores of the Warrior Priests, and turning the battle into a massacre. Rune and Warlock met on the field of battle and fought long into the night. Finally, Warlock fatigued, and Rune plunged his blade through Warlock's chest, wounding him mortally. As Warlock lay dying, Rune attempted to drain his soul, but failed due to Warlock's supreme astral control. Rune howled his frustration into the night, as Warlock died, and was promptly surrounded by his regenerative cocoon.[56]
Sometime in the intervening centuries, Warlock's essence and genetic material were used to create a form of cosmic energy known as "Shu-Ji". In roughly the 1960s or '70s of the Ultraverse, a ship capable of harnessing Shu-Ji energy was uncovered on Earth by General Holden Rayder. An entire secret government agency known as Aladdin grew up around Rayder and this ship, as he attempted to harness its power for America. Working with the alien-derived A.I. called GENIE, Rayder and Aladdin reasoned Shu-Ji energies were best wielded in pairs, and so they genetically extrapolated twin boys named Erik Johnston and Noel Robinson, raising them in seclusion from each other until they were old enough to wield the Shu-Ji power for Aladdin. Unfortunately for Aladdin, Rune had also made his way from the Godwheel to Earth and interrupted their plans. Erik and Noel ended up fused into a single entity named Gemini, wielding the power of both Adam Warlock and Rune, and under the control of no one.[57]
Adam's cocoon was eventually located adrift through space by Aladdin, and brought to Ultra-Earth.[58] Although Adam was dead inside his cocoon, the reality-altering wave caused by Black September revived him.[59] With new-found abilities and uncertain of his place in the Ultraverse, Adam Warlock left Aladdin to seek his destiny as a spiritual counselor of sorts.[60] Adam soon became aware of Gemini, who had evolved into a kind of binary being, with Noel acting as a gold-skinned cosmic force by day and Erik becoming a duplicate of Rune by night. Meeting the composite boys restored Adam's memories of the Godwheel, and he used his new-found spiritual abilities to exorcise Erik's corrupted spirit from Noel's body. Making peace with Noel, Adam returned to space and located the wormhole nexus necessary for him to return to Earth-616.[61][56]
Eventually he found the Soul Gem once more, but its effects on his personality became unpredictable, possibly because of their long separation. A short time later, Drax the Destroyer was accused of the murder of Elysius and several other individuals. Warlock, along with Gamora, Pip, and Genis, tracked Drax down and subdued him in time to find that the real culprit was the re-animated corpse of the original Captain Marvel. Using his Soul Gem, Warlock traced the being controlling the corpse, a creature within the Negative Zone known as Syphon who was using the Nega-Bands as a conduit. Felled by a backlash of psychic energy, Warlock was unable to stop the transfer of the Nega-Bands to the unconscious Drax, who flew off into space. Warlock then gathered his allies and pursued Drax, finding that Syphon was using Drax and the bands to rip a portal into the Negative Zone, a portal which threatened the structure of our Universe. Summoning all of his strength, Warlock yanked Drax free and removed the Nega-Bands, causing the portal to shrink. But, before the portal could completely close, Syphon yanked Warlock into the negative zone, and in front of the audience of Blastaar and Annihilus, Syphon took Warlock's gem, and used it to re-open the portal. Warlock recovered, and fought back, but without his Soul Gem he had little chance of subduing both Blastarr and Annihilus before Syphon was successful. Fortunately, Drax arrived with Pip, Gamora, and Genis (who was once more possessor of the Nega-Bands) in tow. As his friends fought on, Warlock went on to damage Syphon's conqueror wheel, thus re-closing the portal. Syphon attempted to use the Soul Gem to kill Warlock, but found his attack turned upon his own soul. He fought back long enough to flee his own body. Warlock again claimed the Soul Gem, feeling that it was his burden and his alone. That done, Warlock and his companions left the Negative Zone and returned to their Universe where they evidently again parted ways.[62]
Infinity Abyss[]
Some time later, Warlock's cosmic senses led him to believe that something was seriously amiss with the Universe that was causing reality to collapse, and this belief compelled him to visit Eternity and Infinity in order to fully discern what was happening. Once there, he found them unable to answer his questions in a satisfactory manner, and he instead managed to convince them to open a portal beyond time and space, through which he traveled in search of answers. He found them in the form of Atlez, a being who was charged with the awesome responsibility of "anchoring" his reality. Atlez went on to tell Warlock that his time was coming to an end, and that his successor, a young child named Atleza Langunn, would have to be be summoned to take his place. Warlock accepted this all-important mission, but was instead driven insane by the transfer of the information that Atleza would need to assume her duties. Lost to madness, Warlock drifted back to his actuality and finished up at the Corporation for Mental Stability on the planet Degaitor. His mind shattered, Warlock retreated into a protective cocoon, where he would remain for two more years.
