The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer showed the far and far out reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Imagine Avengers, Star Wars (with an emphasis on Han Solo, Chewbacca and their unsavory underbelly of that universe) with the humor that Tony Stark might appreciate.
Marvel is betting big on this nearly unknown group of heroes – except for the devoted comic book readers.
Chris Pratt as Star-Lord leads a team of aliens played by Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. The movie introduces Ronan, the Nova Corps, Nebula the space pirate and the Collector to the big screen.
The movie blasts into cinemas in August but with ties to the Avengers films could Marvel be planning a Guardians of the Galaxy 2 would be part of Marvel’s Cinematic Phase Three?
Here some of Marvel’s other cosmic characters who could bring action, drama, humor and star power to the next wave of movies:
The Supreme Intelligence – In the comics Ronan and Korath are officers of the Kree Empire. The Supremor is a giant floating organic computer that rules and guides the Empire. The minds of the Kree’s greatest thinkers are inputted into the living computer upon their deaths. A majority of the Kree race are fanatically devoted to it and worship it a God. (On this page from All-New Marvel Now Point One you can see the massive green Great Intelligence along with a Skrull on the top, the Shi’ar Emperor bottom left and a blue Kree warrior bottom right.)
Carol Danvers – One of the most popular Avengers in the team’s history. Carol was an Air Force pilot kidnapped by a Kree soldier and exposed to the explosion of his alien device granting her super powers. Danvers would become Ms. Marvel join the Avengers and a new years ago became Captain Marvel, the title once held by a Kree soldier turned Avenger. Danvers already has a huge fan base from her years as Ms. Marvel but the Carol Corps grew with the success of her Captain Marvel solo book and appearances in the Avengers.
Spartoi – In comics Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is the hybrid son of the King of Spartax. No official word on if the King or his alien enforcers will appear in GOTG. In the comics the King of Spartax is a master manipulator making secrets alliances among Shi’ar, Skrulls, Kree and even double crossing the Avengers.
Angela joined the Guardians last year. The warrior angel was ripped from another dimension and found a home with the alien outcast heroes.
Shi’ar Empire – this alien race is most associated with the X-Men. The mutants have fought Emperor D’Ken, Professor X fell in love with his sister Lilandra, Bishop fell in love with Deathbird. Gladiator (Kallark is his real name) was leader of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard (think an intergalactic squad of aliens who directly protect and serve the Shi’ar ruler) and now he rules the Empire. Gladiator is one of the coolest looking and most badass cosmic character for me. The All-New X-Men and Guardians of Galaxy are currently is a crossover – The Trial of Jean Grey – as Gladiator has seized Jean Grey to judge and execute her for crimes committed as the Phoenix Force.
Nova – Glenn Close and John C. Reilly play officers of the Nova Corps – an intergalactic police force. Sam Alexander is a young man from Earth who recently join the Corps in his own Nova comic book. Sam is joining the New Warriors, too. The Guardians guest starred in the Nova comic book series so it’s a good bet the success of this summer’s movie could mean the launch of a Nova spinoff movie. Sam recently faced the Chitauri (below) those aliens from The Avengers.
Skrulls – The reptilian shape-shifters have made numerous attempts to invade Earth and have been frequent enemies of the Fantastic Four. Some Skrulls can be bred to be Super-Skrulls with the ability to mimic super powers of famous Marvel heroes. Secret Invasion (in which the Skrulls infiltrated every team and even S.H.I.E.L.D. and conquered the planet) would make an incredible movie that could tie all the Disney, Sony and Fox controlled Marvel properties. The Skrull homeworld was eaten by Galactus but several warlords have united to form a new empire. The Kree/Skrull War is considered one of the classic Avengers epic.
Badoon – the chief villains of the original Guardians. These reptilian warriors are divided by gender but the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Badoon are fierce enemies who defeated Earth in the 30th century.
The Watcher – Uatu is a member of a race who watches, records but never interferes in all aspects of life across the universe. Uatu lives on the moon and has seen numerous alien incursions of Earth. The murder of the Watcher is the central mystery of Marvel’s big 2014 event storyline Original Sin. I take that as a sign we’ll see this cosmic entity in an upcoming movie.
Those the unusual suspects who could appear in Marvel’s next cosmic clashes.
Guardians of the Galaxy arrives August 1.
By Editor