Magus

Magus
Alias	God
Profile information
Species	Unknown
Origin	Unknown
Gender	Male
Eye color	Purple
Relatives	Adam Warlock (alternate self)
Occupation	Parasite
Affiliation	Universal Church of Truth
Real-life information
Appears in	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Voiced by	Brent Skagford ("new form"; uncredited)
Debut	Strange Tales #178 (1975)
See Magus at Marvel Database.

Magus is one of the main antagonists in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. An unknown, but malevolent entity trapped within the Soul Stone, it has been referred to as "living hunger" born of Adam Warlock, the former god of the Universal Church of Truth.

Background

While Adam Warlock continued to heal the Grand Unifier Raker's crew, the followers of Raker began growing and worshipped Adam. Unfortunately, the darkness hidden within the Soul Stone that would become the Magus grew within Adam, urging him to destroy all creation and feed on Raker's crew. However, Adam knew that he had to remove the Stone and asked Raker to remove it. During the operation, Raker managed to free Adam from the Stone, but took its power and harnessed it to establish the Universal Church of Truth and conquer the galaxy.

Personality

Magus is the personification of Adam Warlock's dark subconscious and all his evil thoughts, his opposite in practically every way. Magus is immensely prideful considering himself to be a god worthy of adulation and worship while also responding to mockery and insults with extreme anger often lashing out and attempting to kill those who do so. Magus while extremely arrogant is also quite cunning manipulating Grand Unifier Raker and the universal church of truth with false promises of resurrection of their loved ones so they could provide him with a body. Similar to Thanos, Magus displays a sadistic delight in causing others pain and is willing to destroy the entire galaxy as proof of his power.

Gameplay

During Chapter 1: A Risky Gamble, Peter Quill and Rocket come across the Soul Stone, but the former he unintentionally releases Magus. Later on, the Guardians are about to face an Acanti as a boss, but Magus kills the beast, and the Guardians flee.

After the Guardians manage to dismantle the Universal Church of Truth with the help of their allies, they return to the Milano. However, Adam reveals that he has been possessed by Magus and fights the Guardians in Chapter 16: Magus.

Records

MAGUS

What's known about the malevolent being called Magus comes from hushed rumors and whispered speculation, much of it from those gifted with prescience. He is described as an all-powerful being inhabiting a bleak future, echoing backwards through time. Other accounts come from former members of the Universal Church of Truth, who claimed to have glimpsed him during the Galactic War. They believe Magus was another personality of the Church's former "god," Adam Warlock, perhaps even a manifestation of the darkest and most potent parts of his soul. They watched Warlock grow addicted to his own miracles, becoming more arrogant and unstable as he gained adoration. Some describe Warlock's struggle against the entity, arranging rituals with his Unifiers to try to separate himself.

One psychic describes Magus as a persistent, insidious voice. A living hunger that spreads to those who engage with it. With the Church reemerging from its ashes, some fear it's only a matter of time before Magus returns with it.

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First appeared in Strange Tales #178 (1975)
Writers: Jim Starlin
Artists: Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss
Cover Artist: Jim Starlin
Editor: Len Wein

Gallery

Final concept by Frédéric Bennett.

Boss fight concept by Bennett.

In-engine render by Genci Buxheli.

Magus possessing Adam in Chapter 16.

Character Bio Photo