History YMMV / GuardiansOfTheGalaxy

* CantUnhearIt: In light of the MCU ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' movies, just try reading any of his dialogue without hearing Creator/BradleyCooper's voice in your head. Some older fans might still apply this to Greg Ellis' takes from ''Marvel vs Capcom 3'' and ''Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''.

* CrazyAwesome: Rocket Raccoon is a TriggerHappy HeroicComedicSociopath who believes in MoreDakka, [[MadBomber hoards bombs in a shoebox]], can mastermind a PrisonBreak in twenty minutes flat and hangs out with a talking tree. No wonder he's so popular.

* TheWoobie:
** The entire main cast, but especially Rocket. He's the only one of his kind that he knows of and he constantly has feelings of loneliness and inferiority because of his species, not to mention the pain he probably went through during his creation.
** Carina, who was abused and threatened by the Collector. [[spoiler:No wonder she wanted the Infinity Stone the second she understood what it was.]] Even worse if you know that, in the comics, she's his ''daughter''. While there is no indication of this in the film, it's still disturbing to think about.
** Many of the prisoners that are onboard the Kyln are actually quite sad characters, with families and loved ones they won't see again, either because of distance or because they died thanks to Thanos' actions. [[spoiler:To add insult to injury, Ronan slaughters ''all'' of them.]]

** During Creator/StanLee's cameo, with Rocket snarkily saying 'Where's your wife, old man?' while he's chatting with a younger woman, is... a lot less funny with the death of Stan Lee's wife.

** Following the reveal that Peter's father wasn't from Earth, it was popularly theorised that her sickness and eventual death was a tragic result of her contact with an immensely powerful alien. [[spoiler: The sequel reveals that Ego ''was'' the reason for her death, but it was far from unintentional]].

** Al Ewing's run is mostly seen as a full return to form for the team in terms of theme and character portrayals. Rocket Raccoon, a victim of constant retcons and OutOfCharacter since Bendis' run, was mostly in line with his portrayals from his classic series and Abnett and Lanning's Guardian's run. Other notable victims such as Gamora were addressed and given in universe explanations and several ContinuitySnarls including Rocket's origins and [[spoiler:616-Moondragon falsely being declared dead]] were addressed and fixed.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet of Xandar. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan is introduced to the audience by confronting a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps and crushing the helpless man's skull with his Universal Weapon. Beginning the film as a henchman of the [[Characters/MCUThanos Mad Titan Thanos]], Ronan seeks to gather an item for Thanos so that he will destroy Xandar for him. Under Thanos, Ronan has committed multiple murders, including the deaths of Drax the Destroyer's wife and children. He later pursues the film's motley band of heroes to the space prison The Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to leave no witnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan [[TheStarscream double crosses Thanos]] and vows to kill him after he's finished with Xandar. Assaulting the planet, he even orders his own men to become suicide bombers by flying their ships into Xandar, injuring and killing numerous civilians. He later kills over 80,000 members of the Nova Corps in one fell swoop. After mocking Drax about [[ButForMeItWasTuesday finally remembering murdering his family]], he declares Xandar "guilty" by his psychotic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life. Brutal, violent, relentless and unforgiving, Ronan stands as an example of rage, fanaticism, unchecked hatred and utter cruelty, and really stands out in such a relatively [[VileVillainSaccharineShow light-hearted movie]].

* CompleteMonster: [[VileVillainSaccharineShow Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet of Xandar. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduced to the audience]] by confronting a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps and crushing the helpless man's skull with his [[DropTheHammer Universal Weapon]]. Beginning the film as a henchman of the [[Characters/MCUThanos Mad Titan Thanos]], Ronan seeks to gather an item for Thanos so that he will destroy Xandar for him. Under Thanos, Ronan has committed multiple murders, including the deaths of [[Characters/MCUDraxTheDestroyer Drax the Destroyer]]'s wife and children. He later pursues the film's motley band of heroes to the space prison The Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to leave no witnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan [[TheStarscream double crosses Thanos]] and vows to kill him after he's finished with Xandar. Assaulting the planet, he even orders his own men to become [[SuicideAttack suicide bombers]] by flying their ships into Xandar, injuring and killing numerous civilians. He later kills over 80,000 members of the Nova Corps in one fell swoop. After mocking Drax about [[ButForMeItWasTuesday finally remembering murdering his family]], he declares Xandar "guilty" by his psychotic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life.

