Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-199999)

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a spacefaring, ragtag team of heroes led by the rogueish Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord. The team also includes Gamora, a ruthless assassin raised by Thanos; Drax, a fierce warrior with a bizarre sense of humor; and Rocket, a sarcastic raccoonoid bounty hunter, engineer, and pilot. Rocket's friend and associate Groot, a Flora colossus, sacrificed his life in the team's conflict with Ronan the Accuser, but Rocket planted a stick from his remains, resulting in a playful young Groot sprouting soon after. As disparate as their personalities are, the Guardians found common ground in the family and friends each of them had lost. The name "Guardians of the Galaxy" was sarcastically coined by Ronan minutes before his death at their hands.

Biography

Ronan and the Orb

In 2014, sea levels on the planet Morag receded in such a way that an unspeakably ancient temple was accessible, the first time such an event had occurred in hundreds of years. Parties including the Ravagers and rogue Kree warlord Ronan the Accuser (on behalf of Thanos) sought the bounty therein, a mysterious and invaluable artifact known as the Orb. Most who sought the Orb did not realize the true source of its value, the Power Stone that lay within, one of the six almighty Infinity Stones. Thanos was well aware of the Stone, and tasked Ronan (who was not) with retrieving the Orb for him in exchange for Thanos's armies assisting him in the destruction of Xandar. Ronan held a personal and moral grudge against the people and culture of Xandar, blaming them for the deaths of his father and grandfather. The Xandarians held a peace treaty with the Kree, which Ronan would brashly ignore for the sake of his revenge. Thanos offered his adoptive daughters Gamora and Nebula to assist in Ronan's search for the Orb—Gamora secretly realized the harm that Thanos and Ronan would do with the Orb, and plotted to sell it to the Collector instead.

Peter Quill, then part of the Ravagers, developed a distaste for their amoral, violent habits, and decided to grab the Orb and sell it himself. He arrived on Morag alone and successfully claimed the Orb, narrowly outmaneuvering Ronan's underlings led by Korath. An angry Yondu Udonta—leader of the Ravagers and abductor of a young Quill—contacted Star-Lord, who blew him off and flew to Xandar to sell the Orb to the Broker as the Ravagers had planned. Udonta, for his part, put out a bounty for Quill's capture. Korath returned to Ronan with news of Star-Lord's escape, and Ronan assigned Gamora to take the Orb from him on Xandar. Nebula protested, but Gamora was chosen due to her prior experience on the planet, giving her the opportunity to betray Thanos and Ronan at last.

Quill attempted to sell the Orb, but the Broker refused it upon learning that Ronan was after it. Meanwhile, bounty hunters Rocket and Groot were on Xandar seeking their next score when they found Quill and his bounty for 40,000 units. Before long, Quill and Gamora fought over the Orb, while Rocket and Groot tried to capture Quill. They were all soon overtaken by the Nova Corps, who arrested them and imprisoned them in the Kyln. Not long after being incarcerated, Gamora was cornered by a group of prisoners determined to kill her for Ronan's many horrible crimes against the galaxy—Quill and Rocket fearfully observed as a hulking humanoid named Drax stopped the criminals from harming her, and demanded that he be the one to kill her instead to get revenge for Ronan killing his wife and daughter. In the confusion, Gamora gained the upper hand and explained that she was "no family to Ronan or Thanos." Quill intervened and convinced Drax that the best way to get revenge on Ronan was to wait for him to come back for Gamora and kill him then.

Later, Quill and the others agreed to retrieve the Orb, escape the Kyln (using Rocket's expertise in the subject, having escaped 22 prior prisons), and sell it to Gamora's buyer and split the profits for one billion units each. Quill also made a deal with Drax to assist in their escape as a means of getting closer to Ronan. As Rocket concocted an escape plan, Groot unwittingly jumpstarted the process, forcing the five of them to fight their way out. They retrieved their belongings, but Quill noticed that his treasured Walkman and cassette tape belonging to his mother were nowhere to be found. He insisted the rest keep going and wait for him. He feigned giving the Orb to Gamora, but kept it himself in case they left without him. He was able to retrieve the Walkman from a guard enjoying his music, and joined the others in his Milano starship for a safe escape. The militant, literally minded Drax was impressed by Quill's spirit. With that, the five made their way toward Gamora's buyer—Drax had no interest in money, and agreed to let the other four split the prize.

