I kicked it off the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Wave 2 reviews with the Mantis BAF over the weekend, but now let’s take a look at the single-packed figure in the series that’s been generating the most buzz among hardcore fans (and likely to be the hardest figure to get outside of buying a whole case). He’s not the major player in the Marvel Universe he was in years past, but the mere mention of his name still drew cheers during the movie sequel: it’s the first Marvel Legends Adam Warlock figure in quite a few years! And this time, he’s brought his evil alter-ego…

The Right:

I admit it: other than his prominent role in “The Infinity Gauntlet” and subsequent “The Infinity Watch” series, I’ve never been a huge Adam Warlock fanboy. Even when he showed up during the modern classic “Annihilation” events, I wasn’t particularly hyped for Adam Warlock’s return.

But the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are my favorite MCU movies by a landslide, so the merest mention of Adam Warlock in Vol. 2 was enough to catch my attention just a little bit. And just in time to utilize that attention, the new Adam Warlock Marvel Legends figure has fatefully arrived!

The two newly-tooled pieces of Adam Warlock are his head and the skirt add-on piece to his costume. Both are accurate to the character’s modern comic appearances and well-painted. I particularly like Adam’s black-outlined eyes with glowing pupils, which are an important defining characters of his likeness.

While the Adam Warlock Marvel Legends figure doesn’t have the most visually-compelling costume in the world, the Hasbro factories have nearly and cleanly applied all of the red and black lightning bolt designs to the costume.

GOTG Legends Warlock gets one open-palm hand (for blasting things) and one fist (for punching things). Alas, Warlock doesn’t have that awesome staff he had in the 90’s, so there’s no reason for a grasping hand.

ML Adam Warlock is using a standard body with the standard super-articulation we’ve come to expect from Legends: ball-hinge head/shoulders/wrists; hinged ankles with rockers; double-hinge knees and elbows; swivel biceps/thighs/waist/boots; ball hips; ab crunch. There’s no surprises, but that’s fine–everything that needs to be present is.

If this figure was just Adam Warlock, I’d think it was pretty dull. Thankfully, it’s not–an alternate head is included that allows us to make an official Marvel Legends Magus figure for the first time!

While the stoic Adam Warlock head is a bit bland-looking, the Magus head is wildly fun and anything but boring! The maniacal, teethy smile, the dark lipstick surrounding his mouth–Marvel Legends Magus looks totally evil (and insane). This head sculpt is just too much fun–love it!

The Wrong:

As far as the design of this figure goes, Adam Warlock/Magus looks pretty splendid. I do, of course, have a couple minor qualms.

Because the Marvel Legends Adam Warlock is molded in primarily black plastic, he has that “gummy”, rubbery feel to him that freaks me out, since I’ve had several ML figures with that plastic quality break when their joints rip over the past year. My Adam Warlock is still intact, but I’ll be cautious with him (and you should too).

In addition, I’m sick to death of these cosmic effects pieces, and I’m not sure they’re shaped quite right for Magus or Adam Warlock. The opaque bright blue color is fine, but I actually think the Scarlet Witch “spell” effects might have looked more appropriate. Either way, I’m lusting at the prospect of seeing some potential new effect pieces at SDCC 2017.

Overall: The Guardians of the Galaxy Legends Adam Warlock figure is a solid figure that’s not exactly the most exciting toy in the world, but definitely a well-executed representation of the modern character design. The interchangeable Magus head is deliciously fun, though, and is going to be my surprise default head for this figure. Gummy plastic and boring effects pieces aside, I think fans will be pleased with the latest Marvel Legends figure of the Man-God.

GRADE: B+