Guardians of the Galaxy is an instant hit! This Marvel movie fits right into the rest of the bunch. But, how does it fit into the comics? Here’s a look at how the movie crosses over from comics.
BE WARNED, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD! You can check out an unspoiled review on Dapsmagic.com if you don’t want anything given away.
The Kree
First, I’m sure people are wondering about The Kree. Ronan the Accuser, the main villain of the movie, is Kree. But, who are they? The Kree are blue skinned humanoids. They are very militaristic, but do work with some planets and cultures when the time is needed. Their leader is the Supreme Intelligence. Basically a giant alien head. Though the Kree aren’t always villainous, their will depends on the Supreme Intelligence’s will and that crosses paths of many planets.
Yondu
Yondu in the movie is Peter Quill’s boss in the Ravagers. In the comics, he’s one of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Wait, how? Well, the first series of the Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in the future. He’s an alien, Zatoan, that had his planet ravaged by the alien race The Badoon. Yondu, in the comics, seems more of a warrior alien than a super hero. He can control arrows by whistling, like his movie counterpart. But, it’s because he’s an archer. The movie, of course, changes much of Yondu and his history to be the leader of the Ravagers.
Nova Corps
Much of the Nova Corps remains the same in the movie. They are headquartered on Xandar. There is a leader, known as Nova Prime. What is good to point out is a potential for Marvel movies – Nova. Nova is the earth Nova Corps member. He’s a super hero associated with several teams, including Avengers. Rich Rider gains powers from Rhonnan Dey (who is played by John C Riley in the film) and becomes a Nova Centurion. The hero splits his time between earth and space in the comics. It’s possible to make this whole roster of heroes, not just Rider, have their own film. I don’t think it’s coincidence that there was much of the Corps in the new movie.
Celestials
There are two places that the Celestials appear in the film. One place is the head/mining cave that the group travels to and meet the Collector. The other place of reference is in a flashback to explain the Infinity Stone. Only references as an ancient race, there is much more history to them than that. They are present towards the beginning of the universe. Very powerful and very mysterious, their bodies and power has been sought by hero and villain in the Marvel Comics universe. The Guardians eventually take residence in Knowhere – the Celestial head. Whether good or bad, they have a presence within the comics. And, they seem to have a presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether they’ll return is anyone’s guess, but I’d imagine they’ll pop up in more movie stories in some form.
Howard the Duck
At the end of the credits is a fun easter egg involving The Collector and a dog he had obtained. By the way, the dog eventually is the Guardians security dog in the comics. Anyway, a character asks why he lets the dog lick his face. That character is Howard the Duck. Howard is a Marvel cult classic character. He is used for comedy writing in several comics, and has had one feature film in the 80’s. Yes. There were Marvel films long before the 2000’s. He is an alien that ends up on Earth. Now in the comics, he plays a part of super hero team ups and sagas. He does have very limited powers, so he does keep his own with other heroes. In comics he often looks similar to Donald Duck, but has had a suit of some sort as his token clothes. Being an alien, it was fitting to have him in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Infinity Stone/Gem
The Infinity Stone that is the target orb everyone is after is the Space stone out of a set of 6. The 6 are Power, Space, Time, Reality, Soul, and Mind. Which this gem isn’t quite clear. The colors in the films are different from the comics. My guess is that it’s the power gem, which grants abilities that destroy. It’s eluded to when they say how powerful it is. In the comics Power is red, but here it’s obviously purple. It’s clear that there are the Infinity Stones within the Marvel Cinematic Universe when they are shown and explained in this film. The Tessaract is the Space stone which lets users travel and manipulate matter. The Aether from Thor: The Dark World is the Reality gem which bends science itself. It’s possible that Loki wielded the Mind gem in his staff in the first Avengers film, but this isn’t disclosed yet. When all the Infinity Stones are together, the bearer can act like a god, having almost complete control over space, time, reality, etc. The stones are usually split up so no one can control them all.
Star Lord’s Alien Heritage
At the end of the film, it’s revealed that Peter Quill isn’t all human. He’s part alien, and it’s even of ancient heritage. In the comics, he is the son of J’Son, king of Spartax. He’s a very powerful figure in the cosmos. The history between the two are rough, and J’Son eventually puts a bounty on Star Lord’s return. This makes it very hard for Quill to operate in the galaxy. Whether this will all be the same in the films is yet to be seen. But, it’s good to know for future reference.
And, until next time, have a Marvel-ous day!
