Who are The Guardians of the Galaxy?

Marvels latest film is perhaps their most obscure. Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy? Why is that tree thing talking? On top of that, why is that Racoon wielding a gun?

Well, in case you movie goers and comic lovers are interested, I've decided to write out a little article that details the characters we’ll see in the new movie.


So let’s start off with the team and it’s leader shall we?

oooh yeeeah
(image from: http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Movie-Production-Art.jpg)

    1. Peter Quill (A.k.a. Star Lord)

'I'm Star-Lord'
(image from: http://media.comicbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/star-lord-guardians-of-the-galaxy.jpg)

Peter Quill is an earthling. Yeah, it looks like he’s been flying around space for quite a while, but his general origin is this:

Quill was born during an astronomical phenomenon when the planets aligned. His father believed that there was absolutely no resemblance between him and his son, so he accused his wife of cheating on him. However, during this, the father suffers a heart attack and dies.

Quills mother is left to raise him on her own, but around when Quill was 11 years old, she’s killed by an alien. Poor Quill….Like most super heroes, greatness comes from having your parents ripped away from you at an early age. At any rate, Quill is sent to an orphanage, but eventually he finds a way to escape it, following his dreams to become a NASA astronaut.

Peter Quill manages to become a trainee at NASA, and is put in a space station with other astronauts. Suddenly, some entity called The Master of the Sun comes out of nowhere and offers the mantle of Star-Lord to anyone who may be worthy. Quill volunteers, but this is quickly turned down. Instead, the mantle was offered to one of his colleagues instead, upsetting Quill (probably because Quill treated this particular colleague badly).

This doesn’t stop him though. After being discharged from NASA and ordered to return to Earth, Quill steals a scout ship and flies off back to the station and takes his colleagues place. He eventually becomes Star-Lord by fighting off an illusion created by The Master of the Sun which frees him from his past. The illusion was that of the alien that killed his mother by the way. 

Here on out, Quill takes his newly ‘earned’ title and a sentient ship named ‘Ship’ and sets off on an adventure of cosmic proportions.

I dunno...I kinda wanted to see Ship level the mountains...

(image from: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3447/3899304594_7f31010c7b.jpg)

There’s a lot I’m missing out of, but that’s the gist of it. It looks like the film will be following this general origin, it’s his original one after all. Another thing to note is that there’s a possibility that the film will reveal who Quill’s father is and much more. But one thing is VERY certain,  and that’s the fact that Quill is an 80’s guy. Yes, the film makes this very obvious by having Quill carry around a mix-tape filled with songs from the 80’s to remind him of the home that he ran away from.

2. Rocket Raccoon

'That's it! You can attack me, you can call me names, but no one--NO ONE--touches by blaster!'

(image from: http://cmro.travis-starnes.com/images/characters/rocket_raccoon.jpg)

Probably the weirdest member of the Guardians of the Galaxy next to Groot, Rocket Raccoon, or simply known as Rocket, is also one of the most dangerous members of the Guardians.

So, how to we explain this incredibly strange character? First off…he’s from the planet Halfworld and is the captain of the starship ‘Rack ‘n’ Ruin’ alongside his first mate, a talking walrus named Wal Russ.

Holy shit, I'm so fucking high right now

(image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49b-u0OKa0EGxLQuOnl7ppI9T8E72c-pdTJFU2rSW_Wtxh7HWhrLVGX8WDd7SsxAfWGbxGxi9WIyRKR8D_uw28qOV6u4hyphenhyphenJolWUE2EfGk4JB_YZJ4caobhTVfn8CPbxshuWyNYaQtcYLP/s1600-h/WTFWednesdayWalRuss1.jpg)

Ahhh….literary genius.

Anyways, Rocket has a bit of a history. Halfworld is a world where a bunch of mentally ill reside. It is also a colony that genetically manipulates its animal companions to grant them human level intelligence. This explains why Rocket can speak, fly a starship, shoot bazookas, etc.  Rocket’s duty was to protect the colony from any sort of threat, he was their chief law enforcer, their ‘ranger’.

