Adam Warlock vs Captain Marvel: Who’d Win a Comics Battle

Carol Danvers, the current Captain Marvel, is one of the strongest superheroes in the Marvel Universe – but she still finds challengers from time to time, namely Adam Warlock. The created being is not as popular as he once was (his lack of appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have something to do with his dip in popularity), but with the announcement of his inclusion in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, new fans of the franchise will be introduced to him for the first time. With the ever-increasing likelihood that these two characters will meet in the MCU, this begs the question: which character is more powerful in the comics?

Adam Warlock first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1967 in the pages of Fantastic Four #66; his role was minor and the character only rose to prominence in the 1970s. Created by the Enclave in a desire to create the most genetically-perfect being, Adam Warlock (who originally was simply called “Him”) rebelled against his creators and escaped into space, though not without first fighting Thor. For her part, Carol Danvers took over the title of Captain Marvel in 2012, but she had been a superhero for decades prior, going by such names as Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary.

As Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers is phenomenally strong. She can lift trucks, buildings, and an entire Celestial with her bare hands. She’s one of the few heroes durable enough to face against the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat, throwing him from orbit. Aside from brute strength, she can fly over speeds of Mach 6, can survive in space and in the deep ocean, and has energy-absorption powers she can use to absorb blasts and discharge the energy from her hands in the form of Starblasts.

Unfortunately for Captain Marvel, Adam Warlock has an entire suite of powers unavailable to her. Though he isn’t as physically strong as Carol Danvers, Warlock can fly at speeds approaching the speed of light (though only in space), and can sense and measure the souls of others. He also possess telepathic abilities, clairvoyance – and that’s all without the Soul Stone. Given to him by the High Evolutionary, Adam Warlock and the Soul Stone are frequently seen together. With it, he can steal souls, bestow souls to the soulless, scan minds, teleport anywhere and can even annihilate a Sun. Adam’s power with the Stone is truly awe-inspiring and is rarely seen without it.

While Adam Warlock is quite strong on his own, Captain Marvel has the edge in pure physical combat. However, if Adam Warlock obtains the Soul Stone, Captain Marvel has already lost the fight; it’s simply a question of how she will lose. Adam Warlock thus wins handily in a hypothetical battle against Captain Marvel – so long as he holds the Soul Stone.