Fighting Kang Can Make Up For Adam Warlock's Missing MCU Story

Fighting Kang the Conqueror in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty can make up for Adam Warlock’s missing MCU story. Played by Will Poulter, the Golden Gladiator is set to finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He’s poised to serve as an antagonist at first, but chances are the character will eventually find himself on the side of the Guardians before all is said and done.

Given Adam Warlock’s history in Marvel Comics, it’s all but guaranteed that the character has a future as an MCU superhero. Exactly what that will be, though, remains to be seen. The comics don’t paint a clear picture of his future, simply because his biggest stories have seemingly been taken off the table. In the comics, Warlock was the biggest threat to Thanos’ plans. But with Warlock’s arrival in the MCU being saved for after Thanos’ death, Marvel is now forced to find something else for the character to do. It’s unfortunate, of course, that Adam Warlock vs. Thanos will never happen in the MCU, but thanks to Kang, Marvel has a way of amending this missed opportunity.

Adam Warlock’s Time Travel Connections In Marvel Comics Explained

Adam Warlock doesn’t have a strong link to Kang the Conqueror in Marvel Comics, but his time travel connections could be used to justify their stories becoming intertwined in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. In one of Warlock’s most important storylines, Warlock went up against the Magus, a villain introduced as a future version of Adam Warlock who became corrupted by his abuse of the Soul Stone’s powers. After leaving his own time for the present, the Magus posed such a threat that it took the combined forces of Warlock and Thanos to stop him, but even that wasn’t enough. To beat him, Warlock had to resort to time travel himself.

What followed proved to be one of Marvel’s most interesting uses of the time travel concept as well as a monumental story in Adam Warlock’s comic history. With help from Thanos, Warlock used a time probe to visit the future. After going forward in time by a few months, Warlock killed his future self by sucking his soul into the Soul Stone. In so doing, Warlock erased the Magus from existence. The story progressed with Warlock understanding that his time was limited; he knew, of course, that he would inevitably reach the point in his timeline where he would be slain by his past self. The comics adhered to its time travel rules and eventually let Warlock die, with the character subsequently remaining dead for more than a decade.

Adam Warlock Can Still Have His Biggest MCU Stories (With Kang)

Adam Warlock wields the Infinity Gauntlet.

The concept behind the Magus can be used to set up Adam Warlock to become involved in the MCU’s multiversal shenanigans, thus paving the way for a fight with Kang. If Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s ending or post-credits scenes reveal the Magus, it can begin the hero’s time travel journey. Setting up or introducing Magus would make a great deal of sense for the movie, especially when considering the fact that he’s Warlock’s other greatest villain. If that happens, it’ll put Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in a position to connect Warlock’s story with Kang’s. If he becomes familiar with time travel, he’ll be an obvious choice for a roster spot on the Avengers team that fights Kang.

With someone as powerful Kang as an enemy, Warlock can still get his biggest story. In Infinity Gauntlet, Warlock was the character who ultimately led the heroes of the Marvel Universe in defeating Thanos and undoing the snap. Thanks to his careful planning and efforts to recruit powerful cosmic entities in the fight against Thanos, the Mad Titan was eventually stopped. Due to Thanos’ death in Avengers: Endgame, Warlock will never get to down this road – unless Marvel replaces his part in Warlock’s story with Kang, who can pose an even bigger threat to the MCU. With neither Captain America nor Iron Man on the table for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, a new leader is needed, and Will Poulter’s character may be the perfect hero to fill that void in Phase 6.

Adam Warlock Can Beat The MCU’s Kang The Conqueror

jonathan majors as the mcu's kang the conqueror

Similar to how Thanos perceived Adam Warlock as his biggest enemy in the comics, Kang the Conqueror could be forced to see the character in the same light. Based on how Kang’s struggles against Scott and Hope in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his power level is lower than what’s expected from Adam Warlock, who’s strong enough to contend with Thor in Marvel Comics. With his cosmic abilities, he’d be more than a match for the villain and certainly someone the Council of Kangs would have to account for in their plans. By putting Adam Warlock in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the MCU can easily rectify his absence from the Infinity Saga while also giving Kang a fitting adversary.

MORE: GOTG 3 Can Finally Introduce The Character You've Wanted Since Ragnarok