Looks like Marvel have done it again, because they're like movie magicians or something. After dominating the box office with established characters like Iron Man, the Hulk and Captain America - which all built to the record-breaking Avengers movie - they took their established universe, loyal fanbase and bags of money and threw all in with a superhero team that nobody had heard of. In fact, they weren't even superheroes. They were barely even a team. They were the Guardians Of The Galaxy, a ragtag group of spacebound scumbags who just so happened to save the cosmos on occasion. And they've ended up being not only another huge commercial success for the publishers, but they've immediately ingratiated themselves with a whole new group of fans who were never aware of the existence of Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax The Destroyer beforehand. Rocket Raccoon has become the most popular character of the summer, and kids and grown-ups alike are clamouring for their own dancing Groot. This isn't a total surprise; Marvel's movies have all been successes, and they've been grooming the Guardians for stardom for a few years, with a new series launching in 2010. This latest Guardians Of The Galaxy comic book set up pretty much all the elements seen in the film, bar the neat soundtrack: the roguishly mysterious Star-Lord, the feisty Gamora, the vocabulary-deficient Groot. Which isn't how they've always been. The "team" has a confusing, messy history full of bizarre characterisations, weird plots and hidden backstories. These are then things Marvel doesn't want you to know about the Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
