Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Realization of a Superhero Story’s Highest Potential

If you’d’ve told me ten years ago I’d be writing a piece like this I’d’ve thought you were crazy.  First, I wasn’t blogging or doing any kind of writing outside of journaling then so it would’ve been hard to imagine.  Second, I didn’t know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were (outside of a single card in my binder of 1992 Marvel Universe trading cards which didn’t feature a single character I recognized).  So I could’ve never predicted falling in love with these characters and their story so completely one fateful summer day in 2014.  Nor could I foresee Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 becoming my favorite movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  How then could I have predicted those films leading me to read all their comics from 2008 to the present?  And The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special becoming a must-watch part of my Christmas viewing?  Well, I doubt I could’ve pictured any multiverse where that was a thing.  Yet this all came to pass.  So here I sit, writing of how James Gunn’s brilliant and beautiful Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 brought these characters’ story to a conclusion in such a way as to make it the MCU’s best example to date of what a superhero story can really do.  

Note, SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will follow and will be clearly marked.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – A “What Christmas Means To Me” Reflection

It’s Christmastime again, so ‘tis the season for me to read and watch a buncha Christmas specials and use them to reflect on what Christmas means to me just like Stevie Wonder does in the very song which inspired this series.  And, just like Stevie Wonder sings about, “All these things and more, darling (all these things and more) / That’s what Christmas means to me, my love,” Christmas means a lot of things to me, too!  This time I’m turning my attention towards The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, debuting on 25 November 2022 on Disney+.  Speaking of the special to Radio Times, James Gunn said, “The Holiday Special is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life.  It’s totally ridiculous, and every day we can’t believe that we’re making it.  We all completely love it.  It is unlike anything that anyone’s ever seen before.  I can’t wait for people to see it.”[1]  I was stunned!  Greater than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2??  Greater than The Suicide Squad??  This wasn’t anything I expected it to be (save fun, I expected it to be fun!) but I absolutely loved it!  It left me with warm Christmas feels, too.

Note, spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special follow.

Cleo Cazo / Ratcatcher 2 and the Power of a Story

This was not the piece I expected to write about The Suicide Squad.  I had a completely different idea in mind as the film began but as I watched the movie I realized this was what I needed to talk about.  I’ve always loved stories.  Who doesn’t?  Reading, watching, telling, and listening to them – I’m here for all of it!  I will reread and rewatch the stories I love again and again and again. The right story takes a place in our heart like nothing else can.  Years ago this blog was born, in part, as an outlet to write about the stories I love (so maybe I’d talk about them a little less in real life (but the exact opposite occurred XD)).  I love thinking about stories, talking about stories, analyzing and deconstructing stories, teaching with and through stories – I love it all.  So I needed to write about Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2, played by Daniela Melchior and written/directed by James Gunn in The Suicide Squad, because never in my whole life has any character in any story ever moved what this character in this story moved within me.  And that is certainly something worthy of exploration!  This piece has a few minor spoilers for the film but you’ll be warned beforehand.

Wild and Weird In All the Right Ways: Donny Cates’ Guardians Of The Galaxy

I like to do these pieces where I’ll examine the entire run of a writer on Guardians Of The Galaxy.  It began when I first read all the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning comics which inspired James Gunn’s film.  I fell in love so they naturally led me to Brian Michael Bendis’ run.  Then I read Gerry Duggan’s.  His All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy was a painfully forced attempt to make the comic feel exactly like the movies, disregarding ten years of narrative character development.  It also setup Duggan’s Infinity Countdown and Infinity Wars which may be the worst comic crossover I’ve ever read.  Then Donny Cates comes along…and totally redeemed everything!!!  Seriously, if I ever meet this guy I’ll buy him a drink or dinner or dinner with drinks.  He’s earned it.

Too Much Like Movie Stars: Gerry Duggan’s All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy

I started this li’l series a while ago, when I finally read Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Guardians Of The Galaxy run, the comics that inspired James Gunn’s films.  I had so much fun writing about my experience of meeting the Guardians in that way, as I continued my journey through their comics, I did another post about Brian Michael Bendis’s time writing the title.  Naturally, next up is Gerry Duggan.  I feel enough time has passed (now that we’re seven months into the Donny Cates run) that I can thoughtfully reflect on Duggan’s vision of the team.  For me, this ended up being a shocking-yet-classic example of the truth of being careful what you wish for…

As They Became Movie Stars: Brian Michael Bendis’s Guardians Of The Galaxy

Reading Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Guardians Of The Galaxy a few weeks ago yielded an epiphany of sorts.  I realized, or rather remembered, I shouldn’t look for comics that feel like James Gunn’s oh-so-perfect film.  Rather, I should embrace the Guardians as they are in the comics which will always be a different animal.  That’s how it works.  The comics inspire the films but each is unique unto itself, shaped by the vision of its creators.  I’d never went backwards before, from the movie to the comics, and I guess I wasn’t ready for the differences when encountered from this direction.  But I fell in love with Abnett and Lanning’s Guardians, no matter how different they were from Gunn’s, because they were great characters involved in exceptional stories.  Naturally I couldn’t wait to meet their next incarnation, Brian Michael Bendis’s take on the team!

Could the Infinity Watch Join the MCU’s Phase Four?!?

With Avengers: Infinity War out on DVD last week, I obviously rewatched it the other night.  As I was watching it, a thought struck me that hadn’t before.  I’ve spent a lot of time wondering who will live and who will die? after the dust has settled from Avengers 4 but I haven’t really thought about what will happen to the Infinity Stones?  As I considered this my mind drifted to something I haven’t really thought about since the ‘90s – the Infinity Watch.

Before They Were Movie Stars: Abnett and Lanning’s Guardians Of The Galaxy

It’s no secret, like a large portion of the world, I immediately fell in love with the Guardians of the Galaxy when I met them in James Gunn’s masterpiece.  I’d never seen Peter Quill, Rocket Raccoon, or Groot before and only knew Gamora, Drax, and Nebula from their Infinity-related exploits of the 1990’s.  This team was like nothing I’d ever seen and everything I always wanted!  It’s also not a secret, loving the films as I do, I’ve sought comics with the same feeling.  But no matter what I read it wasn’t enough like Gunn’s vision.  This is a major (first world) problem because I want more Guardians in my life!  Well, for my birthday this summer Mom and Dad got me the collections of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s 2008-2010 run with Guardians Of The Galaxy, the comics that inspired Gunn’s film!  And I finally met the Guardians before they were movie stars…

Thoughts on James Gunn’s Firing from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

This isn’t a news site.  I’ve no desire to be a news site either.  But, as a comic geek and MCU fan, it’s impossible not to think about the news that came out Friday.  Being a lover of the Guardians Of The Galaxy films, I’ve obviously been thinking about Disney firing James Gunn from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 a lot.  Writing often helps me sort all my feelings (one of the reasons I need to get back to journaling regularly…I miss it) so I figured I’d give it a go here.  So, technically, this isn’t so much a reporting of the news as it is my reaction to the news.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Welcome To The Family

It’s no secret that I love the Guardians of the Galaxy.  It’s also no secret that I was super excited for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.  However, I still really struggled with writing this piece.  I had trouble trying to capture just how this film affected me.  But…I think I’m ready to try.  In 2014, James Gunn simultaneously stole my heart and made me laugh until I cried with Guardians Of The Galaxy.  I immediately fell in love with these characters and this universe so I’ve been patiently waiting (for nearly three years!!) to see them again.  Now that I have, THERE’S SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.  So let’s go!  Fair warning, spoilers will follow.