On the Rack: Marvel 100th Anniversary Special Guardians of the Galaxy

This week is the last of Marvel’s 100^th Anniversary Specials and it appropriately features the Guardians of the Galaxy. On the eve of their big screen debut, the Guardians celebrate Marvel’s hypothetical centennial with their own special issue that features characters from Guardians past and present. Names like Vince Astro, Charlie-27, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot, make up this team along with a centuries old Iron Man, Rocket’s three nephews “the Raccoons”, and Gamora as Star Lord, the team leader. Like the rest of the Anniversary Specials, this one is filled with humour and pays tribute to the cosmic team’s history.

In this issue Gamora has taken over leadership of the Guardians and has to lead the team against Galactus who has gained even more power because he has devoured the Silver Surfer and become Silver Galactus. With the Silver Surfer’s powers, Galactus is nearly unstoppable, but the Guardians are up for the challenge and work as a team to defend their home, Knowhere. Of course, the Guardians can’t be successful without a good amount of humour. Over the course of the story, Tony Stark laments his existence as a consciousness downloaded into nanites because it means he is unable to drink, and Rocket has a running gag with his nephews in which he insists that they not call him “dad”. This is worked into the usual cosmic shenanigans that the Guardians get into, and balanced with the type of action that you expect from a team that is defending the galaxy.

Like the four 100^th Anniversary issues before it, Marvel 100^th Anniversary Special Guardians of the Galaxy found a way to honour Marvel’s history and project what their future might be. All five issues have had a tongue in cheek sense of humour that poke fun at the tropes comic readers are used to seeing in Silver Age books, but they do so while maintaining their reverence. While these five issues will not have any effect on the Marvel Universe at large, they are a worthy and enjoyable read for any comic fan.