Characters / Guardians of the Galaxy (2015)

Main Characters

Star-Lord

Star-Lord/Peter Quill

Voiced by: Will Friedle (English); Carlo Vázquez, Emiliano Ugarte (young) (Latin-American Spanish)

A half-human, half-Spartoi outlaw turned hero and self-proclaimed leader of the Guardians of The Galaxy, Peter Quill was captured by the Space Pirate Yondu. He is the son of Emperor J'Son of Spartax, making him the prince of Spartax.

• Action Survivor: In the origin short series, a much younger Star-Lord did pretty well against the Ravagers despite being hopelessly out of his depth (his alien gun helped a lot) until he was saved from the vacuum of space and subsequently caught by Yondu.
• Adaptational Dumbass: Peter Quill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not exactly a bastion of maturity, but he's still quite competent and intelligent despite his silly behavior. This depiction of Peter is vastly more child-like, clumsy and prone to making stupid mistakes, leaving viewers wondering how the heck he survived until the Guardians formed around him.
• Amazon Chaser: In "Undercover Angle," Quill admitted to dating Supergiant in the past.
• Anti-Hero: He takes after his father, J'Son of Spartax who deceives and cons people, but Peter's intentions are mostly good. But as his father points out, he doesn't have enough conviction to be considered good.
• Berserk Button: Do NOT harm his younger half-sister.
• Big Brother Instinct: Very protective of his younger half-sister Victoria.
• Book Dumb: He doesn't know much about most things. He admits to Sam Alexander that he only got a 5th-grade education (being abducted by aliens will do that). All he has to keep his mind sharp are self-help or instructional cassettes for his walkman.
• The Casanova: Star-Lord has a way with the ladies, and it usually doesn’t end well with him.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Half-Human, half-Spartoi.
• Heroic Bastard: A son of a Spartoi king and a human mom, but both of them were implied not to be married and J'Son was already married with another woman, though Victoria came after Peter.
• Idiot Ball: Quill wrongly barges in a meeting to expose J'Son which leads to a war in Asgard.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As thoughtless and rebellious as he can be, he's still shown to have standards and at least tries to do the right thing, no matter how unorthodox.
• Living MacGuffin: Peter is the only one who can open the Crypto-Cube, because he’s half-Spartax.
• Loyal Phlebotinum: His Spartaxian Elemental Gun will only work for him.
• Manchild: To amazing levels, and his childishness puts off many of his teammates. Amazingly enough, in flashbacks to his youth he came off as way more mature for his age, hinting that some of it's an act, or that he never had a real childhood in the first place.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Star-Lord engages in this so much it tends to bite him on the ass as even though he is ostensibly the leader no one listens to him because they can never tell when he's serious and when he's screwing around.
• Surprise Incest: He tries to hit on Victoria when they first meet, only to be informed about Victoria being his younger sister. After that, he instantly goes into Big Brother Instinct mode.
• Royal Blood: Star-Lord is actually his title, and his father is Emperor J'son of Spartax.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: When Star-Lord returns to his hometown, half of it is much different from what he remembered, leaving him mixed feelings about it. After defeating Thanos, he starts to enjoy the new Earth.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks way too much like his father, it's quite embarrassing. Honestly, anyone who looks at him will think J'Son just shaved.
• The Alleged Boss: Although he is the official leader of the guardians, his immaturity and recklessness means that he has very little authority over the group.
• Thicker Than Water: Star-Lord hates his father, but not enough to betray him to his enemies because he's still family, even if he deserves what his enemies will deliver to him.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: He's resistant to many kinds of mental manipulation, unless you use memories that are deeply emotional and personal.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Peter was kidnapped as a boy by Yondu and taken from his home planet. However, it's played with in that he can go back to Earth, but he doesn't want to. When he gets a vision that the Cosmic Seed may be on Earth, he's forced to do so in "Welcome Back", and it won't be his last visit either. After this, he will still go out of his way to save his birth planet even if it isn't his home anymore.

Gamora

Gamora

Voiced by: Vanessa Marshall (English); Carla Medina (Latin-American Spanish)

Deemed the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy, Gamora is the adopted daughter of the Mad Titan, Thanos, who killed her people and raised her to be his assassin.

• Adaptational Modesty: Even moreso than when she first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man or Avengers Assemble. Her new outfit is based of off her film counterpart's appearance, and this has carried on into all subsequent appearances in the 2010 Marvel Animated Universe.
• Affectionate Nickname: Rocket has taken to calling her "Gammy."
• Blood Knight: Not as much as in her early days, but sometimes she is tempted to slit someone’s throat when someone ticks her off.
• Dark Is Not Evil: She is mostly in darker clothes and is one of the heroes, but she's still the most dangerous woman in the universe.
• The Dreaded: Gamora is declared the most dangerous woman in the universe, and she certainly lived up to that reputation.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her love of battling and her no nonsense nature, she can display compassion for others and ultimately just wants to be a hero. Vanessa Marshall even described her as a "stealth assassin with a newfound conscience".
• Not So Above It All: When complimented that her hair is luxurious enough to count her as a princess she's surprisingly flattered before regaining her composure.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Gamora tries to invoke this on Nebula by telling her that Star-Lord can’t be killed because only he can open the Crypto-Cube.
• The Mole: Gamora tried to be this by competing for the position of Thanos’s top general, but it failed because Star-Lord interfered.
• Warrior Princees: As noted in "The Black Vortex Part 1", she's the daughter of a ruler of a planet, so that technically makes her a princess. And said ruler trained her to be one of the most dangerous people in the universe.