*** Did he know [[spoiler:he'd been given a fake orb]]? There's certainly an argument to be made that it was in his best interest. He couldn't admit to not wanting it, but he likewise knew that selling it to anyone he'd be likely to do business with could only bring disaster, and it would be much safer with the Nova Corps. Likewise, did he not [[spoiler:deliver Peter to his father]] because he really was "a jackass" as claimed, or because Yondu would much rather steal the kid for his own purposes?

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet of Xandar. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan is introduced to the audience by confronting a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps and crushing the helpless man's skull with his Universal Weapon. Beginning the film as a henchman of the Mad Titan Thanos, Ronan seeks to gather an item for Thanos so that he will destroy Xandar for him. Under Thanos, Ronan has committed multiple murders, including the deaths of Drax the Destroyer's wife and children. He later pursues the film's motley band of heroes to the space prison The Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to leave no witnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan [[TheStarscream double crosses Thanos]] and vows to kill him after he's finished with Xandar. Assaulting the planet, he even orders his own men to become suicide bombers by flying their ships into Xandar, injuring and killing numerous civilians. He later kills over 80,000 members of the Nova Corps in one fell swoop. After mocking Drax about [[ButForMeItWasTuesday finally remembering murdering his family]], he declares Xandar "guilty" by his psychotic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life. Brutal, violent, relentless and unforgiving, Ronan stands as an example of rage, fanaticism, unchecked hatred and utter cruelty, and really stands out in such a relatively [[VileVillainSaccharineShow light-hearted movie]].

** At the end, Kraglin remarks it was probably a good thing they didn't take Peter to his father, with Yondu quipping about how he was a "jackass". The [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 sequel]] then proceeds to showcase the [[OmnicidalManiac freakish lengths]] said "jackass" has gone and intends to go to earn such a jab, to the point where it just reads like a hell of an understatement now.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Ronan the Accuser. Either he was an entertaining LargeHam with a clear motivation and a clear goal in comparison to [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld Malekith]] or he was a boring villain who is dragged down by having none of the [[AntiVillain Anti-Villainous]] traits carried by his comic book counterpart and making him a HateSink.

** Did Yondu know [[spoiler:he'd been given a fake orb]]? There's certainly an argument to be made that it was in his best interest. He couldn't admit to not wanting it, but he likewise knew that selling it to anyone he'd be likely to do business with could only bring disaster, and it would be much safer with the Nova Corps. Likewise, did he not [[spoiler:deliver Peter to his father]] because he really was "a jackass" as claimed, or because Yondu would much rather steal the kid for his own purposes?
** Additionally, did Yondu ever really intend to kill Peter at any point in the film, or was he just putting on a tough act in front of his men whilst also using it to get Peter to cooperate with him? [[spoiler: The idea that he'd been telling Peter the story of the Ravagers wanting to eat him when they picked him up over and over again for ''years'', one of his men claiming he'd always been soft on Peter, as well as Yondu being something of a {{Troll}} lend some favour to the latter idea. Then there's Yondu's reaction being him grinning widely and warmly when he finds Peter tricked him and switched the orb]].
** Did Yondu ever realy intend to participate in boarding Ronan's ship, or was he playing the part of TheChessmaster, letting himself get taken out of the fight only to show up afterwards and claim the Orb? It seems suspicious that he let himself drop so far behind Quill and the Guardians, even before his collision with a Kree fighter... was he just looking for a chance to get his ship disabled and drop out? His last words ("I'll see you at the end of it") show he seems very confident that Quill will pull off the plan without him, and falling out of the battle gives him the chance to gather his Ravagers for a show of force and seize the prize once it's over.
** At the end when Rocket attacks Ronan, is it because he blames the Kree for [[spoiler: Groot's death and wants to punish him for it? Or is it because he knows the ''Dark Aster'' crashed because he flew his own ship into it in a failed attempt to kill Ronan, and, knowing he can't possibly win, no longer cares what happens to him because he blames himself for Groot's death?]]
** Despite having only a brief appearance Thanos has generated two opposing first impressions. Is he an all-powerful master schemer that the loss of the stones and the betrayals and failures of his underlings is beneath his attention, or an overconfident, out-of-touch fool who cannot keep his underlings from betraying him? If the ending of Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron is of any indication it may be that Ronan's betrayal was the last straw which led him to go on a ruthless quest to get the Infinity Stones himself.

