Have you seen it yet? How'd you like it? What were your favorite parts?
(Oh, and even though this is a spoiler thread, it's still really nice if you say a sentence or two before any spoilers, simply because the first line or so of text shows up in the feed. So it'd be good to extend that courtesy, especially in the first week or two of release.)
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I saw it this evening in 3-D, and enjoyed the heck out of it. I'm not too familiar with the characters in the comics (I read a handful of the Abnett/Lanning/Pelleteir series, but didn't get very far), so I approached it as mostly a Sci-Fi romp, and any connection to the Marvel Universe was gravy. In that context, it was a real treat. Lots of comedy mixed with the action, some nice emotional bits (though I was well aware that the "death" at the end was a cheat, there were some great bits with Rocket and Drax dealing with their own pain & loneliness). I thought the animators did a great job with Rocket's and Groot's facial expressions.
And I loved how Yondu controls his arrow. That whistle is a great device, and something that doesn't really work in comics, only on film or tv.
I'm not all that familiar with the Guardians' history: I have a few of the issues with them Gerber did.
They first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #18, in a story written by Arnold Drake and drawn by Gene Colan. I've not read the tale. It was set in a far future in which Earth had been conquered by the Badoon. The original members were Vance Astro, Yondu, Martinex and Charlie 27.
They didn't get a series, but the only ones from the title's try-out period who did were Captain Marvel, Ka-Zar (in Astonishing Tales) and Doctor Doom (ditto), and I don't know if that was due to or despite the sales of their try-outs. Captain Marvel may have gotten a title mainly so Marvel could secure the trademark on the "Captain Marvel" name.
Steve Gerber picked up the characters when he was writing Marvel Two-in-One and later used them in Defenders. He then wrote the earlier episodes of their series in Marvel Presents. In Defenders he introduced Starhawk, and depicted the liberation of Earth from the Badoon. In Marvel Presents he introduced Nikki and had Starhawk and his wife Aleta swap places for the first time.
Their Marvel Presents series was short-lived. They made subsequent appearances, starting with appearances in Thor Annual #6 and Avengers during the Korvac saga, but they weren't heavily used in the 80s. They got a new series in 1990, initially written and drawn by Jim Valentino. My recollection is Valentino has written what sold Marvel on his revival was the idea of doing a series about the future of the Marvel universe.
Rocket Raccoon has different origins. His name is from the Beetles song "Rocky Raccoon", and Wikipedia says he was actually called that when he first appeared, in "The Sword in the Star" feature in Marvel Preview #7. He next appeared in Incredible Hulk #271, at the end of a space adventure storyline, which renamed him "Rocket". I think this presented him as the hero of a part of the universe inhabited by intelligent anthropomorphic animals. He subsequently appeared in a four issue mini drawn by Mike Mignola. These stories were all written by Bill Mantlo.
Thor Annual #6 is where I first saw them -- and then I didn't see them again for years. But I read that book coverless, I liked it so much. The only character from the original Guardians that's in the movie is Yondu, and Michael Rooker plays him quite differently than I imagined him in the book, a mercenary space-redneck rather than the noble archer of the comic.
Did Yondu control his arrows by whistling in the comic? If so, it never made much of an impression on me (comics being silent). But it certainly does in the movie.
Yes, Yondu did control his arrows by whistling in the comics, but it's not like it was especially noticeable in a silent medium.
It totally escaped my notice, but I've only read a few comics with him in it.
Saw the movie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it -- great mixture of space opera, comedy and bits of drama, with a knowing Star Wars vibe, but with elements created by Lee, Kirby, Drake, Colan, Starlin, Englehart, and so many more comics creators, many years before the first Star Wars film, which itself took a lot of inspiration from Kirby's imagination, particularly the New Gods, as well as old sci fi serials.
Although I was familiar with all the characters, at least those dating back to the Silver & Bronze ages, I hadn't read any post '70s versions of the GotG, and the version of Yondu in this film is, aside from his blue skin and magic whistle-powered arrow, nothing like the "noble savage" Yondu of those old comics.
The main thing, tho', is that this film was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next installment of the ongoing adventure of these Avengers related films. This one and Captain America: The Winter Soldier were very much winners in this year's releases.
BTW, if they don't market dancing-baby-Groot-in-a-flowerpot, I will be very disappointed. Gotta get me one.
Action Lad and I were both laughing so hard we were crying over that one. Nothing deep about this movie, but man was it fun!
How did they decide to put a one shot evil monster that got killed in his only appearance in this team? And why do I hear he just says "I am Groot?" Groot was more vocal than that.
Sure doesn't look like the same guy. I think his only other appearance was in a 70s Hulk annual, and that was just a copy made by Xemnu the Living Hulk Teddy Bear Titan.
I recall reading the original Groot story in one of those very early '70s reprint mags (Fear, Where Monsters Dwell, Where Creatures Roam, etc.). I have no idea how similar the movie Groot is even to the recent GotG comics in which Groot is a member, but I thought his limited vocabulary worked for the movie. He was sort of like Chewbacca, only far more powerful.
He showed up twice in those 70s reprints, so either he was popular or somebody forgot he'd already been reprinted.
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