With Warlock in need of time to recover, Atlez activated a backup plan that would take two years to unfold. First, he planted a single phrase inside the minds of Thanos's dormant Thanosi clones that read "Adam Warlock is the key to Oblivion." Then he directed a meteorite strike on Thanos's stronghold, designed to awaken the clone called Armour. Unfortunately, this move activated four more members of the Thanosi, and the plan began to derail. Nonetheless, the implanted message proved convincing, and the clone called X assumed the guise of the true Thanos, sending Pip the Troll to collect Warlock's cocoon. X then summoned Moondragon, who managed to awaken the dormant Warlock, who quickly found that he was unable to remember the events that led to his insanity. Pip helped Warlock retrace his steps, and soon Warlock returned to the pavilion of Atlez where he found missing pieces of his memory. He again accepted his now-dire mission, and managed this time to retain his sanity. But before Warlock could depart, he was suddenly attacked by the Thanosi known as Warrior and Mystic. Warlock's cause seemed doomed until the intervention of Doctor Strange, who quickly dispatched Mystic before being knocked unconscious by Warrior. The battered Warlock was left with no choice but to use the full-power of the Soul Gem to drain Warrior's soul, a move that would taint Warlock's mindset for a time, and make his mission that much more difficult.
Despite this new-found difficulty, Warlock managed to return to Earth and deliver the knowledge Atleza would need in order to take over for her predecessor. He then went on to aid Thanos in the battle against Omega, the mightiest of the Thanosi. While Moondragon used her powers to keep Atlez alive a little longer, Warlock fought the Omega alongside Gamora, Pip, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Thanos himself, and the group eventually triumphed and ended the threat of the Thanosi. That done, Atleza assumed the mantle of the Reality Anchor, while Warlock and Gamora remained with her as protectors while she grew into the full measure of her abilities. Changed by his recent experiences, Warlock finally reciprocated the affection that Gamora had wished to show him for so long, and found that the keys to his happiness were not as complex and elusive as he once feared.[63]
The Conscience of Thanos[]
Driven by an irresistible urge, Warlock traveled through space until he found Thanos locked in contemplation on the now-dead world called Rigel III, and soon found that the Titan was feeling remorse over his part in what had happened to the planet, as well as many of his past misdeeds. Thanos went on to express a desire to start putting things right so that he could conquer his personal demons and find a measure of peace, and wished to start this journey with the Rigellians themselves. Warlock offered to accompany Thanos on his journey to New Rigel III, and Thanos accepted, referring to Warlock as his "conscience." Once there, Warlock was soon shocked into near-disbelief when Thanos promptly surrendered to the Rigellian troops, and offered his services to their people. Warlock went on to become something of an advocate for Thanos, but nonetheless warned the Rigellian High-Commissioner of the Titan's unpredictable nature. Warlock and Thanos soon found themselves in the midst of some political intrigue as the General in command of the Rigellian forces attempted a military coup. Warlock and Thanos soon disabused the them of this notion, and Thanos went on to help the Rigellians by improving their security safeguards, their planetary defenses, and even the quality of their Beta-Soy crops. The Grand Commissioner went on to tell the pair of a far greater peril that now endangered Rigel XVIII, and Thanos soon found out that the planet was threatened by none other than Galactus. Thanos stood by his pledge to aid the Rigellians, and decided to find out what the world-devourer's motives were.
The group acquired the help of Moondragon and Pip in a plan to find out Galactus's plan. They used Moondragon to attack Galactus telepathically as a diversion while Pip teleported into his ship to plant bugs. While Thanos searched Galactus's files for his plans, Warlock talked to Pip about the radical changes in his existence. He told Pip that he sensed that his next death would be his final one, and he was not happy about it because of his relationship with Gamora. For the first time in his lives, Warlock was dreading and worried about his mortality.
Thanos soon found that Galactus was gathering the all-powerful Infinity Gems in a plot to feed off their power and end his hunger, a move which made little sense considering that the assembled gems could be used to simply will his hunger away. This development made Thanos uneasy, and he feared that Galactus was actually being duped by some unknown agent. His findings were interrupted when his ship was invaded by Galactus's cyborg Punishers, who made off with Warlock's Soul Gem and destroyed Thanos' starship in the process. Undaunted, Thanos went on to directly confront the world-devourer himself, but was unsuccessful in stopping Galactus from activating the Focusing Crux containing the gems. With the Crux in operation the being who orchestrated these events, an interdimensional parasite called Hunger, gained egress into our reality, which it intended to consume. With the aid of Galactus and Pip, Thanos managed to defeat Hunger, and recover Warlock's gem. Restored to health, Warlock bid the Titan farewell, and actually referred to him as a friend. That said, Warlock returned to Gamora and Atleza's side.[64]
Annihilation: Conquest[]
Eventually seeking solitude, he became psychically aware of a huge number of deaths and began writing down the names of the deceased. Driven mad by this task, he entered into a regenerative cocoon.[65] Before doing this, he found the corpse of Thanos drifting into space after Drax killed him. Understanding the fact that he was part of the cosmic pattern that counterbalanced his evil self, he created a cocoon for him to heal.[4]
Old ally Moondragon and her lover Phyla-Vell, the new Quasar, came seeking the 'Kree savior', eventually finding his cocoon. Accidentally reviving him too early, an amnesiac and angry Adam Warlock emerged, younger in appearance, with slightly altered powers.[65] He then, reluctantly, took his allies with him as they evaded capture from a Phalanx attack force and sought aid from the High Evolutionary who had, for unknown reasons, set up a base orbiting the nearest star.
