History Film / GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3

*** The actual face-off in space also includes [[spoiler:Knowhere arriving to attack the High Evolutionary, another literal face-off]].

-->'''Mantis''' (to Nebula): But you don't have the right to push him! It's not his fault he's stupid. All you care about is intelligence and... and competence.\\
'''Drax''': Not sure I appreciate this defense.

* InUniverseFactoidFailure: Peter is under the impression that humans have a lifespan of about 50 years, and nobody else knows enough about Earth life to set him straight.

* LaserGuidedKarma: The High Evolutionary [[spoiler: kills Rocket's beloved friends after letting him have a HopeSpot of a successful escape, then mocks his reaction to it. Rocket snaps and proceeds to maul him to the point entire chunks of his face are missing, and what's left is horribly disfigured.]]

* OncePerEpisode: For the third time in three Guardians movies, Rocket sheds some tears. The first time was in Vol. 1 when the original Groot died, the second was at Yondu's funeral, and in Vol. 3, he tears up over seeing the animals in cages.

* OneWomanWail: After the High Evolutionary [[spoiler:wiptes out his crew]], the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26DbIlHQ3M soundtrack]] has a woman singing a mournful chant.

-->'''Rocket''': This could be futile, Quill. He's too powerful.\\
'''Peter''': Well, then I guess we'll [[SuicideMission die trying]].\\
'''Rocket''': What is "dying trying" gonna accomplish?\\
'''Gamora''': Or we can just give him the badger?\\
'''Rocket''': Our thing is dying trying.

** Inverted in the ending. [[spoiler:Normally-stoic Drax cheerfully dances with the kids, despite his stated distaste for dancing.]]

* {{Wangst}}: A horrible in-universe example. The High Evolutionary has [[spoiler:shot and killed Lyla. How does he respond to Rocket's anguished wailing? By mockingly imitating him and telling Rocket he's won "the crying contest"]].

** Throughout the movie, Peter ''insists'' that he's not [[ItsATrap walking into a trap]], but a "face-off". So when it comes time to confront the High Evolutionary, [[spoiler:the battle ends with a ''literal'' face-off when it's revealed that his face was actually a mask stuck to his horrendously scarred visage, which of course comes off after he's been left for dead]].

* FalseUtopia: Counter-Earth. While at first it looks like the perfect society the High Evolutionary has always strived for, it turns out that the world is inflicted with the same social problems regular Earth has like homelessness, drugs, and violence. [[spoiler:The High Evolutionary is well aware of the problems and ends up destroying the entire planet to re-start a new]].

* {{Wangst}}: A horrible in-universe example. The High Evolutionary has shot and killed Lyla. How does he respond to Rocket's anguished wailing? By mockingly imitating him and telling Rocket he's won "the crying contest".

*** Peter suffers from a lot of angst and has taken up drinking over Gamora dying, and spends a chunk of the film in denial that her variant from ''Endgame'' isn't the woman he fell in love with. By the end, he accepts her for who she is and they part on good terms.

*** The High Evolutionary's ludicrous, inconsistent standards for his "perfect society" are contrasted by that of Knowhere. Knowhere is a society built, in part by the Guardians, of disparate races and species from across the universe. It's a chaotic society, populated by imperfect beings who frequently squabble, gamble and annoy each other. But since they accept each other because of their imperfections (not in spite of them), they are all able to pull together whenever the need arises, such as rescuing a shipload of refugees. The High Evolutionary fails, or more likely chooses not to, understand this.

*** Oddly for a film of the guns-blazing ''Franchise/FlashGordon'' SpaceCowboy genre, ''kindness and compassion'' actualy solves ''more'' of the conflicts in This Volume of ''Guardians'' than violence does.

* ThouShaltNotKill: Played with. The Guardians have always been looser with this than other heroes, but Quill does make an effort to avoid violence when reasonably possible, especially against innocent bystanders, like when infiltrating [=OrgoCorp=]. This is juxtaposed Gamora's attitude of using violence to solve every problem during the same trip. [[SubvertedTrope However]] by the time they're confronting the High Evolutionary and his direct followers it's clear they consider them BeyondRedemption and thus have no qualms about killing them, although they do still avoid unneccesary conflict against some random guards. [[spoiler:More significantly, Rocket ultimately decides that the High Evolutionary is NotWorthKilling when he has him at his mercy. He states that his status as a Guardian of the Galaxy is his reason for making that choice.]]

