Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2: What Does The Ending Really Mean?

7. Kraglin Is A Guardian (And So Is Mantis)

Throughout the events of Vol 2, the majority of Yondu's Ravager crew are killed off - either jettisoned out into space for defying Taserface's mutiny or killed by Yondu for their betrayal - but Sean Gunn's Kraglin survives when he realises he made a mistake defying his captain.

By the end of the film, Kraglin basically becomes a Guardian by accident: he's got nowhere else to go (aside from joining a different Ravager faction) and the only person he really knows is Peter Quill, who he seemingly pledges allegiance to by calling him "captain".

It's a fairly unexpected development, but he's a good enough character to warrant further expansion (even if he immediately looks like the most expendable member of the team for Infinity War).

Mantis also seems to be a fully fledged member as well, and while she's probably going to be precisely useless in combat, her dynamic with the other Guardians - and especially Drax - makes her a fun new addition.