At some point in time, Rocket meets Peter Quill, and Quill manages to befriend Rocket despite Rocket’s initial distaste for humans. Quill and Rocket can be considered the co-founders of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was Quill who came up with the idea to bring together a team to protect the galaxy from future threats, but it was Rocket who came up with the moniker ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

Rocket is a military tactician, he’s loyal and insightful, he’s brilliant with hand to hand combat and most importantly, he knows his weapons. These skills allow him to take over leadership of the Guardians of the Galaxy is Star-Lord is absent.

It should also be noted that Rocket and Groot have a close relationship. They’re the best of pals and probably one of the strangest pair of heroes you’d ever lay your eyes on.

BFFs

(image from: http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/5460535/Rocket-Raccoon-Groot-Steal-The-Galaxy_featured_photo_gallery.jpg

Point being, never underestimate Rocket. He may seem sort of cute, but underneath that lies a brilliant warrior and a skilled leader. Rocket stands as one of my favourites of the Guardians of the Galaxy due to his unusual character and his personality.

 3. Groot

'I Am Groot!'

(image from: http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131215193752/marveldatabase/images/f/f2/Groot_(Earth-616)_from_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_Vol_3_4_0001.jpg)

Groot is a giant, bipedal, tree-man thing.

Yup.

Just like Rocket, Groot looks to be an incredibly strange member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but don’t let that fool you, he’s just as important as the other team members.

Despite only ever saying the words ‘I am Groot’, Groot has always displayed a level of higher intelligence. He also has immense strength, healing factor, resistant to fire (not sure how), the ability to grow to immense sizes (hindering his movement the larger he is), and the ability to regrow from a sprig if injured critically.

Groot’s origins are still quite foggy, mainly because whenever he talks, all the reader ever sees is ‘I am Groot’. We don’t really know much about him.

Well ok, that’s not true, in fact after years of publication, Groot has quite the rich backstory.

You see, Groot is actually from Planet X where the Flora Colossus reside. Their language is almost impossible to understand due to the stiffness of their larynx. This is why we only hear ‘I am Groot’ whenever Groot talks (and that’s all we hear his people say), but in actuality, he might be saying much much more. This isn’t confirmed until Jean Grey reads Groots mind this one time and finds a brilliant intelligence beneath that woody exterior.

Well...I guess that settles that then...

(image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pQFjrIuOsxq17kmUXGFOtXZfncRNnX_nbvpBobd7TtkHMeEi0mQf4VU7poPC9vstX4YItj0xYZGdL3T3pAaNudAi42jKodWhF8S-8IptSzo_d3dj3LPQb8niWlVikTgG6koPZnOdYOM/s1600/1111groot.jpg)

Groot has a grasp on quasi-dimensional super-positional engineering. Whatever that means. I just like to think that it means that he’s a super genius. This is probably due to the education methods used by the ‘Arbor Masters’ on Planet X. You see, the Flora Colossus learn through photosynthesis, or at leas thte knowledge is passed down through photosynthesis. As such, collected information is spread across the Flora Colossus making them geniuses. This method is known as ‘Photonic Knowledge’ and is the explanation for Groots incredible intellect.

However, not everything was great on Planet X. There’s a species that the Flora Colossus call the Maintenance Mammals, small squirrel like creatures, that manage the biome of Planet X. Groot never really got along with his Flora brethren, but got along extremely well with the Maintenance Mammals. The problem here is that the Maintenance Mammals are treated with extreme prejudice, so when Groot protected some from being hurt by a Flora Colossus by killing it, he was sent into exile by the Arbor Masters.

Awww...how cute!

(image from: http://l7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-14-Groot-origin.jpg)

OH GOD, GROOT PLS. GROOT STAHP!