Drax the Destroyer

Drax the Destroyer

Voiced by: David Sobolov (English); Dan Osorio (Latin-American Spanish)

A former gladiator who witnessed Ronan the Accuser slaughter his family, and seeks revenge against Thanos, who allegedly ordered the killing.

• Adaptation Species Change: Much like his film counterpart, this version of Drax is an alien while his comics counterpart was a human real estate agent named Arthur Douglas.
• Adaptational Intelligence: The cartoon version of Drax is significantly more mature and level-headed than his Marvel Cinematic Universe inspiration/counterpart. Whilst he still has his quirks, such as his inability to lie and his problems with metaphors and homophones, he acts much more thoughtfully, making him practically The Straight Man as well as The Comically Serious. The best example is in the season 1 episode "Take the Milano and Run", where he repeatedly chides Gamora for her attempts to goad him into a competition; the MCU Drax would have been eagerly competing with Gamora throughout the episode.
• Berserk Button: There is only one Destroyer and it's him. Not an empty suit of armor no matter what those pesky Asgardians will tell you.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Portrayed as a warrior but showed compassion to people in need.
• Cannot Tell a Lie: Drax cannot lie because it is dishonorable. However, Star-Lord teaches him how to be a Consummate Liar.
• Comically Missing the Point: This line when Star-Lord tells him to stop sulking like a baby:
  Drax: I am sulking like a full-grown man!
• The Ditz: Drax doesn't understand homophones, to the point of confusing "brake" with "break".
• Everyone Has Standards: Drax disapproved of Star-Lord’s plan to infiltrate Nova Corps, because he thought the entire plan was unethical and deceitful.
• Irony: While suffering from Laser-Guided Amnesia he gave some friendly advice to the resurrected Ronan that revenge was a waste of time.
• Literal-Minded: Drax takes a lot of expressions literally, to the point where he misses the entire context.
• Lethal Chef: His taste in food is...quite unusual, even for the non-human members of the Guardians.
• Mythology Gag: This version of Drax shares his characterization mostly with the original depiction of Drax in the comics, prior to his shift to a Dumb Muscle characterization in the Warlock & The Infinity Watch comics of the early 1990s.
• Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: After Thanos gives Ronan a beating, Drax defies this trope, but only because he believes that Ronan will die by his hand and not by falling rocks.
• Revenge: Seeks revenge against Thanos for the murder of his entire family, and we find out it was because Thanos ordered Ronan to kill them when he was forced into Ronan's gladiator games and refused to fight for him.
• Tragic Keepsake: Drax treasures a rhino-octopus hybrid doll named Mr. Rhinopus because it belonged to his daughter Kamaria.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is terrified of moombas.

Rocket

Rocket Raccoon

Voiced by: Trevor Devall (English); Sergio Zurita (Latin-American Spanish)

A raccoon who was experimented on by robots on Half-World, giving him sapient intelligence and a tendency towards violence.

• Amplified Animal Aptitude: Justified; he was experimented on by surgeon-robots on Half-World, turning him into a super intelligent raccoon with the ability to talk.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: As in the comic and film.
• Berserk Button: Don't call him a "raccoon" or any other Earth animal you think he resembles. Don't call him "rodent". And, above all, don't EVER refer to him by his experiment name "Subject 89P13".
• Breakout Character: He and Groot are among the most popular of the main cast that even long after this series premiered, they are still given guest spots in Season 4 of Avengers Assemble.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He was forcibly granted sapience against his will by the Mad Scientists of Half-World to turn him into a Slave Race Super-Soldier. This also permanently alienated him from his mother and litter-mates.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Rocket is prone to losing his temper a lot. On Spartax, instead of apologizing for accidentally defacing a statue of the emperor (which would have saved the guardians a lot of trouble), he insults the soldiers and their emperor.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As grumpy and mean as he is, he is the only one to stick up for Groot when Peter made fun of him for being a tree.
• Klingons Love Shakespeare: He treats Earth with the same contempt he treats everything else, until he finds and falls in love with, what he considers, the best human invention ever: Duct tape!
• Pardon My Klingon/Sir Swearsalot: Shouts "krutack" more than anyone else. "Flarg" when things get really bad.
• Super-Intelligence: He received a boost in intelligence because of the Robots’ experiments on him.
• The Unfavorite: His entire family regards him as “The Runt”.