** Ronan. Is he really a renegade of the Kree... [[FakeDefector or is he their agent, but acting as if he went rogue]]? The Kree Ambassador clearly didn't give a rat's ass about what Ronan is doing, and there are riots going on in the Kree Empire over the treaty. It WOULD be in the Kree Empire's best interest that Xandar be destroyed, and there's a distinct lack of Kree acting against Ronan or helping Xandar.
** Did Ronan really remember killing Drax's family in their second encounter, or was he merely pretending to as a way to taunt Drax and KickTheDog?
** Did Ronan betray Thanos out of spite for being disrespected? Or, was he planning on betraying Thanos far early on because wiping out half a population (most of which aren't Kree nor races he likes) wasn't satisfying enough, and wasn't allowed to take any more than that amount?
** Rocket's replying Gamora's "You must be joking" with "No, I really heard they find you attractive", is he really missing the point or is he just being his usual DeadpanSnarker?

* AwesomeEgo: Star-Lord, so much. Not quite the [[Film/IronMan1 level of Tony Stark]], but it's there.
* BadassDecay: Some have complained that Drax and Gamora aren't as powerful as they were in the comics.

* BizarroEpisode: Until a greater focus on the cosmic aspects of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was explored, along with the inevitable [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Avengers-VS-Thanos storyline]], this movie seemed to be an out-there installment due to having minimal ties to the previous movies. However, it's been argued that this ultimately ''helps'' the film, partly because the ties to previous films are slight enough that a even viewer wholly unfamiliar with the rest of the MCU can still understand and enjoy the movie on its own.
* CargoShip: Thanos and his chair.

** Yondu, due to his badassery and fun lines.

** Nebula, due to some seeing her as a more sympathetic and interesting character than Gamora. James Gunn himself agreed with this, and gave Nebula a more important role in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''.

* EvilIsSexy: Nebula. It helps that she's played by Creator/KarenGillan, who's known for her [[ShesGotLegs legs]].

* FandomRivalry: With ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'', which some feels mimics ''Guardians'' by centering around a group of lesser-known cult comic book anti-heroes who become TrueCompanions while battling a world-ending threat, all set to a contemporary, rock n' roll soundtracks. ''Guardian'' fans' attitude towards ''Squad'' is summed up pretty well in [[http://www.dorkly.com/post/80188/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vs-suicide-squad this comic]]
** HilariousInHindsight after James Gunn himself was hired to write and direct the ''Squad'' sequel in between being fired from, and re-hired for, ''Guardians'' Volume 3.

** At the end, Kraglin remarks it was probably a good thing they didn't take Peter to his father, with Yondu quipping about how he was a "jackass". The [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 sequel]] then proceeds to showcase the [[OmnicidalManiac freakish]] [[YouKilledMyFather lengths]] said "jackass" has gone and intends to go to earn such a jab, to the point where it just reads like a hell of an understatement now.

** Rocket as well. His gruff, don't-take-crap-from-anyone personality makes him a fairly abrasive and somewhat misanthropic character early on, but it hides a lot of resentment and pain over his origins. His breakdown post-alcohol shows the audience where he's coming from.

* NeverLiveItDown: Similarly to ''Film/IronMan3''[='=]s reveal that [[spoiler:the Mandarin is only an actor[[note]]until ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' revealed that there was an actual Mandarin waiting in the shadows[[/note]]]], many people joke that other upcoming superhero movies will end on the note of [[spoiler:the hero challenging the villain to a dance-off]].

** Cosmo the Space-Dog, in the Collector's archive.
** Star-Lord's BadassLongcoat. He ''only'' wears it during the opening sequence, donning a short jacket for the rest of the film, but nearly every piece of merch, video game appearance, and [[CanonImmigrant even his costume in the comic books]] has him sporting the trench coat.