He also explained his absence during the war against the Annihilation Wave: the souls of billions upon billions of dead creatures contacted Adam and drove him insane. He needed to spin the cocoon in order to adapt to the trauma and try to aid the souls. Unfortunately, Adam's awakening was too early (again) and he was followed by seizures if he used his powers to often. He also learned that he was the prophesied Savior of the Kree. The outfit he was wearing by that time somewhat resembled that of the Magus.[66]
Adam confronted Ultron, who was forged with the mighty Phalanx, but with the help of Quasar, Star-Lord, Nova and Warlock, he was able to unlock his full potential and defeat the massive Ultron.[67] After these events, he and his fellow companions became the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy[]
Adam supported the formation of the team as a necessity in the Universe. Adam explained the Universe had been damaged, and that was why he had been given his new abilities. The Annihilation Wave had weakened the very fabric of Space-Time and left it opened to invasion. If another event of that magnitude occurred it could tear the Universe apart. They needed not only to prevent such a thing from occurring, but also to plug the fissures and help heal the Universe.
On the team's very first mission, Adam had them intercept one of the Universal Church of Truth's faith-ships, as it was headed for a soon to open fissure and certain disaster. He and the team teleported aboard the vessel, but found the believers on board to be incredibly hostile. A fight ensued, though the irony of fighting a group that once worshiped him was not lost on Adam. Realizing that they were running out of time, Adam took his former allies Drax and Gamora with him to advance forward and stop the ship.
Fighting his way through the ship with Drax and Gamora at his side, Adam reached the front of the ship just as his worst fear was realized and a sub-fissure was opened. Though disheartened by the acolyte's abandonment of their fellows, Adam launched into action to contain the fissure. When a creature began to emerge, he used his new-found powers to begin forcing it back through. Not being able to do the job himself, he accepted help from Phyla-Vell in finishing the job. Together they used the expended energy to pilot the ship to a nearby planet, and drop it off. The team then returned to their base of operations at Knowhere.[13]
Adam noticed the beginnings of another anomaly and led the team out to deal with it.[68] After some distrust between the team on account of Skrulls being found on Knowhere, Star-Lord agreed for the team to remain in their quarters for questioning. This was unacceptable to Adam, who was assured when joining that the Guardians would answer to no one while they repaired the Universe.[69]
Adam sneaked off and went to the neural core of Knowhere, where remaining brain functions of the Celestial still remained. He was able to locate the Skrulls through this and soon found that Cosmo had been guarding them.[70] Once the rest of the team arrived, they all soon learned that the Skrulls were trying to escape the Skrull Empire, as they were pacifist and wanted nothing to do with the Skrulls invasion of Earth. But the cat was out of the bag. Drax overheard Star-Lord and Mantis, and told the rest of the team that Mantis had used her mental powers to convince them all to join the team. Most of the team walked out, Adam leaving with Gamora to find the Universal Church of Truth.[71]
After a run in with one of the Cardinals of the Church,[72] he reminded the Matriarch that he was the true leader of the Church, and in time he would prove his rightful spot.[73] In the meantime, the universe was still in danger, and he returned to Knowhere and continued to assist the Guardians.[74]
Return of the Magus[]
With the universe in a fragile and weakened state, Adam and the rest of the team sought a way to save their universe.[74] When the Inhumans detonated a device known as the T-Bomb, it created a massive, expanding fissure in the universe known as the Fault. If not stopped, the Fault would consume all of reality.
Adam used all of his power to stop the Fault from spreading and succeeded. But there was a cost: in order to stop the fissure from expanding, Adam overlapped the timestreams, using an unused future to guarantee a future for his universe. Unknown to everyone else, the future he used was the one he previously prevented in which he became the Magus. When he did this, it left him weakened and his own inner darkness consumed him, transforming him into what he had always tried to prevent, the Magus.[3]
Enlisted by Kang the Conqueror, some members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were transported back in time to moments before the transformation. Kang gave Star-Lord a Cosmic Cube to assist him. Star-Lord attempted to talk Adam into fighting his darker side, but Adam, unable to do so, again transformed into the evil Magus. After a battle and the deaths of some of the team's members, Star-Lord was able to use the Cube to transform the Magus temporarily back into Adam. Adam told him to finish him off before the Magus could return. Doing what had to be done for the safety of the universe, Star-Lord killed Adam.[75]
Or so it was thought. In reality, the Magus was still weak for the new transformation and staged his death in order to remain hidden. It was then revealed that the Magus had actually been reborn so that he could prepare the arrival of the Many-Angled Ones to invade the Universe by killing Thanos, the Avatar of Death. However, due to the Guardians of the Galaxy unveiling his plot, Thanos was set free. At the arrival of the Cancerverse's Avatar of Life, their version of Captain Marvel, the Magus admitted to failure. Captain Marvel easily killed him remarking at the new novelty of death.[76][4]
The Infinity Revelation[]
As Thanos was visiting the realm of death to muse in the Infinity Fountain, Death told him that he and one other existed outside of the pull of life and death, tasking him with escorting a soul out of her realm when he was finished. When he returned to his ship, the soul regained its body, revealing itself to be Adam Warlock, newly resurrected and exhausted from the energy required to regain his body. As Thanos tried to make sense of a strange cosmic force that seemed to pull him, Adam assisted, feeling drawn as well and wanting to make sure Thanos' intentions were not truly malicious. The duo encountered the Annihilators at their destination, teleported away Gladiator, and defeated Ikon, Beta Ray Bill, Ronan, Quasar, and the Silver Surfer. Afterwards the two explored the treasure in the ruins deep below the planet's surface, encountering their counterparts from a parallel universe in the process.
