Rocket’s Story: An Origin Five Films In The Making
by Frank Martin
One of the crazy things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is just how long it’s taken some stories to develop. There are so many long character arcs and story lines that the MCU had the opportunity to plant seeds that would eventually grow over time. This becomes easier the more the characters have appearances. In terms of the Guardians of the Galaxy, they essentially appeared in five films with an bonus Christmas special. And perhaps the biggest payoff of that film series was seeing Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) origin in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Fans of the comics might not be as interested in Rocket’s origins as those who only know him via the films. After all, they would probably be more familiar with the character and have some sense of his past. For someone without that knowledge, the thought of a walking, talking, gun-toting raccoon is a bit strange. So they would obviously be curious as to how he came about and why he is so grumpy all the time.
A small hint of Rocket’s origin was given in the first film. There’s a scene where Rocket has his shirt off, exposing a lot of the marks on his backside that were created during his experimentation process. Rocket was extremely sensitive about the subject and stormed off without hinting as to where he came from and why those marks are there. None of this was addressed in any of the previous Guardians installments. It wasn’t until the final film of the series that Rocket’s origins were explained fully. The fact that the filmmakers were able to drop a small hint of a storyline and then not expand upon it for five-plus films is a feat of remarkable patience and long form storytelling.
The Guardians of the Galaxy films are now streaming on Disney+.
