Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: Is Adam Warlock Friend Or Foe?
Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy features Adam Warlock as a recurring character throughout the story, but his allegiances are somewhat fluid. This appears to be a trend with many powerful characters throughout Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, with Peter Quill's snarky attitude, Rocket Raccoon's sarcasm, and Drax's lack of social graces resulting in some particularly tense encounters. The team's unlawful actions and unpopularity also contribute to more aggressive interactions throughout the galaxy. However, the team's interactions with Adam Warlock are fascinating, given the vast differences between their personalities, powers, and histories.
[Warning: Major spoilers for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy below]
Though Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy takes players on intense adventures throughout the cosmos, a set storyline and overarching plot connect the team's wacky hijinks. A character known as Grand Unifier Raker has teamed up with Magus, utilizing the Universal Church of Truth's resources to spread a compound known as "The Promise" across the galaxy. The Promise is a form of mental corruption that traps people in the place they wish to be. While this may seem like paradise to some, unfortunately, it turns the individual into a subservient zombie.
Like most Marvel games released in recent years (or still in development), Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy takes place separately from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though character appearances and personalities hold some similarities to the MCU's iterations, this speaks to the iconic details that make each Guardian so popular. Thankfully, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't produce carbon copies of MCU's Guardians, enjoying unique designs, voice actors, and backstories. The Guardians aren't the only characters to appear from the MCU, as Adam Warlock is debuting in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as well as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Guardians in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy begin searching for Adam Warlock to prevent the Universal Church of Truth from brainwashing all civilized space. In traditional Marvel stories, a force known as The Enclave designed Adam Warlock to be the pinnacle of human evolution. After gaining sentience, he quickly claimed his independence upon realizing his creators would use him for evil means. His story is slightly more mysterious in-game, with Adam Warlock responsible for giving Raker his powers. To prevent his powers from being used for evil, Adam Warlock withdrew from the galaxy. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy team encounters Adam Warlock while looking for a method to stop and heal The Promise, but their initial interactions are less than promising.
After GOTG's Drax the Destroyer is infected with The Promise, Mantis guides them to Adam Warlock in hopes of a cure. Unfortunately, he initially believes them to be part of the Universal Church of Truth sent to finish him off. Adam Warlock easily overpowers each member of the Guardians, both in single combat and when they team up. His barrage of attacks only ceases when Mantis sets Drax against him, revealing what Raker has done to the galaxy. Even so, Adam refuses to assist until he enters Drax's corrupted mind. Only after the Guardians free Drax and reveal to Adam Warlock how dangerous the tools of his making did the latter decide to help.
Though Mantis shows a natural aptitude for breaking some afflicted members out of their Promise-addled brainwashing, she cannot purge the Promise on a mass scale. Additionally, Mantis does not have the power to defeat GOTG's Magus, Grand Unifier Raker, or the Church by herself. Nevertheless, Adam Warlock's realization of the galaxy's state pushes him to action and leads him to become the Guardians' most powerful ally against the Church. His powers grant him a significant advantage over the other Guardians of the Galaxy, though he is more susceptible to Magus' influence due to past encounters with the Soul Stone. Despite this, Adam Warlock's allegiance with the Guardians is his truest loyalty in-game.
Though Adam Warlock decides to help the Guardians of the Galaxy, he immediately rejects their strategies and tactics. He shows particular disdain for Peter Quill, whose style of leadership drastically clashes with his own. Finally, with some convincing, Adam begrudgingly begins to understand and interact with the other Guardians. Having been isolated for so long leads to more than a few ruffled feathers, and the unfortunate disconnect between Adam Warlock's ideology and reality only causes more conflict. Thankfully, the Guardians and Warlock begin to reach an equilibrium between their world views as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy story progresses.
Though Adam Warlock's intentions are pure, he cannot resist Raker, Magus, and The Promise's corruption, succumbing to darker powers and acting as a final boss for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite his pretentious personality, his initial desire to help overcomes his aggressive, unyielding nature. The Guardians work to free Adam from his imprisonment the only way they know how - by blowing stuff up and beating him into the ground. Adam Warlock presents a significant challenge for even the most prepared players as a godlike being and one of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy's biggest bosses. Thankfully, the godlike being's role as a villain does not last.
Adam Warlock occupies an antihero role for a large portion of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy campaign. Despite his inclination to assist the Guardians in their journey, the Church's corruption of his mind prevents him from carrying out this task. Though his intentions are pure, Adam Warlock's impressive power is a force even the so-called "god" has difficulties handling. Without many equals in the world and few reasons to believe the galaxy could ever create a force of true goodness, his initial hesitance to assist the known universe is understandable. Thankfully, the Guardians of the Galaxy's actions allow Adam Warlock to overcome his demons and join the team. His fate beyond the base game's main story is unknown, as is Eidos-Montreal's plans for a sequel.
After Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy's ending, Adam Warlock joins the team to continue solving crises across the cosmos. Though specifics concerning long-term plans for the title are unknown, Adam Warlock could become a new Guardian in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Adam's significance in the base game combined with his upcoming appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 points towards a possible revival of the character's popularity. If Eidos-Montreal intends to develop DLC or a sequel for the project, Adam Warlock may enjoy significant popularity in Marvel's video game universe. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch for $60.00.