The artifact had been created by unknown higher-dimensional entities above even the Living Tribunal, and the two universes were remodeled according to Thanos' and Warlock's respective subconscious perceptions of reality. The remaining incarnation of Thanos had to destroy the version of Warlock in charge of one reality, while the remaining incarnation of Warlock had to destroy the version of Thanos in charge of the other. After the two timelines returned to normal, they merged together, with the parallel, and supposedly much more powerful, version of Warlock retroactively taking over the position of the now annihilated former incarnation, whose life was detailed above. It was left unknown whether or not Thanos was replaced, but he resumed his courtship with Death, and with it his old ways.[77]
After the death and rebirth of his universe by the hands of his alternate self, Adam Warlock was brought back to life at the request of Thanos.[78]
Infinity Countdown[]
Waking up from a nightmare concerning the Infinity Stones coming together once more and a coming calamity ensuring, Adam found himself within the Soul World for reasons unknown. There he met an aspect of Gamora's soul that remained trapped within the Soul World since she had left long ago. Despite her pleas for him to release her from it, Adam denied being capable of doing so and claimed he didn't even recognize her altogether. Escaping the Soul World, Warlock emerged from his cocoon in the world of the living, where he was greeted by Kang the Conqueror.[79]
Kang revealed Warlock he had plucked his cocoon into the future to warn him that in the present the Infinity Stones were being gathered once again, and that the heroes trying to stop it were going to fall. Furthermore, he and Adam were going to try many times to stop the calamity to no avail. In an attempt to take different approach, Kang sent Warlock back in time to meet his past self, Rama-Tut, so he could guide Adam in the mission to secure the Soul Gem and deliver the Time Stone to Kang. Once he arrived to Ancient Egypt, Warlock encountered Rama-Tut, and was directed to a star where the Soul Gem was going to manifest in the early 21st Century. Since Adam had to travel to the future in the most stealthy way possible, Rama-Tut killed him and locked him up in a tomb, in such a way his regeneration process was slowed down, making it so Warlock awakened several millennia into the future, at the precise time he had to begin his mission.[80] The plan was successful, and Warlock emerged from his entombment right when the Infinity Stones started being gathered.[81]
Warlock tracked down the Soul Gem to the planet Saiph expecting Magus, but he encountered Ultron, who used the combined power of the gem and the the Ultron Virus to transform the planet to his image, and had also gotten his hands on the Silver Surfer.[82] Warlock was able to free Norrin from Ultron's control by wrapping him in a healing cocoon. After emerging from the cocoon, Norrin fled Saiph and asked Galactus to consume Saiph in order to save the galaxy, since Ultron intended to infect the entire cosmos with the Ultron Virus using Saiph as the starting point.[83] As Galactus destroyed Saiph, Ultron attempted to escape, but Adam severed their hand and took the gem.[84] With the gem in his possession, Warlock discovered that Soul World was being progressively corrupted by mysterious force.[85]
Infinity Wars[]
Warlock attended a parley convened by Doctor Strange to form a new Infinity Watch, but the meeting was disrupted by the arrival of Gamora. She had already claimed the Power Stone as part of her plan to collect all Infinity Stones and reunite with a part of herself trapped within the Soul Gem.[86] During the subsequent battle, Gamora used her sword to decapitate Warlock and take the Soul Gem. Warlock's body wrapped itself in his resurrection cocoon.[87]
After retrieving the rest of the Infinity Stone,[87] Gamora folded the universe in half and merged two halves together to create a pocket universe called Warp World, which she placed inside the Soul Stone.[88] Adam Warlock's soul was placed inside the Soul Stone and was forced to fight Devondra, the being that was corrupting Soul World. He was met by Loki who had assembled a team to stop Gamora. Adam chose to remain inside Soul World and fight Devondra while the Loki and the others went to stop Gamora. Emma Frost helped Adam telepathically gather allies to help him fight Devondra.[89]
Gamora was defeated by the Cosmic Avengers and sent into Soul World by Loki.[90] The Cosmic Avengers later arrived in Soul World with the Infinity Stones minus Loki, and with Adam wielding the Soul Stone, restored the universe while also allowing Warp World to remain in existence. Adam and the others then fled Soul World through the sacrifice of Drax and crash-landed in Egypt next to the Pyramids of Giza. To help Gamora redeem herself, Adam used the Infinity Stones to transport her to a location even he didn't know about. He then gave the Infinity Stones sentience so they could determine their own fates and to prevent others from fighting over them. Adam was shocked, though, when the Soul Stone chose to leave him and fly off to parts unknown. Adam later commented that he felt a part of him was missing.[91]Attributes
Powers
Much of Adam's powers derived from his unique biology in which grants him vast capabilities and powers. These powers are also subject to various changes with each rebirth and development from his regenerative cocoon on a subconscious level and can develop powers depending on the situation at hand.[92] According to Thanos, Adam is also a unique being like himself and is described to be apart of the "cosmic norm".[93] During his time as the Magus, the Xandarian Worldmind stated that Adam's power was beyond Dark Quasar and labelled him being powerful to a degree that made it impossible for it to measure against Richard Rider, who was a Nova-Prime.[4]
