History YMMV / GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014

** [[Characters/MCURonan Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet Xandar out of xenophobic zealotry and slighted family pride over the deaths of his forebears. Once in charge of the Accusers, Ronan would lead them in bombing planets suspected of harboring [[Characters/MCUTheSkrulls Skrulls]], at one point trying to do the same to Earth. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan enacts massacres throughout the galaxy and confronts a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps, [[EstablishingCharacterMoment crushing the helpless man's skull with his Universal Weapon]]. 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/MCUDrax Drax the Destroyer]]'s wife and daughter. Ronan later pursues the motley band of Guardians to the space prison the Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to LeaveNoWitnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan 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, before killing 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 psychopathic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life.
** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Chris Wyatt: [[Characters/MCURonan Ronan the Accuser]], also known as "the Butcher" and "the Warlord", revels in his titles and proclaims [[MightMakesRight his only motive]] to be the complete annihilation of all weak life in the cosmos. Judging compassion itself a blight on the universe, Ronan has committed genocide against entire worlds for many years after judging them "weak", wiping out [[Characters/MCUDrax Drax]]'s people in just one instance of his cruelty. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Introduced]] crushing the skull of a Nova Corps officer, Ronan orders his minion Korath imprisoned and killed for failing a single mission, and wipes out the entire Kyln prison colony to cover up his hunt for the Orb. Ronan plans to obtain the Orb and then use its power to wage a slaughter on all the galaxy, traveling from world to world and exterminating life until [[TheSocialDarwinist only the strong remain]].
** Alexander Irvine's {{novelization}}: [[Characters/MCURonan Ronan the Accuser]], also known as "TheWarlord" and "TheButcher", views weakness as the greatest crime of all and seeks to expunge it from the galaxy. Introduced crushing the skull of a member of the [[Characters/MCUNovaEmpire Nova Corps]] out of spite and rage, Ronan has led the massacre of countless planets and people, to the point that when [[Characters/MCUDrax Drax]] confronts him about the murder of his family, Ronan can't remember who he's talking about. After slaughtering everyone in the Kyln to cover his movements and leading an assault on [[Characters/MCUKnowhere Knowhere]], Ronan gets control of the Power Stone and launches a full-scale invasion of Xandar, killing countless innocents. Though the Guardians of the Galaxy stop him, Ronan comes mere inches away from destroying the entire planet and killing billions of innocent people.

*** 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? Though the sequel implies [[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet the former]].

** 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 show that Yondu wasn't biased about said "[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet jackass]]" by showcasing the [[OmnicidalManiac freakish lengths]] he has gone and intends to go to get what he wants, to the point where Yondu's jab just reads like a hell of an understatement now.

* MagnificentBastard: [[TokenEvilTeammate Yondu Udonta]], a former Kree battle slave and later Ravager, was hired to kidnap the children of [[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet Ego]] to deliver them to him for a fortune. Upon realizing the children were being murdered, Yondu rescued the last of them, [[Characters/MCUPeterQuill Peter Quill]], and raised him as a [[ParentsAsPeople flawed but devoted father]]. Yondu proceeds to hunt down the Power Stone in Peter's possession, keeping a step ahead of employers and enemies alike before showing little but pride in Peter swapping the Stone out for a troll doll. After a mutiny in [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 the second film]], Yondu is able to almost singlehandedly avenge his loyalists and wipe out his enemies before heading to save Peter from Ego and ultimately proves instrumental in stopping the mad Celestial. Acknowledging Peter as his true son, Yondu chooses to [[HeroicSacrifice give his life for Peter]], honored at the end with a funeral as a true Ravager.

