Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy features the same main characters as the film of the same name, although it is not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nor is it set in the same continuity as the film.[2]Seth Green was the only actor from the film to return, reprising his voice role as Howard the Duck.[3]
The third and final season premiered in March 2018,[4] and ended on June 9, 2019.[5]
Plot
Season 1
The Guardians of the Galaxy team consists of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. During season one, they have obtained an artifact called the Spartaxian CryptoCube that is tied to the Spartax race. Inside is a map leading to the Cosmic Seed, a powerful weapon that is capable of creating a new universe. The Guardians of the Galaxy must find and destroy the Cosmic Seed before it can wind up in the hands of Thanos, his minions Ronan the Accuser, Nebula, Korath the Pursuer, and his ally J'son (Star-Lord's long-lost father), the Ravagers led by Yondu, and anyone else who would abuse its power to threaten the entire universe.
Season 2
Season two starts with the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up with the Avengers to fight the High Evolutionary.[6]
Following Thanos's defeat, the Guardians of the Galaxy get their hands on a strange sarcophagus that was found on Thanos's asteroid base that has strange abilities and later stolen by Yondu. The Guardians of the Galaxy work to find the sarcophagus while competing against Mantis and the Universal Believers. This sarcophagus later hatches into Adam Warlock where the Guardians of the Galaxy were able to get him to follow his own destiny on the right path.
After escaping from his prison and stealing the Nova Centurion helmets with the unwitting help of Sam Alexander, J'son makes plans to use them and gain control of Adam Warlock which leads to an event that turns Adam Warlock into the Magus after he absorbs J'son into his crystal where he attacks the planets associated with each of the Guardians of the Galaxy members. The Guardians of the Galaxy managed to break J'son out of Magus restoring him back to Adam Warlock. After J'son goes supernova with the Nova Centurian helmet that he steals from Peter, Adam Warlock takes the brunt of it and is cocooned by Groot until the day for his re-emergence occurs.
Season 3: Mission Breakout
The third season shares the name of the Disney Parks attraction of the same name. In the final season, the Guardians of the Galaxy go on the run when they are framed by Collector who has Howard the Duck set them up for the theft of a Kree item after they broke some items in their last encounter at his special prison which leads to them evading the Kree Accuser Phyla-Vell. After Howard the Duck admitted being threatened by Collector into double-crossing the Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Collector's ship shrinking Hala by converting the black hole generator into a molecular compression engine, Phyla-Vell works with the Guardians of the Galaxy to save Hala and defeat Collector who gets away after setting his ship to self-destruct.[4]
After traversing through the Black Vortex, the Guardians of the Galaxy discover that the Asgardians' old enemies the Darkhawks have been replacing Nova Prime and members of the Galactic Council. The Darkhawks are made by Odin's brother Serpent who plans to reclaim Asgard. Using the reforged sword Dragonfang after claiming its pieces from two different area's and Hela's domain of Niffleheim, the Guardians of the Galaxy with the aid of Thanos and Loki were able to defeat Serpent and save the galaxy.
Marvel was rumored to be considering a new animated series with another Spider-Man show or a Guardians of the Galaxy show. The appearances of the Guardians of the Galaxy in Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man were supposed to be test runs for their own show. Screenrant.com indicated in January 2014 that the Guardians of the Galaxy series was selected for development.[64]
On July 26, 2014, at San Diego Comic-Con, a week before the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy film, Marvel Animation announced the Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series with a trailer featuring Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord.[65] With the success of the live action film, Marvel and Disney XD announced that they were moving forward with the animated series at New York Comic Con. They showed some test footage to the audience.[66] It is intended to air in 2015 as a part of the Marvel Universe on Disney XD.[63]
Advanced previews of the show started airing on Disney XD on August 1, 2015. A full preview of the series aired on Disney XD on September 5, 2015. The official one-hour premiere aired on September 26, 2015.[67]
Each episode is named after or a reference to a popular song from the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s.