Symbiotic Bond with the Soul Gem: From his experience with the Soul Gem, the Infinity Gem has formed a willing, symbiotic bond with Adam, giving him the ability to sense its whereabouts at will. Out of all the hosts the Soul Gem has bonded with, it has stated that Adam was the most powerful of all his hosts, having retained his will under its control.[94] Because of this bond, Adam can render himself immune and even counter the likes of the Soul Gem being used by others.[95]
Avatar of Life: Originally destined to become the Avatar of Life by the In-Betweener, Adam was designated as the Avatar of Life by the aforementioned entity in order to oppose the then-Avatar of Death, Thanos, and keep a cosmic balance between life and death.[33] After re-inserting the inactive timeline involving the Magus, Adam was officially recognized as Earth-616's Avatar of Life again.[3]
- Summoning: The first iteration of Magus was capable of once summoning the In-Betweener by saturating his past counterpart in a harmless special radiation that acted as a beacon. It's unknown if this capability can only be done via the Soul Gem or that being an Avatar of Life allowed it to be possible.[96]
Superhuman Physiology: Adam Warlock possesses a number of super-human properties and powers derived from his artificially determined genetic structure. This is owed due to possessing a perfect, genetic template. This perfection was noted by Ultron and the High Evolutionary, who even cited his being was something he could not quite replicate easily.[97]
- Energy Consumption: His new body, according to Thanos, has made him a more direct consumer of energy much like that of Galactus' heralds and even Thanos himself. This, in turn, allows him to even sustain himself without food or water like the Mad Titan. This can be done via contact with an energy conductor or the energy itself.[77] Prior, he was able to absorb magical energies and life energy, among others. At one point Adam has been shown to have the ability of absorbing the energy of a minor attack sent by Galactus, seemingly unharmed by it.[98]
- Superhuman Strength: Warlock possesses super-human strength, though its exact level is unknown. Previously listed at class 4, he could once enhance his strength, enabling him to reach class 40 for less than one hour. However, Adam Warlock has been able to fight hand-to-hand, and injure, beings such as Wonder Man, Thor, Ulik and a Thanos clone that matched the original's physicals.[99]
- Superhuman Speed: Warlock is capable of running and moving at speeds much greater than even the finest human athlete. He has also been able to move at speeds Drax was unable to see.
- Superhuman Stamina: Warlock's musculature generates less fatigue toxins, during physical activity, than the musculature of a human being. While not employing his energy to enhance his natural physical strength, Warlock can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair him.
- Superhuman Durability: Warlock's bodily tissues are much harder and more resistant to injury than those of a human. He is capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, falls from great heights, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, the vacuum of space, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. His body is also specially adapted to withstand the physiologically debilitating effects of moving and running at high rates of speed without sustaining injury. Adam has survived punishment from Thor, a Thanos clone, Drax, and the Man-Beast, despite them all outclassing him physically.
- Superhuman Agility: Warlock's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Warlock's reaction time is similarly enhanced, enabling him to react at a level that is beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. During his appearances, Adam had managed to deflect bullets after being shot at him,[6] dissolving bullets before physically reaching his body,[23] dodging heat seeking missiles,[100] dodging a lightning bolt from Storm[101] and could outmaneuver a mad Thor.[102]
- Flight: Adam Warlock can also employ cosmic energy to negate the force of gravity beneath him, enabling him to fly.[103] In an Earth-like atmosphere, Warlock is easily capable of reaching the speed of sound, roughly 770 miles per hour. While in outer space, however, Warlock has been shown to have been capable of attaining supraluminal (faster-than-light) velocities.
- Immortality: While Adam can be killed, he never truly dies. This is due to the fact his soul is so strong, even Death herself cannot claim his soul. As such, he can be reborn.[30]
- Cellular Regeneration: Adam's regenerative and restorative abilities are extremely advanced.
Ultra Senses: After taking the memories of the Magus from his soul and some of his own abilities as a result, he gained superior senses in which allowed him to locate space anomalies such as black holes Adam was later gifted with enhanced perceptions from his rebirths, allowing him to see the auras, the souls and states of others as well as examine others genetic structure.[104]
- Cosmic Awareness & Mystic Senses: His multi-compartmental brain bestow Adam cosmic senses. Adam has the ability to detect or produce wormholes and other irregularities in space on a cosmic scale.[13] After one of his recent rebirths, He also has the ability to sense whenever someone is teleporting.[97] Adam possess profound mystical senses in addition to his cosmic awareness capabilities that is capable of sensing mishaps on a spiritual level such as irregularities.