** [[spoiler: The dance off.]]
* SpecialEffectFailure: After Yondu uses his Yaka Arrow near the climax against a group of Sakaarans, their Necrocraft smashes into the ground. The explosion itself looks fine, but it's obviously just composited into the practically shot stuff in the foreground.

** It's also getting a lot of comparisons to ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' in terms of tone, character archetypes, and visual style. The fact that the creator of ''Firefly'', Creator/JossWhedon, is the director of both of the ''Avengers'' movies (and a large creative force in the MCU) definitely helps.

** Some also consider it to be a great ''Franchise/StarWars'' movie, up there with the original trilogy.
** Some fans consider the film a suitable SpiritualSequel to ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.
** And ''yet another'' camp consider it the next-best thing to an adaptation of ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', in terms of tone and style. Even the writer of MTMTE has commented that the film is probably the closest there will ever be to a live-action adaption of the comic.
** Despite being in a completely different genre, the movie's rapid-fire comedy, ensemble cast of underdog criminals and memorable 1970's pop soundtrack also make it an unlikely successor to ''Film/ReservoirDogs''. Both movies even prominently feature Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" -- a song that ''Reservoir Dogs'' helped re-popularize after it had been largely forgotten -- in pivotal scenes.
** Given that it's a reasonably family-friendly supernatural buddy comedy around a team of "losers", with enough large-scale action and subtle bawdy humor to appeal to adults, many people have called it a successor to ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''.
** It's pretty much the best ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' movie we'll ever get. The Kyln is Purgatory, Knowhere is Omega, and the fully suited-up Nova Corpsmen could pretty easily fit in amongst the mercenaries of the ''Mass Effect'' universe.
** It's also seen as a good one for ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' complete with a red jacket wearing time-displaced protagonist (Star Lord/Fry) who pines for an alien woman (Leela/Gamora) who's gruff and aloof, with a bunch of goofy sidekicks tagging along, one of whom has a dubious understanding of language and social interactions (Zoidberg/Drax). Likewise, the film and the cartoon have a similar theme about love and family being the only constant in a vast infinite universe.

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler:Groot.]]

* UglyCute: Groot and Nebula.

* AngstAversion: The DownerBeginning, with the mother dying and young Quill's unnerving screaming, not to mention him being too scared to hold her hand before her dying. You'd be forgiven if you want to leave the room when this happens.
* AntiClimaxBoss: Subverted twice with [[spoiler:Nebula and Ronan]]. The former starts ranting in what sounds like the opening taunts of a climactic duel, only to be hilariously [[spoiler:swiftly shot with a rocket by Drax]]. To have it both ways, though, the film lets her survive and put herself back together in time for the real duel. The latter too is [[spoiler:shot by a rocket]], but anyone who's seen the "Ex-Wife" scene of ''Film/IronMan2'' knows it has no chance of working.

** Given that it's a reasonably family-friendly supernatural buddy comedy around a team of "losers", with enough large-scale action and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar subtle bawdy humor]] to appeal to adults, many people have called it a successor to ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''.

* MoralEventHorizon:
** Ronan's first scene becomes this after FridgeHorror kicks in. Initially, he's introduced as coming out of a very large liquid chamber that the audience is led to believe is some sort of water. However, when he murders his Xandarian captive, the blood from his corpse is used to fill a slight amount of the liquid chamber. To put it bluntly, ''he murdered dozens of innocent Xandarians to bathe in their blood'', and it's implied he does this regularly.
** Thanos crossed this at his backstory, when he wiped out Gamora's race (retconned in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' to just half of her planet... [[UnreliableNarrator may]][[ShrugOfGod be]]) and abducted her, Nebula, and other children to serve as tools, and put them through horrific training.

** [[Wrestling/Batista DaveBaustista]] as Drax raised some eyebrows, as wrestlers aren't usually famous for being good actors in good movies. Not only did Bautista provide a funny and badass character, when Drax got some emotional moments he pulled them off great.

** Creator/DaveBaustista as Drax raised some eyebrows, as wrestlers aren't usually famous for being good actors in good movies. Not only did Bautista provide a funny and badass character, when Drax got some emotional moments he pulled them off great.