Groot

Groot

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson (English); Óscar Bonfiglio (Latin-American Spanish)

• Festering Fungus: In "Can't Fight This Seedling", a meteor has brought a persistent fungus which creates rock monsters to defend itself. Then it infects Groot, turning him into a giant.
• Green Thumb: He can grow any kind of plant on him when needed, especially an antidote needed to cure Moombas.
• Healing Factor: Groot can regenerate from whatever remains of him, even his arm.
• Last of His Kind: His home planet got destroyed, and he holds a special seed that will ensure more of his species can regenerate.
• Plant Aliens: Groot is a walking, talking tree.
• Pokémon Speak: As with his entire species, he can only say three words: "I am Groot". It’s only subverted in ‘‘Origins’’ when he and all the other Groots say, "We are Groot". He also talks in his segment in the Black Vortex arc (with everybody else saying "I am [name]").
• What Does This Button Do?: Very attracted to shiny buttons as Baby Groot, for better or worse.

Villains

Thanos

Thanos

Voiced by: Isaac C. Singleton Jr. (English); Juan Carlos Tinoco (Latin-American Spanish)

• Above Good and Evil: In his own words, "There is no good or evil, only the will of Thanos!"
• Adaptational Jerkass: Is more akin to Darkseid, of which he is an Expy of, than his comic book self.
• Adapted Out: As per Avengers Assemble, his literal love for Death is not present in this version, thus he acts completely out of megalomania.
• Bad Boss: He constantly threatens or antagonizes Korath if he fails to give him results. He even attempts to destroy the Guardians by creating a black hole that would take out even his own men. Traitors like Ronan or Nebula are treated with extreme prejudice.
• Big Bad: Thanos is the main threat to the Guardians, and they have to find the Cosmic Seed before he does.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Averted. He knows Drax very well and why he wants revenge, and also remembers why he ordered Ronan to kill his wife and daughter; it was punishment for Drax's refusal to fight for Ronan in his gladiator games.
• Composite Character: He became Carnage in this version
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Thanos is so invincible, that he makes short work of all his enemies. Not even the likes of the Destroyer or Ronan The Accuser can mow him down.
• The Dreaded: They don’t call him the Mad Titan for nothing. Thanos is the most feared conqueror in the entire galaxy. Even Asgardians know better than to involve him or to cross him.
• Evil Is Bigger: Bigger and more evil than Ronan.
• Eviler than Thou: Thanos is by far the most dangerous and most evil of all beings in the universe. Ronan learns the hard way the price for betraying his boss, who puts him in his place.
• Godhood Seeker: Thanos's ultimate goal is to gain the Cosmic Seed and bend the Universe to his will.
• Make an Example of Them: Thanos orders Knowhere’s destruction to make an example of all who defy his will.
• Mind Rape: Baits Star Lord by placing him in a dream state with his mother, so he can trick him into opening the Boom Box/Cypto Cube.
• No-Sell: The cerebral parasite that preys on the guilt of others doesn't work on Thanos, and Thanos revels in his past atrocities, furthering the fact that he's a remorseless, heartless monster.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Seeks to either destroy entire planets or rule the universe, and he was responsible for both Gamora's and Groot's people.
• The Rival: Ronan sees Thanos as one, but Thanos doesn't give a darn.
• You Monster!: Gets this from Star-Lord when he used his past memories of his mother against him.

Korath

Korath

Voiced by: Dave Fennoy (English); Salvador Reyes (Latin-American Spanish)

• The Dragon: Korath is Thanos’s right hand man. He was also Ronan's second-in-command until the latter betrayed Thanos.
• Cain and Abel: Cain to Gamora’s Abel.
• Mythology Gag: He has the same appearance as his film counterpart.
• Related in the Adaptation: The cartoon presents him as the adopted "brother" of Gamora and Nebula, whereas even in the film, he was still presented as a Kree as in the comics. The latter part is still up for debate in this series. This would certainly explain why he remained loyal to Thanos and not to Ronan.
• Sibling Rivalry: With all his adoptive siblings.
• Spared by the Adaptation: The series implies that much of the events of the film happened, but differently. Unlike his film counterpart, he's still alive after Ronan's first death.
• Undying Loyalty: Unlike his film counterpart, he’s the only one of Thanos’s henchmen who doesn’t jump ship, thus he’s the only one who remains loyal while Ronan and Nebula betrayed Thanos.

Ronan the Accuser

Ronan the Accuser

Voiced by: Jonathan Adams (English); Eduardo Fonseca (Latin-American Spanish)