- Time Freeze Resistance: Adam is capable of resisting the Time Gem's time freeze capabilities when utilized on him by Rune.[105]
- Reality Warp Resistance: Due to his firm grasp on reality, Adam is highly resistant to "reality warping." He was unfazed by Maya's "Dance of Unreality", [106] as well as the Reality Gem going out of control
Telepathy: While formerly possessing powerful telepathic capabilities as Him, he has since lost most of the high level of telepathic power, retaining a fraction of telepathic power he once possessed. However, the exact level of capability in his Telepathy is unknown.[107]
- Telepathic Defenses: His defenses have been described by renowned and extremely powerful telepath Moondragon to be intense, and even was able to throw out Moondragon from his mind[99] as well as dispel Mantis' intrusions.
Clairvoyance: Adam is capable of seeing through time, even when an event renders time meaningless.[79]
Energy Manipulation: Adam is a capable and powerful energy manipulator, with such power having been augmented by the Soul Gem for the majority of his life, although was somewhat capable of doing so independently until his recent resurrections. His latest resurrection has allowed him greater capability with his manipulation, now capable of "short-circuiting" even other energy manipulators such as both Silver Surfer and Quasar.[13][108][77]
- Matter Manipulation: According to Adam himself after his later resurrection, his increased skill allows him convert energy into matter and has absolute control over the process in addition.[77] Prior to his resurrection, his matter manipulation was great enough to turn Thanos into granite, a process only undone by Death.[109] He's also manipulated an entire planet, turning it into a metal that had never been invented yet.
- Energy Construct Creation: Adam has been seen employing various kinds of energy into constructs. Whether the use of it comes from his metaphysical quantum energy or other kinds of energy, he has been shown capable of creating swords, pieces of armor, forcefield bubbles, and shields.[72]
- Magic: True to his naming of Warlock and among his energy manipulation capabilities includes manipulating mystical energy for a variety of purposes.[110] He relayed much of his mystical powers, however, from the Soul Gem instead of his own independent energies during his extended time with the Infinity Gem. However, he still displayed some independent powers without it's reliance. Much of his mystic powers includes exorcism,[111] body transmutation,[112] and astral projection.[113]
- Resurrection: Adam was capable of resurrecting other beings by imbuing their souls into bodies and transmuting to alter it to appear as their original body.[112]
- Time Travel: Adam can use his mystical powers to travel into the future in his astral form.[114]
- Soul Anchoring: As a master of his own soul, he can render himself immune to individuals who are capable of draining other's soul.[115]
- Magical Spells: He was able to use a spell to expunge both Drax and Silver Surfer from the Soul World with an incantation.[116]
- Mystic Portals: Adam has displayed capability in creating mystic portals.[113]
- Quantum Magic: To counter the future dilemma of the Fault expansion into the Cancerverse, Adam's subconscious allowed his resurrected form to gain the power to heal repairing space and reality itself.[13][92] Dubbed "Quantum Magic" and also referred to as "Metaphysical Quantum Energy Manipulation", this allows him to perform magical feats in which are performed from available power around him and "conjured psi-llables".[117]
- Soul Manipulation: His current powers derived from his newfound "Quantum Magic", allows him to seemingly continue his usage of his spiritual powers the by manipulating the energy from souls to imbue them to items or to use offensively as beams.[108]
- Spell Casting: He is also capable of performing large scale and complex spells capable of manipulating the timeline and insert a previously "unused" future in place of the current timeline. Such a feat, however, can only be performed If properly energized by a tremendous amount of energy and cannot hear others during its preparation and casting.[3] He can even cast spells for healing,[118] magical energy blasts, [13] telekinesis,[71] magical lightning,[4] teleportation,[74] transmutation,[74] materialization,[66] obliteration charms that can destroy islands, and force fields that have resisted a supernova. [119]
- Chronokinesis: Adam can use his Quantum Magic to create an enchantment capable of manipulating timelines in order to overlap an "unused" future. Such a capability, however, requires Adam to be sufficiently energized. When Adam was Magus, he also controlled the timeline to the point of changing all futures in which he himself rules.[75] This ability required no external assistance, appearing to be a native ability of Adam himself.
- Illusions: During his time as Magus, Adam was capable of transmuting even reality itself to create an illusion to fake his death at the hands of a Cosmic Cube.
