YMMV / Guardians of the Galaxy (2020)

• Awesome Moments:
  • Much of issue #12, as the team kicks the crap out of the Olympians.
  • The end of issue #13, where a certain Latverian makes an entrance. Namely, kicking everyone's ass while boasting the whole time.
• Character Rerailment: Star-Lord is brought closer to Steve Engelhart's original outline for the character, where Peter Quill would develop from "an unpleasant, introverted jerk to the most cosmic being in the universe" by going through astrology-themed adventures on Morinus.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Peacebringer trying to blow everyone up? Very much not funny. Peacebringer getting increasingly upset over the fact he's not able to kill them fast enough, and apologizing for the delay, even as everyone else is trying to stop him? Maybe.
  • From the annual, Prince Muscular managing to, er, "thwart" Rapskullion shattering a little girl's faith in Santa by pointing out to her that her parents couldn't be Santa... because they're dead. He then exults over this while the girl bawls her head off.
• Funny Moments:
  • Noh-Varr's "Adam Ant" costume, especially Nova's reaction to it.
  • Doom's armor has very straightforward protocols.
  Groot: I am Groot!
  Armor AI: THEN YOU ARE NOT DOOM AND MUST SUBMIT TO DOOM!
  • How the team defeat Doom: They swap his mind into Rocket's body. Maybe not his finest moment, but definitely his most adorable.
  • Honestly, pretty much all of the annual, detailing the Prince of Power's backstory. Even the thugs Hercules and the Prince are fighting get caught up in it.
    Grunnt: Is it wrong that I'm interested in how this is going?
    Hercules: DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Moondragon and Drax's chat in issue #3.
  • Although it causes a massive strain in her relationship with Phyla, the alternate Heather opts to merge souls with her original 616 counterpart because she rejects the Dragon of the Moon's notion that There Can Be Only One.
  • In issue #11, Nova starts blaming himself for everything that's happened, until Peter reassures him he isn't, followed by a bro-hug.
• I Knew It!: Most fans had guessed that Star-Lord fathered a child in Morinus because of some of the dialogue late in issue 9; issue 13 confirmed it when Star-Lord mentions he has a son there to Gamora and Nova.
• LGBT Fanbase: This volume of the Guardians is one of Marvel's most LGBT-inclusive team books, and spotlights gay romances between Moondragon and Phylla-Vell as well as Noh-Varr and Hercules. Even moreso with the roster expansion in issue 13, which adds characters like Wiccan and Hulkling, and the new lesbian Quasar Avril Kincaid. The book was even nominated for a GLAAD award. To top it all off, the final issue ends with Star-Lord, Gamora, and Nova starting a bisexual, polyamorous relationship with each other.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Issue #2 ends with Peter Quill apparently dying via means of Incredibly Big Bomb, but what with Comic Book Death and all, some readers aren't too convinced he'll stay dead for very long. Even the character himself seems pretty confident he'll either survive or get better. Sure enough, it wasn't even a full year before he comes back. Granted this did last longer than his last couple deaths where the damage was typically undone at the beginning of the following issue.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: The Olympians of Marvel were always second fiddle to the much more popular Asgardians lacking distinguishing qualities. Though they are still not as popular, this Space Pirate Protection Racket style of these characters that was introduced in this book is much more preferred by fans who find it refreshing.
• Unexpected Character: The expanded roster of the Guardians for 2021 not only will feature the return of Mantis, they'll also be joined by the Super-Skrull, Avril Kincaid and Wendell Vaughn, as well as Doctor Doom.
  • More recently, who could have expected that the villain of the "Last Annihilation" crossover event would be Dormammu, of all people?
• What the Hell, Costuming Department?: Nova wears the team jacket following the soft relaunch over his existing costumes. They clash horribly with differing color schemes and looks like something the Avengers would pull in the nineties. What makes it worse is that other members with unique costumes like Star-Lord and the Quasars get to keep theirs largely intact.

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