* ThouShaltNotKill: Broadly speaking, the Guardians have a "Don't kill anyone unless you absolutely have to" policy, which is juxtaposed with Gamora's attitude of using violence to solve every problem. [[SubvertedTrope However]], Peter and the Guardians eventually become so disgusted with the High Evolutionary that they consider him and his direct followers BeyondRedemption and thus have no qualms about killing them at that point. [[spoiler:More significantly, Rocket ultimately decides that the High Evolutionary is NotWorthKilling when he has him at his mercy. He states that his status as a Guardian of the Galaxy is his reason for making that choice.]]

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Both Ego and the High Evolutionary are {{visionary villain}}s who want to create an environment they deem better, and both of them are interested in one of the Guardians because of their respective target's UniquenessValue across many subjects. They, however, differ vastly in their methods: Ego created his subjects in the "[[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu natural]]" way, while the High Evolutionary does it through [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable artificial]] means; also, Ego wanted ''everything'' to be [[AssimilationPlot like him]] so he was a threat to the entire universe, while the High Evolutionary wants to create ''a'' [[EvilutionaryBiologist perfect society]], so he poses a threat specifically to the guardians, his own creations and whoever else happens to get on his way.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Both Ego and the High Evolutionary are {{visionary villain}}s who want to create an environment they deem better, and both of them are interested in one of the guardians because of their respective target's UniquenessValue across many subjects. They, however, differ vastly in their methods: Ego created his subjects in the "[[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu natural]]" way, while the High Evolutionary does it through [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable artificial]] means; also, Ego wanted ''everything'' to be [[AssimilationPlot like him]] so he was a threat to the entire universe, while the High Evolutionary wants to create ''a'' [[EvilutionaryBiologist perfect society]], so he poses a threat specifically to the guardians, his own creations and whoever else happens to get on his way.

* HateSink: The High Evolutionary is by far one of the most loathsome, vile, and despicable villains in the entire MCU. He's a selfish, abusive, genocidal maniac who sees his creations as mere products he can throw away at a whim, and his claims of creating a perfect world are ultimately just a byproduct of his contempt for all existing life. Unlike most other MCU villains, no excuses are given for his behavior and he lacks any redeeming traits. He's just a PsychopathicManchild who wants to play God. Creator/JamesGunn even admitted in a pre-release interview that he deliberately wrote him to be '''the''' cruelest MCU villain the franchise has ever seen.

* BrokenAesop: A bit towards the end as the whole movie tries to go for an animal rights message...only for the scene we see of Rocket's first day as captain being The Guardians killing a bunch of wild, non-sentient animals who don't know any better for being a nuisance to a village. This is actually discussed InUniverse.
-->'''Phyla:''' Don't you ever feel a little sad for them?\\
'''Rocket:''' Yeah, sure. But these townsfolk can't protect themselves.

* CopycatMockery: A particularly cruel example. [[spoiler:When Rocket screams and sobs after Lylla is murdered, the High Evolutionary (the one who killed her) makes fun of his pain by imitating him ("All right, P-1-3! You win the crying contest! Now back in the cage!"). [[RageBreakingPoint This ultimately proves to be a very big mistake]].]]

** Immediately upon entering Counter-Earth, Quill and crew are assaulted with rocks from the [[UpliftedAnimal denizens of Counter-Earth]] , harking back to a [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 similar reaction to humans upon finding a planet of animals.]] Probably not a coincidence that their ship passed by Counter-Earth's version of the Statue of Liberty (modeled after the High Evolutionary) when arriving.

** [[spoiler:One of the residents of Counter-Earth is a bat woman who takes the Guardians into her house and gives them directions to the High Evolutionary thanks to Peter [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe showed her kindness]] despite Drax having earlier made a very bad impression for the group. She dies alongside her family when the High Evolutionary [[EarthShatteringKaboom blows up Counter-Earth]] for no other reason than it failed his standards of perfection.]]

* UniversalTranslator: After implying it with previous entries, the film explicitly points out that the Guardians are equipped with such a device, since Mantis comments that her universal translator does not recognize the language spoken by the inhabitants of Counter-Earth or by the children on the High Evolutionary's ship. [[spoiler:But it turns out that Drax does]].