- Cosmic Power: Among his body's special adaptations are an enclave of cells able to tap and transform cosmic energy for personal use such as projecting blasts of cosmic energy from his hands, create energy shields, locate and enter natural space warps, and augment his own physical capabilities.[77] He can use his cosmic powers for healing purposes.[citation needed]
- Pyrokinesis: Warlock shown the ability to generate intense thermal energy.[25]
Astral Outsider: According to Lord Chaos and Master Order, Adam is outside the loop of destinies and as such is capable of deeds in which cannot easily be seen or tracked by even those with cosmic senses (such as Quasar) wielding the Infinity Gauntlet and exclusively using their cosmic senses granted from the gauntlet. This also extends into supernatural powers, with those unable to gather intelligence on Adam Warlock through magical means.[98][8]
Abilities
Genius-Level Intelligence: Adam possess a profound amount of knowledge from his first-hand experiences dealing with cosmic dilemmas and is considered intelligent in which own right to the point he is considered a genius by Thanos.[citation needed]
- Mystical Knowledge & Occult Expert: Adam possesses an extraordinary amount of information regarding the mystical and cosmic items among within the universe such as the Soul Gems and the Quantum Bands, the understanding of the universe and it greater powers, and information on the supernatural in which seemed superior to that of Magique and the capability of the Shi'ar Empire.[16]
- Navigation Skills: Thanks to the knowledge he possessed from absorbing Autolycus's soul with the Soul Gem, who was a skilled pilot, Adam gained his navigational skills enough to enable him to find a black hole.[120]
- Hacking: Adam was capable of hacking into the Avenger's enemy files records in his leisure time to learn more about the various enemies fought by the Avengers.[121]
- Master Tactician and Strategist: Adam is an accomplished strategist and tactician. His capability has been noted and even garnered respect from the likes of Thanos, who once remarked him to being a "Tactical Genius". He was capable of even devising a plan to separate Thanos from the Infinity Gauntlet successfully.[122]
- Master Manipulator: Perhaps what makes him most formidable is his capability of manipulating others. His level of manipulation has caused him immense dislike from the Silver Surfer because of his renown capability of manipulation. According to both him and Mephisto, this is attribute due to the fact that while he had split himself of his good and evil self, he was a being who didn't considered good or evil relevant to decisions made for the best of the universe.[123][124]
- Xeno-Multilingualism: Adam is familiar with alien language, though how much is unknown. He was capable of writing and understanding the names of each of the Kree killed during the Annihilation Wave.[66] He was capable of also learning the language of High Izzau from being around them after being pulled into the Ultraverse.[56]
Martial Arts: Warlock has gained a great deal of first-hand experience at hand-to-hand combat over the course of his life, and eventually became quite formidable. It's possible some of this is owed due to Adam absorbing the skills of Autolycus, a Black Knight who received combat training from the Universal Church of Truth and Gamora, an assassin trained by Thanos. Some of these skills include capability of using nerve strikes.[125][37]
He has been able to best beings who exceed him in strength such as Triax,[126] Nobilus, and Wonder Man,[127] and he has been successful in holding his own with Olik, even though, physically, he is no match for the likes of Thor,[102] Thanos, or Hercules.[128]
Having used the Karmic Staff, Adam was capable of battle other beings with it as a weapon. While the Magus, he also shown capability in using a sword (and later Captain America's Shield) against Martyr, Gamora, and Major Victory.[75]
Accomplishments In Philosophy: Warlock also is an accomplished self-taught philosopher.Weaknesses
Inner Darkness: After the re-inserting of the old timeline in which Adam turned into the Magus to prevent the Fault from expanding with his Quantum Magic, this has caused him to gain a evil personality in which his future evil self can manifest should he be weakened enough. Although his Magus transformation enables far more greater power, it's assumed Adam suppresses his evil personality.[3] If killed while in his normal state, this will enable the possibility of the Magus taking his place.
It is unknown, however, if this condition still exist after Warlock was resurrected since both Magus and Warlock now co-exist.
Magical Weaponry Vulnerability: Magical weaponry has been known to bypass his base, un-augmented defenses. Some examples include the Godslayer sword made to kill his future self as well as Phyla-Vell's sword.[75]
Construct Limitations: For unknown reasons, there's a level of limitation in which Adam can create a construct. The exact limits are unknown, though he is unable to create shields from thin air or full armor according to Thanos.[93]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Psychic Link: Like all of the former Infinity Watch members, Adam possesses a private Psychic Link with each members capable of enabling private conversation as well as sensing their general location. This capability remains even after it's disbandment.
Flight Tech: Adam was capable of using some sort of technology to assist him in flight.[77]Weapons
Karmic Staff: Warlock has also employed a "Karmic Staff" in the past. This staff was said to be an extension of Warlock's own life-essence, and its properties made it seemingly unbreakable. Warlock could also focus mystic energies through his staff with greater accuracy than he could by other means.
Notes
- Marvel's executive editor Tom Brevoort, who is the actual judge, arbitrator, and authorized decider of such matters, has stated that Marvel Universe: The End is completely outside official Marvel continuity. [129]
- Warlock was a member of the Enclave in the 2004 Warlock (Vol. 3) series using the alias of Mr. Smith.
Trivia
- Jack Kirby originally conceived Him as a critique on Objectivism after talking with Steve Ditko about the ideology. As originally plotted, in Fantastic Four #66, the Enclave was a trio of well-meaning scientists set out to create the new breed of man along Objectivist principles, and as soon as Him is born, he kills them all because he's completely amoral. When Stan Lee scripted Fantastic Four #66, he reversed Kirby's themes and made the story about a trio of greedy criminal scientists who set out to make the perfect man to do their bidding.[130]
- Although the character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Jim Starlin is considered to be the definitive Adam Warlock writer, defining his personality and writing the acclaimed stories. The "Starlin issues" have been reprinted several times by Marvel Comics, while earlier issues of the Warlock book ("The Counter-Earth Saga") were only reprinted much later in the Marvel Masterworks series.
- Roy Thomas ("The Rascally One") actually gave Warlock his name when he wrote the character's first few solo stories. Before that, in his earliest appearances in Fantastic Four and Thor, the character was called simply "Him."
- Starlin's Warlock was one of the series that got Scott McCloud interested in comics during his high school years.
- Having shared his soul with that of the Silver Surfer during the Infinity Gauntlet, Warlock gained the power to mentally control his board. He also shared a telepathic link with the Soul Gem so could tell if the Gauntlet had a new owner.
