James Gunn had been sowing the seeds for Adam Warlock’s eventual Marvel Cinematic Universe debut since the very first Guardians of the Galaxy movie released close to a decade ago, with the golden-hued god finally making his long-awaited entry to the fray in Vol. 3.
Picking up from where one of Vol. 2‘s many post-credits scenes left off, Will Poulter’s Sovereign offspring has grown at an exponential rate, viewing Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha as a comforting maternal presence. As a virtually indestructible and nigh-on powerful deity, there were high hopes that Warlock’s long-awaited arrival would do justice to an enduring comic book favorite.
Unfortunately, it didn’t. In fact, it isn’t a stretch in the slightest to say the omnipotent superhero is probably the single weakest link in the entire Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 chain. Despite Poulter’s best efforts, Adam never feels as though he’s there for any other reason than the sake of it, while his arc is basically that of a child trapped in a beefy body that acts as somewhere between a bumbling buffoon and an oblivious himbo.
Obviously, it doesn’t need to be pointed out that writer and director James Gunn’s next project is the DCU’s Superman: Legacy, which features a similarly overpowered cape-wearing hero trying to come to terms with his newfound abilities.
Even though the filmmaker’s dry run didn’t pan out as well as anyone would have hoped, there’s definitely potential in the archetype, while the phenomenal scenes of Warlock using his powers and soaring through the skies at great speed at the very least indicates the Man of Steel’s next reboot is guaranteed to boast at least a couple of standout set pieces.
Adam might have been a disappointment in the context of Vol. 3, but the broad strokes of characterization and dizzying visuals therein do at the very least hint Gunn is well-placed to deliver a Superman story that justifies his decision to not just wipe the slate clean, but use the project as the launchpad for the DCU’s big screen rebirth.