(image from:http://l7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%2014%20Groot%20origin%20murder.jpg)

Hmm...I think those big guys are trying to say 'Great job man! Here's 100 bucks for your awesomness today!'

(image from: http://l7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%2014%20Groot%20origin%20banished%20by%20white%20Groot.jpg 

Another thing to note about Groot is that he comes from a noble lineage. It’s often referenced by other characters that the Guardians meet, but never taken seriously by the other team memebers because most people that tell them this are usually quite questionable.

Groot is a friendly giant. He knows who his friends and allies are and he knows when to use force when necessary. Groot and Rocket share a personal friendship, mainly due to Rocket taking care of Groot plenty of times, pruning him and making conversation despite Groot only being able to say ‘I am Groot’.

Groot, while one weirdest characters in The Guardians of the Galaxy is also the most important. It just goes to show that a good team can be formed despite language barriers.

4. Gamora

' I go by many Names, my Tick-Ridden Troll, but I'm sure the one that Black Knight knew me by is Gamora, the deadliest Woman in the whole Galaxy!'

(image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/14/147178/3957514-4342937735-36148.jpg)

The beautiful yet deadly Gamora is next.

Heh heh.

(image from: http://www.4geekslikeyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_00621.jpg)

Green skin and an incredibly skilled assassin, Gamora has an incredibly interesting backstory that hints at future Marvel films.

One major point about her backstory is that she was raised by Thanos after she was spared by the Badoon, an alien race that managed to wipe out her species. Thanos, for those that don’t know, is one of the biggest baddies of the Marvel Universe. Hell, his name is literally ‘Death’. He’s also the guy you see at the post credits scene after the first Avengers movie, the one who orchestrated the Skrull invasion of New York City.

Anyways, back to Gamora.

Awww...well I guess there were SOME moments of kindness

(image from: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/icon_uk/11800056/1148439/1148439_original.jpg)

As mentioned before, Gamora was raised and trained by Thanos to be a master assassin. Thans showed her very little kindness during her upbringing, but Gamora never questioned her loyalty. Thanos gave Gamora the task of killing Magus, an alternate version of Adam Warlock (another major character of the Guardians). However, during her trainging, Gamora shows herself to be incredibly hot headed and stubborn.

Pretty self explanatory

(image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/2532/2432247-warlockinfinitywatch09_07.jpg)

Thanos had brought her to the planet Tartoonla 7 where Gamora actively disobeyed Thanos’ orders. This resulted in her being attacked and drastically outnumbered. She was eventually defeated and even raped by her assailants. Thanos finds Gamora half dead and takes it upon himself to murder the thugs responsible. 

Thanos then takes Gamora and gave her cybernetic enhancements that furthered her abilities. Whether or not this is going to be in the film version of Gamora has yet to be seen.

Long story short, Gamora is successful in defeating Magus, but this eventually makes her realize that Thanos was an even larger threat to the universe than Magus ever was. Here, Gamora teams up with Drax, Captain Mar-Vell and the Avengers to defeat Thanos.

Now of course we’re not going to see Thanos until Avengers 3, that’s what Marvel has said themselves, but it does hint at an eventual team up of the Guardians with the Avengers to take on the biggest of baddies in the Marvel universe.

 

HOLY SHIT. Well, I guess that training paid off, huh?

(image from: http://www.4geekslikeyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/gamora-vs-thanos.png)

 
5.       Drax the Destroyer

'I supposed I could stab it. Would stabbing it help?'

(image from: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120613201232/marveldatabase/images/0/0c/Arthur_Douglas_(Earth-616)_from_Avengers_Assemble_Vol_2_6_cover.JPG)

So when your name consists of ____the Destroyer you know you’re the shit. You know you shouldn't be fucked with. You know you’re unstoppable.

That’s basically Drax.

Just like the other Guardians, Drax as a deep back story that I can only touch upon, so I’ll keep it short and only mention the important things.

