MovieChat Forums > Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) Discussion > Adam Warlock is so out of character.

Adam Warlock is so out of character.


So another thread has discussed how Adam Warlock was strangely removed from the Infinity Saga and barely appears now. But I have a bigger issue with Warlock… he is such a big time character in the comics, whereas here in the movie he is not to be taken seriously at all. He’s such a nitwit and a goofball. I guess it fits the narrative of the movie, but it’s so out of character from the comic.

Props to the actor Will Poulter though. This was the role he was given and acted the hell out of it. Plus, he really took this role seriously and really buffed up for it. He was a lanky kid beforehand. I can appreciate an actor that takes his job so professionally.

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https://www.comicbasics.com/how-powerful-is-adam-warlock-strength-powers-and-abilities-explained/


He could take on Thanos, Thor, and Hulk but gets his asses handed to him by a measly swarm, mother, and the GoTG (Nebula). I did like the symbolism he portrayed when saving you know who from space. Fits the name well.

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Comparing MCU characters to their Comic counterparts is nonsensical. Hulk is MUCH less strong; Thor's strength levels are all over the place, Captain Marvel is exponentially more powerful, Drax is exponentially Less powerful, etc, etc, etc. The MCU is its own thing. Have you not been paying attention?

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Wowowow there, buddy.. the hulk is strongest of all as he is not limited!

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Comic silliness aside, that's exactly my point: in the books, he's much MUCH stronger than in the movies.

Ehhh. . .Can't resist: the concept of "limitless strength" is simply foolish, dreamed up by confused young(ish) writers a long, Long time ago, and amplified by equally confused fans. What on earth makes anyone think there's such a thing as "limitless anger"??? The idea is ridiculous.

Emotions have limits. Like just about Everything Else. To say nothing of the more fundamental issue: WHAT would be driving that emotion?

Think about it. (The writers didn't. . .)

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Quick hint: people can't fly or shoot rays out of their eyes either.
Comic book universes have limitless stuff.

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Quick hint (Fiction 101): Said universes should still be based in logic/an underpinning of reality. Otherwise it devolves into absurdity. For instance: "gamma rays" turn a guy into a super-strong, raging beast. BUT that doesn't mean water is now dry. Or up is down. Or gravity doesn't exist. Or there's such a thing as "limitless anger."

See how that works?

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Quit whining and start paying attention. Powers and abilities fluctuate heavily in the course of the movies (and in the comics, too)

Now, I will tell you why:

Because they are fictional!

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You're confused. Nobody's whining; someone is gently trying to explain fairly obvious, fundamental aspects of sound storytelling.

Surprise, surprise: you're incapable of grasping these basic concepts. Shrug. You should probably go sit down somewhere: you're embarrassing yourself.

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It's not my problem hat you are unable to learn. These stories entertain millions and make billions. Go whine at your literature professor. And stay the fuck away from comic book characters as you obviously cannot cope.

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Knowing how Marvel Studios deal with their characters , he will probably be killed off by the end of the movie to never appear again lol

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Nope.

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Well that's good to hear. Maybe he'll be put to better use in Secret Wars or something, god willing.

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They'll probably gimp him and make Captain Marvel more powerful. XD

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Marvel has almost killed off none of the main characters that never reappeared, that weren't villains. They usually only kill off secondary characters. Tony is a big one.

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They usually only kill off secondary characters


so Black Widow , Captain America and Black Panther are secondary characters?

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The actor died in black panther, so not a fair comparison since real life killed him, not Marvel. Black widow had a movie after her death, remember. I'd say that's being seen again. So if you want to consider letting a character actually age outvand die of natural causes "killed" off, then I suppose cap counts. So one out of three...sort of. Also, "usually" means more often than not, but not exclusively.

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Black Panther could have been recasted but they decided not to , so that's count cause we'll never see him again on screen

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Suri is Black Panther now. It was recast, so yeah, you already saw BP on screen again. Same is true of Captain America, since you bring it up.

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Suri is NOT T'Challa as Sam Wilson is not Steve Rogers, it wasn't a recast lol , and to those you can already add Thor and Hawkey , they will be probably killed off in the next movies since Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner are done with acting at least for a very long time and Marvel is too stubborn to recast.

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lol, nice job moving the goalpost. You said Black Panther and Captain America. Kate is the new Hawkey, so that blows up your argument even further. And "probably" kill off Thor is simply you speculating. Keep trying.