* BizarroEpisode: Until a greater focus on the cosmic aspects of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was explored, along with the inevitable [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Avengers-VS-Thanos storyline]], this movie seemed to be an out-there installment due to having minimal ties to the previous movies. However, it's been argued that this ultimately ''helps'' the film.

** [[spoiler:Howard the Duck]] due to his hilarious cameo at the end. Marvel predicted this would happen and took full advantage of by digitally re-releasing his original comic series the same week as the movie's launch.

** [[spoiler:Howard the Duck]] due to his hilarious cameo at the end. Marvel predicted this would happen and took full advantage of by digitally re-releasing his original comic series the same week as the movie's launch. He's also getting a new series in 2015 which likely wouldn't have happened without the film.

* TrailerJokeDecay: "What a bunch of A-Holes," was in nearly every single promotional thing about the movie. Some who liked the joke didn't like it by the time the film came out. Quill's "mechanical middle finger" is also uncensored in the film, which ends up looking pretty awkward, especially since the trailer's "Obscene Gesture Imminent" bit was a pretty good joke on its own, though for what it's worth, this can still be seen in [EditedForSyndication some televised versions of the film]].

* TrailerJokeDecay: "What a bunch of A-Holes," was in nearly every single promotional thing about the movie. Some who liked the joke didn't like it by the time the film came out. Quill's "mechanical middle finger" is also uncensored in the film, which ends up looking pretty awkward, especially since the trailer's "Obscene Gesture Imminent" bit was a pretty good joke on its own.

** Fans had this reaction upon learning that [[Series/ParksAndRecreation Andy Dwyer]] would be a Marvel superhero, but most were pleasantly surprised. Even James Gunn was skeptical before meeting Pratt and instantly realizing he was right for the part.

** Fans had this reaction upon learning that [[Series/ParksAndRecreation Andy Dwyer]] would be a Marvel superhero, but most were pleasantly surprised.

** Yondu's people subscribe to a belief they call "[[Disney/TheLionKing The Circle of Life]]". Not helping is a scene where Yondu tells Photon she could "break the Circle".

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet of Xandar. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan is introduced to the audience by confronting a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps and crushing the helpless man's skull with his Universal Weapon. Beginning the film as a henchman of the [[Characters/MCUThanos Mad Titan Thanos]], Ronan seeks to gather an item for Thanos so that he will destroy Xandar for him. Under Thanos, Ronan has committed multiple murders, including the deaths of Drax the Destroyer's wife and children. He later pursues the film's motley band of heroes to the space prison The Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to leave no witnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan [[TheStarscream double crosses Thanos]] and vows to kill him after he's finished with Xandar. Assaulting the planet, he even orders his own men to become suicide bombers by flying their ships into Xandar, injuring and killing numerous civilians. He later kills over 80,000 members of the Nova Corps in one fell swoop. After mocking Drax about [[ButForMeItWasTuesday finally remembering murdering his family]], he declares Xandar "guilty" by his psychotic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life. Brutal, violent, relentless and unforgiving, Ronan stands as an example of rage, fanaticism, unchecked hatred and utter cruelty, and really stands out in such a relatively [[VileVillainSaccharineShow light-hearted movie]].

** Amidst their squabbling, Gamora remarks how working with the Guardians to escape the Kiln will result in her "dying surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy", but they all live to make their getaway. This comes back to bite her something fierce in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', in which [[spoiler: she really does die at the hands of [[Characters/MCURedSkull an actual World War II-era Nazi]] and [[Characters/MCUThanos an abusive genocidal warlord with horrifically misguided methods of "balancing the universe"]], inadvertantly proving her right in the worst way imaginable.]]

** Peter's mother talking so lovingly about his father on her deathbed, [[spoiler:[[KickTheMoralityPet in light of what Ego did to her...]]]]
*** Following the reveal that Peter's father wasn't from Earth, it was popularly theorised that her sickness and eventual death was a tragic result of her contact with an immensely powerful alien. [[spoiler: The sequel reveals that Ego ''was'' the reason for her death, but it was far from unintentional]].

** Thanos crossed this at his backstory, when he wiped out Gamora's race (retconned in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' to just half of her planet) and abducted her, Nebula, and other children to serve as tools, and put them through horrific training.