• Adaptational Jerkass: He lacks most of his complex Anti-Villain qualities from the comics and acts similar to his film version coupled with Flanderization of his character from Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.. However, Ronan is shown here as a cruel, bigoted power-hungry warlord, which is far more than the genocidal revenge-driven Knight Templar he was in the film. By the Season 1 finale even though he shows gratefulness to those who save his life from critical danger, and claims of being a Well-Intentioned Extremist, yet his twisted sense of honor very much throws away any chance of being such by taking advantage of it to fuel his own selfish ends.
• Adaptational Wimp: Particularly in contrast to his on-screen portrayal, this Ronan is a coward underneath his bravado, and he's not as invincible as his live-action counterpart either.
• Ambition Is Evil: Almost everything Ronan seeks to gain more power over others and nothing else. To this he has his sights set on overthrowing the Supreme Intelligence and taking over the Kree Empire, so that his people will rule the Galaxy once again.
• Asshole Victim: Is strangled by Thanos and hurled into a mountain, then has his quantum bomb thrown at him by Thanos. Considering all of Ronan's crimes, he gets the least sympathy out of all of Thanos's victims.
• Back from the Dead: Ronan was killed sometime after Origins, but he comes back thanks to Mandala infused with Cosmic Seed Energy.
• Berserk Button: Do NOT suggest the idea of sharing power, because Ronan shares power with no one.
• Big Bad Wannabe: He may be a major threat, but no matter what, he finds himself overshadowed by bigger, universal threats, and he's too overconfident in his own skills to see that. Thanos comes in and shows him who's boss.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Ronan doesn't bother making any pretensions about his motivations, having a selfish desire for power and conquest. On top of that, he takes pleasure in callously tormenting, subjugating or even worse, cleansing other beings.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: First, Ronan betrayed his own people, leading to his exile. Ronan later served as Thanos's general, but betrayed him. Ronan later betrays Maximus the Mad by attempting to destroy Attilan because he failed to give him an invincible army.
• Dirty Coward: As heinous as Ronan's actions are, they can border on massive cowardice. In the Season 1 finale, it becomes evident that Ronan refuses to even fight Thanos when it's evident he will lose against him, and does everything he can to avoid it. Ronan proposes using a quantum bomb that can take out Thanos, but will destroy the Earth in the process. When the mechanism in his ship was disabled, it looks as if Ronan would be forced to go down to fight Thanos himself, but he still takes the coward's way out and feeds the bomb into the Earth before leaving. Ronan justifies this as Necessarily Evil to end a more dangerous threat, but in the end, he was willing to kill billions of lives just for his own, worthless survival. It ended up biting him back.
• Doomed by Canon: Ronan's final appearance in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is during the finale "Planet Monster". By the time of that series, he's been re-accepted by the Kree Empire and makes one last attempt to destroy the Earth, only for the Kree Mothership to be hurled into space by Ego!A-Bomb, apparently killing him for good. Ronan's appearances in this series take place long before Agents of S.M.A.S.H., meaning that even if he was brought Back from the Dead, or survives into the next season, Ronan will still be destroyed for good in the long run.
• Enemy Mine: Subverted in the Season 1 finale. Ronan first cooperates with the Guardians in getting Thanos out of contact with the Earth, but their truce falls apart because Ronan offers to destroy the Earth if it means Thanos's destruction.
• Et Tu, Brute?: His former second-in-command Korath does not think so highly of him due to his betrayal of Thanos.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Downplayed. Even Ronan knows how dangerous Thanos is and will not tolerate a universe with the Mad Titan around. In the grand scheme of things, Ronan is a genocidal, power-hungry warlord whereas Thanos is an Omnicidal Maniac who will destroy entire galaxies, which isn't completely acceptable for Ronan as it leaves nothing for him to take over.
• Evil Is Petty: Ronan's main ambition, above all else is to take over the Kree Empire, then the entire galaxy, but his attempts at destroying Xandar and playing Hanging Judge on Gamora had no real purpose beyond him being petty and cruel.
• Evil Versus Evil: Currently at war with Thanos and his loyalists. Thanos wins.
• Eviler than Thou: Attempts to assassinate his former master, the Supreme Intelligence, whom he finds unworthy to lead his people. Compared to Ronan though, the Supreme Intelligence is at most a pompous Jerkass. Unfortunately for Ronan, he's on the other side of this trope with Thanos.
• The Exile: The series is more explicit about this than the film; Ronan is an outlaw, even amongst the Kree, but he addresses himself and acts as if he still serves the Kree Empire.
• Faux Affably Evil: Ronan here is comparatively more civil than his film counterpart, but a cold and not-really-empathic way.
• For the Evulz: In some cases, "cleansing" (which really means swift eradication) just isn't satisfying enough for Ronan and will instead go the extra mile by performing actions for the sake of torturing them. For example, he has Soonhev's gravity matrix stolen so that its people can suffer slowly and painfully, and he puts Gamora on "trial" just so he can stick her crimes to her before she gets killed.
• Galactic Conquerer: Ronan's main goal is to take over the Kree Empire, overthrow Thanos, then become this trope.
• Hanging Judge: In "Fox On The Run", Ronan publicly tries Gamora for crimes he specifically ordered her to do, by having the Grandmaster place her in challenges that involve her former victims with Soonhev's fate at stake. Even if Gamora survives, and even if he does keep to his word to spare the planet, he will still deliver a guilty verdict and execute her himself.
• Hated by All: Ronan is hated by everyone, including his own people. Nebula only puts up with him because they both hate Thanos.
