[[{“value”:”
Ever since they made their MCU debut in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the titular, space-faring superhero team have become one of Marvel’s most popular properties, even though they are quite different from their Marvel Comics counterparts. James Gunn’s vibrant and impactful style helped integrate the wild Guardians of the Galaxy team into the MCU easily, contributing to one of the franchise’s most successful trilogies. Several changes were made when adapting the Marvel Comics team, however, making the Guardians more accessible, palatable, and relatable for audiences of the live-action MCU.
Versions of the Guardians of the Galaxy have existed in Marvel Comics since 1969’s Marvel Super-Heroes #18. The most well-known line-up debuted during 2008’s Annihilation event, and this is the roster that inspired James Gunn and Marvel Studios when bringing the team into the MCU. The Guardians of the Galaxy have a rich background in the comics, particularly at the core of many cosmic storylines, and the changes Marvel made to the group have allowed them to become one of the most popular, beloved, heartfelt, and hilarious superhero teams in the MCU, too.
As is fairly typical for Marvel Comics, the original costumes of the Guardians of the Galaxy were pretty outlandish, unusual, and, in Gamora’s case, overly sexualized. Marvel Studios made the costumes of each individual Guardians member much more grounded, realistic, and believable, and this was the also the case for the uniforms introduced in 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, even though they stayed faithful to the outfits from Marvel Comics. MCU makeovers have sometimes made superhero costumes far worse, but this was not true for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Dave Bautista became a fan-favorite MCU star as Drax the Destroyer, an alien from an unnamed planet with a very simple backstory. It would have been too complex for Marvel Studios to adapt Drax’s comic backstory. In the comics, Drax started as the human Arthur Douglas, whose spirit was taken by Kronos and put in an alien body to forge the perfect soldier in the battle against Thanos. Making Drax a regular extraterrestrial in the MCU made him fit in among the Guardians of the Galaxy better, allowed more room for character development, and gave his backstory even more depth.
Similarly to Drax the Destroyer, Marvel Studios also transformed Mantis from a human into an alien. Introduced back in 1973, Marvel Comics’ Mantis is half-Vietnamese, half-German, and trains with the alien Priests of Pama, a sect of the Kree. She becomes a skilled martial artist and goes on to join the Avengers before completing her prophecy to become the fabled Celestial Madonna. Pom Klementieff’s Mantis makes more sense, the alien offspring of Ego and Peter Quill’s half-sister. It would be great to see Mantis get more character development, especially now that she’s off on her own adventures.
Will Poulter made his MCU debut as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, bringing one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful characters into live-action for the first time ever. Warlock is typically depicted as a steadfast, confident, and formidable superhero in the comics, so Poulter’s childlike Adam received controversy. Even so, this version of Adam Warlock actually makes more sense, especially when considering he is a product of the High Evolutionary’s genetic experiments. This rid the MCU of Adam’s complex comic backstory, so there are hopes he’ll return to explore his history further.
Most of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s members are more well-rounded, better-developed, and more realistic in the MCU, and this also goes for the anthropomorphic tree, Groot. Voiced by Vin Diesel, every version of Groot in the MCU is very strong, and have also been given a significant amount of character development, making them more compelling and entertaining to watch. Groot’s friendship with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) has been incredible to see develop, and there are hopes both characters will return to continue their adventures as part of the new Guardians of the Galaxy team.
Similarly to other Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) own backstory in the MCU also makes more sense. In Marvel Comics, Peter Quill is the son of J’son, the leader of the alien Spartax empire, who joins NASA and is found in space by Ravagers. His MCU history as the son of the Celestial Ego (Kurt Russell) who was abducted from Earth as a child is a cleaner backstory. It makes Star-Lord a man taken from his world, rather than one who left by choice, which creates interesting conflict and eventually leads to his return to Earth.
It was a good choice for Marvel to introduce 2008’s Guardians of the Galaxy as the first line-up in the MCU, rather than the original 1969 iteration. The original team’s roster, comprising Stakar Ogord, Martinex T’Naga, Yondu Udonta, and more, from Marvel Comics was hinted at in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but got no pay-off in the MCU. The line-up featuring Peter Quill, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Drax, Groot, and Rocket is more grounded and fruitful when considering interpersonal dynamics and personal conflict, which made the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise much more interesting.
What are your favorite aspects of the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy? Do you want them to return? Let us know in the comments!
“}]] Marvel Studios and James Gunn made many changes to the Guardians of the Galaxy when bringing them into live-action, some for the better. Read More