Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is in a year. And while Eidos Montreal guardians of the galaxy The video game provided fans with a fantastic take on the Guardians, most people probably went through that as well. But there are always the comics, for fans who still need their fix of Marvel’s greatest space super-team.
But the current Guardians have been around since 2008, and that’s a lot of comics and mega-events to go through to find the good stuff. While there are plenty of good to great stories for Guardians, fans should keep their eyes peeled for these comics to define these characters.
8 Annihilation features Drax taking out Thanos on his own
The Guardians of the Galaxy story begins before the team was formed. It starts with the 2007 storyline Annihilation, where Fantastic Four villain Annihilus leaves the Negative Zone and wages war on the galaxy. This storyline features the Nova Corps being wiped out, leaving only Richard Rider, and many other highlights.
This is the first time anyone has seen Peter Quill in years, as he wages war alongside Nova against the army of Annihilus. But there’s also a scene for Drax fans, where the big guy can single-handedly kill Thanos.
seven Annihilation Conquest Provides Star-Lord Update
Annihilation: Conquest still takes place before the formation of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but it is directly tied to the creation of the team. It also contains an updated origin story for Star-Lord and explains what happened to him between his introduction and the Annihilation storyline. After the first war, Peter Quill was chosen by the Kree to be in charge of their security, only to have him accidentally welcome the hive species The Phalanx into their system.
The Phalanx seals off Kree territory and begins to assimilate the people inside, revealing their new leader: Ultron. In the end, the galaxy working together manages to defeat Ultron, driving him away and bringing an uneasy peace to the Kree people. But this second war prompts Star-Lord to try to put together an organization designed to stop the galactic wars from happening in the first place.
6 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Legacy was the first history of modern Guardians
Before the guardians of the galaxy movie, there was the comic book series that started it all. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and drawn by Peter Pelletier, the first volume of Guardians cartoon shows how the organization was put together. While the roster is somewhat familiar, fans of the movies shouldn’t expect this team to act the same as the heroes in the movies.
There’s little comedy here, and instead the Guardians operate more like Space Avengers, battling the Universal Church of Truth. While the dialogue might feel slightly dated, it’s a solid foundational story, and Pelletier’s crisp illustrations still look great.
5 War of Kings showed how the Guardians handled their first intergalactic war
The war of kings The storyline isn’t about the Guardians, but they’re heavily featured. The story centers on a conflict between the Kree Empire and the Shi’ar. After the events of Secret Invasionthe Kree had recently been taken over by Black Bolt and the Inhumans.
Meanwhile, thanks to Professor Xavier and the X-Men being unable to stop him, Summers’ third brother, Vulcan, travels through space and takes over the Shi’ar Empire. As Vulcan prepares to expand his rule, the Guardians are caught in the crossfire and attempt to restore peace. war of kings has the same level of action as the Annihilation series, but without the grim outlook that comes with massive armies wiping out entire planets.
4 Rocket: Blue River Score puts Rocket in the front seat for once
Considering he’s one of the most popular members of the Guardians, it’s a wonder Rocket Raccoon doesn’t have more stories about him. Thankfully, Al Ewing and Adam Gorham came up with “Blue River Score” to remind people that Rocket is still the coolest character on the team.
But where most fans might expect a superhero comic, “Blue River Score” is actually a crime story. While it’s easy enough to tell a story about “one last heist,” Ewing and Gorham mix that with romance, also finding a way to break their readers’ hearts.
3 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Final Gauntlet pits Guardians against each other
Geoff Shaw and Donny Cates started their Guardians run with the amazing “Final Gauntlet”. The series takes place following an event that led to the death of Thanos from Titan. But the whole universe panics when they learn that Thanos might have a way to return.
With their eyes on Gamora as the next chosen one, the Guardians are forced to try and protect her before the wrong people get to her. But with only Star-Lord and Groot after Infinity Warsthe Guardians are forced to induct new members, including Beta Ray Bill and the Cosmic Ghost Rider.
2 Guardians of the Galaxy: Then It’s Us Brings Heroism Back to Guardians
Sometimes a restart is necessary to make a team feel fresh. When Al Ewing and Juann Cabal took over the Guardians by Donny Cates, they came as close as possible to making the team feel like it was the 2008 version all over again. “So This Is Us” begins with the Guardians giving up their lives as heroes after years of working to save the galaxy…until Richard Rider of the Nova Corps appears and informs them of a deadly new threat.
With no others available, Star-Lord leads half of the Guardians in battle against a corrupted version of the Olympian Greek gods. But his choice to ignore the wishes of the rest of the team has consequences for everyone.
1 Guardians of the Galaxy: We’re Teams of Superheroes The Guardians Up With Doctor Doom
In his final story before leaving comics, Ewing finally gave the Guardians the prominence they’ve always deserved in the Marvel Universe. With the galaxy in disarray, the team is elevated to the official strike team for the Kree, Skrull, and Shi’ar empires. With an expanded version of the Guardians available, Nova and Peter immediately come face to face with a new ally in Doctor Doom.
Doom adds a much-needed element of friction to a team working on all cylinders, as they face the threat posed by Dormammu inhabiting the body of Ego the Living Planet. Although this is the last volume of Guardians currently available; the book comes out on such a high note that it could be the end of the Guardians story and fans would still be satisfied.
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