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* SexForServices: When planning the prison break, Rocket suggests that Gamora use the fact that a number of the male prisoners find her attractive to broker a "trade" of some sort for an item he needs. Gamora rejects the idea.
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* ThroatSlittingGesture: Drax, being LiteralMinded, is extremely confused the first time he encounters this:
-->'''Star-Lord:''' She betrayed Ronan. He's coming back for her. And when he does, that's when you... ''[draws finger across his throat]''\\
'''Drax:''' ...Why would I put my finger on his throat?\\
'''Star-Lord:''' What? Oh, no, it's a symbol. This is a symbol for you slicing his throat.\\
'''Drax:''' I would not slice his throat. I would cut his head clean off.
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* SiblingRivalry: Gamora and Nebula are both kidnapped/adopted daughters of Thanos and refer to themselves as sisters. They also spend nearly every appearance for the rest of the MCU describing their love/hate relationship for each other.
** Nebula visibly winces at Thanos calling Gamora "my favorite daughter."
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* StronglyWordedLetter: The Nova Corps's response to Ronan's rampage is to contact the Kree government and ''request'' that they issue a statement condemning his actions. They don't even demand anything, despite allegedly having been the victor of the war between Xandar and the Kree.

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* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: For the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.

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* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: For The film is a big departure from the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.previous nine films of the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' in quite a few ways:


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** This film also has the distinction of being the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be based on the creations of writers and artists other than Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The original comic was created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan.
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* WetForDry: The zero-gravity space scenes, such as the scene where Peter saves Gamora's life when she is left in space after her space pod explodes, were [[https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1247702666345467904?s=20 shot underwater]] to get the effect of hair flowing weightlessly.
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Correcting facts.


** Nebula's Necrocraft has one which she uses to collect the orb with after blowing Gamora's ship apart.

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** Nebula's Necrocraft The ''Dark Aster'' has one which she it uses to collect the orb with after blowing Nebula blows Gamora's ship apart.
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* SpectacularSpinning: Onboard the Dark Aster, the team finds itself in what seems to be the machine room where they fight Korath's forces amongst giant rotating cylinders.
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* StackedCharactersPoster: The film poster is composed as a pyramid of the main cast with Star Lord on top.
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* VillainBall: Ronan could have achieved his goals easily if he tried a more subtle approach like just taking a nondescript shuttle to Xandar and using the Infinity Stone without drawing attention to himself. Instead he had to make a big production of it by having his easily recognized flagship fly to Xandar and giving an [[EvilGloating archetypal monologue]] about what he's going to do before actually doing it, which gave the Guardians and the Nova Corps the opportunity to fight back. And later, when all Ronan has to do to win is ''touch the ground'', he pauses to gloat ''more''. He even keeps Rocket alive to hear it. This gives Rocket enough time to [[spoiler:reassemble his gun and shoot the Infinity Gem out of Ronan's grip]].

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* VillainBall: Ronan could have achieved his goals easily if he tried a more subtle approach like just taking a nondescript shuttle to Xandar and using the Infinity Stone without drawing attention to himself. Instead he had to make a big production of it by having his easily recognized flagship fly to Xandar and giving an [[EvilGloating archetypal monologue]] about what he's going to do before actually doing it, which gave the Guardians and the Nova Corps the opportunity to fight back. And later, when all Ronan has to do to win is ''touch the ground'', he pauses to gloat ''more''. He even keeps Rocket alive to hear it. This gives Rocket enough time to [[spoiler:reassemble his gun and shoot the Infinity Gem out of Ronan's grip]].grip, although not without a little help from Quill challenging Ronan to a dance-off, baffling the villain long enough for Rocket to take the shot]].
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* ShoutOut: Has [[ShoutOut/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy its own page]].

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* ShoutOut: Has Collected in [[ShoutOut/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy its their own page]].subpage]] for this movie.
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* SmallUniverseAfterAll: WordOfGod says it takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy.
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Rm, already listed on MCU Cosmic Thanos Forces in the Ronan section


* TheSociopath: Ronan the Accuser, a fanatic who believes his government has grown weak in making peace with Xandar, and actively defies them to try and commit genocide upon them.
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* TheSociopath: Ronan the Accuser, a fanatic who believes his government has grown weak in making peace with Xandar, and actively defies them to try and commit genocide upon them.
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* SigilSpam: The Nova Corps puts their starburst symbol all over the place. Even Xandar's ''capital city'' resembles the sigil when seen from above.