At New York Comic Con 2015, it was announced the series had been renewed for a second season, which Disney XD premiered on March 11, 2017.[68]
Music
In late August, it was revealed that licensed songs from the 1970s would be used to augment the tone and soundtrack of the series.[69]
In September, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Mix Vol. 1 (Music from the Animated Television Series) was announced. It is a collection of 12 songs featured in the show's first season.[70]
Guardians of the Galaxy aired as a preview on Disney XD in the United States and Disney Channel in Canada on September 5, 2015. It officially debuted on September 26, 2015.[71] The series premiered on Disney XD in the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 7, 2015. It also premiered on Disney XD in Australia and New Zealand on November 8, 2015.[72][73] In India, from March 8, 2019, it is being aired on Marvel HQ, an Indian version of Disney XD.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 86% approval rating with an average rating of 7.00/10, based on 7 reviews for the first season.[74]
Blair Marnell of Nerdist called "Road to Knowhere" a "pretty solid introduction to the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series," saying, "Of course, there’s always room for improvement. If Guardians of the Galaxy is really going to be a standalone franchise, then it needs this animated series to keep going all the way up to the next movie in 2017. This show might be good enough to do that."[75] David Griffin of Screen Rant stated that the premiere of the show delivers an "exhilarating action-packed adventure," asserting, "Now we just have to see if the exciting action and engaging storylines can stay strong throughout the entire season."[76] Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club gave "Knowhere to Run" a B+ ranking and "Road to Knowhere" a B− ranking, writing, "Disney XD has a very specific demographic they’re aiming for, which leaves “Road to Knowhere/Knowhere to Run” somewhat clunky and awkward, but brimming with potential and leaves you eager for more. The two-part pilot is simultaneously complicated and simplistic, struggling to give the story and its characters due weight while forcing some unnecessary exposition and comic beats that even the show feels embarrassed by. But when it works, it works (particularly in the second half), and those small moments make the show worthwhile."[77]
Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the series a grade of seven out of ten, stating, "The good news is that the second episode of Guardians of the Galaxy improved a bit on the first. More screen time for Cosmo certainly didn't hurt, but it was also a matter of the show tapping into the group dynamic and their dysfunctional but close bond a little more. The show continues to frustrate in just how aggressively similar it is to the movie, but with the groundwork now laid and the promise of Star-Lord's heritage being a major focus going forward, hopefully the show can begin to define itself on its own merits."[78] James Whitbrook of Gizmodo said that Guardians of the Galaxy has "gone from disappointing to delightful."[79] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy a grade of four out of five stars, noted the depiction of positive messages and role models across the characters, citing teamwork and altruism, and asserted, "Ragtag hero bunch's continuing story is violent but fun."[80]
Joseph Ocasio of Comic Book Resources ranked Guardians of the Galaxy 8th in their "Best Marvel Animated Series" list, writing, "While the cartoon Guardians were not as fleshed out as their big-screen counterparts, the show captured most of what made the Guardians such wonderful characters. Star-Lord was still the lovable numbskull with a heart of gold, and Rocket was still the short-tempered rodent."[81] Judy Black of Collider ranked Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 9th in their "12 Best Marvel Animated Series Not in the MCU" list, saying, "As people often point out, there are many fantastic aspects of animation that live-action adaptations simply cannot replicate. The quick and fluid movements, for instance, lead to some impressive gags that capture the personalities of the more eccentric characters, like Quill/Star-Lord. Additionally, Will Friedle does a fantastic job voicing Star-Lord, perhaps portraying him as a little less serious than his live-action counterpart. This cartoon was intended for kids, and oftentimes, it shows, particularly with its sometimes-predictable humor. Still, it offers many good laughs for the whole family."[82]
In 2015, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was adapted into a comic book series known as Marvel Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy.[84][85] It uses the episode's art work with writing and lettering by Joe Caramagna.[86] The first issue was released in February 2015.[87]
