Finally the Guardians of the Galaxy have found the Cosmic Seed, on Earth, where Thanos found them and took it from them like they were children (I could make a Star-Lord joke here, but I’ll refrain). Now Thanos is using the Seed to make the Earth into his own super-weapon, who can stop him? Meet me after the jump for my thoughts on “I Feel the Earth Move.”
Unlikely Allies
With the Cosmic Seed in Thanos’ hands, and the Earth his weapon, Star-Lord finally makes a reasonable decision and orders the Guardians to retreat. They do, but along the way, Gamora picks up Nebula, Drax Ronan, and Star-Lord Ronan’s hammer. They want to be heroes, they might be outlaws, but they’re not killers, this time at least. It was good to see our Guardians show some mercy in the situation.
Ronan and Nebula both see the logic of the common foe. Nebula without her cybernetics (lost when she was amped up by the Seed last episode) might not need to obey her father Nebula any longer. Ronan, by Kree tradition, owes Drax his life, even though the Destroyer only saved the Accuser so that he might die by his hand alone. Still, it’s an intriguing dynamic watching them cooperate against Thanos.
Where Are the Avengers?
I know that this animated series may or may not actually be in the Marvel Animated Universe continuity, proven by the fact that this is Star-Lord’s first trip back to Earth, ignoring the other trips we know about, but when Thanos drops right into the middle of Central Park in New York City – I have only one reasonable question – where are the Avengers? Thanos in New York, Cosmic Seed or not, even if he was just sightseeing, seems like a no-brainer job for the Avengers. They did spend an entire season fighting him, ya know?
Again, we have the continuity question. Perhaps there are no Avengers in this pocket universe of the animated Guardians. I would say perhaps not. We have already seen Thor and Loki and the Inhumans – who guest-star in this week’s and next week’s episodes of Avengers: Ultron Revolution. Call me a fanboy, and a continuity cop, but at least a mention of where they are would be nice. This series does air in a block of shows that feature the Avengers and Spider-Man, it should fit in with them, right?
The Quantum Bomb
While on the Guardians’ side against Thanos, Ronan remains an adversary. He plans to destroy the Earth with a quantum bomb, thereby removing both Thanos and his Cosmic Seed-powered weapon. A bit extreme, yes, but completely in line with how this version of Ronan the Accuser works. Personally I prefer the comics Ronan; he’s a bit more reasonable and sane than this Animated/Cinematic one. In the comics he only errs when he’s following the orders of someone who’s not right in the head; otherwise, he’s not a bad guy. This Ronan, however, is extreme to the max.
At first the bomb fails, due much to the interference of Nebula who he treats like dirt now that she has lost her machine parts. Is it sexist, or just power level? It feels sexist. Especially when she is shoved aside like nothing. Nevertheless Ronan has to deliver the bomb in person and delivers what could be a defeating blow to Thanos. At this point, Star-Lord does what he does best – he “annoys” Thanos back to consciousness, and the mad god of Titan sends the quantum bomb to blow up Ronan and his ship instead. Yes, Ronan, and possibly Nebula, die yet again.
Holding the Bag
While Ronan sought his way to stop Thanos, the Guardians still had tricks up their sleeves. Both seem to stem from the Asgardian container the Cosmic Seed was in having just as much power as the Cosmic Seed itself. If this was true, why not just let Thanos have the Seed, right? Everybody (at least those not on Thanos’ hit list) can be happy that way. With the container, Star-Lord tries to fight Thanos one-on-one, and Groot grows Grootlings to fight Thanos’ power over the Earth itself.
I thought it odd that Groot would use his new seedlings here like this rather than save them to repopulate his homeworld – but then I guess that’s what heroes do. That hero/outlaw question that was proposed in the first episode of the series comes up again in the other fight, and Star-Lord claims to come from a long line of outlaws – Ali Baba, Robin Hood, and Bad Bad Leroy Brown, in a joke that goes on too long. Miraculously, Thanos who it took the Avengers a season to beat, is taken out by a train.
Conclusion
I know I’ve thought this series was over before, but apparently this is the end this time, and it ends just as vaguely as it did before. Thanos is buried somewhere in the depths of the Earth? That seems like a very very bad place for him to be. Just a glimpse of recent comics like Civil War II where he murders both She-Hulk and War Machine are a good reference to exactly how dangerous he is. Has it been forgotten he killed half the Marvel Universe once?
So we end on a high note otherwise, the Guardians sailing off into space to the tune of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” a song with many genre references from Shaun of the Dead to Doctor Who. News from Comic-Con in San Diego this weekend verifies a second season of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, including a new character fans have been clamoring for… could it be at last… Adam Warlock? That’s with not even mentioning Kurt Russell as Ego, Star-Lord’s father (??), in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2… Ego? Really??
