Marvel shakes up Guardians of the Galaxy line-up, mission, and creative team
For the past few months, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has been counting down to… something… and now we know what that something is. Actual superheroing.
As revealed in the just-released Marvel Comics April 2021 solicitations, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy are going full-superhero with new costumes, new headquarters, a new enemy, and a new line-up.
"A New Age of Space starts here! They were soldiers, misfits, mercenaries, thieves, and a family. They were heroes… but times have changed. The galaxy no longer needs heroes. It needs superheroes!" reads Marvel's solicitation of Guardians of the Galaxy #13. "Now, when the call goes forth – whether it’s from a stranded team of planetary explorers or Emperor Hulkling and his Kree/Skrull Alliance – the Guardians of the Galaxy answer!
"The New Age of Space brings a new artist! New headquarters! New costumes! New teammates! And an all-new enemy you’ll have to see to believe! Get on board, true believer – it’s going to be the ride of your life!"
First up, the costumes - from the cover shown, they're all wearing some Star-Lord-esque jackets that make this Marvel fan daydream of the '90s 'leather jacket' Avengers era. The new uniforms evoke the red and blue Guardians uniforms of the post-Annihilation Guardians of the Galaxy, the era that brought Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, and more to the team.
As for headquarters, Marvel's keeping that secret for now.
On the line-up side, Brett Booth's primary cover to April's Guardians of the Galaxy #13 shows a slimmed-down six-person roster consisting of Nova, Star-Lord, Gamora, Wiccan, Emperor Hulking, and Groot.
The variants open it up a bit more with some familiar faces, but absent in all of those is recent member Marvel Boy. Marvel hasn't confirmed the finalist roster, but you can kind of see the shape of what's coming.
On the villain side, that too is secret, with Marvel simply teasing "you'll have to see to believe!"
"Guardians of the Galaxy, both the book and the team, are going to be stepping up a gear in 2021," Ewing says in the announcement. "With villains the team have never faced, guest stars you never thought you'd see, and a new teammate you can't even begin to believe - all coming together for a crisis that'll shake every planet in the Marvel universe down to the bedrock... maybe even a backwater planet like Earth."
One thing you won't have to wait and see on is the series artist. Marvel has announced that Ghost Rider artist Juan Frigeri is taking over for Juan Cabal, who drew the first 12 issues. Series writer Al Ewing is staying on-board for the time being.
For an idea of who could be Guardians of the Galaxy's new big bad, let's revisit the usual suspects - the best Marvel cosmic villains of all time.
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