Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally pays off during the end credits scene from the second film, in which Adam Warlock was teased. Although Will Poulter did a great job as the young god, for many fans, his arrival in the MCU comes too late for his most iconic storyline to happen.
Warlock is the protector of the soul stone in the comics; you can even see it right in the middle of his forehead. He frequently has to fight off Thanos, who is hell-bent on destroying the universe, and you could even consider the pair to be arch-enemies. He plays a crucial role in The Infinity War comic run as his alter-ego, Magus, takes control of the Infinity Gauntlet. Warlock is also the one who leads the charge alongside the Avengers in the fight against Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline.
Understandably, fans are upset that these events and Warlock and Thanos’ on screen rivalry never got to play out on the big screen. It’s arguably the story Adam Warlock is most known for and his introduction so late in the game leaves little for the character to do in the MCU.
What’s even more frustrating is that Warlock was set up at the end of Guardians 2. Marvel had the perfect opportunity to introduce one of its most important characters in the Infinity War story, and it tragically missed the chance.
But in all fairness, there are so many characters and different plot-lines across Infinity War and Endgame that some fans believe forcing Warlock into the story just for the sake of it would have been worse than what they ultimately decided to do.
them never interacting >> adam being shoved in somewhere he didn’t fit purely for the sake of it
— bra(dy) (@bbbbbbbbbbrady) May 9, 2023
Whilst it sucks for long-time comic fans who wanted to see Thanos and Warlock fight on screen, at least we can be happy that the character has finally landed in the MCU. The best we can hope for now is the seeing the arch-rivals fight in season 2 of What if…