History Characters / MCURocketRaccoon

* AscendedExtra: Rocket's role and importance is greatly increased with each Guardians of the Galaxy films. To summarize he started off as a supporting character in the first movie, then become the {{Deuteragonist}} in ''Vol 2.'', before finally become the main character in ''Vol 3'' with WordOfGod confirming that Rocket is TheProtagonist of the whole trilogy.

* VocalDissonance: He has a fairly deep and gruff voice for such a small creature, especially when he speaks more slowly (The way he said "Oh... YEAH..." in the first movie as well as the way he said "Word" at the end of the third movie are probably the most prominent examples)

** Played straight in the flashbacks of "Vol. 3".

** "Vol. 3": Flashbacks show the first time he ever picked up a gun. [[spoiler:He killed all three guards with just three shots.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: When the flashbacks of "Vol. 3" show him as a naive kit who was created to be nonviolent, it's hard to imagine him growing up to be the snarky, cynical bounty hunter who debuts with a {{BFG}} in "Vol. 1". [[spoiler:After the High Evolutionary tells him Batch 89 was never intended to see the new world and kills Lylla in front of him, he discovers that he can be violent after all, mauling the High Evolutionary and killing all the guards.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler:Rocket was very sweet and innocent when he was younger, but when the High Evolutionary kills Lylla, Rocket snaps and tackles him to the ground, clawing his face down to the bone.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: When the flashbacks of "Vol. 3" show him as a naive kit who was created to be nonviolent, it's hard to imagine him growing up to be the snarky, cynical bounty hunter who debuts with a BFG in "Vol. 1". [[spoiler:After the High Evolutionary tells him Batch 89 was never intended to see the new world and kills Lylla in front of him, he discovers that he can be violent after all, mauling the High Evolutionary and killing all the guards.]]

* InnocentProdigy: [[TheCynic Obviously not now]], but as a kit, despite his incredible intellect, Rocket was also very naive, and he genuinely believed he and his friends were going to Counter-Earth, until the High Evolutionary (who also mocked him for being this) said otherwise ''to his face''.

* NiceGuy: When Rocket was a kit, he was a sweet, caring and naive boy who cared about his friends much more openly than his present self. All the loss and torture he went through under the High Evolutionary eradicated the sweet kit he once was, at least [[HiddenHeartOfGold openly]]. Part of his CharacterDevelopment involves him opening his heart once again to [[FoundFamily the Guardians]] and by the time of ''Vol. 3'', while not as close as he was to his kit self and still being a bit of a jerk, he's ''much'' nicer than he was in previous installments.

* GutturalGrowler: He has a raspy, growly voice complete with an aggressive Brooklyn accent.

* BestFriend: Rocket is Groot's closest friend. He is explicitly stated twice in ''Vol. 3'' to be Peter's best friend among the Guardians (much to [[GreenEyedMonster Drax's jealousy]]). They're so close that Peter was the most determined to save Rocket's life and even took everything the High Evolutionary did to him ''[[ItsPersonal very]]'' [[ItsPersonal personally]] (probably even more so than Rocket himself) upon learning about it, to the point where he's eager to ''kill'' him, and [[spoiler: cried when he died and again when he got revived]]. He also seems to be Nebula’s best friend after bonding with her in ''Endgame'', considering that in ''Vol. 3'', she openly calls him a friend, family (more openly compared to the other Guardians), and [[spoiler:weeps TearsOfJoy when she hears that he is alive and recovered]].

** He initially viewed the High Evolutionary as his father and clearly admired him, albeit while fearing him to a certain degree. His image of the man was shattered when he revealed he only viewed Rocket and his friends as failed experiments, was going to have them killed because of it, and mocked Rocket for ever believing otherwise. It got worse when he [[spoiler: murdered Lylla in front of him, and cruelly mocked his anguished crying upon losing her.]]

