I look around at us, you know what I see? Losers. I mean like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have, man, we have, all of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And usually life takes more than it gives, but not today. Today it's giving us something. It's giving us a chance. 
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a mercenary group composed of highly-skilled and formidable misfits led by Rocket Raccoon that battle cosmic threats, often as heroes for hire.
History
Formation[]
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The original Guardians
The first iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy were a group of interstellar outlaws and mercenaries brought together by chance during a scuffle for the destructive Power Stone, which later evolved into a battle to keep it out of the hands of the Kree fanatic Ronan the Accuser, who planned to use it to destroy the planet Xandar. The initial group consisted of Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer, and while they initially didn't get along, they quickly grew to become a tightly-knit group of friends over the course of their first mission.
Despite trying to keep the Stone out of Ronan's hands, he eventually acquired it, and the Guardians were forced to team up with Star-Lord's old mercenary teammates, the Ravagers, as well as the Nova Corps, to help stop him. They fought long and hard to stop his ship from reaching Xandar's ground, with Groot being lost in the process, and eventually resulting in a battle on the planet's surface that resulted in the Guardians grabbing the Power Stone and using it to disintegrate Ronan before encasing it in a protective orb and giving it to the Nova Corps for safe-keeping.
Taking a twig from Groot's body and planting it, the team grew themselves a new Groot and officially declared themselves a team, under Star-Lord's lead, using his ship, the Milano, as their base of operations for several months as they traveled around the galaxy, acting as heroes for hire.[2]
Golden Opportunity[]
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Following their departure from Xandar, the Guardians set themselves up as mercenaries, willing to undertake exceptionally risky tasks for payment. One of these assignments saw them asked by Ayesha, high priestess of the Sovereign race, to defend the Sovereign's precious anulax batteries from a multi-dimensional abilisk, offering them the recently-captured Nebula in exchange once the monster was destroyed.
The fight against the abilisk was a rough encounter for the group, but their triumph over it saw the Sovereign gladly handing over the prisoner, and had it not been for Rocket's theft of some of the batteries, the Guardians of the Galaxy could have called the mission a complete success. Instead they found themselves under attack by a vast fleet of drones intent on their destruction. The Milano sustained heavy damage in the ensuing fight, and it seemed that the crew were doomed, but then all parties were taken completely by surprise by the sudden arrival of a mysterious alien ship that destroyed every last drone of the Sovereign fleet.
Divided[]
The crew of the Milano crash landed on Berhert where they set about conducting repairs, and were approached again by the mysterious ship. This pilot of the ship came and introduced himself as Ego, Peter's biological father, and with him he brought an associate, Mantis. Despite Peter's initial skepticism at Ego's story, Gamora convinced him to give his father a chance, and she and Drax accompanied Peter back to Ego's home planet, while Rocket and Groot remained behind to repair the ship and guard Nebula. Upon arriving, Ego revealed that the human form they had witnessed was actually just an avatar he created for himself, and his true physical form was the planet itself.
Back on Berhert, Rocket set about laying a defensive perimeter around the wreckage of the Milano. He didn't have long to wait before the Ravagers arrived on the world and immediately set about incapacitating large swathes of Yondu's men with an array of exotic traps. Eventually Yondu entered the fray and cornered Rocket with his yaka arrow, but the tables were turned again when a disloyal Ravager known as Taserface staged a mutiny. Rocket and Groot were imprisoned along with Yondu and any other Ravager deemed loyal to Yondu, while Nebula was free and set to make her way offworld with the mutineers.
After being taken to the Eclector, Rocket and Yondu were made to watch as Taserface systematically had any Ravager still loyal to Yondu pushed out an airlock into space, and Groot suffered repeated indignities as he was initially treated like a caged animal and then stuffed into a small Ravager outfit to become their new mascot. Yondu and Rocket were soon thrown in the brig where they began to plot an escape, but Groot's integral part of their plan became an obstacle when he consistently failed to comprehend what he was being asked to do. In the end it was one of the mutineers, Kraglin Obfonteri, who gave them the tools to escape, the Ravager having become disillusioned with the new regime after watching many of his friends being executed. Together with Obfonteri and Groot in tow, Rocket and Yondu set about decimating the ranks of the mutineers before turning their attention back to the others on the world of Ego, who they now knew were in mortal danger.
On Ego, Peter Quill had been learning of his heritage and beginning to master a power bestowed upon him through the connection to his father. While Peter was busy, Drax used his time to foster a friendship with Mantis, and Gamora began roaming the small planet as she grappled with a growing unease about the situation at had. After a time she had an altercation with Nebula, who had tracked her to Ego, and this drove her towards a discovery that Ego was not the caring father that he seemed, but rather a ruthless killer with a far more sinister motive. The truth was made clear when she rejoined Drax and pressed Mantis for information. The entire galaxy was now under threat and there was scant little any of them could do about it.
Facing Ego[]
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The approach of the Eclector and re-establishment of communications between the Guardians of the Galaxy came as a welcome relief to the group. Together they implemented a hastily formed plan, first with Peter breaking free of Ego's control when Ego mentioned how he had been responsible for Peter's mother's death, and then moving to confront the threat that Ego represented to the entire galaxy. Their ultimate goal was to reach the core of the planet and destroy Ego's brain. In order to do this, Peter, Drax, and Gamora, started making their way down joined by Nebula and Mantis. Rocket assembled a bomb made using the anulax batteries he'd stolen, and went with Yondu and Groot in a laser drill mining ship, while Kraglin remained aboard the Eclector to provide their means of escape.
The fight against Ego was a long and brutal one. Ego's power to reshape himself at will saw the various Guardians and their allies besieged on all sides by the ever-changing and hostile planet. Peter himself still held a connection to his father's power and was able to battle Ego's avatar on an almost equal footing while the others used their various skills in a desperate attempt to hold the way open for Rocket to plant his bomb. Unfortunately for Rocket the pathways to the core were too small for him to travel, so the task of arming and detonating the device fell to baby Groot, who had difficulty understand what he had to do. Presently, Groot made off with the bomb while Rocket was distracted and managed to guess the right sequence in spite of his lack of comprehension, leaving a scant five minutes for them all to escape the planet before the bomb detonated.
By degrees, the Guardians and their allies began making their way to the surface, save for Peter who was forced to continue in a pitched battle so that the others could get clear. However, each of them ran afoul of Ego's various attacks, becoming trapped or otherwise blocked during their flight. It was only when the bomb destroyed Ego's core that they could finally resume their race to the Eclector before the entire planet crumbled around around them. Rocket and Groot encountered Yondu during their made dash, and were forced to endure a sorrowful parting as Yondu told them he had no choice but to go back for Peter. Groot made it clear, and Rocket translated, that Yondu could now count himself one of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Through Yondu's sacrifice, using an aero-rig to propel both himself and Peter into space while trapping Peter in the one spacesuit they had between them, Peter was saved and could rejoin his friends on the Eclector. Together they held a funeral for their fallen comrade, joined by a vast fleet of Ravager ships assembled to pay their respects as well. With the threat of Ego defeated, Nebula departed to search for her own means of opposing Thanos, while Mantis decided to remain with the Guardians.[3]
War with Thanos[]
While responding to a distress call, the Guardians discovered the remains of an Asgardian refugee ship, where they retrieved the seemingly-dead body of Thor, who was awoken by Mantis. When Thor explained that Thanos had been responsible for the attack, claiming the Space Stone from Loki after previously acquiring the Power Stone, the Guardians decided to return to Knowhere to ensure the security of the Reality Stone. Rocket and Groot departed in a pod to take Thor to a legendary forge where he could acquire a new hammer to kill Thanos, while the other four travelled to Knowhere, Gamora asking Quill to kill her if it looked like Thanos was going to take her prisoner. Unfortunately, they arrived too late to stop Thanos taking the Reality Stone, the Mad Titan using his new power to effortlessly thwart Quill's attempt to kill Gamora before he left.
With Gamora forced to take Thanos to the location of the Soul Stone- which she had discovered a map to long ago- Quill, Drax and Mantis travelled to Titan to try and corner Thanos, guessing that the planet was his base. Upon arriving, they discovered a ship belonging to the Black Order, but a brief fight with the ship's inhabitants revealed that they were Thor's teammates on the Avengers; Iron Man, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Confirming that they were each enemies of Thanos, the six made plans to take the Gauntlet from Thanos when he came to Titan, based on Strange's analysis of the future through his own control of the Time Stone.
While Rocket and Groot helped Thor and Eitri restart the forge to create his new hammer, Stormbreaker- Groot 'donating' an arm to complete the hammer's handle- Gamora was forced to take Thanos to the world where the Soul Stone was hidden when he threatened Nebula. They found that the Stone was guarded by the Red Skull, who warned that the Stone could only be claimed if the seeker sacrificed something he truly loved for it. Gamora believed that the need for such a sacrifice ensured that Thanos would never be able to take the Stone, but Thanos proved Gamora wrong when he sacrificed her for the Stone. When Thanos returned to Titan, he was confronted by the assembled Avengers and Guardians, but although Iron Man and Spider-Man almost got the gauntlet off while Mantis used her powers to keep Thanos unfocused, when Nebula appeared and revealed that Gamora was dead, Quill attacked Thanos in a rage, allowing him to gain the advantage in the fight, forcing Strange to surrender the Time Stone to save Stark's life.
When Thanos's forces on Earth attacked Wakanda to claim the final Stone from the Vision- who was currently undergoing 'surgery' to remove the Stone so that it could be destroyed by Scarlet Witch- they were opposed by the Avengers and the Wakandan army, who were able to defeat the remaining members of the Black Order. Thor was able to travel to Earth with Groot and Rocket, with his new weapon almost helping him to gain the upper hand on Thanos, but despite the best efforts of the various heroes, Thanos was able to claim the Mind Stone from the Vision. With the Gauntlet complete, Thanos triggered the deaths of half the living population of the universe, the process killing all of the Guardians of the Galaxy apart from Rocket.[4]
After the heroes learn that they cannot undo Thanos's actions, Rocket and Nebula essentially 're-form' the Guardians of the Galaxy under the Avengers' banner, coordinating their efforts to stabilize what remains of the universe with the heroes on Earth. However, after the return of Scott Lang provides the heroes with the possibility of going back to retrieve past versions of the Stones to reassemble the Gauntlet, Rocket and Nebula return to Earth to contribute their knowledge of the Stones' history. Rocket accompanies Thor to Asgard prior to Malekith's attack to extract the Reality Stone from Jane Foster while Nebula joins James Rhodes in retrieving the Power Stone, but Nebula unwittingly jeopardizes the plan when her cybernetic components wirelessly link up with those of her past self, which alerts Thanos to his future victory and their current efforts. Although the Avengers are able to reassemble the Gauntlet and the Hulk undoes Thanos's efforts, Nebula was able to switch places with her future self and help Thanos travel to the future so that he can use the Gauntlet to remake the universe himself. Fortunately, Doctor Strange was able to teleport the resurrected Guardians to the Avengers Facility to help oppose Thanos's forces, which include the alternate version of Gamora that came to the present with Thanos.
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After Iron Man sacrificed himself to use the Infinity Stones and eliminate Thanos and his army, the Guardians of the Galaxy attended Stark's funeral before they depart Earth, with Nebula and Thor now official members of the team as Quill began his search for Gamora.[1]
Adventures with Thor[]
The team traveled across the galaxy, facing off against several adversaries on several planets, with Thor winning most of their fights for them. After a time, Korg joined the Guardians, and Kraglin became a full-time member with Yondu's Yaka arrow. The team helped Thor recover spiritually and help him get back on his feet, all while searching for Gamora, and Thor finally started to feel he belonged, but when the malicious Gorr began massacring the gods of the universe, Thor and Korg left the Guardians to stop Gorr before he did any more damage, and the team returned to their adventures.[5]Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Translator Implants
- Zune
- Aero packs
- Spacesuits
- Sony Walkman (formerly)
- Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (formerly)
- Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (formerly)
Weapons
Transportation
- Bowie
- Benatar (formerly)
- Eclector (formerly)
- M-Ship Class Starship (formerly)
- Milano (formerly)
Notes
- A mobile game was created based on the team, called Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon.
See Also
- 16 appearance(s) of Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)
- 11 minor appearance(s) of Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)
- 77 image(s) of Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)
- 16 member(s) of Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)
- 7 item(s) used/owned by Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)