Drax used to be named Arthur Douglas, an earthling. But while he was driving in the desert one day with his wife and daughter, his car was attacked by a spaceship piloted by Thanos. Douglas’ daughter survives the attack, but is adopted by Thanos’ father, Mentor, and raised on Titan.

Douglas at this point is pretty much dead. It’s not until Mentor and Kronos (yes, the same Greek Titan) take Douglas’ spirit and place it within a powerful new body, the body of Drax the Destroyer.

Drax’s one goal is to combat Thanos. Now you know a character is a badass if his only purpose in existence is to fight death itself. It’s pretty fucking metal.

He's probably hiding

(image from: http://www.writeups.org/img/inset/Drax_90s_h.jpg)

Most of Drax’s endeavours involve him wandering the stars aimlessly. Mostly because Captain Marvel tends to kill Thanos before him, robbing him of his life purpose. There’s also a time where Drax recovers his memory after a fight with Thanos, preventing Thanos from getting the Cosmic Cube, the same one that we see in The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger.

It should also be noted that Drax’s daughter is still quite alive, but now lives under the identity of Moondragon, a sort of antagonist within the Guardians lore.

Drax is a powerful member of the Guardians. Super human strength, super human stamina, physical resistances and the ability to project concussive blasts, Drax is a force to be reckoned with. But hey, I guess that’s why they called him the Destroyer right? Hell, he’s been compared with the Hulk in terms of pure strength, but considering that he doesn’t have the blind rage that the Hulk has, Drax can be much scarier.

FUUCK YEEEAH!!!!!

(image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/0/308/78226-174267-drax-the-destroyer.jpg

6. Ronan the Accuser

'I am RONAN... and you, Metz of the Qa-Kabar, are the accused!'

(image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/8/85165/1974952-ronan.jpg)

While not a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan the Accuser is the villain of the film and a major character in the Guardians lore.

Ronan is a member of the Kree race and a part of the Accuser Corps. The Accuser corps is the Kree equivalent of military governors and jurists. The Kree are an advanced militaristic race in the Marvel universe and tend to play major roles in the Guardians lore as well. In fact, we’ll be seeing the Kree for sure in the film simply because they have blue skin and we've seen PLENTY of blue skinned characters in the trailers.

Anyways, back to Ronan. Ronan eventually rises through the ranks and becomes the third most powerful being in the Kree-Empire, earning him the title of ‘The Accuser’. However, Ronan’s villainous ways are usually kept within the Kree empire, constantly attempting to overthrow the throne so that he may reign over the Kree.

Despite his villainous portrayal in the comics, Ronan has become more of a noble hero in recent publications. He helps the Inhumans against the Skrull-Secret invasion of Earth at one point and also seems to have a sort of uneasy alliance with the Guardians at some points or another.

Well...I did say at some point. Not all the time.

(image from: http://images5.alphacoders.com/452/452824.jpg)

Ronan is a military genius and a skilled soldier. His abilities are enhanced by this exo-skeleton suit that’s covered with multiple devices that can allow him to turn invisible, create concussive blasts, etc etc. Ronana is a powerful being, and that’s good. You need a powerful villain to fight the Guardians of the Galaxy. Hell, he even becomes the leader of the Kree eventually, cementing his place in power for aeons to come.

Anyways, Ronan is going to be in the Guardians of the Galaxy film and I can’t wait to see him kick some ass. If they decide to use the Ultimate Ronan as an outline for the film character, then expect Ronan to also be the son of Thanos. The son of death itself.

Heh...I sorta enjoy this. Don't know why.

(image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/11352/815873-10232_accuser.jpg)

That’s all folks! I hope this helped you understand what the Guardians are like a little bit more. It’s probably not the best description on the internet, most of it is taken from memory or from other sources. But rest assured, the Guardians of the Galaxy will not disappoint!

Be sure to go watch this film whenever you can and see Rocket and Groot kick some ASS!

Hells to the YEAH


(image from: http://egmr.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hr_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_46.jpg)