Warning: potential SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame

With Infinity War ending in the most shocking fashion of any Marvel film, it’s hard for fans to look beyond Thanos to the future of the MCU. But we’ve got a theory that not only will Avengers: Endgame see Thanos defeated… it will finally lead to the birth of Adam Warlock.

To casual Marvel fans, or perhaps even comic readers who know the old Adam Warlock better than the one in Marvel’s current comics, the character may seem completely unrelated to the events of Avengers: Endgame. But as fans everywhere spin theories as to how the Avengers can defeat Thanos and restore the universe, the comics have already dealt with the REAL problem: the Infinity Stones, just waiting to be claimed by the next wannabe tyrant. Unless our theory proves true, and Endgame follows the comics’ lead.

If it does, then, Thanos will be defeated, Vision will fulfill his purpose in a greater way than any fan thought possible, and the next phase of Marvel’s movie universe will begin with the birth of Adam Warlock–created exactly as he should be. Here’s your warning that SPOILERS may lie ahead.

  • This Page: Infinity Stones are Endgame’s Threat, Not Thanos Page 2: How The Birth of Adam Warlock Can Finish Endgame

Thanos May Lose, But The Infinity Stones Remain

By now most Marvel fans have heard one rumor or another about how the Avengers will beat Thanos in Endgame. Some theories claim time travel, others say the Quantum Realm, while even more believe the Soul Stone holds the spirits of half the universe. But whatever the specifics, and no matter who dies for good, it’s assumed that Thanos will be beaten (maybe when Thor goes for the head) and his “snap” reversed. Which leaves the Avengers with their next problem: the Infinity Stones.

As Wong and Doctor Strange explained in Avengers: Infinity War, the six stones were scattered and lost from the moment that universe burst into existence. So long as they were lost, the universe was safe, but Thanos changed all that by uniting them. Now no matter what happens, the Stones will pose a greater threat than any future Marvel villain or calamity. But how can the Avengers, everyday people who have glimpsed only a sliver of the cosmos decide their fate? Easy: they can’t. But Vision can.

Vision’s Infinity Stone is Endgame’s Answer

It’s been some time since the Mind Stone within Loki’s sceptre was analyzed by Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and JARVIS. Long enough, in fact, for Marvel to officially make Loki a victim of the Mind Stone’s influence (and therefore not really evil). But to make sure that audiences had the origins of Vision fresh in their memory for Avengers: Infinity War, Bruce Banner explained it to prove Vision could survive being separated from the Mind Stone in his forehead.

In other words, Vision was the bridge between humanity, the cosmic power of the Infinity Stones, and as Age of Ultron claimed, the intelligence or sentience that exists within the Mind Stone. All of which sets Vision up as the perfect instrument to give the Infinity Stones a new home in the universe, if Endgame solves the problem the exact same way that Marvel Comics did at the end of their most recent Infinity War…

Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. JARVIS, Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another… if we take out the Stone, there’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts.

Page 2 of 2: Vision Helps Create Adam Warlock to Finish Endgame

In The Comics, The Infinity Stones Were Given Life

The original version of Marvel’s Infinity War was the comic that saw Thanos battle Marvel’s heroes, but the more recent Infinity Wars event only ended within the past few weeks. And unlike the original, the modern version was left with the same problem that the Avengers of the MCU will face after Endgame. The heroes gather and accept that they may have survived, but all know it’s only a matter of time before another war for the Infinity Stones begins. It’s only Adam Warlock, having lived with the Soul Stone embedded in his forehead for years, who uses his own existence as an example of what needs to be done.

But here’s where the movie version has been set up to place Vision, not Warlock in this pivotal role. It’s Vision who was given the gift of life, love, consciousness, and possibly even a soul by the Infinity Stone placed into his head… and that’s the exact same gift that the comic book Warlock chooses to bestow upon each of the other Infinity Stones.

The dialogue spoken by Adam Warlock as he scatters the Infinity Stones out into the cosmos even sounds as if it’s written for Vision in the MCU, having proven himself to be just as grateful and cosmic-minded as Warlock ever was. While the Infinity Stones have scattered, Warlock explains that they are not lost. He uses his temporary union with the collected Stones to grant a soul to each gem, and offer the mysterious sentience within each of them the freedom to seek out a life to bond with.

The Infinity Stones are no longer things, but living identities pursuing… well, whatever they decide to, on whatever planet they wish. It’s a poetic resolution, and one that would pay off Vision’s entire story to this point. Oh, and finally lead to the birth of Adam Warlock in a more faithful adaptation of his origin story than fans ever thought they were going to get.

Theory: Adam Warlock is Finally Born The Right Way

Picture the conclusion of Endgame now: Thanos defeated. Universe saved. Infinity Stones turned from tools to living beings, with a chance at finding their own purpose. And possibly, die-hard fans and casual movie viewers alike feeling as if Marvel has somewhat dodged a truly final ending to the Infinity Stones saga. Only to watch as one glowing, orange stone makes its way directly for the golden planets of the Sovereign, introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

An Infinity Stone moving with purpose that could only mean it has found its perfect partner and host. The host contained within the golden cocoon used by Ayesha to create a perfect child, Adam. The host who, upon receiving the orange gem upon his forehead, finally awakens. In the process, letting every Marvel fan know that Adam Warlock has finally received the Soul Stone, and begun his emergence into the next phase of Marvel’s cosmic universe.

It’s still just a theory, but it would be an awful waste if all the time spent exploring Vision’s union with the Mind Stone wasn’t leading to this kind of payoff, and if he was likewise denied the chance to repay his gift of life. Even if James Gunn isn’t making Guardians 3, he was expecting to when he introduced Adam as a tease after Guardians 2’s credits. And Gunn was still making the Guardians 3 film that the Russos planned to be setting up, in some way, with the end of Avengers: Endgame.

So fans must ask themselves: with Gunn’s decision to leave Adam Warlock in hibernation, knowing he could only emerge after the Infinity Stones had been taken from Thanos and somehow scattered, are the dots close enough to connect? We would wager it a fair theory to suggest, especially with Marvel Comics showing how well the resolution can be executed. But for now, we can only wait and hope Endgame will set the stage for Warlock… and make sure Vision gets the honor he so rightly deserves.

MORE: Avengers Endgame: Every Update You Need to Know

Adam Warlock art by Dave Keenan

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