With their sophomore movie out in a couple of months, Marvel and DK have reunited to release another ultimate guide, this time for everyone’s favourite rag-tag crew of characters that, let’s be honest, most people didn’t actually know about until the trailer for the first film hit.
Providing a full timeline of storylines, it’s amazing to think that, compared to Marvel’s established big hitter characters, the GOTG are still wet behind the ears.
The original line up that was created in 1969 looked nothing like the team we know today, the only obvious connection being that Yondu was a founding member. Since their creation, they have stuck around, with the best days lying mostly within the ‘70s and ‘90s but that’s probably because the title was considered to be more C-list than the mainstay banner boys that everyone can name. But Marvel were clearly never ready to give up on them.
With the multiverse events of the new century, especially the Infinity War, a new roster of Guardians was created, one that is much more recognisable to us today with Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Groot and Rocket Raccoon among others.
As with any ultimate guide, there are full character fact files for the biggest and most important faces which include their first appearances and vital statistics. This includes subsidiary names that pop up from time to time, including villains and other heroes such as Iron Man, The Thing and, of course, Captain Marvel. Unless you’re a true fan of the GOTG, we bet you didn’t know that X-Men’s Kitty Pride even took over as Star-Lord!
Rather than being a weak side title, what this shows is that there is a pretty rich vein of bad guys for the MCU to call on – more if Fox would give up the rights to the Fantastic Four – for the GOTG to fight.
All crossover events and main storylines are covered in great detail, including Secret Invasion, Secret Wars and Annihilation. Perhaps we will see a lot more of the plot lines that are covered here within the second film as well as the currently filming Avengers films.
In all honesty, if you are a Marvel fan, even a casual one, this guide is a must buy, if only to fully immerse yourself in Guardian lore. Page after page of sumptuous artwork shows just how beloved these characters and their galactic adventures have become. All together now, “We are Groot”.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE COSMIC OUTLAWS / AUTHOR: NICK JONES / PUBLISHER: DK / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 30TH