They arrived at Knowhere, the colossal severed head of a Celestial that had become a makeshift world and mining colony. They were to meet with a representative of her buyer, who was taking their time arriving. To pass the time, the five waited at a drinking and gambling establishment, where Drax, Rocket, and Groot entertained themselves and Quill spoke with Gamora privately. They told each other about their respective pasts: Gamora revealed that Thanos had slaughtered her people when she was a child, taken her as his daughter, and trained her to be an assassin. Thanos was now working with Ronan and had agreed to help him destroy Xandar in exchange for the Orb, prompting Gamora to betray them. Quill shared his music with her and attempted to get close to her, but she violently rebuffed his advances. Meanwhile, Rocket and Drax were both intoxicated and Rocket threatened to blast him in the face with a large gun, fed up with being treated like a "rodent" or "vermin." Quill convinced him to hold off for one more night for the sake of a billion units, and Rocket begrudgingly agreed. For his part, Drax stomped away, annoyed at not getting his hands on Ronan yet. Moments later, they were approached by a Krylorian named Carina, who invited Gamora to meet with her master, the Collector.

The four arrived at the Collector's chambers, filled with an array of exhibits and displays of rare and fantastic items and creatures. Quill handed him the Orb, and the Collector explained to them at last what it was. He told them the history of the Infinity Stones: six small "ingots" formed out of the six singularities that created the universe. They wield immense power, capable of destroying civilizations in moments—but this power is also an extreme danger to its wielder, demanding one of great strength to avoid getting destroyed themselves. The Orb was simply a container to one of the Infinity Stones, the purple Power Stone. As the Collector arranged payment, Carina saw an opportunity to escape his enslavement and grabbed hold of the Power Stone. As the others fled, she set off a huge explosion, killing herself in the process. Gamora managed to get around the wreckage and reenclose the Stone in the Orb and take it back. She argued that they should give the Orb to the Nova Corps, who would be able to store it safely. Quill was reluctant to acquiesce to this plan, given that they were fugitives from the Nova Corps. He instead suggested selling it to a benevolent third party, disgusting Gamora with his lack of honor.

While the others were with the Collector, Drax forcefully took hold of a radio dispatch nearby and remotely challenged Ronan to battle him. As Quill and Gamora argued, Ronan’s fleet (including Nebula) arrived on Knowhere, as did a group of Ravagers led by Yondu. Quill, Gamora, and Rocket commandeered and escaped in one-person flying pods—Groot was too big to fit, and Rocket said he’d come back for him. Nebula noticed Gamora flying away with the Orb and gave chase in Ronan’s flagship along with several smaller crafts. Gamora tried to fly her way back to the Milano, but the fleet’s coverage was too tight, and she was forced to fly into space. The pods were not built for space flight, and Nebula caught up to her and blew the pod apart, sending Gamora and the Orb floating through space. Nebula’s ship retrieved the Orb, leaving Gamora to die as Quill and Rocket’s pods arrived. Rocket assured her that she was doomed, and that they would be too if they didn’t return soon. Cursing himself, Quill instead contacted Yondu, offering himself up for capture and flying out to Gamora and equipping her with his helmet, allowing her to breathe. The Ravager fleet arrived as Quill suffocated, narrowly pulling them both in by tractor beam with seconds to spare.

Meanwhile, Drax engaged Ronan, eager for his revenge. Ronan effortlessly defeated Drax in hand-to-hand combat, claiming no memory of killing his family and dumping his unconscious body ignobly in a vat of yellow liquid to drown. Groot recovered and revived him as Rocket landed back on the ground. Rocket chastised Drax for trying to take on Ronan’s army. Drax was deeply regretful, calling himself a fool for trying to use rage to cover up his loss. Rocket told Groot that their only chance now that Ronan had the Power Stone was to get as far away as possible. Groot had more compassion, and he and Drax insisted that they try to save Quill and Gamora. By the time they arrived at the Ravager ship in the Milano, however, Quill had arrived at an arrangement with Yondu and the others to team up and steal the Power Stone from Ronan. Yondu had been inclined to kill Quill straight away, but Quill and Gamora convinced him to help them steal the Power Stone from Ronan, using Gamora’s inside knowledge to make an otherwise impossible task feasible. Yondu was impressed with Quill’s guts and agreed.