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* SigilSpam: The Nova Corps puts their starburst symbol all over the place. Their fighter ships themselves are shaped like starbursts. Even Xandar's ''capital city'' resembles the sigil when seen from above.
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Tropes ranging from S to Z in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

The rest:
* [[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC # to C]]
* [[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ D to J]]
* [[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR K to R]]

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Tropes ranging from S to Z in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

The rest:
*
[[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC Tropes # to C]]
*
C]] | [[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ Tropes D to J]]
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J]] | [[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR Tropes K to R]]
R]] | '''Tropes S to Z''' | [[YMMV/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy YMMV]] | [[Trivia/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Trivia]]
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* TheWarJustBefore: The war between the Nova Empire and the Kree Empire has just ended before the beginning of the film. However, Ronan has got another idea.
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*** [[spoiler:[[[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He wasn't kidding]]]].

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*** [[spoiler:[[[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet [[spoiler:[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He wasn't kidding]]]].

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*** [[spoiler:[[He wasn't kidding]].

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*** [[spoiler:[[He [[spoiler:[[[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He wasn't kidding]].kidding]]]].
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*** [[spoiler:[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He wasn't kidding]]]].

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*** [[spoiler:[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He [[spoiler:[[He wasn't kidding]]]].kidding]].
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***[[spoiler:[[Characters/MCUEgoTheLivingPlanet He wasn't kidding]]]].
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* TranslationConvention: It's safe to say that none of the characters spoke in English throughout the movie.

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* TranslationConvention: It's safe to say that that, except in the prologue, none of the characters spoke speak in English throughout the movie.
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* TheXOfY: ''Guardians of the Galaxy''.
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Courtesy of James Gunn himself.


* TranslatorMicrobes: Star-Lord's arrest record lists him as having a translator implant in his neck. Gamora and Rocket are also cyborgs, and can be assumed to have something similar.

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* TranslatorMicrobes: Star-Lord's arrest record lists him as having a translator implant in his neck. Gamora neck, and Rocket are also cyborgs, and can be assumed to WordOfGod has confirmed that most space-faring types in the MCU (including the rest of the Guardians) have something similar.similar implants.
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-->'''Star-Lord:''' I look around, and you know what I see? LOSERS! We've all lost something... [[DareToBeBadass But life is giving us a chance!]]

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-->'''Star-Lord:''' I look around, and you know what I see? LOSERS! Losers! We've all lost something... [[DareToBeBadass But life is giving us a chance!]]



'''Korath:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' ''Who?''\\
'''Peter:''' ''[visibly disappointed]'' Star-Lord, man. The legendary outlaw? ''[{{beat}}]'' Oh, forget this...

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'''Korath:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' ''[beat]'' ''Who?''\\
'''Peter:''' ''[visibly disappointed]'' Star-Lord, man. The legendary outlaw? ''[{{beat}}]'' ''[beat]'' Oh, forget this...



* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: The Collector does.

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* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: The Collector does.has servants that he does not treat well at all. This causes him problems.
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** James Gunn has said what happens in the film is important to the plot of the third ''Avengers'' movie. In fact, the first words that appear in the credits are "The Guardians of the Galaxy will return."

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** James Gunn has said what happens in the film is important to the [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar plot of the third ''Avengers'' movie. movie.]] In fact, the first words that appear in the credits are "The Guardians of the Galaxy will return."
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Moved to YMMV


* UnexpectedCharacter: The movie is a gathering of C-list and D-list Marvel characters that nobody would have expected to be featured in a film. [[spoiler:Including ''Howard the Duck'' in TheStinger!]]
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Tropes ranging from D to J in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

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Tropes ranging from D S to J Z in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.



* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR

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* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC
[[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC # to C]]
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ
[[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ D to J]]
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR
[[GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR K to R]]
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Tropes ranging from D to J in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

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* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesAToC
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesDToJ
* GuardiansOfTheGalaxy/GoTGTropesKToR

