Warning: Spoilers to follow.
Well, it’s official, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is on Disney Plus. Time to get hooked on that feelin’ all over again. Director James Gunn’s final installment in this kaleidoscopic space saga, Vol. 3 exists as a stark reminder that Marvel still has the power to tell great stories despite the company’s recent narrative blunders. I’m looking right at you, Secret Invasion. Try to shapeshift your way out of this one, bucko…
Heartfelt, action-packed, and fun, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is inarguably the most genre defining storyline in the MCU. Don’t believe me? Fine. I’ll do (explain) it myself. Ha! There’s a Thanos reference for all you true believers out there.
I’ll be quick. The first GOTG brought musicality to a Marvel franchise that, at the time, hadn’t really hammered down its true identity. More than that though, it made our ongoing storyline intergalactic. It took Earth’s mightiest heroes and folded them into the cosmos.
By bringing space into the equation, the minds at Marvel were finally able to tie in stories that had been pretty compartmentalized up until that point — restructuring the MCU, and laying the groundwork for an inevitable future. (Yet another Thanos reference. I shouldn’t be left in charge.)
One of the series’ most beloved characters — Rocket Raccoon — helped shepherd in those massive changes. Which is why the final film making its way to streaming is such a big deal. Watching Rocket’s character arc has spurred a lot of online discussion since the aforementioned finale, and one Reddit user has made a compelling connection to what really makes Rocket tick.
Pretty heavy stuff. Essentially what our friend — Reddit user Dove_of_Doom — communicates here is that Rocket never saw himself as much more than a… monster. He wasn’t a human, and certainly wasn’t an animal — entirely, that is. Rocket felt genuinely responsible for the death of his friends on account of his plan of escape, which caused his self-image to remain patently unclear.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is able to rectify those larger plot points, and help Rocket feel comfortable in his own skin by allowing him to finally come to turns with what he is – a raccoon. We watch him rescue a whole slew of (non-modified) baby raccoons, and voilà. Development.
It’s incredibly powerful storytelling, and shares a message of acceptance that is hard to ignore. Thanks, James Gunn. So boot up your Disney Plus, settle in, and give GOTG Vol. 3 a watch.