* VillainousBreakdown: The High Evolutionary seems in control, but when something doesn't go his way he flies into a sudden rage, which only gets worse as the movie progresses. [[spoiler:When even his closest minions turn on him and try to stage a mutiny, the High Evolutionary kills them all in a fit of rage and sics everything he's got onto the Guardians, regardless of risks.]]

** Shortly before the Guardians arrive on Counter-Earth, we are shown the High Evolutionary's latest project and his subordinate suggests "moving to the new colony", implying that the High Evolutionary has decided to move on from Counter-Earth. [[spoiler:When it happens, this is not nearly as innocuous and harmless to Counter-Earth as it sounds.]]
** Peter hilariously calls the High Revolutionary a "stretched-faced, Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}-lookin', Skeletor wannabe" while insulting him over the radio. [[spoiler:Just like Alex Murphy, the High Revolutionary's "face" is nothing more than rubbery skin stretched across a bare cybernetic skull.]]

** [[spoiler:Upon learning that the High Evolutionary is planning to remove his brain after helping him create perfect creatures, Young Rocket crafts a makeshift key card and uses it to free himself, Lylla, Floor and Teefs. Unfortunately, the High Evolutionary anticipated that he'd try such a thing. He lies in wait and shoots Lylla in the back just as Rocket frees her from her cell. Floor and Teefs are then killed by the High Evolutionary's guard in the crossfire, leaving Rocket to escape alone.]]

-->'''Mantis''' (to Nebula): But you don't have the right to push him! It's not his fault he's stupid. All you care about is intelligence and... and competence.
-->'''Drax''': Not sure I appreciate this defense.

** During the Orgosphere heist, Gamora (who is green) wears a blue suit. Nebula (who is blue) wears green.

** In the climax, [[spoiler:the High Evolutionary implicitly got his gravity powers after Rocket beat him, so THE would be more physically formidable. When he uses his gravity powers to immobilize Rocket, Rocket counters them in ''seconds'', with a random gadget he made for no real reason. Followed by a complete beatdown by Rocket's ''new'' family, which is [[LaserGuidedKarma symbolic vengeance]] for his ''first'' family, in the same room where Rocket learned THE was ''never'' planning to bring him and his friends to Counter-Earth. The only reason it's not DeathByIrony is that Rocket doesn't even consider him worth killing.]]

** Peter is initially against killing anyone at [=OrgoCorp=], only caring about getting the files with the passcode to [[spoiler:Rocket's]] kill-switch and leaving. [[spoiler:This changes after he opens the files on Rocket's past and learns about the depraved and cruel experiments they put Rocket through, and he becomes '''completely enraged''' by what he sees. The gloves are off, Peter is ''out for blood''. When he and Groot arrive at [=OrgoCorp=]'s headquarters on Counter-Earth, he coldly states his intentions to murder them all and makes good on his word by shooting down a good chunk of their employees alongside Groot and personally giving Theel an over-the-top and gruesome death.]]
* IWantThemAlive: The reason young Rocket survives the shootout with the guards after he escapes from the cage. The guards were ordered to kill Batch 89 except for Rocket.

* MoodWhiplash: The first scene with Ayesha and the High Evolutionary opens with his minions providing him with a stool so that he can be taller than her (Creator/ElizabethDebicki is about 6” taller than Creator/ChukwudiIwuji, and is deliberately shown to be wearing massive heels). Except then it goes from funny to horrifying when he starts inspecting her teeth and eyes like she's a piece of livestock, while she meekly submits -- it goes from suggesting he's insecure about her being taller than him, to making it very clear that he regards her as completely beneath him to the point of not even treating her as a person.

* OnSecondThought: Rocket is not happy with Peter's idea of facing the more powerful villain head-on but changes his mind when Gamora suggests handing him over instead.
-->'''Rocket''': This could be futile, Quill. He's too powerful.
-->'''Peter''': Well, then I guess we'll [[SuicideMission die trying]].
-->'''Rocket''': What is "dying trying" gonna accomplish?
-->'''Gamora''': Or we can just give him the badger?
-->'''Rocket''': Our thing is dying trying.

** Immediately upon entering Counter-Earth, Quill and crew are assaulted with rocks from the UpliftedAnimal residents, harking back to a [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 similar reaction to humans upon finding a planet of animals.]] Probably not a coincidence that their ship passed by Counter-Earth's version of the Statue of Liberty when arriving.

* TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: [[spoiler: Lylla's death. After Rocket frees her from the cage, the two rejoice until a shot rings out and Lylla sinks to the ground.]]