To the generation who will grow up with Groot and Star Lord as pop culture staples, the notion that Guardians Of The Galaxy was viewed as a gamble will look woefully short-sighted. And yet since its announcement everyone viewed what became the biggest superhero movie of the year with trepidation; how could this even work? The first trailer, which resurrected Hooked On A Feeling, was the first indication James Gunn and Kevin Feige were on the right track, but nothing could have prepared the world for such an A-List movie coming from a D-List source. It's easy to get wrapped up in the pop cultural significance of Guardians, overlooking that is just an incredibly fun movie, but that's because the fact it's based on an all-but forgotten (before Marvel pushed it prior to the release of the movie) comic book is integral to the film's artistic success. Rather than treading lightly and gradually introducing audiences to this new world like D.C. did with Green Lantern, Marvel did a Lucas and threw viewers in the deep end. The world and characters of Guardians are introduced with a swagger normally reserved for Spider-Man and the X-Men - tried and tested franchises with in-built recognition - which risked alienation, but with the sense of humour it all came across as incredibly confident.
