Guardians Of The Galaxy: 20 Easter Eggs & References You Must See

12. Rocket Raccoon's Origins

Bradley Cooper is absolutely superb in the film as Rocket, a walking talking raccoon who doesn't realise he's a raccoon - when Quill refers to him as such he claims to have never heard that word before, and asserts that he's the only person like him in the galaxy - with a propensity and admitted skill with firearms, high explosives and breaking out of impossible jail cells. He's both the main comic relief and emotional centre of Guardians Of The Galaxy, his relationship with Groot being one of the sweetest on screen bromances seen in a long while. Besides his undying devotion to his wooden buddy and his slightly unhealthy attachment to machine guns, though, we don't get to know a whole lot about Rocket. Whilst changing into his prison uniform Star-Lord gets a glimpse at his bare back, which has portions of his fur shaved away and big hunks of metal inserted in its place. Towards the end of the film the raccoon breaks down, rambling incoherently about being taken apart and put back together over and over, in constant agony, which is frankly pretty messed up. What isn't gone into during the film is that's literally what happened to Rocket. He's the result of genetic tampering and experiments on regular animals to turn them into smart, communicative helpers. Specifically to help the "residents" of Halfworld, a planet-wide home for the mentally ill. Which Rocket did long enough to cure all the patients and run off to have space adventures. Like this!