** As of ''Vol. 3'', Rocket is a ''very'' different character from his first appearance. [[spoiler:He not only is no longer insecure of who and what he is, but also [[ThouShallNotKill chooses not to kill the High Evolutionary]], something the old him would've done in a second, and is determined to save all of the captives on the ship, even the animals. All of this proves that he has moved past his greedy and self-serving desires and changed into the heroic, empathetic and strong-willed leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who fights to protect the innocent.]] On another note, [[spoiler: he also accepts that, yes, he's a raccoon.]]
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Lylla. [[spoiler: She was the first person he ever saw when he was imprisoned as an experiment and the first one to show him true kindness. Rocket became attached to her very quickly and he dreamed of living in the new world with her and their friends. She was similarly awestruck by his talent and wit and the two share many heartfelt moments together in their youth. Her death drives him mad with grief and causes his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of the High Evolutionary.]]

* ColorMotifs: {{Blue|IsHeroic}}. All of his outfits starting from the ending of ''Vol. 1'' are always colored blue or at least have some elements of blue (specifically navy blue). [[FireForgedFriends Two of the people who used to be his enemies yet soon have gotten close to him quickly after some bonding]] ([[NotSoDifferentRemark Yondu]] and [[OddFriendship Nebula]]) both have blue skin. ''Vol. 3'' reveals that when the High Evolutionary showed Rocket his first view of the outside world as a kit, one of the very first things he became enamored with was the blue sky. [[spoiler: The color of the [[AfterlifeAntechamber heaven-like setting]] he was briefly in while he was [[DisneyDeath briefly dying]] is sky blue]]. Personality-wise, he's one of the more logical Guardians and grows into a genuinely heroic character.

* DeathSeeker: His devil-may-care, LethallyStupid tendency to ''deliberately'' antagonize powerful authority-figures throughout Volumes 1 and 2 of the ''Guardians'' displays the hallmarks of one who holds as much contempt for his own life as he does for the universe at large; tragically justified by ''Volume 3'' [[spoiler:wherein it's shown that he is the SoleSurvivor of a circle of animal friends murdered trying to escape the sadistic experiments of The High Evolutionary. Being forced to watch his friends coldly gunned-down before him '''as a child''',]] Rocket naturally lives life aimlessly as one already dead, and worse, ''worthless'' for [[spoiler: failing those who have loved him]].

* EarnYourHappyEnding: '''''And how.''''' [[spoiler: Rocket begins his life scared, confused, and barely able to understand the intelligence given to him against his will. But then he's able to make friends, hone his intelligence to become even smarter than the High Evolutionary, and find hope to move to the New World. Then his creator cruelly rejects him, his friends are killed, and he barely escapes to live a life as a criminal in a vast, uncaring galaxy. Over time, he is able to form a new friends in the Guardians and start to work past his abandonment issues, only to have them ripped away by Thanos' attack. ''And then,'' shortly after getting them back, he's put into a coma by one of the High Evolutionary's other creations and suffers an intense NearDeathExperience and a final confrontation with his creator]]. His rewards for making it through all of this include [[spoiler: the chance to save hundreds of beings and animals from going through what he did, leadership of the Guardians, and overall the chance to live a fulfilling, satisfying life helping others]]. And he deserves every bit of it.

** He claims that he is the victim of this, as he believes that people see him as a freak because he's the only talking raccoon in the galaxy, and many of the Nova officers act bigoted toward him for being different (e.g. he's treated even worse than the other Guardians when they're at the prison, to the point where his own record says he's a "lower life form", and a Nova officer complains about taking orders from a "hamster").

* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: A platonic example. The reason why Rocket dislikes people and is too insecure to openly show that he cares is because [[spoiler: when he was a kit, while escaping the pens, his first group of friends got killed as soon stepped out of their cages by the High Evolutionary. Rocket [[ILetGwenStacyDie blamed himself for not being able to save them]] and closed himself off from relationships so [[NeverBeHurtAgain he won't be hurt again]]]]. However, upon meeting [[BestFriend Groot]], and later [[FoundFamily the rest of the Guardians]], [[CharacterDevelopment Rocket started to open up on relationships again]].