• Hate Sink: If you thought Ronan was a nasty piece of work in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., he is shown here as a Smug Snake asshole who is needlessly cruel and demeaning towards his enemies and allies every time he appears, even bigoted towards non-Kree races to the point of dehumanizing them. Ronan has earned the scorn of many, including his own people. Out of many villains who appear, Ronan has a despicable reputation of kicking the dog, such as forcing Black Bolt in an attempt destroy Attilan, or stealing Soonhev's gravity matrix for no reason other than out of spite, not to mention that his actions led to some of the Guardians leading unlawful lives; For Drax, he became a revenge-obsessed intergalactic criminal on account of Ronan murdering his family. In Gamora's case, Ronan, apart from Thanos is responsible for all the flak Gamora gets from the galaxy, especially when she's trying to atone. To make it worse, Ronan spends one episode trying to punish Gamora in front of an entire crowd for past actions he himself ordered her to do. One of them was taking an inventor's device which Ronan re-purposed as a weapon, leading the inventor to commit suicide by throwing himself into a black hole and his son to seek revenge. While his threat level is only number 2 compared to Big Bad Thanos, who is a universal threat, Ronan has more staying power and yet comes off as being more reviled, despised, and hated than him. On top of that, he's a Dirty Coward who'd let billions of lives die just so he doesn't have to put himself in harm's way to defeat Thanos. It's particularly satisfying to see comeuppance being delivered to him at the end of every episode he appears, and even more so when Thanos sees him and telekinetically strangles him before blasting him onto a mountain, and a second time by Thanos returning his quantum bomb to him.
• Hypocrite:
  • Ronan claims to benefit his own people, but he was willing to murder an entire legion of Kree (not three, not even ten) in an attempt to assassinate his former leader, the Supreme Intelligence.
  • Ronan believes that Thanos must be eliminated at all costs, but he never obviously factored himself into that equation, hiding behind his other enemies, and planting a powerful bomb that would destroy billions of lives rather than face Thanos himself. Clearly, the one cost he's unwilling to pay is his own life.
• I Owe You My Life: During the Season 1 finale after Thanos causes the ground to break, Ronan nearly falls to his death leading Drax to save him. Ronan declares this trope, as he's obligated to do so by the ancient laws of the Kree. Of course, not content on owing Drax in the future, he decides to repay his debt by holding off on destroying Earth to kill Thanos for one hour. If Thanos is still standing after that time, Earth, and everyone on it is fair game.
• Jerkass: Ronan regularly bullies and abuses everyone around him, and he cares only for his immediate benefit and not for others.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Ronan always tries to appear honorable, but the things he promises people will either also benefit him, or simply be irrelevant as long as he spites his enemies. For example, even if he does spare Soonhev and return the gravity matrix if Gamora survives, it doesn't matter to him because Gamora is still in for trouble. Even when Drax saves his life, he only pays his debt by initially cooperating with the Guardians, and makes a bargain that the Guardians only have only one hour to defeat Thanos, after which his gratitude will expire and he will intervene and destroy the Earth to deprive Thanos of his superweapon.
• Lack of Empathy: While the Kree are established to be outright Jerkasses, Ronan takes this trope to it's uttermost extreme, which makes him stand out from the rest of his people.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Unlike most villains in the series, Ronan lacks any humorous or light-hearted traits, and he will not mess around for any reason whatsoever. If you want him to skip Evil Gloating, he will.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the Season 1 finale, Ronan believes destroying Earth is a necessary sacrifice that will end Thanos and his threat to the universe, especially since he had control over the Earth with the Cosmic Seed as his superweapon. However this is less because he's a good guy and more because he wants to rule the galaxy himself and that would not be possible if Thanos destroyed it.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: He hasn't forgotten the last time Star-Lord distracted him via "Dance-off". He frequently throws the term back in his face.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Bigoted towards all non-Kree races, and makes no hesitation to use derogatory words such as "filth" or anything dehumanizing to describe them.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: Since Ronan betrayed Thanos, he took a faction of Thanos's forces that are loyal to him, which would explain why he and Thanos have the exact same mooks.
• Smug Snake: Ronan is completely prideful and believes he is above all others, and expects all to cow before him, to the point that he feels he is without any equal, yet he is completely arrogant to the point that he refuses to accept he is way beyond his depth in dealing with Thanos.
• The Starscream: Ronan was Thanos’s top general until he betrayed him. After being Back from the Dead, Ronan wants to finish the job. Then he also sought to overthrow his former master, the Supreme Intelligence.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Ronan wields the Universal Weapon, which can work as a war hammer but can also blast lasers.
• The Worf Effect: Ronan has been known to make short work of his enemies, but once Thanos shows up, the Mad Titan owns him LIKE A BOSS.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Downplayed. After he is Back from the Dead, he blasts Nebula, not so much because of lack of gratitude, but more because he was insulted at her thought of sharing power.
  • Subverted in the Season 1 finale, where after Drax saves him from falling, he declares to Drax that he owes him his life willingly as per the ancient laws of the Kree. However, instead of repaying it in the future, he repays his debt immediately by first helping the Guardians drag Thanos away from Earth, and when that fails, he then giving the Guardians only one hour to defeat Thanos before he resorts to doing the deed himself by destroying the Earth, and that's as generous as he gets. Of course, all of that may have been just to save his own skin.
• Villain Has a Point: Ronan constantly reminds Drax that he fails to see the futility in his quest for revenge.

