History Characters / MCUGuardiansOfTheGalaxy

* GenderFlip: The casting of Maria Bakalova as the voice of Cosmo in ''Vol. 3'' confirmed that Cosmo in the MCU is female. Creator/JamesGunn [[https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1551047164205314048?s=20&t=eWKtV4ujeREEdHcrRag8Hgso tweeted]] that this was due to Cosmo being based on [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace Laika, a dog who became the first animal to orbit the earth]], so he decided to go "back to the original source material".

* EleventhHourRanger:
** Kraglin joins the final battle of ''Vol. 2'' by being the last person to enter the atmosphere of Ego's planet.
** [[spoiler:He appears just in the nick of time to help the Guardians stop the High Evolutionary from escaping.]]

* TwoGirlsToATeam: Gamora and Mantis by the end of ''Vol. 2'', because Nebula decides to leave in order to pursue Thanos. After ''Endgame'', it's Nebula and Mantis, with Gamora missing in action. After Volume 3, it's [[spoiler: Cosmo and Phyla.]]

* TheBeastMaster: [[spoiler: In ''Vol. 3'' she is able to tame and command three [[TentacledTerror Abilisks]].]]

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: ImpliedTrope. Ordinarily, Ego [[OffingTheOffspring kills any of his children]] who do not inherit his Celestial genes. However, Mantis can put him in a trance to help him sleep, which is a big relief to an otherwise immortal, restless entity. Considering that [[spoiler: she's ''also'' one of his countless children]], Ego's treatment of her is a ''very'' small mercy.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Ego took Mantis in as his "adopted daughter" (or rather, his pet) [[note]] which is especially cruel since [[spoiler: she ''is'' in fact his biological daughter and not just his ward]] [[/note]], as a means to escape his boredom via her ability to induce sleep. Mantis eventually turns on him and uses her powers to take him out of action at a crucial moment, contributing to his death.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A subtle one, but Mantis' empath abilities are powerful enough to make [[EldritchAbomination Ego]] fall asleep, even when he's enraged and at full power. Peter Quill is also able to go toe-to-toe with Ego when he unlocks his half-celestial powers. [[spoiler: Mantis, like Quill, is one of Ego's children, as she reveals in Film/TheGuardiansOfTheGalaxyHolidaySpecial, and thus the two are half-siblings]].

* MyGreatestFailure: She is torn by guilt and remorse at seeing Ego murdering his children and being unable to do anything to really help them, and she tries many times to warn the Guardians. It's especially heart-wrenching for her since [[spoiler: she, like Quill, is also one of Ego's children and thus his victims are her half-siblings]], all while she was kept alive for Ego's amusement & use.

** Literally pilots [[spoiler: the head of a dead God into battle]] when Peter asks for his help.

* BadassAdorable: She's as cute as any Labrador, and able to [[spoiler: crush an enemy between two huge concrete slabs with her telekinesis]].

** Rocket takes after Tony. TheSmartGuy and a GadgeteerGenius with only his sharp tongue matching his {{BFG}}s. He even helps Tony construct the Iron Gauntlet in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.