Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 closes one chapter for its eponymous team but opens another, introducing a brand-new superhero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Adam Warlock. Portrayed by Will Poulter, Warlock has been hinted to be an integral piece in the MCU’s plans for the future, both in the Multiverse Saga and beyond.
Not only does Adam Warlock represent a new chapter in the Guardians of the Galaxy’s MCU story, but he also happens to be one of the franchise’s most powerful heroes yet. As such, several major MCU villains wouldn’t stand a chance against Adam Warlock if they ever came face-to-face.
Spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
10 Loki
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is one of the MCU’s most important villains. As the Asgardian god of mischief, he possesses several powerful abilities, including projection casting, self-disguising illusions, and enhanced strength. While he isn’t much of a fighter, Loki can be quite dangerous on the battlefield, using his trickery and wit to defeat his enemies.
While Adam Warlock’s childlike nature could make him more susceptible to Loki’s tricks, hand-to-hand combat would greatly favor the Guardian of the Galaxy over the god of mischief. Once all tricks and illusions were done, Loki wouldn’t stand much of a chance against Adam Warlock in combat.
9 Namor
Tench Huerta brought Namor from the comics to the MCU in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The mutant leader of the underwater city of Talokan, Namor, is incredibly strong when exposed to water. Furthermore, his winged feet also grant him the ability to fly, giving him an extra advantage over his enemies in battle.
Namor is powerful and agile, but he has few attacks that would deal any damage to Adam Warlock. Without the help of Talokanil warriors, Namor may be able to hold out for a while. Still, even he would fall eventually, unable to do any lasting harm to the cosmically powered Adam Warlock.
8 Ultron
Ultron is a sentient AI unit created by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Voiced by James Spader, the supervillain is a menacing threat to all of humanity who believes that life on Earth must start again in order to survive. He uses his connection to the Internet to hijack all of Earth’s institutions, even gaining access to nuclear codes.
Adam Warlock would have little to fear from Ultron. With energy blasts capable of melting metal and a genetically superior body, Adam Warlock has everything he needs to bring the maniacal AI down for good. Ultron, whose power lies in his connection to Earth-based software, would have little chance of dealing any damage to the powerful Warlock.
7 Yon-Rogg
Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg is a Kree warrior responsible for overseeing Captain Marvel’s training before her defection. Like many other Kree warriors, Yon-Rogg possesses incredible fighting prowess and is even hailed as one of the Kree Empire’s greatest fighters, though he doesn’t stand a chance against his former protege.While Yon-Rogg is incredibly skilled, the final battle of Captain Marvel proved that he really is no match for a cosmically powered superhero. If the Kree warrior couldn’t last more than a couple of seconds against Captain Marvel, then he certainly doesn’t stand a chance against the likes of Adam Warlock.
6 The Mandarin
Xu Wenwu, played by Tony Leung, is a powerful crime boss who possesses the otherworldly Ten Rings, which provide him with incredible abilities, including eternal life. Sometimes known as the Mandarin, Wenwu spent centuries training with the Ten Rings, wielding them expertly in his villainous endeavors.
Wenwu is deceptively powerful and is capable of holding his own against virtually any opponent. However, even he isn’t completely invulnerable. While the Ten Rings would give him an extra edge in combat, it is unlikely that he would be able to hold Adam Warlock off long enough to gain the upper hand.
5 Aldrich Killian
Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce, was the villainous leader of Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) and the main antagonist of Iron Man 3. In his relentless endeavors to prove himself better than Tony Stark, Killian developed the Extremis virus that was meant to enhance the human body with new powers of combustion and heat. Naturally, Killian was among the first to receive this virus.
While Killian’s powers are impressive, the villain is also brash and compulsive. His relentless ego drives him to believe that he is incapable of defeat, which ironically spells his doom–especially if faced with an opponent as powerful as Adam Warlock, who wouldn’t break a sweat in defeating Aldrich Killian.
4 Ronan The Accuser
Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser is admittedly one of the least important MCU villains, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t extremely powerful. The Kree extremist, at one point, possessed the Power Stone, with which he could have destroyed the entire planet of Xandar had he not been stopped by the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Armed with an Infinity Stone, Ronan the Accuser might actually put up a fight against Adam Warlock. However, as Guardians of the Galaxy proved, Ronan never fully comprehended the full range of abilities that came with possessing an Infinity Stone. His close-mindedness and seething rage doomed him from the beginning, making him no match for the most potent new members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
3 The High Evolutionary
Dr. Herbert Wyndham, a.k.a. the High Evolutionary, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest supervillain. Portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji, the High Evolutionary seeks to unlock the next stage of human evolution by any means necessary. In his self-experimentation, Wyndham managed to gain the ability to bend gravity itself to his will.
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 showed just as mighty the High Evolutionary’s gravity manipulation power was, he ultimately fell to the combined might of the Guardians. Had he come face-to-face with his own creation, Adam Warlock, in battle, he likely wouldn’t have fared much better. Given the character’s open-ended fate in the film, however, this match-up may not be out of the question in the MCU’s near future.
2 Thanos
The Mad Titan Thanos is one of Marvel’s most powerful villains of all time. Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos is a mighty warrior who emerged victorious in a fistfight with the Hulk himself. As such, there are few beings in the entire galaxy whose strength can compare with that of Thanos.
While one might initially guess that Thanos would easily best Adam Warlock, it is important to understand the duo’s rivalry in Marvel Comics. Adam Warlock and Thanos have come to blows on numerous occasions over the years, and though the Titan often gains an early upper hand, Warlock almost always succeeds in the end. So one can only imagine that an MCU match-up would have a similar ending.
1 Kang The Conqueror
Jonathan Majors’s Kang the Conqueror is the next big bad for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. A 31st-century scientist with endless variants scattered throughout the multiverse, Kang poses a threat to the entire timeline. Furthermore, his futuristic technology gives him extra combat abilities, not unlike the skills afforded to Tony Stark by his Iron Man suit.
Kang the Conqueror may have time on his side, but he has also proven vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. If Ant-Man and his army of highly intelligent ants could defeat Kang, then Adam Warlock would certainly stand a chance against the Conqueror as well. While Kang may grow in strength over time, so too will Warlock, who is far from reaching the full extent of his power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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