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* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Saal and his wingmen die trying to stop Ronan's ship]].
* TheScapegoat: Everyone in the prison hates Gamora, considering her guilty by association due to what Ronan has done. Rocket says she'll last a day at most.
* ScreamingWarrior: Groot and Rocket do a lot of screaming in the PrisonRiot.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** [[spoiler:Nebula]] pulls one of these during the final battle after falling off the ''Dark Aster''. [[spoiler:She]] manages to hijack one of the Ravager ships and make a [[SavedForTheSequel clean getaway]].
** Rocket tries to when [[spoiler:Ronan gets the Infinity Stone and Peter and Gamora get captured by the Ravagers]], but Groot and Drax talk him out of it.
* ScrewYourUltimatum: Rocket and Drax attempt to rescue Peter and Gamora by threatening to blow up the ''Eclector'' unless they are turned over in the ''next five seconds''. Yondu doesn’t believe the threat, having never met Rocket, and he’s unaware that this weapon is allegedly capable of ''blowing up moons''. Subverted by Peter when activates the comm himself to convince Rocket to stop.
* SelfDeprecation: A RunningGag through the film is that none of the characters have ever heard of the "Guardians of the Galaxy", [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall much like a large percentage of the film's intended audience]]. It's lampshaded in the second trailer:
-->'''Star-Lord:''' I look around, and you know what I see? LOSERS! We've all lost something... [[DareToBeBadass But life is giving us a chance!]]
* SequelHook:
** We need to know what's on Awesome Mix Vol. 2.
** James Gunn has said what happens in the film is important to the plot of the third ''Avengers'' movie. In fact, the first words that appear in the credits are "The Guardians of the Galaxy will return."
** It's discovered by the Nova Corps that Quill is only half-Terran; they're just not sure what the other half is. More importantly, [[spoiler:it turns out that Yondu and the Ravagers were hired by his dad to fetch him, but decided to keep Peter around rather than finish the job.]]
** Drax [[spoiler:shifts his vendetta to Thanos, as while he avenged his wife and daughter with the death of Ronan, the Kree villain was acting on behalf of Thanos.]]
** In addition, [[spoiler:Nebula escapes at the end, so we'll no doubt be seeing her again]].
** Anyone who paid special attention to the Collector's collection might have noticed [[spoiler:Adam Warlock's regenerative cocoon. It was even shown to be hatched in the Howard the Duck scene]]. Since [[spoiler:Adam plays a huge role in both the Guardians of the Galaxy's formation and the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, this sneaky EasterEgg might have been a hint for those who were paying close attention.]]
* SerkisFolk:
** Along with voicing the character, Vin Diesel also portrays Groot via motion capture, even wearing stilts to match Groot's height. An actor named Krystian Godlewski stood in as Groot before Diesel was cast, but none of his footage ended up in the film.
** Josh Brolin portrays Thanos through motion capture in his two scenes.
** James Gunn's brother Sean played Rocket on-set, while the character is voiced by Bradley Cooper.
* SexyShirtSwitch: When we first meet Bereet, she's wearing the T-shirt Peter was abducted in.
* ShatteredWorld: Thanos resides in a debris field floating in space. The stinger from ''Avengers'' actually showed the [[DefaceOfTheMoon blasted husk]] from which the debris probably came.
* ShoulderTeammate: Rocket climbs on top of Groot during the prison escape, first to seek protection against the drones, and then taking advantage of the higher viewpoint to indulge in MoreDakka once he gets his paws on a gun.
* ShoutingShooter: Rocket does this several times, both when blasting away with a rifle while standing on Groot's shoulder or when firing the guns of a fighter ship that he is piloting.
* ShoutOut: Has [[ShoutOut/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy its own page]].
* ShownTheirWork: Peter flies through the cold vacuum of space with his hands exposed. He also removes his mask [[spoiler:to save Gamora]]. The media in general likes to depict exposure to space immediately resulting in your blood boiling over, [[SpaceIsCold your skin instantly freezing]], [[ExplosiveDecompression your eyes popping out of your head]], etc. This movie shows what would actually happen (fairly) accurately. They are wearing some shielding technology, but it's established that against the exposure of space, it will only work for a very short time. Fortunately, [[spoiler:Yondu]] arrives JustInTime.
* ShutUpHannibal:
** Drax shoots Nebula with a rocket launcher while she's in the middle of a speech building up to a dramatic showdown.
** Rocket ''[[spoiler:rams Ronan with a spaceship]]'' when he's in the middle of [[spoiler:gloating to Drax about how he killed his family]].
* SigilSpam: The Nova Corps puts their starburst symbol all over the place. Even Xandar's ''capital city'' resembles the sigil when seen from above.
* SingleTear: Towards the end, Peter sheds one when seeing his mom on her deathbed in a dream sequence caused by touching the Infinity Stone.
* SkewedPriorities: After their escape from the Kyln, Quill risks his life and returns to the prison in order to recover his [[MementoMacGuffin walkman]].
