MattBrady

by Vaneta Rogers

We're one day closer to the start of Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's new ongoing sci-fi series, so it's time to spotlight another of the characters who make up this new team of cosmic heroes.

Yesterday, we asked writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to spotlight Star-Lord, and today, the creators take a closer look at the newly reborn Adam Warlock, who joins with Star-Lord to assemble a team of fan-favorite cosmic characters including the new Quasar, Drax, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon and the '60s Kirby monster known as Groot.

Adam Warlock

- Powers:
DnA: A genetically perfect specimen, Adam has deep cosmic insight, and metaphysical powers, the extent of which has not yet been tested.

- Homeworld:
DnA: Adam was originally created on Earth.

- Personality:
DnA: Much more driven and pro-active than his previous incarnations, Adam is determined to excel at the role the Galaxy seems to have chosen for him: to protect it from entropic collapse. However, he is sometimes unsettled by the mysteries surrounding his own powers.

- Brief Bio:
DnA: Reborn with new powers to battle the menace of Ultron, Adam realised that the successive Annihilation events had seriously weakened the structure of the cosmos. Abhorrent entities from outside the Universe are now attempting to get in. Adam has joined with Peter Quill to form a group to target this threat.

- Recommended reading to get to know this character better:
DnA: Annihilation:Conquest #1 - 6

- Last time we saw this character, he was...:
DnA: Worried about the future.

- What this character brings to the team:
DnA: Cosmic power, and a mystical insight. If Star-Lord is King Arthur, then Warlock is Merlin.

- Something readers may not know about this character, but we think is interesting:
DnA: Even he doesn’t know quite what he’s capable of.

- What fans of this character can look forward to in GotG:
DnA: Space magic, cosmic power, and a hero reborn.

- Favorite line that's coming up for this character:
DnA: 'I don’t know if this team will work or not. All I know is it must.'

Phries

FIRST

Recommended reading: Conquest?

How about Infinity Gauntlet and The strange death of Adam Warlock.

Has Marvel forgotten Starlin's brilliance already?

DarkKnight1013

Warlock is my favorite Marvel character ever, and I'm excited to see him back. I liked the way he was written in Conquest, so this should be a treat. The one thing I'm curious about, though, is if his relationship with Gamora in the past will be addressed, and how they split up.

Phries

Yeah, when they see each other in Conquest they don't even pause. It was kind of a let down.

jasonbradley

Recommended reading:

Strange Tales 178-181

LikeaPhoenix

CHSM

I just assume that they figure it's a new incarnation so what you need to know right now is just the stuff this version has done. Hopefully they'll get to the older stuff eventually.

durkadurka

That's actually something i'm curious about. From Conquest, it seems like this guy is Adam Warlock in name only. His powers could be whatever, and he may have some memories or something, but for all intents and purposes he's a different character than the original.

Phries

I hear ya. Knowing Warlock's history just makes this incarnation so much better, though. For Infinity Abyss he was just turned into the universe's screw loose punching bag. In one series he mochs the idea of a laughing eternal warrior, but DnA seem to have brought him more in line with it. He's finally sure and confident.

Corpulent1

I don't mind Warlock being different. I, for one, found him painfully boring as the cosmic zen guru or whatever he was back in the Infinity Gauntlet/Watch era. Every time he showed up I got less excited for whatever I was reading. (Sort of like Phyla now, unfortunately.)
Ooh, I like that analogy. I wonder how that'll play out in the series.

Zypster X

This isn't the Adam Warlock I know and love.

I don't like the new costume, it just looks far too.. generic. It doesn't really look like Adam Warlock at all to me. At the very least they should give him a cape!

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to this series, Annihilation Conquest was freakin' awesome.

jsf

Adam Warlock ... along with Thanos ... is one of my all-time fave characters. Yeah, this version is really different than the one(s) that came before ... but so what? Thanos, the consort of death, isn't like Thanos the nihilistic nutjob either, nor is baldheaded-knife-wielding-tattoo'd-Drax the same as stupid-Drax-the-cosmic-hulk-ripoff -- and I'm completely cool with all of that. Character growth (or transformation) is a welcome thing sometimes.

So far as I'm concerned, Warlock has evolved in a direction that pushes him disconcertingly towards his Magus identity, something that potentially raises some interesting plot points or story tensions if DnA want. And slap me down as someone else who wants to see some mention of Adam and Gamora's previous relationship. It's simply too big a thing to overlook.

Oh ... and when do we get the 2nd Marvel Masteworks volume? 'Cos the first one was good, but I'm sure the 2nd one will have the Starlin stories that really transformed the character.

Somebody

Well, the preview for #1, has them fighting the Universal Church of Truth, and AW dismissing Gamora's half-memory of them worshipping him with a curt mention of how he went to lengths to erase that timeline.

nino

I'm glad they found a place for Adam, he's been pretty aimless since his last ongoing like 10 years ago

KryptonSite

I've seen Adam Warlock wear worse, but this new costume looks a bit too "Lightning Lad" for me.

warlock

The Strange Death of Adam Warlock is required reading for anyone interested in this series or comics in general. Brilliant.

ziza9

+ Warlock 1-15.

Laz Green

[quote=Zypster X]This isn't the Adam Warlock I know and love.

I don't like the new costume, it just looks far too.. generic. It doesn't really look like Adam Warlock at all to me. At the very least they should give him a cape!
QUOTE]

Yeeeaaahh....cuz 'capes' are in no way "generic"....

stingerman

Yeah, wait to we get to Quasar's bio.

Reaper

Yes, Starlin's original run on WARLOCK that led to the "Strange Death of Adam Warlock" was absolutely seminal - and one of my favorite comics runs ever. But every time Warlock has returned, usually from a cocoon, he has changed so I think that this current incarnation is consistent with that. Frankly, I’m just glad to have one of my favorite characters back in the fray – and happy that the Marvel cosmic characters (other than the Silver Surfer) are finally getting some love again.

-Tim

TheToileteer

Let's see...he died in Avengers Annual # 7...got better in Infinity Gauntlet, then starred in Infinity Watch for awhile...got rebooted (I liked that series)...and now unrebooted / reborn. Did I miss anything.

RockSP

He died and was reborn in an issue of She-Hulk (Slott & Bobilo)

Wellness

The only thing that bugs me about this incarnation of Adam Warlock is how vague they are with his powers. I wouldn't hate it if they said he could tap into the energy of souls effectively feeding on the dead or some sort of mental thing like that but give me something.

MKF

I'm glad I read this. Coming out of Conquest I have to admit I wasn't that excited about Adam Warlock - I don't know much of his history (besides when he popped up in She-Hulk a while back), and he seemed a bit of a weak link in the cast, with his role in Conquest being largely driven by whatever was happening to him, rather than anything coming from within. But the description of him as Merlin to Peter Quill's Arthur really works for me, especially considering some of the morally ambiguous tricks Merlin pulled in the name of 'the greater good', as only he was in a position to see it - I can see him really ticking off Star-Lord now and then.

Zypster X

Touché, I'm an idiot.

I still don't like the new costume. It's mainly the lightening bolts on his shoulders that bother me... I guess it's meant to indicate Adam's latest incarnation being a bit more like the Magus maybe?!?!