Guardians of the Galaxy Secret Origin
What If They Weren't the First?
by Phil Perich for the True Believers Blog
I was already hyped to see the soon to be released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in theaters and then I heard the news that Sylvester Stallone would be playing the character Stakar Ogord aka Starhawk, While Starhawk’s father is one of my favorite Marvel characters, I could almost care less about Starhawk. Starhawk’s appearance however hints at another team, the originalteam of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanks to the strangeness of time travel, the original team of Guardians were from and mostly operated 1000 years from today. Michael Rooker’s Yondu who was seen in the first Guardians movie was a member of the original team also. So who are these mysterious alien figures?
One Who Knows
Starhawk’s origin in the comics is so convoluted that not all of it could possible be addressed in the movie. Stakar was adopted as an infant in the 30th century by a pair of mutants who were later killed. He later discovers that his true parents were the 20th/21st century hero Quasar and the cosmic being named Her, later Kismet. Stakar was also cursed to relive his life over and over in a never-ending cycle that gave him what seemed like cosmic awareness, sometimes even on an unconscious level, which prompted him to refer to himself as “One Who Knows”. Starhawk was usually a combination of two people sharing one body, Stakar and his adopted sister/later wife Aleta, who will be portrayed by Michelle Yeoh.
Charlie-27
Another announced character from the original team was Charlie-27, who will be portrayed by actor Ving Rhames. Charlie-27 was a soldier and space pilot who was genetically engineered to live in Jupiter’s gravity, which gave him eleven times the muscle mass of a normal human. He later joins the original Guardians of the Galaxy after the alien Badoon race conquer Charlie’s home along with the rest of our solar system.
A Man Out of Time
And the biggest reason I was so excited to hear about the inclusion of this version of the Guardians was the hope that we’d see my favorite character from that team. Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville’s Lex Luthor) was also announced to have a “mystery” role in this movie. I think Mr. Rosenbaum would make a great Vance Astro! Vance was an alternate future version of the New Warriors character Marvel Boy/Justice. Leaving Earth in the hopes of discovering new inhabitable planets, Nasa’s own Vance Astro spent 1000 years in suspended animation until he awoke to discover the Badoon invasion. Vance would work with and later become leader of the Guardians. For most of his time with the team, Vance would have to wear his survival suit to prevent death due to his extreme age, except for a period where a mystical spell allowed him to live outside the suit. And Vance would later discover and use Captain America’s famous indestructible shield, made an even more powerful weapon when combined with Vance’s mutant ability of psychokinesis.
And we’ve even been promised more original Guardians goodness as well, including Mainframe, who is an AI future version of Vision, member of the Avengers. So who or what was your favorite part of that original team? How should they be portrayed in the MCU? As originating in the far future or here in the present just a few years ago? Let me know YOUR thoughts!
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You can hear me discussing all things Marvel (comics, movies, TV) every week with my friends on the All New Marvel Roundup, Wade’s World and Superconnectivity, all part of the Nuff Said Podcast. I also write another blog, the Legends of DC and do a podcast of the same name. You can find all my podcasts, blogs and those of others at www.southgatemediagroup.com. You can also find all my creative endeavors at www.philperich.wordpress.com.