Upon hearing the plan, Rocket was concerned at the idea of giving the Power Stone to Yondu, who was liable to sell it to someone "even worse" than Ronan—Quill said they would figure it out when the time came. Quill and the others realized that assaulting Ronan and his forces amounted to a suicide mission, but with a rousing speech he galvanized their loyalty and will. Together they came up with a thorough plan to storm Ronan's Dark Aster mothership alongside the Ravagers, defeat him and retrieve the Power Stone, preventing him from reaching the surface of Xandar and using the Stone to destroy all life on the planet. Quill also sent a message to a Nova Corps officer who arrested him previously and asked for help from the people of Xandar in the coming battle. Quill's request was a success, as the leaders of Xandar rallied their forces for war and evacuated the people below.

Before long, the assembled forces arrived in the Xandarian atmosphere to counter Ronan's Kree forces, initiating a vast battle in the air. Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Groot boarded the Dark Aster via the Milano while Rocket continued to fight in the sky. Gamora ran into and battled her sister Nebula while the others fought through Ronan's forces at large. Gamora knocked Nebula through a hole in the ship—as she hung by her cybernetic hand, Gamora implored her to help them defeat Ronan, but Nebula refused, breaking off her hand and escaping in a smaller ship below. The four soon arrived at Ronan's throne room, where he stood with the Power Stone installed in his Cosmi-Rod. Quill fired at him with Rocket's powerful, self-made Hadron Enforcer, but the might of the Power Stone protected him. Moments later, Rocket crashed into the hall in the Milano, plowing directly into Ronan and causing the Dark Aster to begin plummeting to the surface. Amidst the rubble, Groot enveloped his friends in a thick ball of roots and branches, sacrificing himself to protect them in the crash. Rocket pleaded with him not to do it, but Groot simply responded, "We are Groot."

After the Aster crashed, Ronan emerged from the wreckage effectively unscathed. Rocket angrily charged at him, but Ronan and the Stone effortlessly zapped him away as the others lay recovering in the rubble. As a frightened crowd gathered, Ronan sarcastically referred to Quill and the others as the "Guardians of the Galaxy." As Ronan prepared to at last unleash the Power Stone and achieve his quest, Quill distracted him by singing and dancing. Utterly confused and annoyed, Ronan was indeed distracted long enough for Drax to fire the Hadron Enforcer at the Cosmi-Rod, causing the Power Stone to fly out. Quill made a desperate leap for it and successfully grabbed it inches before Ronan could, cognizant of the fact that it would certainly kill him. A torrent of purple energy swirled around the vicinity, and Quill's body began to crack under the immense power. Gamora grabbed his hand to spread out the energy, and Drax and Rocket connected themselves as well. A distraught Ronan asked them how they could survive the Power Stone's energy, and Quill responded, "You said it yourself, bitch: we're the Guardians of the Galaxy." He then harnessed the Power Stone's energy to vaporize Ronan in seconds, and Gamora used a substitute Orb to safely contain the Stone.

With the smoke having cleared, Yondu and the Ravagers approached the newly christened Guardians, reminding them of their side of the deal. Quill pleaded with Yondu to let them give the Power Stone to the Nova Corps instead, but Yondu was having none of it. With a begrudging look on his face, Quill handed him a decoy Orb and urged him not to open it. Satisfied, the Ravagers left Xandar. As Rocket mourned his friend Groot, now reduced to a pile of sticks, Drax sat beside him and gently pet him on the head in a rare moment of vulnerability for both. Rocket retrieved a stick from the crash site and plant it in a flower pot—before long, this stick would blossom into a newborn Groot. Later, the Guardians spoke with Nova Prime Irani Rael, who explained to Quill that, when he was initially imprisoned, they found that he was human on his mother's side but that his father possessed an ancient blood they couldn't identify—Gamora reasoned that this was likely why he was able to hold the Power Stone for as long as he did. The Guardians handed off the Power Stone to the Nova Corps, who securely stored it for safe keeping. Realizing that Ronan was "merely a puppet," Drax turned the attention of his vengeance to Thanos. With the Milano having been nearly destroyed in the Aster crash, the Nova Corps showed their gratitude to the Guardians by repairing it to a like-new condition. With the threat of Ronan and the Power Stone stopped, the Guardians of the Galaxy looked ahead to their next adventure.

Members

• Star-Lord
• Gamora
• Drax
• Rocket
• Groot (elder; deceased)
• Groot (younger)