* SurvivorGuilt: Rocket constantly and deliberately antagonizes the universe, almost as if he ''wants'' it to beat the life out of him as punishment for [[spoiler: failing to save his childhood friends from the cages and guns of The High Evolutionary.]] He has ''never'' forgiven himself for this failure, believing that [[spoiler: he should have died *with* those who have loved and trusted him.]]

* PsychopathicManchild: In the first two movies he comes across as this frequently getting into temper tantrums whenever someone makes fun of his appearance or almost getting the Guardians killed because he and Peter were busy fighting over whose the best captain like two squabbling siblings. Starting with ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' while he is still a bit surly and grumpy he has matured a bit until he finally completes his arc in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3''.

* RascallyRaccoon: He does have his moments of being like this. At the end, he gets into a long talk with a Nova Corps. officer about the definition of stealing if he wants something more than the owner.

* SadClown: Is the one most likely to come up with a witty or snarky remark to hide the pain he feels inside over growing up tortured, abused, and having watched his friends died and feeling like it's his fault.

* SkewedPriorities: While waiting to fight an inter-dimensional space monster, Rocket is assembling a speaker system so they can kick ass to music. Even Peter can't go along with this one.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He phrased it pretty harshly, but Rocket is right on the money when he calls out Drax for nearly getting them all killed by calling Ronan to Knowhere.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: ''Vol. 3'' shows him to be this, as he [[spoiler:convinces the rest of the Guardians to rescue not just the humans, but ''all'' the animals on board the High Evolutionary's ship]].

* FriendToAllLivingThings: ''Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3'' shows him to be this, as he [[spoiler:convinces the rest of the Guardians to rescue not just the humans, but ''all'' the animals on board the High Evolutionary's ship]].

* HiddenDepths: Aside from his HiddenHeartOfGold act, in the climax of ''Vol. 3'' when he's shown evacuating the children, Rocket seems to know their language (as everyone but Drax couldn't understand or talk to them.)

** By ''Vol. 3'', although he's still as snarky as ever, Rocket is notably significantly more compassionate, empathetic, and heroic in this film, and none of his vices are shown even once (aside from swiping Quill's Zune a couple of times). These traits become more noticeable following his [[spoiler:[[NearDeathExperience near-death experience]], meeting the souls of his friends in the afterlife and revival]]. [[spoiler:He also felt empathy to the point of [[TenderTears shedding a few tears]] when he sees the animals in the lab that were captured and locked in cages like he was, and he vows to save all of them along with the children (and is notably the only who saw the animals as equals and worth saving as he was one of them, whilst the other Guardians only prioritized the human children), a ''very'' far cry from how Rocket [[KickTheDog uncaringly mocked Drax for losing his family]] and planned on [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running far away from Ronan]] in the first movie. His empathy is shown again during the outing with the new Guardians where he admits he feels guilty for fighting wild animals but doesn't see another way to protect the village. TheReveal of how [[DarkAndTroubledPast dark and troubled his past is]] made him extra sympathetic]].

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 shows him to be this, as he [[spoiler:convinces the rest of the Guardians to rescue not just the humans, but ''all'' the animals on board the High Evolutionary's ship]].

* VocalDissonance: He has a fairly deep and gruff voice for such a small creature, especially when he speaks more slowly (The way he said "Oh... YEAH..." in the first movie as well as the way he said "Word" at the end of the third movie are probably the most prominent examples)[[note]]However [[TheOtherDarrin the guy they]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwzFSOM0qDA get whenever Bradley Cooper isn't available]] gives him an even ''deeper'' voice[[/note]]

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: In ''Vol. 3'', he's the last of Batch 89 and clearly the youngest out of all his childhood friends, being a baby and newly experimented on when they met while they were much older ([[VagueAge though the ages weren't clarified]]).

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: In ''Vol. 3'', he's the last of Batch 89 and clearly the youngest out of all his childhood friends, being a baby when they met while they were much older, being kids or teens at most.