Nebula

Nebula

Voiced by: Cree Summer (English); María Sandoval (Latin-American Spanish)

• The Dragon: To Ronan the Accuser. She also tried to compete for this position to Thanos.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Briefly in “The Backstabbers”, where she decides to compete with Korath for the position of being Thanos’s top general. However, she only did so because she had her own agenda in mind.
• The Starscream: Double-Subverted. Nebula served Ronan when he betrayed Thanos, but after Ronan got killed, she flocked back to Thanos, but was planning on resurrecting Ronan so she can betray Thanos again.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: When Thanos needed to select a new general after Ronan got killed, Nebula was accepted as a potential candidate, even though she betrayed Thanos with Ronan.

Yondu

Yondu

Voiced by James Arnold Taylor (English); Jesús Guzmán, Ramón Bazet (2 season) (Latin-American Spanish)

• Adaptational Villainy: Just like his film version, but much less anti villainous. However, this version of Yondu has already been adapted into mainstream comics, so it hardly counts anymore. Then again, even compared to his film version, he's this as the film shows that Yondu does care for Quill, whereas this one has no trouble hurting him or betraying him over and over again.
• Affably Evil: Yondu speaks politely even towards his enemies, especially Star-Lord. But it's subverted later when we find out he never had any good reason to raise Peter—it was part of a deal by J'Son of Spartax to raise him to be a no-good thief to complete an unscrupulous quest for the Cosmic Seed. Still though, he's at least honest about his selfish behavior. Plus, Star-Lord admits he's a nicer guy compared to half the other Ravagers..
• Card-Carrying Villain: Yondu basks and takes thrill in his unscrupulous, callous life, that he very much emphasizes he is no hero.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Even in Enemy Mine situations, he will betray them first chance he gets.
• Evil Mentor: Taught Peter everything he knew while Peter was one of his Ravagers. Turns out this was actually part of an arrangement made by his dad, J'Son of Spartax.
• Goldfish Poop Gang: For what it's worth, he and his Ravagers are hardly ever a real threat to the Guardians, just a bunch of troublemaking pests who try to humiliate them.
• Space Pirates: Leader of the Ravagers, who either steal or take jobs for pay.
• Stupid Evil: Yondu will still end up betraying others even when it is against his benefit.

Supergiant

Supergiant

Voiced by: Hynden Walch (English); Liliana Barba (Latin-American Spanish)

• Adaptational Superpower Change: Unlike the comics or her previous animated appearance, Supergiant does not possess her telepathic powers. Her powers have become more literal in the form of sizeshifting, Super-Strength, and durability.
• Hulking Out: Her first appearance in "Undercover Angle" has her escape her cell through this.
• Light Is Not Good: Her costume is primarily white and is one of the villains.
• Woman Scorned: She is still mad about Star-Lord leaving her on a date and never returning her calls. So much so that Quill's own presence empowered her to easily wipe the floor with most of the Guardians.

J'son of Spartax

J'son

Voiced by: Jonathan Frakes (English); Mario Arvizu (Latin-American Spanish)

• Adaptational Jerkass: J'son in the comics was a murderer, but at least he had decency such that he left Meredith because he didn't want to drag her into an war involving his planet that he was reluctant to be a part of. In this continuity, the war that he didn't want Meredith to be a part of was one he wanted in the first place.
• Archnemesis Dad: He isn't entirely without respect for his son, but nonetheless doesn't care about his son beyond him being a proper thief. Because of this, Peter really hates him for abandoning him, and never giving him a second thought. Then there's the fact that he's in cahoots with Thanos.
• Big Bad: Of Season 2.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Star-Lord does this every time they meet—and J'son has really got it coming.
• Card-Carrying Villain: J'son justifies his vices by the fact that he's a thief and it's his place in the galaxy to take what he gets.
• Evil Counterpart: He is this to his son given their equipment and personalities. Deception is in their bloods, but for J'son, it's in his blood and heart.
• Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Only to maintain appearances so people don't see how bad he really is; Victoria grew up a heroic, noble person. Star-Lord on the other hand, he wanted to be a thief like him, but didn't want to know about him until he's raised as one, as it would compromise whatever positive image he currently has to his people.
• Faux Affably Evil: At first when he meets Peter, he appeared to be an approachable man and easy to get along with. Sometimes, he will come off as being merely stern and controlling. As later episodes show however, he's a vile Jerkass to the core.
• Hate Sink: J'son is but a selfish Jerkass who only cares about glory and reward. He left after Peter was born and never cared to look back. J'son didn't want to see him or know about him until he's a proper thief. He's so obsessed with destroying Asgard that he doesn't care about his own people's safety, not to mention his willingness to strike a bargain with Thanos. He attempted to steal the Cosmic Seed to give to Thanos, but once Loki stole the seed as part of his plan, it gave him a reason to prepare his people for war with Asgard, and once Loki's plot was revealed, J'son still insisted that Asgard pay for the damage they caused to Spartax. With regards to his relationship with his family, he even badmouths Meridith in a very subtle way during his fight with his son, implies he only cared about her in the most superficial way possible, even after her death. He continues this into Season 2 when he makes it clear there isn't anyone he won't betray or manipulate to advance his interests.
• Human Aliens: J'son is a Spartoi, a race of aliens that bear an extremely close resemblance to Earth's humans, but were not born on that planet and have advanced technology.
• Informed Attribute: Star-Lord refers to him as "the most evil guy in the galaxy", but he's nothing compared to Thanos, and most of his enemies are said to be way worse he is. If anything, it's an Invoked Trope to illustrate how angry Peter is towards him than others.
• Ink-Suit Actor: He looks like an animated version of his voice actor, specifically from Frakes' Will Riker period.
• Manipulative Bastard: He's able to convince Nova to bust him out of jail by promising to help him find his father. When he orders Nova to attack the Guardians and Nova refuses, he's able to quickly play it off as a moment of weakness regarding Peter.
• Villain Has a Point: Sadly, he's right to point out that Peter can't call himself good if he's not very committed to it, which he can sense.

