Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a golden-skinned superhero who appears in the fictional Marvel Universe created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #66 (September 1967) in cocoon form, and #67 (October 1967) in humanoid form. He developed as a Messiah figure in the early 1970s, battling against the Man-Beast, and later after Earth's Avengers had been defeated by the super-villain Thanos, he appeared as "the Ultimate Avenger" against him. In later stories he eventually battled incarnations of aspects of his own psyche, the tyrranical Magus, and the fanatical Goddess, and even later, emerged from the realms of the Soul Gem to once again battle Thanos, who had attained God-like powers. Defeating him when he himself attains those powers, he eventually abandons them, forming the group the Infinity Watch to prevent anyone from ever again attaining such might. Later still, he joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. A cocoon and regenerated himself in the MCU the group that created him is The Sovereign  . Ayesha which explains why he’s gold like he was in the comics and if it wasn’t clear during Guardians  of the Galaxy 2. they didn’t spend too much time getting into the backstory of The Sovereign race  .But all the members of their race are created like this it’s just that they don’t get as much power as Adam Warlock got their race basically tampers with their own genome to create more  .

See also:

Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team)

• Someone told me once … long ago … that men would call me Warlock!
  • In response to being asked his name, and saying that he does not have one, in Marvel Premiere Vol. 1, No. 2 (May 1972), written by Roy Thomas

• Sculptor of worlds! Is it your voice I hear? If so, then speak ... and Warlock shall heed!
  • To the High Evolutionary, No. 1 (August 1972)

• You have not called me here merely to praise yourself. Then why have you done so ... when there are things I must do on the planet you created?
  • To the High Evolutionary, in No. 1 (August 1972)

• The way ahead is long ... and dangerous. I'll have no one with me who doesn't want to come.
  • To his human companions, in No. 1 (August 1972)

• Short time?! You fool, it's been an eternity! During that time, everything I've ever cared for or accomplished has fallen into ruin ! Everyone I've ever loved now lies dead! My life has been a failure! I welcome its end.
  • To his alternate self, in No. 11 (February 1976)

Warlock: Adam Warlock, the Godslayer has come for you, demon! Prepare to die!!

Thanos: Fool. Nothing stops death! Nothing! Not even a poor deluded maniac who claims to be the champion of life. So die, Adam Warlock, my mistress awaits you.

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Warlock: You have succeeded in releasing me — the Ultimate Avenger. Thanos knows my purpose! Is that not so, evil one?

Thanos: By the great nebula! It cannot be you! I saw you die! I killed you!

Warlock: That you did, vile serpent. Yet I could not rest while you remained a threat to my universe!

Written by Jim Starlin

• In my time many called me Adam Warlock. You may do so also, if you feel so inclined.
  • As he interrupts a battle between Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange, in Issue 2 : From Bad to Worse

• There are forces at work you do not perceive. I weave a delicate strategy which rash actions could rend. Patience, please.
  • To Doctor Doom, as the gathered heroes prepare to confront Thanos, in Issue 3: Preparations for War.

• Naked power is seldom the answer to any problem. Surely you must know that even this group's combined might is nothing compared to the force Thanos wields. Only a richly complex and skillfully executed strategy will insure your survival. Time is short and I have such a plan.
  • To Galactus, attempting to convince him to join with the heroes allied with him in his plans to defeat Thanos, in Issue 3: Preparations for War.

• In a short while, we confront Thanos, a being of unimaginable power whose sole goal is the destruction of all life. … Extreme measures may be called for in dealing with him. You and the Hulk have an outlook on death the others do not share … except for Doom, but he cannot be trusted.
  • Privately, to Wolverine and the Hulk, instructing them that if they get any opportunity, to kill Thanos without hesitation, in Issue 3: Preparations for War.

• We tried to do this the easy way — and we failed. Now begins the conflict I strove to avoid. It may well prove to be a battle the Universe cannot survive! Eternity, it is now your turn.
  • In Issue 4 : Cosmic Battle on the Edge of the Universe

• I was part of the Soul Gem while you possessed it, which permitted me access to your inner heart. I know you as no other being in the universe does, better than even you do, yourself.
  • Confronting Thanos, while Nebula possess the Infinity Gauntlet, persuading him to aid the heroes in their efforts to defeat her, in Issue 5 : Astral Conflagration

