Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so read on at your peril and don’t say we didn’t warn you.
To like Adam Warlock or to not like Adam Warlock, that’s the question Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has spawned. Fans are divided over the character while the film’s overall ratings are doing very well across the board.
The final installment of the trilogy just released today and is pulling a stellar performance with an 8.3/10 IMDb rating as well as an 80% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer so far. (Spoilers ensue.) While Chris Pratt and his crew face their demise and heroically march forward toward their destiny to survive or not to survive, another war rages on Twitter and fans are quickly taking sides. Was Adam Warlock a strong character in the movie, or did he leave it lacking?
Will Poulter has fans who say he did what he was given to do, while others are saying he did what James Gunn instructed him to do, which gives plenty of room for growth as his character moves forward. Of course, there are fans who aren’t quite getting what part Warlock served in the movie, because they believe he was underserved and really didn’t live up to their expectations. Also of course, some fans have been expecting the genetically engineered perfect being for a long time, and may have built Him up in their heads while James Gunn is giving future directors room to play.
Forget all the other characters like Gamora, Nebula, Groot, Drax, Mantis, and Rocket, let the debate rage on about the flying lab rat with cosmic awareness.
For some fans, the character’s dynamic wasn’t what they expected and that might be because they were expecting a fully-developed superhero who could dominate the world with super strength and a powerful mind.
Naw it is kind of wild how y’all will sit here and shit on DCEU Superman for not being comic book accurate but praise this adaptation. Adam Warlock wasn’t terrible in the movie but he also wasn’t anything but comic relief. Nothing at all like what is character was created to be. https://t.co/VDWQNXbCLi
— 😈😈Robbie B’s diary👺👺 (@DNDSTAYSON) May 5, 2023
To explain why Adam Warlock was portrayed the way he was, it might take a filmmaking student or at least, someone who knows the story as well as the direction it might be taking.
And to corroborate…
Just because it’s the end of the Guardians trilogy, it doesn’t mean it’s the end for any of its characters. The universe is big and paths keep crossing, so enjoy the film while it’s out in theaters or catch it streaming later, but be patient because all signs point toward there being so much more of Adam Warlock.