Entertainment
Marvel Brings Back James Gunn’s Favorite ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Member for New Solo Adventures
The MCU captured lightning in a bottle with the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy film back in 2014. Even modern Marvel Comics readers were largely unfamiliar with the team and its lineup of heroes before James Gunn came along and elevated them all to a new level of stardom with a mix of humor, heart, a killer soundtrack, and serious star power, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel. The crew of intergalactic underdogs managed to defy the odds and score a staggering box office haul of over $773 million, paving the way for two more films, a holiday special, a major role in the two-part Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and an expanded roster. Yet, despite their newfound fame, their future in film is currently up in the air, especially with Gunn now leading the DCU and the MCU heading for Doomsday.
On the page, however, the Guardians are still managing just fine. This year marked the launch of the Imperial Guardians series, radically reinventing the lineup with one familiar face in Gamora as the leader alongside Captain Marvel, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Brawn, and Dark Hawk. To celebrate half a century since the character’s creation, Marvel now also has a new set of solo adventures on store shelves today starring the member of the team Gunn has previously called his favorite of the bunch — Rocket Raccoon. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 largely served as a spotlight for the Cooper-voiced anthropomorphic weapons specialist, but now, Rocket Raccoon: Rocket Rewind #1 is sending him blasting off across the cosmos with bonkers action, exciting team-ups, and a revisit to his origins on the page. A sneak preview was released to showcase three of the stories packed into this one massive issue.
The first two pages come from “The Fight in the Raccoon,” though it’s Hank Pym who opens up the tale. He’s on the losing end of an invasion on the planet of B’Digg-4, where he’s trying to protect a race of insects against an invading force led by a massive space dragon. Years of shrinking and growing in galactic wars as Ant-Man, Giant-Man, and more have left him weakened, so he sends out distress signals for help, and the only one who answers is Rocket, fresh off of nearly getting into an altercation with an alien at a bar. Though he doesn’t even show off his skills in the pages, his legendary status as a renowned warrior Thor and Captain Marvel precedes him, as does his penchant for wise-cracking. In the second story, “Boomshakalaka,” Rocket makes his way to the planet Shaka, chatting en route with old pal Groot about how odd their honor-based culture is. He’s unsure why they even hired him, considering they’re a peaceful planet protected by the Intergalactic Council, but he’s about to change his tune when it appears the rumors of their sacred artifact, the Pura Vida, are true after all.
‘Rocket Rewind’s Final Story Is a Homage to Rocket Raccoon’s Past
Last but not least, the final page provides a short look at “The Sword in the Star,” the framing story that sets up an exploration of Rocket’s creative origins. It sees the raccoon landing on an unknown backwater asteroid after his engine overheats. While he’s able to easily make repairs, even while immensely frustrated, he’s stuck on the rock for several hours while he waits for the engine to cool down. That leads him to start exploring until, out of nowhere, a hole opens underneath him, pulling him towards a mysterious signature indicating there is another lifeform on the asteroid. It will inevitably tie into the fourth and final story, “The Sword in the Star: Witchblade,” which isn’t an original tale for the anniversary comic, but a reprint of the exact moment from Marvel Preview #7 when Rocket’s creators, writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, introduced the character to readers for the first time. Expect things to get meta as the description teases a team-up between Rocket and his original 1976 counterpart, then called Rocky Raccoon.
As for the new segments, Rocket Rewind has gathered a murderer’s row of writers and illustrators for Rocket’s big spotlight. “The Fight in the Raccoon” was penned by Marvel veteran Christos Gage, who has also written for Netflix’s Daredevil series, while the art was done by Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man illustrator Todd Nauck. Award-winning Marvel Mutts author MacKenzie Cadenhead and artist Enid Balám collaborated for “Boomshakalaka,” and J.M. DeMatteis, notable for penning “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” wrote “The Sword in the Star” alongside art from Shawn McManus. As the cherry on top, beloved Spider-Man artist Ryan Stegman and colorist Arthur Hesli handled the main cover.
Rocket Raccoon: Rocket Rewind #1 is now available on store shelves. Check out a preview of the comic in the gallery above.
- Release Date
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August 1, 2014
- Runtime
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121 minutes
- Director
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James Gunn
- Writers
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Nicole Perlman, James Gunn
- Producers
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Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Nik Korda, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham
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