• Let the conflict END!
  • As he reveals himself possessing the Infinity Gauntlet, after it is lost first by Thanos and then Nebula, in Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• I am now The Supreme Being, seek not to dispute that claim.
  • To Thanos and the gathered heroes and villains who had sought the Infinity Gauntlet, in Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• Already, the distance between what I was and am is insurmountable — like an ant contemplating the Cosmos.
  I knew it would be so … yet still I hoped.
  I guess there is really nothing left to say.
  • To the final three super-heroes he allows to remain in his presence after obtaining the Infinity Gauntlet, who want him to surrender it: the Silver Surfer, Thor, and Doctor Strange, in Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• I begin a journey mapped out amidst the stars. 'Tis a path I cannot stray from —
  • As he goes to visit the defeated Thanos, in Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• Time is a repeating loop to me now.
  • To Gamora and Pip the Troll, in Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• I seek not revenge. Advice is what I crave.
  • To Thanos, as a fellow being who has been burdened with the wearing of the Infinity Gauntlet.

• I am the type who sees the future and is held prisoner by it. How many times has this little drama repeated itself to me..?
  • No. 1 (February 1992)

• I am off to shed my Godhood.
  • As he prepares to relinquish the possession of most of the Infinity Gems to others, retaining only the Soul Gem for himself, in No. 1 (February 1992)

• I don't know if this team will work or not. All I know is it MUST. Time is critical. I see clearly now why I've been reborn. We haven't got long. Years if we're lucky, months if we're not.
  • Vol. 2, No. 1 : "Somebody's Got To Do It" (2008)

• Director James Gunn has confirmed fan suspicions that Marvel hero Adam Warlock makes a cameo (in cocoon form) in Marvel's latest offering Guardians of the Galaxy. … Adam Warlock is a character created to be the perfect human at a scientific installation called The Beehive. … We know that Marvel are working towards a film which will bring everyone together as Thanos (Josh Brolin) threatens existence itself once he acquires the Infinity Stones and places them in the Infinity Gauntlet.  … This is believed to be Marvel's plan for Avengers 3, which is still some years off. When it does happen it will be an adaptation of Marvel's The Infinity Gauntlet comic, in which Adam Warlock plays a pivotal role.
  His cocoon was first spotted in the credits scene of Thor: The Dark World, which saw characters from that film visit The Collector's base aboard the space station Knowhere. 
  During the course of Gunn's movie, the Guardians encounter The Collector and bring to him an orb which he reveals to be an Infinity Stone. While explaining their origins, The Collector's red-skinned assistant touches the stone, levelling the entire room and destroying most of what is inside. … The film's post-credits scene shows The Collector sitting among his ruins … In the background of this scene we see that the cocoon is broken, meaning Adam Warlock has escaped and is now walking around Marvel's cinematic universe — most likely to show up Gunn's 2017 Guardians sequel.
  • Ben Skipper, in "Guardians of the Galaxy: James Gunn Confirms That IS Adam Warlock's Cocoon" in International Business Times (4 August 2014)

• Adam Warlock, a being who wished nothing more than to spend the rest of his days within the peaceful environment of the Soul Gem. He now possesses the Infinite Power and the responsibility that goes with it. While I, whose entire life was dedicated to the pursuit of power, now find myself scraping out a living from the soil. Irony worthy of the drama.
  Yet strangely enough though, I envy not Adam Warlock.
  Somehow I feel, that in the long run, Thanos of Titan came out ahead in this particular deal.
  • Jim Starlin, in lines written for Thanos in The Infinity Gauntlet (1991), Issue 6 : The Final Confrontation

• When I finished with Captain Marvel I had turned him from a warrior into a mystic. Adam Warlock was a mystical messiah. Where to go from there? Decided to reverse course and turn him into a suicidal paranoid/schizophrenic, which was the way I was feeling at the time. I’ve always used my work to examine what is currently going on in my own life. It’s cheaper than going to a shrink.
  • Jim Starlin, on some of his early work on defining the character of Warlock, in an interview at Newsarama (15 July 2006)

• I had some trepidation about the Christ parallels, but I hoped there would be little outcry if I handled it tastefully, since I was not really making any serious statement on religion... at least not overtly.
  • Roy Thomas, on developing Adam Warlock as a messiah figure, inspired by the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, as quoted in "The Life and Death (and Life and Death) of Adam Warlock" by Karen Walker, in Back Issue magazine (June 2009), p. 34

• Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Warlock
• Adelaide Comics and Books: "The Legendary Lost Warlock" (Interview with Alan Weiss)
• Adam Warlock Origin in MCU | How Important this Character in Marvel Cinematic Universe.