* MagnificentBastard: [[TokenEvilTeammate Yondu Udonta]], a former Kree battle slave and later Ravager, was hired to kidnap the children of [[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet Ego]] to deliver them to him for a fortune. Upon realizing the children were being murdered, Yondu rescued the last of them, [[Characters/MCUStarLord Peter Quill]], and raised him as a [[ParentsAsPeople flawed but devoted father]]. Yondu proceeds to hunt down the Power Stone in Peter's possession, keeping a step ahead of employers and enemies alike before showing little but pride in Peter swapping the Stone out for a troll doll. After a mutiny in [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 the second film]], Yondu is able to almost singlehandedly avenge his loyalists and wipe out his enemies before heading to save Peter from Ego and ultimately proves instrumental in stopping the mad Celestial. Acknowledging Peter as his true son, Yondu chooses to [[HeroicSacrifice give his life for Peter]], honored at the end with a funeral as a true Ravager.

** When Peter is ambushed by Korath and his thugs on Morag, he snaps at one of them, "[[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]], you better stop poking me!" Guess which [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 new film]] knocked ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' off of No. 1 at the box office? It becomes even more hilarious a few weeks later when Guardians actually retakes the No. 1 spot at the box office from TMNT.

** 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 "[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet 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.
** 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 an actual World War II-era Nazi and an abusive genocidal warlord with horrifically misguided methods of "balancing the universe", inadvertantly proving her right in the worst way imaginable.]]

** Rocket's rant at the bar is harder to listen to after James Gunn revealed in a now-deleted tweet that he was violated by a teacher when he was a boy.

** It gets 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 the first two ''Avengers'' movies (and a large creative force in the MCU) definitely helps.

** [[Characters/MCURonan Ronan the Accuser]] is a genocidal Kree terrorist and renegade wholly devoted to the destruction of the planet Xandar out of xenophobic zealotry and slighted family pride over the deaths of his forebears. Once in charge of the Accusers, Ronan would lead them in bombing planets suspected of harboring [[Characters/MCUTheSkrulls Skrulls]], at one point trying to do the same to Earth. Disgusted by his people signing a peace treaty, Ronan enacts massacres throughout the galaxy and confronts a captive member of Xandar's Nova Corps, crushing the helpless man's skull with his [[DropTheHammer Universal Weapon]]. 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/MCUDrax Drax the Destroyer]]'s wife and daughter. Ronan later pursues the motley band of Guardians to the space prison the Kyln, and orders a full massacre of every prisoner to LeaveNoWitnesses. When he realizes the power of the Infinity Stone he has been sent to retrieve, Ronan 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, before killing 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 psychopathic philosophy and attempts to purge it of all life.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Nebula. It helps that she's played by Creator/KarenGillan, who's known for her legs.
** Ronan is played by Creator/LeePace. In his introduction is totally naked.

* SignatureScene: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkVCACf5fMU opening]] with Star-Lord dancing to "Come And Get Your Love". Coming off the dark credits of his abduction, him dancing with 80's music is a reestablishment of what the dominant tone of the movie will be: a bit of Bathos mixed with fun and effective pop culture use. This even spilled into other movies too, with the humor and breeziness coming up often enough in other movies that people started to get tired of it.

* WTHCastingAgency:
** The casting of Creator/VinDiesel as Groot was met with this, but not because the role doesn't fit like most examples, but because most people expected him to appear in a different role in the MCU (such as ComicBook/ThePunisher). Of course, there's still the possibility that [[YouLookFamiliar he could play a different character as well as Groot]], given that Groot is only a motion-capture character anyway. However, [[https://www.facebook.com/VinDiesel/photos/a.101465923312.101581.89562268312/10152718210358313/?type=1 he has since teased]] the possibility that he could be in a movie based on ''The Inhumans''. Another common complaint is "Why would they hire a big-name actor to only say ''one line'' over and over?" (Of course, he milks the ''heck'' out of that line and gives a ''very'' meaningful tweak to it near the end.)
** [[{{Wrestling/Batista}} Dave Baustista]] 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.
** 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 when he heard Pratt was auditioning, before meeting the man and instantly realizing he was right for the part.

* CrazyIsCool: 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.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Shares a [[BaseBreakingCharacter/MarvelCinematicUniverse page with the rest of the franchise]].

* 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. Or alternatively, that he works ''because'' [[TheComicallySerious he's so generic and he takes himself so seriously]], causing a contrast between him and the wacky main characters.