Mantis

Mantis

Voiced by: Jennifer Hale (English); Cristina Hernández (Latin-American Spanish)

• Adaptational Villainy: In the comics, Mantis was one of the Guardians. Here, she is portrayed as a zealous leader of an antagonistic cult, which is a clear departure from her comics characterization. Part of this is due to her being brainwashed.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: She first appeared trying to keep Star-Lord from J'son and was taken into custody. The Guardians never went to look for her after they found out about J'son's true nature and he ultimately brainwashed her into becoming his pawn.
• Killed Off for Real: Once she puts on the Nova helmet, she instantly turns to dust.

Doctor Minerva

Doctor Minerva/Minn-Erva

Voiced by: Marion Ross (English)

The warden and prison therapist of the Kree Monument of Justice where the Guardians are imprisoned.

• Age Lift: This version of Minn-Erva is elderly as opposed to her comics counterpart, who is much younger.
• Evil Old Folks
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul
• Soft-Spoken Sadist
• Wardens Are Evil: Though not necessarily "evil"; she's just doing her job.

The Black Vortex

The Black Vortex

Voiced by: Audrey Wasilewski, Kevin Michael Richardson (while possessing Groot) (English)

An ancient full-length mirror that acts as the indestructible gateway to a Prison Dimension. It is discovered among the Collector's countless artifacts aboard his ship.

• Adaptational Superpower Change: In the comics, the Black Vortex was an indestructible artifact that can grant cosmic power to those who submit to it. Here, it acts as the indestructible gateway to a Prison Dimension that changes according to the minds of its occupants.
• Artifact of Doom: It has its own evil sentience which desires to escape the artifact and conquer the universe.
• Big Damn Fire Exit: With the Collector's ship about to explode and the Guardians piloting it as far from Hala as possible, the Black Vortex is used by the heroes as a last-resort emergency escape. Despite not knowing what awaits them inside the Vortex, the Guardians decide that it would still be better than dying. After the Collector's ship explodes, the Black Vortex is the only thing that survives intact, giving the Guardians a chance to survive if they can escape the Vortex itself.
• Break Them by Talking: While possessing Groot's body, it tries to demoralize the other heroes by pointing out their deepest regrets and weaknesses. This fails when they manage to save Groot and escape through The Power of Friendship.
• Grand Theft Me: It manages to possess Groot and tries to escape the Prison Dimension using Groot's physical form. Fortunately, the other Guardians manage to extract Groot's miniature form from the corrupted large body.
• Literally Shattered Lives: After the Guardians escape the Prison Dimension, the Black Vortex's sentience makes one last attempt to escape as well. Groot puts an end to this by shattering the mirror as the sentience gets half-way out, resulting in the sentience being sucked back into its own dimension with a Big "NO!". With the mirror destroyed, the sentience is truly trapped forever.
• Mythology Gag: It puts Drax in a version of Spider-Man's life with J'Son standing in for J. Jonah Jameson. Additionally, the "origin" given for Draxman is based on that of the comic book Drax, including Drax being a human from Earth named Arthur Douglas who was killed (directly) by Thanos and resurrected into Drax and his "Draxman" costume being based on Drax's original outfit in the comics.
• Phantom Zone: By scanning the minds of its occupants, the Black Vortex can create various environments, creatures and objects that can be interacted with, whether pleasant or (more often) deadly. Natural laws can change as well, which could result in Toon Physics and other surreal effects. As a result, the Guardians of the Galaxy have several improbable adventures within the Black Vortex in their quest to escape its clutches.
• Prison Dimension: It is the gateway to another dimension that can change according to the memories of those trapped within. The mirror is the only way in or out of the dimension.
• Weaksauce Weakness: After possessing Groot, the Black Vortex's sentience can be harmed by pieces from Groot's original body before being possessed. This is what allows the heroes to free Groot in his miniature form.
• Year Outside, Hour Inside: The Guardians spend only a few hours within the Black Vortex's dimension while years pass in the normal universe, resulting in them being remembered as heroes who sacrificed themselves to save the galaxy.
• Your Mind Makes It Real: It reaches into the minds of its occupants and creates environments and creatures based on their memories and thoughts. As a result, duplicates of Ronan the Accuser and J'Son of Spartax appear to hound the Guardians despite the death/disappearance of their real selves in the normal universe. At one point, both merge into a single grotesque creature.

