As promised, I’m back this evening with a Marvel Monday double feature. Yeah, I’ve got to start doubling up on some of these Marvel Legends reviews if I ever have a hope of getting caught up. One a week just ain’t cutting it no more. Earlier today, I looked at Ex Nihilo and tonight I’m checking out the other half of the “Cosmic Protectors,” Adam Warlock!

Let’s face it, you can’t bounce around Cosmic Marvel for long without bumping into this guy. Hell, it only took two Guardians of the Galaxy films for the MCU to tease his coming. Actually, only one if you still want to count the easter egg in The Collector’s lair. It was all the way back in 2012 that we last saw him grace Hasbro’s Marvel action figure lines, where he was bundled with The Mad Titan Thanos in one of the 3 3/4-inch Marvel Universe comic packs. That was a pretty great figure, but needless to say it’s long past due that we got Warlock in the 6-inch Legends line.

Warlock sports his modern costume, which is beautifully executed here. Sure, I still miss the iconic trappings of his classic cape and staff, but there’s something to be said about this snazzy new look as well. The outfit is executed predominantly through paint, as you get a black buck with deep crimson accents. The quality and application here is excellent and he doesn’t suffer from a lot of that bleeding you often see when they paint over black plastic.

Indeed, the red paint lines are surprisingly crisp and I really dig some of the features of the motif here. You get the crimson lightning bolts coming off from around his shoulders onto either side of his chest and back. These contrast nicely with the reversed color palate black bolts running up the crimson on his legs and on his gauntlets. I also love the crimson palms and fingertips on his gloves. For me, nothing will replace the classic look, but this one suits the modern Marvel aesthetic perfectly and it makes me curious as to what the MCU version will look like. The painted costume is rounded out by the sculpted belt and sash, which are a separate piece. The belt is painted with a rich gold and has sculpted patterns and the sash is red with a black bolt pattern running down the center.

The solid body work is partnered with a fantastic head sculpt. Warlock sports a neutral, almost serene expression. There’s some particularly solid detail work in the facial features. The skin tone has an appropriate touch of orange to it. The eyes are a little weird. They work pretty well under casual inspection, but the closer I get, the more I think they could have been cleaner. Still, all in all I’m very happy with what we got.

As a real treat, Hasbro included a second head, to change the figure into Warlock’s evil future incarnation, Magus. Hot damn, this is an amazing piece of work. The expression is masterfully done and the painted features are superb. Even the hair sculpt is great. Yes, I do believe this head may warrant buying another Warlock figure to display it on.

The articulation is pretty standard. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps and double hinges in the elbows. I should also point out that those shoulder joints feature ratchets in the rotation. The torso features an ab crunch hinge and a swivel in the waist. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs and lower legs, and double hinges in the knees. The ankles are hinged and feature lateral rockers. And finally the neck is both hinged and ball jointed.

Warlock’s other accessories include two effect parts, which I believe I last saw packed in with Havok from the Juggernaut Wave. These are cast in a cool metallic blue and fit around his wrists. The color is actually pretty close to Havok’s but these have more of an opaque finish. They’re somewhat similar to the hex effects we’ve seen a billion times now, but I haven’t become completely fatigued by them yet and they still make for some pretty cool display options.

Adam Warlock is another solid release in these Guardians-themed assortments. Once again, I want to applaud Marvel for taking the opportunity and use these MCU-inspired waves to dig deep on comic characters. It would be so easy to sell retailers on an assortment of characters hot off the screen of Marvel/Disney’s latest billion dollar blockbuster. Instead, they’re tossing in plenty of treats for the comic fans. Not that Adam Warlock is an obscure character by any means, but getting him out there in his modern look and pairing him up with Ex-Nihilo really shows that Hasbro is willing to take some risks with this line. And it seems to be working, as there appears to be no end in sight!