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Black Widow has pretty much always been a peripheral character. Even her solo film didn't happen until after her character's death. Black Panther and Captain America are both still around, with different actors taking over the roles. I think we'll see another Iron Man soon, too. Unlike in the comics, human actors age and die, so you can't really have a 70 year run with the same guy in the union suit, hence Sam taking over for Steve as Captain America, or Shuri donning the Black Panther garb.

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those actors didn't take over the roles , they are portraying different characters , Shuri is not T'Challa and Sam is not Steve.

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They've taken over the role of the character, which is what matters in comic book films. Unless you want a CGI Robert Downey Jr., you need to accept various actors playing the part over time.

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nope , i just want them to cast another actor to play the role of Tony Stark , it's that simple but they don't want to for whatever reason

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There's always the possibility of that, as it could be justified by saying he's an alternate universe's Tony Stark, though I think it's more likely that you'll have to wait a decade or so until they reboot the MCU and start over. In the meantime I think the best you'll get is a different person wearing the armor, so Iron Man will continue, but without Tony Stark.

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Not a comic fan here and only learned who Adam Warlock was through Wikipedia, but seems to me this version's consistent with Gunn's style.

Warlock starts off as a gag, a parody of his comic self, so we think Gunn's just subverting expectations for the lulz

Then we learn Warlock's not stupid, just literally an infant, and we laugh at him a little less

Then he's given a "second chance" at life by the Guardians, and pays it back by saving Quill in a shot that's an obvious, OBVIOUS reference to Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam." Only this time, Quill the human is in the position of Michelangelo's Adam, and Adam Warlock, despite his name, is in the position of Michelangelo's God, because of his godlike powers in general, and his power over death in this scene.

In other words, Gunn's laid the groundwork for Poulter's Adam to develop into the comic Adam, while still delivering an interesting character for new audiences.

After all, the mid-credit Adam already seemed less childish.


Because, not being a comic fan, I thought the notion of this golden, perfect, superman character seemed boring. But I also thought the notion of superteam with a talking raccoon and walking tree would be unworkable.

Glad Gunn proved me wrong on both points.

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Just chiming in to say that's a REALLY well articulated/thought-out analysis.

Thx. . .I have hope for reasoned discourse again!

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Great post.

Personally, I was disappointed that Adam Warlock was played for laughs.

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I wish he was around earlier to deal with Thanos. Warlock is basically a child now, so yes, he is out character. I'm sure he wll be a bigger player once we get The Heralds and Galactus.

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What James Gunn said months ago about Adam in this film….

“But he’s definitely not a good guy. What we're seeing is the infant form of Warlock, newly out of the cocoon, and he does not understand life very well. He's basically a baby.”


I mean, in a word that explains it all. :) No good for some? Naturally. But yeah, going in and basically kinda knowing what to expect with the character made me appreciate (and enjoy) Adam’s role in Vol. 3 that much more. I like that Gunn took this approach regardless; made it more interesting than seeing the already fully developed dour Adam from the comics. Poulter’s performance was great and all the humorous moments with the character worked, as far as I’m concerned. Adam will certainly grow, though.

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As others said it's more that he just recently was born and that he hasn't learned how to act properly. I hope they do more with him in the future. The only comics I have read with him is his first appearance in Fantastic Four#66 and 67, Infinity Gauntlet, and Infinity War. I feel Infinity War is maybe too confusing for audiences as it involves an alternate version of himself that turned evil.

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As I've posted elsewhere, I had no idea who or what Adam Warlock was before reading the wiki entry about the infinity gauntlet

I've posted about this version as well (TLDR: he starts out as a joke, until we learn that he's just a child)

So my question now is this: how was he in the final mid-credits scene?

It's clearly some time later, he's more dignified and educated (and appreciates King Crimson), obviously friendly but a little stiff (hence how he sways to Redbone)

Did that seem closer to comics-Adam? I.e., is the comic version noble-to-the-point-of-being-uptight? Like a big golden Boy Scout?

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Just FYI, in the comic Infinity War Adam Warlock has an evil version of himself that the heroes of the Marvel Universe have to stop. He also arrogantly at the end of Infinity Gauntlet, insisted he was the only one qualified to keep the all the infinity stones. He's not a boyscout.

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