* SlowNo: In the climax, Gamora does this during Peter's DesperateObjectCatch for the Infinity Stone blown from Ronan's hammer.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord.
** When he announces his name to Korath he expects a reaction, but Korath just shrugs and asks "Who?" It even continues when the Nova Corps get him.
--->'''Peter''' Hey, y'know what? There's another name you might know me by.\\
''[Korath turns to face Quill]''\\
'''Peter:''' Star-Lord.\\
'''Korath:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' ''Who?''\\
'''Peter:''' ''[visibly disappointed]'' Star-Lord, man. The legendary outlaw? ''[{{beat}}]'' Oh, forget this...
** Peter's later ecstatic when Korath actually greets him using his "outlaw name" in their second encounter. It's apparently the first time anyone else has used it seriously.
--->'''Korath''' ''[grins menacingly]'' Star-Lord.\\
'''Peter:''' ''[grins in return]'' Finally!
* TheSmartGuy: Rocket Raccoon, a brilliant planner with an eye for gadgets. He remotely hacked a number of guard robots, disabled a space-station's anti-grav and proceeded to fly the guard tower out of the prison, a plan he concocted in a few minutes at most.
* SmokeShield: A classic example, used by the Ravagers against the ''Dark Aster''. Interesting because it's not smoke, but rather appears to be HardLight at first, and could be misconstrued for a weapon.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Gamora for the Guardians, Nebula for the villains, though the two start nominally on the same team.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: For the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
** This film shifts from the previous SuperHero tales to a full-blown SpaceOpera.
** Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}, despite their idiosyncrasies, are undoubtedly straight-up heroes. The Guardians are a bunch of [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold surly]], [[MoreDakka trigger-happy]], [[BloodKnight fight-happy]] [[AntiHeroTeam anti-heroes]] with [[ListOfTransgressions impressive criminal records.]] As one prison guard puts it, they're "a bunch of a-holes." There's also the greater emphasis on comedy.
** This is also the first Marvel Studios film not to feature ''Avengers'' members. In fact, this is the explicitly stated reason as to ''why'' this movie is happening. After nine or so straight movies revolving around the members of the Avengers, building up to the upcoming finale to Phase Two, ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' is a BreatherEpisode gathering of C-list and D-list Marvel characters that nobody would ever expect to be featured in a film.
** While it is a 180-degree turn in tone from the superhero movies that have come before, the stinger involving this film in [[spoiler:''Thor: The Dark World'']], the explanations of [[spoiler:the Celestials]] and clarification of the power of [[spoiler:the Infinity Stones]] ties it in and sets up plot points that ultimately will pay off [[spoiler:the Phase 3 films]], culminating in the [[spoiler:''The Avengers: Infinity War'' films]].
* SoundtrackDissonance:
** Despite the film being a SpaceOpera, the soundtrack consists of various sixties and seventies hits -- all tracks from Peter's "Awesome Mix Vol 1" mixtape. This emphasizes [[UnlikelyHero just how much he doesn't fit into a superhero persona]] in that situation.
** The opening has Peter finding a creepy tomb on a dead world, only to start dancing through the monster-infested ruins to the 1974 Redbone's hit "Come and Get Your Love".
** Peter gets processed and locked up in space prison to "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede.
** "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes plays as Peter fights through a dozen or so security guards to get his cassette player back. It turns out this song is playing because one of the prison guards, who examined the cassette tape, has taken a liking to the song. Granted the dissonance is slightly lessened since a song titled "Escape" is playing as he escapes from a prison.
** "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie plays as the Guardians reach the WretchedHive of scum and villainy, Knowhere Station.
** The Guardians form their master plan to beat Ronan to the 1976 "Cherry Bomb", by the Runaways.
** "O-o-h Child" plays [[spoiler:after Ronan's ship crashes and Groot dies protecting the rest of the Guardians. [[WeNeedADistraction Quill uses this to challenge Ronan to a dance-off]].]]
** "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell plays as a RightNowMontage shows what Yondu, Nova Prime Rael, Officer Dey, and the Guardians themselves are doing after the FinalBattle.
** The crew [[AndTheAdventureContinues flies off to their next adventure]] to "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5. [[spoiler:Groot]] then dances to the rest of the song, while Drax cleans his knives in the background.
* SourceMusic: The '70s tunes that play in the movie are all from a cassette tape that Peter owns and listens to regularly in the film itself.
* SpaceClouds: Clearly our heroes are guarding the same part of the galaxy that [[Film/{{Thor}} Asgard]] is in. Knowhere and Thanos's... throne room-asteroid thing are both surrounded by nebulae.
* SpaceIsAir:
