Will Adam Warlock Be a Friend or Foe in 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3'?

Is Adam Warlock a good or bad Marvel character, and what role will he play in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Director James Gunn confirmed on his Twitter page that actor Will Poulter has been cast as Adam Warlock. "Welcome to the Guardians family, Will Poulter," James wrote.

For those MCU fans who aren't super familiar with the Adam Warlock character, never fear. Here's an explainer on the newest MCU character everyone's talking about.

Adam Warlock's introduction into the MCU was briefly hinted at in a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 post-credits scene. The leader of the Sovereign race Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) tells one of her people that she's been creating a being that's "more powerful, more beautiful, [and] more capable of destroying the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Ayesha says she'll call him Adam.

Will the MCU's Adam Warlock actually be a foe to the Guardians of the Galaxy? In the Marvel comics Adam actually ends up joining the Guardians of the Galaxy at one point. The Adam Warlock of the comics has generally fought for the side of good over evil, although there are certain story arcs where Adam dealt with evil versions of himself.

So the next question is, just how powerful is Adam Warlock? If he is evil in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, do Peter Quill and the Guardians crew stand a chance?

Let's put it this way. There was one storyline in the Marvel Comics where Adam literally was powerful enough to turn Thanos — yes, that Thanos — into stone, when Adam himself was dying. Adam was originally engineered to be a perfect human specimen by a group of Earth scientists called the Enclave.

Ironically, the Enclave's mission to create such a perfect specimen ended up backfiring by being too successful. Basically once Adam gained awareness he rebelled against the Enclave, not trusting that his creators had made him for good purposes.

According to the Marvel Directory, Adam's powers include superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and the ability to heal himself and deliver blasts of cosmic energy from his hands at opponents (almost like Captain Marvel's Infinity Stone–enhanced power punches in the 2019 Captain Marvel film). Basically, Adam has the power to utilize cosmic energy to enhance his own abilities and superhuman strength.

During one Marvel Comics storyline, Adam also wielded all six Infinity Stones (remember how one snap of the Infinity Gauntlet literally killed Tony Stark?). Although Adam lived to tell the tale and literally became the supreme being of the entire universe with all six stones in his possession, he was ultimately ordered to give up the stones.

Adam obliged and gave the stones to different Marvel characters, and just kept the Soul Stone for himself. Other comics storylines include Adam forming the Infinity Watch, going toe-to-toe with Thanos more than once (and also working with him on occasion), discovering an evil alternate version of himself called the Magus, and more. Suffice to say, there's plenty of material to draw from for Adam's first appearance in the MCU.

So to sum up the power of Adam Warlock, let's just say we don't envy whoever has Adam Warlock as a foe in the MCU. However, we can't wait to see Will Poulter's take on the iconic Marvel comics character when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters.