Appearances
Featured Characters:
- Akira Akatsuki
- Jessica Shannon
- Avengers
- Iron Man (Tony Stark)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers)
- Wasp (Janet van Dyne)
- Hulk (Bruce Banner)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (First appearance)
- Star-Lord (Peter Quill) (First appearance)
- Groot (First appearance)
- Rocket Raccoon (First appearance)
- Gamora (First appearance)
- Drax (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Thor
- Hikaru Akatsuki
- Chris Taylor
- Edward Grant
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Nick Fury
- Maria Hill
- Unnamed agents
Villains:
- Fin Fang Foom (First appearance)
- Ronan the Accuser (First appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
- Milano (First appearance)
- Escape Pod (First appearance)
Synopsis
A spaceship enters the Earth’s atmosphere and is on a collision course with Techno Isle Tokyo, so Nick Fury sends the Avengers, Hawkeye, and some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to investigate. Iron Man is about to destroy the ship, but when he’s informed that there are lifeforms on board he slows it down and lands it instead.
After the ship lands, it opens and Groot emerges. Feeling threatened by him, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents use flamethrowers to burn Groot to a crisp, leaving only a small twig behind. When the team enters the ship, they encounter Rocket Raccoon and a glowing blue orb. Rocket is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Iron Man convinces Nick Fury to let him investigate the Orb, to which Nick agrees on condition that Tony performs his research on board the Helicarrier under S.H.I.E.L.D. supervision. The twig from Groot is also taken along.
When the Avengers and their partners have left, another spaceship lands with Star Lord, Gamora and Drax inside. When they learn what has happened to their team mates, they attack the Helicarrier, thinking the Avengers are villains that stole the orb. On board the Helicarrier, Rocket escapes from his cell while Groot begins to regenerate. A battle between the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy begins. In the fight, Akira is sucked out of the Helicarrier when Rocket blasts a hole in the wall. Rocket saves him however, which makes Tony realize that Rocket and his friends may not be evil.
When the now fully regenerated Groot also shows up, Akira somehow understands the plant alien and learns that the Guardians are not their enemies. They break up the fight. With the misunderstanding cleared, both teams introduce each other. It turns out the orb is in fact the Kree Mact, a powerful object that the Guardians stole from Ronan the Accuser. But in their attempt to escape Ronan’s ship, Groot and Rocket got separated from the rest and had to use an escape pod to get away, which then crashed on Earth. Just when everything seems fine, a distortion in space-time opens and Fin Fang Foom emerges from it, attacking the helicarrier.