** While this trope is in full force with most of the ships, the Knowhere mining pods are portrayed extremely realistically, consisting of small cramped spheres covered in retro-thrusters that maneuver with Newtonian mechanics.
** While the ''Dark Aster'' and Yondu's mothership are straight examples of big, boxy fortresses, the ''Milano'' and her sister ships are streamlined for atmospheric operations; their wings and thrusters even shift during complicated maneuvers.
* SpaceOpera: Huge {{Space Battle}}s! {{Space Pirate}}s! SpacePolice! [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green-Skinned Space Babes]]! A MacGuffin that could decide the fate of the galaxy! Welcome to the Cosmic Marvel universe.
* SpacePirate: Yondu and the Ravagers. Although we never see them do any pillaging on-screen, they are described as (and act like) a group that will steal anything from anyone and everyone else treats them as such.
* SpacePolice: The Nova Corps, who aren't really amused that an AntiHeroTeam is calling themselves the "Guardians of the Galaxy" instead.
* SpaceStation: Knowhere, which is the floating head of a dead [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Celestial]].
* SpaceWestern: The whole film is one. The Ravager are very ''bandito''/Indian raider-esque and Knowhere is explicitly compared to a old west outlaw town by Quill.
* SpannerInTheWorks:
** Rocket had this elaborate plan laid out to break out of prison, and Groot, well-meaning tree that he is, proceeds to [[LeeroyJenkins immediately grab]] the item that they were supposed to grab last, which ''triggers the prison alarms''. The rest of the team have to quickly improvise the rest of the escape.
** The Collector's repeated attempts to get his hands on the Orb through intermediaries result in the disruption of Thanos and Ronan's plans.
* SpontaneousCrowdFormation: In the climactic [[spoiler:dance]] battle, a crowd of people shows up as a convenient audience. This is all the more inexplicable because [[spoiler:the city they're in had previously been evacuated, dive-bombed, and borderline ''[[ColonyDrop colony dropped]]'',]] yet there are still plenty of people around to gawk.
* SpreadingDisasterMapGraphic: During the Collector's [[LectureAsExposition monologue about the origin of the six Infinity Stones]], we see images of some planet being destroyed by the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction destructive power]] of one of the orbs.
* StarfishLanguage: It ''sounds'' like all Groot can say is "I am Groot", but he's actually very intelligent and well-spoken, and that's just how his subtle and complex language sounds to people no matter what he says. Helpfully, Rocket can understand him.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Ronan the Accuser is revealed to be this once he gets hold of an Infinity Stone, with the intention of going after Thanos once he's through with the Nova Corps.]]
* StealthPun:
** The third trailer includes the TagLine "All Heroes Start Somewhere." After the word "Somewhere" appears on screen, the next thing you see is a space station. The name of that space station, not mentioned in the trailer but known to followers of the comics, is ''Knowhere''.
** In the end, [[spoiler:Yondu opens his capsule expecting to find the Infinity Gem as promised by Quill but finds a troll doll figure inside. In other words, he got ''trolled''.]]
** During the Guardians' escape from prison, the Pina Colada song plays... The song's real title? "Escape".
** Before the Guardians' escape, Rocket asks his companions for a controller from a guard's arm, and the prosthetic leg from one of the prisoners. In other words, Rocket demands an arm and a leg to get them out.
* StepfordSmiler: The Collector's aid, Carina, is always smiling, putting on a chipper mood in front of others. In actuality, the Collector is a MeanBoss to her, constantly hurling abuse at her and her fellow servants, keeping those who crossed him in one of his cages.
* StickyFingers: Quill may be a thief, but at least he understands the concept of ownership, whereas Rocket seems to struggle with the idea.
-->'''Rocket:''' Question: what if I see something that I wanna take and it belonged to someone else?\\
'''Rhomann:''' You would be arrested.\\
'''Rocket:''' But what if I want it more than the person who has it?\\
'''Rhomann:''' It's still illegal.\\
'''Rocket:''' That doesn't follow. No, I want it more, sir, you understand me?
* TheStinger: [[spoiler:ComicBook/HowardTheDuck]] is among the Collector's collections.
* StormingTheCastle: The Dark Aster is a space ship and a castle in one.
* StupidEvil:
** Thanos's two most trusted minions, his "daughters," have been tortured into serving him. [[spoiler:[[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal They both betray him]].]]
** The Collector is a MeanBoss who [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture keeps his maids like slaves]] and locks them up in cages if they upset him ([[MakeAnExampleOfThem in full view of the others as a warning]]). It was a bad idea to unveil the Infinity Stone and explain to the heroes how it worked when one maid was within reach of it.
* SuddenlyShouting: Courtesy of Rocket.
-->'''Rocket:''' I got one plan and that plan requires a ''frickin'' Quarnex battery so ''FIGURE IT OUT!!!!''\\\
'''Rocket:''' YOU'RE! MAKING! ME! BEAT! UP! GRASS!
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: The Other (Thanos's chamberlain). Although he was able to scare Loki in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Ronan makes short work of him.
