Adam Warlock is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originally named Him. The character would later be significantly developed by Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has starred in the titles Marvel Premiere and Strange Tales as well as five eponymous volumes and several related limited series.
Adam Warlock is artificially created on Earth by the Enclave to be a perfect being and the next evolution of humanity. Originally known only as "Him", he learned of his creators' intentions and rebelled against them to seek a new destiny. Eventually coming across the High Evolutionary, the rechristened Adam Warlock ultimately becomes a hero of the universe, chiefly protecting it from threats such as Thanos, the Universal Church of Truth, and his evil counterpart, the Magus. He is also frequently the bearer of the Soul Stone, one of the fabled Infinity Gems (now called Infinity Stones). The character also serves as the leader of the Infinity Watch and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, specializing as the latter's cosmic sorcerer and occult expert.
Adam Warlock has been adapted in various forms of media, including animated television series and video games, and was portrayed by Will Poulter in his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
Publication history
1960s to 1970s The character's origin was shown in Fantastic Four #66 (September 1967) in a story written by Stan Lee and pencilled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby. The character also appeared in Fantastic Four #67 (October 1967) and Thor #163–166 (April–July 1969). Because his role in the Fantastic Four story was minor, sources disagree on which issue is the character's true first appearance. Writer and then editor-in-chief Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane significantly revamped Him as Adam Warlock in Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972).Sanderson, Peter "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 155: "Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane allowed 'Him' to meet another Lee-Kirby character, the godlike High Evolutionary."
In 2009, Thomas explained he had been a fan of the soundtrack to the musical Jesus Christ Superstar and sought to bring the story to comic books in a superhero context: "Yes, I had some trepidation about the Christ parallels, but I hoped there would be little outcry if I handled it tastefully, since I was not really making any serious statement on religion... at least not overtly."
Choosing to use a preexisting character while keeping the series locale separate from mainstream Marvel Earth, Thomas created Counter-Earth, a new planet generated from a chunk of Earth and set in orbit on the opposite side of the sun.Walker, p. 4 Thomas and Kane collaborated on the costume, with the red tunic and golden lightning bolt as their homage to Fawcett Comics' 1940s–1950s character Captain Marvel.
The story continued in the series The Power of Warlock, which ran eight issues (August 1972October 1973),Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Adam Warlock received his own bimonthly comic book in August , written by Roy Thomas and pencilled by Gil Kane." with some plotlines concluded in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #176–178 (June–August 1974).Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 166: "Adam Warlock rose from the dead to defeat Man-Beast and his New Men on Counter-Earth in issue #178 of Incredible Hulk."
In a 2009 retrospective survey of the character, writer Karen Walker said the series
Writer-artist Jim Starlin revived Warlock in Strange Tales #178–181 (February–August 1975).Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 168: "Adam Warlock returned in a new series, taking over Strange Tales for four issues...The original Warlock comic book would return with issue #9 in October ." Warlock's adventures became more cosmic in scope as Starlin took the character through an extended storyline referred to as "The Magus Saga".
The reimagined title continued the numbering of The Power of Warlock and began with Warlock #9 (October 1975) and ran seven issues. The bimonthly series was initially written and drawn by Starlin, but was eventually co-penciled and inked by Steve Leialoha. Some plot threads were concluded in Marvel Team-Up #55 (March 1977), Avengers Annual #7 (November 1977) and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (December 1977).
Starlin, in a 2009 interview, recalled,
Artist Alan Weiss recalled in a 2006 interview there was a "lost" Adam Warlock story, which if completed would have been reminiscent of the Jonathan Swift novel Gulliver's Travels. Portions of it were printed in the second volume of Marvel Masterworks: Warlock. The remainder of the artwork was lost in a New York City taxicab in 1976.
Warlock's adventures were reprinted, with new Starlin covers, in the six-issue "Special Edition" limited series Warlock vol. 2 (December 1982May 1983). This reprint series was itself reprinted, with yet another set of new Starlin covers, as Warlock vol. 3 (May–October 1992).
Although regarded as deceased at the time, Warlock made a brief appearance in Marvel Two-in-One #63 (May 1980).
Modern iterations Eleven years later, Starlin revived the character and two members of his supporting cast in the miniseries The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (July–December 1991).Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 254: "With the help of Dr. Strange, Warlock amassed a small army of heroes in order to confront Thanos head-on at his headquarters."; Cowsill, Alan "1990s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 192: "Marvel's cosmic heroes joined forces with Spider-Man, Adam Warlock, and a host of earth-based heroes to retrieve the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos." This plot development was a continuation of a larger storyline that began with the resurrection of Thanos in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #34 (February 1990).
Following the events of The Infinity Gauntlet, Warlock and several compatriots starred in the series Warlock and the Infinity Watch. Initially written by Starlin and drawn by Angel Medina, it ran 42 issues (February 1992August 1995). Its plots tied directly into the limited series Infinity War (June–November 1992) and Infinity Crusade (June–December 1993).
