Who in the Blue Hell are the Guardians of the Galaxy!?!

Since last year’s Comicon panel, Marvel has shown the public very little from their upcoming film Guardians of the Galaxy.  That silence was finally put to an end last Monday when the studio debut the first official trailer of the fairly unknown comic franchise. Many believe that this film will be Marvel’s biggest challenge yet.

I would say they are more than up for the challenge. 

Look, these guys have turned Iron Man into the biggest superhero on the planet. A character who for decades was easily considered a B-lister at best. I have to give Marvel credit for being ambitious enough to take this fairly unknown comic and make a $200 million movie adaptation.

The trailer shows us director James Gunn’s (who also helmed the horror comedy Slither and the dark superhero satire Super) unique blend of humor and action as well as introducing each member of the team. We are first introduced to Peter Quill aka Star Lord, a title which, according to the trailer, Quill appoints to himself. I enjoy how Quill isn’t your typical super hero leader type. It comes across like he isn’t as feared or revered as his title would precede him to be. Up next is Gamora, the lethal assassin femme fatale. Not much is revealed about her character from the trailer other than the fact that she is pure bad ass. I could also apply that same sentiment to the next member, Drax the Destroyer. Drax’s wife and child were slaughtered and he wreaks havoc across the galaxy in search of vengeance. The team is rounded off by the dynamic duo of Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Rocket is a gun toting “Raccoon” (who actually isn’t a raccoon but his alien race looks exactly like what we would call raccoon) who certainly looks like he will be the next Marvel fan favorite to sell out merchandise. His muscle is the tree-like Groot. We don’t get to hear Rocket or Groot actually speak in the trailer, but the characters will be voiced by American Hustle’s Bradley Cooper and Fast and Furious franchise star Vin Diesel respectively.

I was very impressed with the feel of this trailer. It seems like they are going for the opposite of what the Avengers brought to the table, as a group of rag tagged misfits who are only out for themselves but somehow find a way work as a team and bond to become a sort of family. Although we have a ways to go before the film’s theatrical release, “Guardians” looks to be on the path of success and will literally expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe to showcase more of their out of this world type of characters.

Look out for Guardians when it releases August 1st.