- When he returned from the Soul World to Earth during Infinity Gauntlet with Pip and Gamora, Warlock enhanced their bodies so they possessed to be stronger than before.[131]
- Warlock's gem made him more powerful even than Mephisto in that devil's own realm. It is assumed that Warlock grew in power from the damned souls who surrounded him in that realm.
See Also
- 252 appearance(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 17 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 57 minor appearance(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 40 mention(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 13 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 280 image(s) of Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 66 quotation(s) by or about Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 4 victim(s) killed by Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
- 9 item(s) used/owned by Adam Warlock (Earth-616)
Links and References
- Adam Warlock on Wikipedia.org
- Marvel Directory
- Warlock Adam Warlock on Marvel Entertainment Character Bio Wiki
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marvel Premiere #2
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #17
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest Prologue #1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Fantastic Four #67
- ↑ Warlock (Vol. 6) #4
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Infinity Abyss #1
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #1
- ↑ Rune (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest #5
- ↑ Annihilation #6
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Thanos #2
- ↑ Thanos: The Infinity Conflict #1
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #14
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest #4
- ↑ Fantastic Four #66
- ↑ Thor #165
- ↑ Thor #166
- ↑ Marvel Premiere #1
- ↑ Warlock #1
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Warlock #2
- ↑ Warlock #3–4
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Warlock #5
- ↑ Warlock #6
- ↑ Warlock #7
- ↑ Warlock #8
- ↑ Incredible Hulk #176–178
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Strange Tales #178
- ↑ Strange Tales #179–181
- ↑ Warlock #9–10
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Warlock #11
- ↑ Warlock #12–13
- ↑ Warlock #15
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up #55
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Avengers Annual #7
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #46
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #1–3
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #4
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #5–6
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1–2
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3–7
- ↑ Infinity War #1–6
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #15
- ↑ Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1–4
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #16–17
- ↑ Infinity Crusade #1–6
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #86–88
- ↑ Warlock Chronicles #6–8
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23–25
- ↑ Mighty Thor #469–471
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #26–28
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #29–33
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #37–42
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Ultraverse Unlimited #1
- ↑ Rune #0–5
- ↑ Curse of Rune #4
- ↑ Rune (Vol. 2) #∞
- ↑ Rune (Vol. 2) #1–3
- ↑ Rune (Vol. 2) #6–7
- ↑ Warlock (Vol. 4) #1–4
- ↑ Infinity Abyss #1–6
- ↑ Thanos #1–6
- ↑ 65.0 65.1 Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #3–4
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 66.3 Annihilation: Conquest #1
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest #2–6
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #1–2
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #5
- ↑ 71.0 71.1 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #8
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #10
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 74.2 74.3 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 75.3 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #19
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #23–25
- ↑ 77.0 77.1 77.2 77.3 77.4 77.5 Thanos: The Infinity Revelation #1
- ↑ Thanos: The Infinity Finale #1
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 Guardians of the Galaxy #150
- ↑ Infinity Countdown: Adam Warlock #1
- ↑ Infinity Countdown Prime #1
- ↑ Infinity Countdown #2
- ↑ Infinity Countdown #3
- ↑ Infinity Countdown #4
- ↑ Infinity Wars Prime #1
- ↑ Infinity Wars #1
- ↑ 87.0 87.1 Infinity Wars #2
- ↑ Infinity War #3
- ↑ Infinity Wars #4
- ↑ Infinity Wars #5
- ↑ Infinity Wars #6
- ↑ 92.0 92.1 Thanos Sourcebook #1
- ↑ 93.0 93.1 Thanos: The Infinity Relativity #1
- ↑ Warlock Chronicles #1
- ↑ Warlock (Vol. 3) #4
- ↑ Warlock #9
- ↑ 97.0 97.1 Annihilation: Conquest #2
- ↑ 98.0 98.1 Infinity Gauntlet #3
- ↑ 99.0 99.1 Infinity Abyss #2
- ↑ Warlock #3
- ↑ Infinity War #4
- ↑ 102.0 102.1 Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23
- ↑ Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition #1
- ↑ Rune (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Rune/Silver Surfer #1
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #29
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #15
- ↑ 108.0 108.1 Annihilation: Conquest #6
- ↑ Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #13
- ↑ Ultraverse Unlimited #2
- ↑ 112.0 112.1 Infinity Gauntlet #1
- ↑ 113.0 113.1 Infinity Gauntlet #2
- ↑ 114.0 114.1 Cyberspace 3000 #6
- ↑ Rune
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #47
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #13
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #3
- ↑ Annihilation: Conquest #3
- ↑ Warlock #14
- ↑ Thanos #4
- ↑ Thanos Annual #1
- ↑ Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1
- ↑ Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #4
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #4
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #5
- ↑ Wonder Man (Vol. 2) #14
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #27
- ↑ http://brevoortformspring.tumblr.com/post/107750758608/wait-a-second-wait-a-second-i-just-saw-on
- ↑ Busiek, Kurt (29 November 2021) Kurt Busiek on Twitter: "One of the things I like about Jack Kirby's... Twitter. Retrieved on 5 December 2021.
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #14
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #13
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 13