* SuicideAttack: Ronan orders his Necrocraft fighters to dive-bomb Xandar during the fight. They manage to do quite a bit of damage until Rocket and the Ravagers start blasting them out of the sky before they can land.
* SuperheroesInSpace: Perhaps the first film example of superheroes in a SpaceOpera setting.
* SuperheroMovieVillainsDie: [[spoiler:Ronan and Korath are both killed. Nebula survives.]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: During the Kyln prison break, an exasperated Gamora declares "I'm going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy."
* SustainedMisunderstanding: Drax, Rocket and Groot either have no idea about human gestures and metaphors, completely misunderstand what people are saying, or are just simply unintelligible.
* TakeMyHand: Happens a few times.
** The first is when [[spoiler:Peter's mom asks him to take her hand just before she dies]].
** The second is from Gamora when Nebula is about to perform a DisneyVillainDeath, [[spoiler:which she subverts by timing it so she lands on a passing Ravager fighter]].
** Finally, [[spoiler:when Peter is about to be overwhelmed by the Infinity Stone, Gamora calls for him to take her hand, which he does after a brief flashback memory of the first incident]].
* TalkingAnimal: Rocket, only he'll chew your face off if you call him an "animal".
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Hilariously averted on numerous occasions.
** Drax [[ShutUpHannibal shoots Nebula]] with a rocket while she's badmouthing Gamora.
** Peter sings and ''dances'' to buy time for Rocket [[spoiler:to repair the Hadron Enforcer and shoot Ronan's hammer.]]
* TattooedCrook: Drax's body is covered in red tattoos. He's introduced as a prisoner.
* TeamKiller: Ronan kills The Other for annoying him during their argument.
* TeamTitle: Obviously, though they are only referred to as "Guardians of the Galaxy" near the end.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The five of them can't stand each other (with the exception of Rocket and Groot), and spend as much time fighting each other as their enemies. Eventually they become FireForgedFriends.
* TemptingFate: When Rocket explains his plan for their prison break: "Once the battery is removed, everything is gonna slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly, '''so you definitely need to get that last.''' -- Cue Groot ripping the device from the wall, kicking off the red alert.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Groot impales a bunch of {{Mooks}} by extending his arms into them, lifting them off their feet, [[GrievousHarmWithABody slamming them down hard enough to break their legs audibly]], knocking the other mooks into the opposite wall, then repeatedly slamming the impaled mooks against the walls and ceiling [[OverlyLongGag for about thirty seconds]].
* ThisCannotBe: [[spoiler:Ronan expresses his disbelief that the Guardians together could safely wield the Infinity Stone right before they kill him.]]
-->'''Ronan''': ''[horrified]'' You're ''mortal! '''HOW?!'''''
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch
-->'''Quill:''' You said it yourself, bitch. We're the [[TitleDrop Guardians of the Galaxy]].
* TitleDrop: Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and Rhomann Dey all get to do this, [[NeverTrustATrailer at least in the trailer]]. In the actual movie, it's said by Ronan and Star-Lord.
* TitleIn: All locations are introduced via EstablishingShot and on-screen text.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Groot is the only Guardian that doesn't start the film as a criminal or {{Jerkass}}; the only reason he's with them is because of Rocket. WordOfGod notes that he's essentially "innocent" compared to the others.
* TookALevelInKindness: All but [[TokenGoodTeammate Groot]] become more compassionate as the film goes on.
* ToplessnessFromTheBack:
** In the trailers, Gamora undresses on Quill's ship. [[NeverTrustATrailer This doesn't happen in the movie]].
** And in a non-fanservice version, Quill gets a look at Rocket's back when they're both being stripped of gear at the Kyln. Foreshadowing his later revelation, Rocket has [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140721134618/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/9/9d/Cybernetic_Rocket.png various cybernetics embedded in it.]] In-between the bald spots and scar tissue.
* TractorBeam: Shows up on at least three occasions.
** Used early on by Yondu to abduct little Peter and again later when saving him and Gamora from freezing to death in space.
** Nebula's Necrocraft has one which she uses to collect the orb with after blowing Gamora's ship apart.
%%* TrailersAlwaysLie: see NeverTrustATrailer
* TranslationConvention: It's safe to say that none of the characters spoke in English throughout the movie.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Star-Lord's arrest record lists him as having a translator implant in his neck. Gamora and Rocket are also cyborgs, and can be assumed to have something similar.
* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Everyone's space ship engines must be cued to the plot.
** While it takes the Guardians quite a while to reach Knowhere from the Kyln, Ronan and company manage to receive Drax's phone call and arrive within the same amount of time the Guardians spend talking to the Collector.
** It takes Yondu and his team very little time to travel from Xandar to Knowhere and arrive at the same time as Ronan.
** In the time it takes Ronan to travel to Xandar, the Guardians manage to just beat him there, despite having to work out their issues with Yondu first.
* TribalFacepaint: Although not to the extent of Ronan's ThisMeansWarpaint design, the only other Kree official seen in the movie also bears some black facepaint during his conversation with Nova Prime.