Serpent

Cul Borson/Serpent

Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

Odin's brother and Thor's uncle who plotted to take over Asgard and the universe until he was banished to another realm. He is awoken by the Guardians when they arrive to shut down his Darkhawk army.

• Arc Villain: Of the "Darkhawks" arc.
• Cain and Abel: He is Odin's evil brother who's goal is to conquer the Nine Realms.
• Evil Old Folks: Though he looks old, he is very powerful, even able to take out Thanos.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: When he first speaks, Rocket asks if he needs a lozenge. He starts speaking more clearly when he regains his strength.
• Evil Uncle: He is Thor and Loki's uncle.
• Evil Versus Evil: He stands off against Thanos in the finale, and takes him out rather easily.
• Final Boss: He is the last villain the Guardians face in the series.
• Green Thumb: Turns out he's the one who planted the World Tree.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes glow red whenever he is powering up.

Other Heroes

Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock

Voiced by: Eric Bauza (Adult), Tara Strong (Child) (English); Alan Bravo (Adult), Alejandro Graue (Magus) (Latin-American Spanish)

• The Chosen One: He's the latest incarnation of an immensely powerful cosmic being that could bring about a golden age or a destroy the galaxy.
• Sealed Good in a Can: He begins the season sealed in a cocoon which was itself in Thanos's throne.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: He has the potential to save or doom the galaxy.
• Sixth Ranger: Joins the Guardians for the rest of Season 2 to help them defeat J'Son and the Black Order.
• Unskilled, but Strong: His power is nearly limitless, but he doesn't yet fully grasp his own powers. He also isn't a particularly skilled hand to hand combantant.

Nova

Nova/Sam Alexander

Voiced by: Logan Miller (Eglish); Alejandro Graue (Latin-American Spanish)

• Disappeared Dad: His father's helmet returned from space sans owner. He seems to have been killed protecting the other helmets from Thanos. He does find him on Titan, but has to leave him behind.
• Flying Brick: He is the Human Rocket after all.
• Kid Hero
• Legacy Character: He inherited the Centurion helmet from his father. He also inherits the legacy from Ancient Nova Centurions who served/sealed Warlock/Magus.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Just as in Ultimate Spider-Man, he's quick to rush into danger.

Victoria of Spartax

Victoria

Voiced by: Cree Summer (English)

• Human Aliens: Like her father, Victoria has the appearance of a human from Earth.
• Praetorian Guard: Victoria was Captain of the Royal Guard before ascension to the throne.
• She Is the King: She's usually referred to as Emperor Victoria, even though she's Empress.

Other Characters

Cosmo the Space Dog

Cosmo the Space Dog

Voiced by: James Arnold Taylor (English); Alfredo Gabriel Basurto (Latin-American Spanish)

• Amplified Animal Aptitude: Like Rocket, Cosmo was experimented on by extraterrestrials. This granted him human-like intelligence, along with telepathy and telekinesis.
• Everyone Has Standards: When the Guardians are wanted by the Kree in Season 3, Cosmo subdues them at Knowhere. As he says, he's a good dog and sees it as enforcing the law. However, Phyla-Vell intends to execute the team on sight, which Cosmo opposes. He "fails" to keep Groot immobile so that the team can escape. He also refuses to pursue them after reading their minds and learning their claims of innocence were true.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He's charged with maintaining Knowhere and generally helps the Guardians in whatever way he can.
• Telepathy: He can communicate to others with this ability, which get vocalized into words others around him can understand.

Howard the Duck

Howard the Duck

Voiced by: Seth Green (English)

• Bullying a Dragon: Goes out of his way to repeatedly insult Groot, someone twice his size and substantially stronger than him. It was part of the reason he almost got tossed out of an airlock.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a self-serving, loudmouth schemer, but he has his standards and tries to help the Guardians now and then.
• Running Gag: No one but Star-Lord knows what a duck is, so his repeated references to it confuse Howard and everyone else.
• Translator Buddy: Reveals he's long been able to understand everything that Groot has been saying. Groot and Rocket are rather surprised.
• With Friends Like These...: In Season 3, he offers the team a job for substantial credits. Only Rocket is willing to trust him, due to their prior history. Howard, however, is being blackmailed by the Collector, so the job leaves the team arrested and without any credits.

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