Warlock starred in several limited series, including Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1–4 (March–June 1993); The Warlock Chronicles #1–8 (July 1993February 1994); and Warlock vol. 4, #1–4 (November 1998February 1999), by writer-penciler Tom Lyle. The character was featured in the intercompany crossovers between Marvel Comics and the Malibu Comics "Ultraverse" in the one-shot Rune / Silver Surfer (April 1995 in indicia, June 1995 on cover); Rune vol. 2, #1–7 (September 1995April 1996), and the two-issue Ultraverse Unlimited (June and September 1996).
Following the unrelated 1999–2000 series Warlock vol. 5, featuring the alien cybernetic character Warlock of the New Mutants team, Adam Warlock co-starred with Thanos in the limited series The Infinity Abyss #1–6 (August–October 2002); Marvel Universe: The End #1–6 (May–August 2003; first four issues biweekly); and Thanos #1–6 (December 2003April 2004). A version of the character starred in the four-issue limited series Warlock vol. 6 (November 2004February 2005), by writer Greg Pak and artist Charlie Adlard. After appearances in Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #1–4 (September–December 2007) and Annihilation: Conquest #1–6 (November 2007April 2008), he was a key character in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, #1–25 (July 2008April 2010), The Thanos Imperative #1 (June 2010) and the Ignition one-shot (May 2010).
The character appeared in Thanos Annual #1 (July 2014), and in the original graphic novels Thanos: The Infinity Revelation (August 2014) and Thanos: The Infinity Relativity (June 2015), written by Jim Starlin; Warlock appeared in the graphic novel Thanos: The Infinity Finale as well as in the connected mini-series The Infinity Entity (both published in 2016), also written by Starlin.
Timeline Timeline of comics starring Warlock or wrapping up storylines from his ended series.
Fictional character biography
First incarnation: Him, Counter Earth, and first death Scientists on Earth calling themselves the Enclave created an artificial, perfect human who initially calls himself "Him". After rebelling against his creators, and having a conflict with Thor, Him decides to leave Earth and travels into space. He encounters the High Evolutionary who gives him the name "Warlock". The High Evolutionary requests Warlock's help in saving the artificially created planet Counter-Earth from the evil Man-Beast and gives Warlock the green Soul Gem (also referred to as the "Soul Jewel"), which allows Warlock to capture souls of other beings. When he arrives on Counter-Earth, Warlock is given the name "Adam" by four teenagers who befriend him. After the Man-Beast's defeat, Warlock leaves Counter-Earth to find a new purpose.
In his travels through space, Warlock encounters the Universal Church of Truth, an intergalactic religious organization led by the corrupt Magus. Warlock allies with Pip the Troll, the assassin Gamora, and Thanos of Titan to oppose the Magus. Eventually, Warlock discovers that the Magus is a future version of himself who traveled back in time after being driven insane by the Soul Gem's use. Warlock chooses to alter his timeline by visiting himself a few months into the future and steals his own soul to prevent the Magus from ever existing. Warlock then continues his journeys, knowing he has seen his own death but not knowing exactly when it will happen.
When the Stranger attempts to steal Warlock's Soul Gem, Warlock learns about five other related gems. Thanos gains possession of these gems with the intention of destroying Earth's sun. When Thanos causes mortal harm to Pip and Gamora, Warlock takes their souls to end their suffering. Warlock then enlists the aid of the Avengers, Captain Marvel and Moondragon to stop Thanos. During the battle, Warlock's younger self appears and takes the older Warlock's soul. Inside the gem, Adam is reunited with Pip, Gamora and others in a utopia known as Soul World. Warlock's soul is temporarily freed from the Soul Gem, allowing him to turn Thanos to stone and save Earth.
Second incarnation: Infinity Watch and second death Thanos (after being resurrected) once again collects the Infinity Gems into the Infinity Gauntlet, capturing the Silver Surfer and Drax the Destroyer in the Soul Gem for opposing him. In Soul Gem's world, the Silver Surfer meets Adam Warlock and convinces him that his help is needed again to defeat Thanos. Warlock agrees and Pip and Gamora decide to accompany him. Warlock transmits himself and his two friends into new bodies and leads a group of Earth's superheroes, defeating Thanos. Warlock obtains the Infinity Gauntlet, being a near-supreme being of the universe. The cosmic Living Tribunal decides that Warlock cannot be trusted to keep the Infinity Gauntlet and instructs him to divide the gems among other beings of Warlock's choosing. Warlock keeps the Soul Gem for himself and gives one gem each to Pip, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Moondragon, and the reformed Thanos. Warlock dubs the group the Infinity Watch.
During Warlock's temporary possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, he purged good and evil from his being, leaving him entirely a creature of logic. His good and evil aspects take on lives as two new physical beings — the evil half is a new incarnation of the Magus, while the good half is a woman calling herself the Goddess. When they threaten the universe, Warlock defeats them with the aid of the Watch and other superheroes, absorbing them into the Soul Gem.