* TrickArrow: Yondu's weapon of choice is a single golden, high-tech arrow that he can control by whistling and guides with the implant on his skull. He uses it at one point to wipe out an entire detachment of {{mooks}}.
* TwoDecadesBehind: Peter is abducted in 1988 and the story takes place 26 years later. This means it all happens in 2014, Earth time.
* {{Understatement}}: Yondu describing Peter Quill's father, [[spoiler:who he'd been protecting Peter from after having unwittingly delivered God knows how many other children to their deaths]], as a "jackass".
* UnexpectedCharacter: The movie is a gathering of C-list and D-list Marvel characters that nobody would have expected to be featured in a film. [[spoiler:Including ''Howard the Duck'' in TheStinger!]]
* UnfoldingPlanMontage: The heroes' plan to save Xandar is explained via [[ExpositionDiagram fancy animations]] on a HolographicInterface.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee:
** Rocket doesn't tell any of the Guardians (or the viewer) how he plans to get them ''out'' of prison, only that they need access to the control tower. Gamora is visibly delighted by the reveal.
** Mostly averted with Quill's 12% plan to save Xandar. We get bits of an UnfoldingPlanMontage and though some of the details, e.g. how [[spoiler:Ronan]] gets killed, go down differently, the final outcome is still as planned.
* UpliftedAnimal: Rocket is the result of "illegal genetic and cybernetic experiments on a lower life form".
* UsedFuture:
** Most of the space faring races' "futuristic" technology is covered in dirt and grime, a far cry from the CrystalSpiresAndTogas of [[Film/{{Thor}} Asgard]].
** Averted by Xandar, which ''is'' very pristine-looking (though more Earth-like, with fountains-and-walkways). At least [[spoiler:until a good chunk of it gets destroyed by Ronan's forces.]]
* UseYourHead: Drax headbutts an opponent during the PrisonRiot.
* VehicularAssault: In Space. When fleeing Knowhere, Gamora is assaulted by a Necrocraft that uses its wing to push her pod against a rock wall.
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Ronan the Accuser is surprisingly dark and menacing for a film that's so light-hearted and adventurous.
* VillainBall: Ronan could have achieved his goals easily if he tried a more subtle approach like just taking a nondescript shuttle to Xandar and using the Infinity Stone without drawing attention to himself. Instead he had to make a big production of it by having his easily recognized flagship fly to Xandar and giving an [[EvilGloating archetypal monologue]] about what he's going to do before actually doing it, which gave the Guardians and the Nova Corps the opportunity to fight back. And later, when all Ronan has to do to win is ''touch the ground'', he pauses to gloat ''more''. He even keeps Rocket alive to hear it. This gives Rocket enough time to [[spoiler:reassemble his gun and shoot the Infinity Gem out of Ronan's grip]].
* VisualPun: When Yondu [[spoiler:opens the orb Peter gave him, he finds a Troll Doll instead of the Infinity Stone. Peter is "trolling" Yondu]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: The relationship between any two members of the team (except Groot), but special mention goes to Drax who is InnocentlyInsensitive to his teammates. And then Nebula shows up and he [[HypocriticalHeartwarming blows her away for trash-talking Gamora]].
-->'''Drax:''' No-one talks to my friends like that.
* VoiceoverLetter: Peter's note from his mom.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Much like in the comics, Drax is never seen wearing a shirt. Lampshaded in the [[LockAndLoadMontage suiting up scene]] before the climax; the Ravagers provide the Guardians with dark red leather uniforms. Drax considers the shirt for about two seconds before tossing it away.
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency:
** Yondu constantly holds the fact that he didn't allow the Ravagers to eat Peter Quill when he first came aboard as a child over Peter's head and expects his loyalty in return. Eventually Peter [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out on it]].
--->'''Quill:''' Twenty years you've been throwing that in my face! Like it's some great thing, not eating me! ''Normal people don't even think about eating someone else!'' Much less that person'd have to be ''grateful'' for it!
** Peter shamelessly talks himself up after [[spoiler:saving Gamora from the vacuum of space.]]
* WeHaveReserves: When Ronan sends off his Necrocraft pilots to [[SuicideAttack dive-bomb]] Yandar.
* WeNeedADistraction: Peter Quill [[spoiler:dances]] in front of Ronan in order to buy time for [[spoiler:Rocket Raccoon to repair a weapon for Drax to fire at Ronan's hammer. It ''works'']].
* WeaponOfMassDestruction: The Infinity Stones can be used to wipe out entire planets.
* WeWillNotHavePocketsInTheFuture: The Xandarians are dressed this way.
* WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture: The universally accepted currency seems to be "Units".
* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: The Collector does.
* WhamLine:
