Guardians of the Galaxy Creator Compared Star-Lord To The Greatest Sci-Fi Characters Ever
Back in 2013, there was little doubt that Marvel Studios was on top of the world. The Avengers had just become the highest-grossing movie of all time (that wasn’t made by James Cameron), taking in $1.5 billion. It became the crown jewel in creating Marvel’s Cinematic Universe – Phase I.
Phase II was right around and many were wondering if Marvel could continue its record of success. But at the time time, there was still a very big question mark around a movie that Marvel hadn’t yet released. That was the first Guardians of the Galaxy.
Let’s face it, Guardians of the Galaxy is weird. It takes place in outer space and nearly all of its characters are aliens. Plus, while it’s hard to imagine now, these characters were relative unknowns even in the comic book world.
They just weren’t massive draws like Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and the rest of that bunch. There was no telling how successful the movie would be, and it was certainly possible that Guardians of the Galaxy could have been Marvel’s first failure in a while.
In 2013, while promoting the publisher’s Marvel NOW! initiative, Guardians of the Galaxy comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis talked about the then-upcoming James Gunn-directed movie with USA Today. And it sounded like the movie would be a lot more accessible than we thought.
Bendis said, “You look at Star-Lord and once you find his origin story, there you go, man. He’s our Luke Skywalker. That’s our Peter Parker right there. In the fight [Drax] is amazing, but in between those fights not only does he not know what to do with himself but there are constantly people challenging him or trying to make their name on him.”
Did Bendis get it right about Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy? Pretty much. It helped that Chris Pratt was amazing as the character, bringing comedic pathos throughout the entire run. He’s likeable and believable, two very difficult qualities in a sci-fi comic book movie.
He also went on to give some background on the relatively unknown group saying, “[Gamora] thinks her father is a monster and is going to do whatever she can to stop it. Rocket’s got a whole thing going on in his past and it’s all messed up and he’s the only one of his kind. It’s hilarious how much you end up caring about him, and how much he cares about Groot makes you care about him. You start with the gag, then all of a sudden they’re the heart and soul of the piece.”
The re-introduction and re-launch of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book would be a glimpse into the movie adaptation. Of course, Star-Lord’s origin story was brutal and heartfelt. Plus, Bendis understood that Rocket Raccoon and Groot would definitely be the emotional and comedic center of the film.
The peacekeeping cosmic team was not very well known among general audiences, or even among casual comic book fans. Guardians of the Galaxy has a lot of mythology and backstory, which could have left people alienated. Despite all of this, Brian Michael Bendis still believed, correctly, that Guardians of the Galaxy would be a big success for Marvel Studios and Disney.
Bendis finished up by saying about Guardians of the Galaxy, “It’s fantastical imagination. It’s the best of what comics and movies can do — here is a new world, here is a new agenda…The potential is definitely there.”