* TheHero: Though Quill is definitely the face and gets most of the focus of the GOTG trilogy, as the white human man, Rocket's the one who gets the most development and usually comes up with the actual plans to save the day, starting from when they have to escape from prison.

** As of ''Vol. 3'', Rocket is a ''very'' different character from his first appearance. [[spoiler:He not only is no longer insecure of what he is, going from openly calling himself a little monster to accepting and being proud of being a raccoon, but also [[ThouShallNotKill chooses not to kill the High Evolutionary]], something the old him would've done in a second, and is determined to save all of the captives on the ship, even the animals. All of this proves that he has moved past his greedy and self-serving desires and changed into the heroic, empathetic and strong-willed leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who fights to protect the innocent.]] On another note, [[spoiler: he also accepts that, yes, he's a raccoon.]]

** Implied in ''Vol 2'', where among the many items Baby Groot brings to them -- trying to get Yondu's prototype fin so they can escape -- one of them is inexplicably a ''severed toe''. Rocket, who has regularly expressed needs for peoples' mechanical appendages that he wants [[TheGadfly (but doesn't really need)]], [[StunnedSilence just stares at it in shock (along with Yondu).]]

* TenderTears: Despite acting tough and one of the more jerkish Guardians (less so as his CharacterDevelopment goes on), Rocket is the one who sheds these type of tears in [[OncePerEpisode every film of the trilogy]]:

** As of ''Vol. 3'', Rocket is a ''very'' different character from his first appearance. [[spoiler:He not only is no longer insecure of what he is, going from openly calling himself a little monster to accepting and being proud of being a raccoon, but also [[ThouShallNotKill chooses not to kill the High Evolutionary]], something the old him would've done in a second, and is determined to save all of the captives on the ship, even the animals. All of this proves that he has moved past his greedy and self-serving desires and changed into the heroic, empathetic and strong-willed leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who fights to protect the innocent.]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Heroic Organizations > [[Characters/MCUGuardiansOfTheGalaxy Guardians of the Galaxy]] > [[Characters/MCUPeterQuill Peter Quill]] | [[Characters/MCUGamora Gamora]] | [[Characters/MCUDrax Drax]] | [[Characters/MCUGroot Groot]] | '''Rocket Raccoon''' | [[Characters/MCUYonduUdonta Yondu Udonta]] | [[Characters/MCUNebula Nebula]]-]]]

* BabysFirstWords: A tragic variant; after given self-awareness as a ''days-old cub'' by having his brain modified and his skull stapled back together ''without anesthetics'', his first words, wept to his new friends, defined his entire character.
--> (Timidly) ''"Hurt..."''

** People who use their losses as an excuse for their actions. As Rocket sees it, there is no one in the universe who hasn't lost something precious, so you don't get to act like you're special because of it and you don't get to risk other peoples' lives. A touch [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]], considering that ''he'' uses the lack of compassion during ''his'' childhood as justification for his cruelty and cynicism towards ''everyone''; also, his ''"toughen up or die alone for all I care'' worldview was proven ''spectacularly'' wrong in ''Endgame'' when it was '''not''' his dismissive slap for Thor's grief that saved the depressed God from his downward spiral of self-pity, but a ''much''-needed loving hug of encouragement from his mother.

!!! '''Voiced By:''' Creator/BradleyCooper (English), Creator/SeanGunn (young, English), Noah Raskin (infant, English), Sergio Zurita [''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' to ''Film/AvengersEndgame''], Creator/EnriqueCervantes [''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' onwards] (Latin-American Spanish dub), Juan Logar Jr. (European Spanish dub), Koji Kato (Japanese dub), Creator/AlexisVictor (French dub), Maël Davan-Soulas (Canadian French dub), Mckeidy Lisita (Brazilian Portuguese dub), Sergry Kunitskiy [''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' to ''Film/AvengersEndgame''], Igor Lichadeev [''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder''], Phillip Voloshin [''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3''] (Russian dub)