8. How Long Have They Been Around?
Marvel ComicsYou might have noticed we referred to this lot as the "current incarnation" of the Guardians Of The Galaxy. Which is very observant of you, well done, ten points to Gryffindor and all that. The original Guardians Of The Galaxy date back way further than 2008, first appearing in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes (well, you knew what you were getting with that title) all the way back in 1969). Active in the 31st century and actually existing in an alternate reality to the rest of the Marvel titles, these Guardians included frozen human astronaut Major Vance Astro, Plutonian Martinex T'Naga, Jupiter soldier Captain Charlie-27, and Yondu Udonta, a blue-skinned "noble savage" from Centauri-IV. Each convinced they're the last surviving members of each of their respective races, they're forced to team up in order to stop a bunch of nasty aliens called the Badoon, who have designs on our solar system. Conquering it, more specifically. Eventually they end up going back in time, meeting the Avengers and stuff, and it's a later time slip on the part of Major Astro that inspires the modern Guardians Of The Galaxy. Astro gets found frozen in a block of ice, like an interstellar Captain America, by Star-Lord and friends, who decide they like the name he introduces himself by and take it for their own. The scoundrels. Space scoundrels. Spoundrels.