** After the Ravagers leave the Guardians on Xandar:
--->'''Kraglin:''' Yeah, Quill turned out okay. [[spoiler:Probably good we didn't deliver him to his dad like we were hired to.]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Yondu:''' Yeah, that guy was a jackass!]]
** In-Universe, when The Collector explains what the MacGuffin really is.
--->'''The Collector:''' Oh, my new friends. Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots. [[spoiler:Infinity Stones.]] These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe. [[WorldWreckingWave These carriers can use the stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field.]]\\
'''Quill:''' [[NightmareFuel There’s a little pee coming out of me right now.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Bereet? Where did she go after Quill got arrested by Nova Corps? (It's blink-and-you-miss-it, but when Rocket is scanning Quill to find out he has a bounty, you can see Quill saying goodbye to her before he heads to the Broker.)
* WhatTheHellHero: Drax's extremely reckless behavior in his quest for vengeance against Ronan results in a lot of people ending up hurt or dead, and Drax himself getting beaten severely and nearly killed. Rocket calls him out on this, pointing out that Drax is not the only person whose family has been killed by Ronan, and that getting even ''more'' people killed while trying to get revenge is not an appropriate method of redress. It works: Drax is deeply shamed, which prompts him to behave much more rationally, and more cooperatively, from then on.
* WhenTreesAttack: Groot may be the nicest member of the team, but if you make him angry, he's also the most dangerous. ''Definitely.''
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The movie ends with one: [[spoiler:The Nova Corps seals the Infinity Stone away, Rhomann Dey comes home to his family, Yondu discovers that Peter gave him a troll doll instead of the Infinity Stone and Groot is slowly regenerating in a flower-pot after his HeroicSacrifice. And as for Peter and his TrueCompanions, [[AndTheAdventureContinues they're off to do "Something good, something bad, a bit of both."]]]]
* WhiteMaleLead: Despite the diverse cast of alien misfits, the white, male, and human Quill is the leader of the group.
* TheWorfBarrage: Ronan is completely unfazed by the Hadron Enforcer. He absorbs the attack despite a direct hit to the chest and [[OutOfTheInferno re-emerged from a cloud of smoke]].
* TheWorfEffect: The previously MadeOfIron Drax gets beaten half to death in his first fight with an an unarmed Ronan, to show just how dangerous the Kree villain is. He actually gets [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] ''both'' times he fights Ronan solo; it is only the combined efforts of the Guardians that deliver the win.
* WorldWreckingWave: The Infinity Stone has the effect of converting any organic matter it touches into energy, unless it is held by a being of incredible power. If used on a planet, the resulting chain reaction would rip through the microbes in soil and seawater, rendering the entire planet lifeless.
* WretchedHive: The Knowhere space station, a severed Celestial head located at an unspecified place just outside of the galaxy. It's a port of call and observatory for intergalactic travelers, as well as a mining colony for selling illegal materials on the interstellar black market, and so attracts all sorts of unsavory characters.
* XRaySparks: In the fight between Gamora and Nebula, Gamora's skull and skeleton flicker into visibility when she's painfully shocked by Nebula's electric staff.
* YouAllMeetInACell: Played with. Quill, Gamora, Rocket and Groot first meet each other on Xandar, but the entire team first meets up in the Kyln prison when they run into Drax.
* YouAreNotMyFather: Gamora never actually says this to Thanos in this movie, but this is clearly how she feels when Quill refers to him as her father. She tells him quite plainly that Thanos ''murdered'' her true family and adopted her against her will. Her "sister" Nebula seems to feel the same way about Thanos, but chooses to take a ''very'' different path to rectify it.
* YouAreNumberSix: Rhomann Dey refers to Rocket by the serial number used by the scientists who created him.
* YouDontLookLikeYou: Most of the costumes are spot-on or at least [[PragmaticAdaptation pragmatic approximations]], but [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/113509/3894734-9432323644-F7Z1w.jpg Korath]] looks absolutely nothing like his [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1f/Korath_the_Pursuer.jpg comic counterpart]]. Which is for the best.
* YouKilledMyFather: Ronan points this out to the captive Xandarian before crushing his head.
-->'''Ronan:''' Because I do not forgive your people for taking the life of my father, and his father, and his father before him.
* YouShallNotPass:
** The Nova Corps try to use their fighter craft to ''physically'' do this to the ''Dark Aster'' as it nears Xandar's surface, using an interlocking shield mechanism which essentially turns their hundreds of ships into one giant energy net. They don't ''stop'' it, but they ''do'' considerably delay it. And it's only the power of the Infinity Stone that gets the ''Dark Aster'' through it.
** Simultaneously, the Ravagers use their own ships to shoot down Ronan's {{Mook Mobile}}s as they try to strafe and SuicideAttack the Xandarian capital city. This, on the other hand, is mostly successful.
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