BLOOD WORK: BETWEEN THE PANELS: GUARDIANS 3000 & KORVAC SAGA

Cover for Guardians 3000 #1 by Alex Ross

In 1969 Marvel introduced the world to the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Set in the year 3007 A.D. The Milky Way galaxy had been taken over by the alien race called the BADOON. At this point in history mankind has colonized nearly all the local planets of our solar system, Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto, and even the nearest planet outside our galaxy in the Alpha Centuri system. Due to the vastly different climates on these planets, the human beings that live and work in those harsh atmospheres were genetically altered to inhabit such extreme environments. A Jovian, an Alpha Centaurian, a Pluvian, and an Earthling from the 20th Century, all on their way to execution, band together and escape their ill fates. Together they form a team of freedom fighters dedicated to liberating the galaxy from Badoon tyranny. They were to become the very first Guardians of the Galaxy!

Images from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 #14

"Wait, what? Those aren't the Guardians. Where's the dance-off champion Star-Lord? The loud-mouthed raccoon and walking tree?"

They're still there. Those are the 21st century Guardians of the Galaxy. But the 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy were there first.

"Wait, what?! You're making even less sense than before."

The 21st Century Guardians of the Galaxy

In 2008 a new group of heroes banded together to protect the whole universe. They were Nova (Richard Rider), Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, Warlock, Quasar, Major Victory, Mantis, Moondragon, Jack Flag, and Cosmo. On their second mission they encountered a man from the 31st century. He wore a hermetically sealed suit, bore Captain America's shield, and said, "I am Major Victory of the Guardians of the Galaxy." After hearing that name Rocket adopted it for their team. Thus the future Guardians gave way to the past Guardians.

That comic book was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Those two writers along with writer Keith Giffen assembled the current Guardians of the Galaxy in a truly legendary relaunch of Marvel's cosmic super heroes. That story's roots began back in 2003 in THANOS vol. 1. But before then there was another team of Guardians of the Galaxy that had existed since the 1960's with some epic story lines through the 70's. Their biggest success was in the 1990's with over 70 issues all their own. These characters play a significant part in the 2008 volume with Star-Lord and the other characters everyone is now familiar with.

That story line ended in 2011 and it seemed the Marvel cosmic universe was once again laid to rest. Then in 2013 a NOVA book and another Guardians of the Galaxy book were started. The Nova book featured a completely brand new character and was entirely its own story, only briefly connecting with the previous Nova book. This was incredibly disappointing as it was a Nova book not for Nova fans. Then the Guardians of the Galaxy book featured all the same characters, but they barely resembled themselves at all, they were so radically different in character and design. It was like night and day. It seemed writer Brian Michael Bendis had no idea who he was writing.

So Marvel was restarting their cosmic line of books but both were terribly disappointing compared to the previous Nova and Guardians books. Then in October of 2014, in the wake of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie's tremendous success, Marvel launched another book called GUARDIANS 3000. The book featured the original Guardians of the Galaxy from the future and was written by none other than Dan Abnett, co-writer of the last great era of cosmic Marvel. Finally the fans of cosmic Marvel had a book to look forward to, one that would deliver where the other current cosmic books were failing.

THE CHARACTERS (some spoilers)

The Guardians of the Galaxy, Vance Astrovik a.k.a. Major Victory, Charlie 27, Martinex, Yondu, and Starhawk are traveling from planet to planet liberating the oppressed worlds from the ruthless Badoon. They liberate a labor camp filled with slaves and encounter a young woman named GEENA DRAKE. For some reason Geena registers as an anomaly to Starhawk and he believes her to be incredibly significant. They take her along with them hoping to discover why she is so special.

"Hold on a second... Haven't they freed the galaxy from the Badoon before?"

Major Victory wielding Captain America's shield

Before we get to that let's establish who these characters are. MAJOR VICTORY was an American astronaut from the 1980's. He embarked on a 1,000 year mission into space in hopes of reaching the next closest planet that may have sentient life, Centuri IV in the Alpha Centuri system. To survive the journey he is placed in a stasis suit under suspended animation. What they didn't realize was that he would be awake for the whole 1,000 year trip. During that time his body underwent a mutation developing telekinesis and psionics. When he reached Centuri IV he was greeted by human beings awaiting him. During his journey the human race had developed intersteller travel due to Harkovian engines. He exited the rocket discovering that mankind had colonized the galaxy. Shortly thereafter the Badoon attacked and everyone of the centaurians were seemingly killed save one.

Yondu in the comics is vastly different from the Yondu in the movie.

Vance and a weapons expert native to Centuri IV named YONDU, supposedly the last of his race, were taken captive by the Badoon. Yondu is a skilled hunter, tracker, and expert in hand to hand combat. He wields a bow and arrows made of a mineral called Yaka, which is extremely reactive to harmonics. By whistling he can control the path and trajectory of the arrows. He is the weapons master of the Guardians.

Charlie 27 is the huge dude in the back. The image is from the 2008 volume of the Guardians of the Galaxy

Meanwhile, returning to his home on the planet Jupiter, CHARLIE 27 finds the world empty with not a single Jovian to be found. Charlie is a Jovian, a genetically modified human being designed to function in the high pressure environment of Jupiter. The Jovians are thick, massive humans with ultra dense bones and extremely strong musculature. With enhanced reflexes to react quickly in case of emergency, not only are Jovians physically huge but under normal gravity they are unbelievably fast. Charlie is captured by the Badoon and taken to their new capitol planet. Once there he overpowers his captors and makes a break for it.

Martinex

Charlie comes across another prisoner, a crystalline looking man named MARTINEX. Martinex is another genetically engineered human being designed to survive on Pluto. He is the last of the Pluvians, the rest murdered by the Badoon. His body can manipulate biothermals allowing for temperature regulation in the extreme Pluto climate. He can shoot either fire or ice from his hands. The Pluvians were a colony of scientists. Martinex is the science officer of the team. Charlie helps free him and the two of them help free Vance and Yondu. Together the four of them make their escape and form the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Starhawk designs from the 2008 volume of Guardians of the Galaxy

After that they encounter a being known as STARHAWK. Starhawk is a being of immense and mysterious cosmic power and is two people merged into one, a man named STAKAR and a woman named ALETA. Sometimes Starhawk appears as a male, utilizing Stakar's body. The other times she appears as a woman, utilizing Aleta's body. Starhawk is a quantum energy manipulator and precognitive in addition to a number of other mysterious powers including psionics. Starhawk is "the one who knows." He sees the future and knows the destinies of his teammates. He/she acts as a guide for the team and is the major power player for them. Eventually Stakar and Aleta are separated, each retaining immense cosmic power.

Starhawk in Aleta's body from the 2008 volume of Guardians of the Galaxy

And last on the team is NIKKI, a genetically modified human designed to survived the extreme heat of Mercury. All the Mercurians are killed by the Badoon except her. She escapes in a Badoon ship and encounters the Guardians by chance. She has natural grace and enhanced agility on par with Spider-Man. She is proficient in fire arms and a skilled pilot. Her skin is ashen grey and her body temperature runs naturally around 200 degrees with a hot attitude to match. These seven make up the Guardians of the Galaxy in the 31st century.

Nikki

THE PLOT (spoilers)

Something is wrong with the time stream. Time is skipping and repeating and only Geena Drake can perceive it. The Guardians are stuck in a loop, one in which they all die and then restart 30 minutes prior to dying. Geena, remembering how they died, helps them avoid death a second time. They discover that the time stream is dissolving. In order to fix things and save all of existence they need to travel to the past and find the problem.

Art by Gerardo Sandoval

This leads them to the year 2015 A.D. where they encounter that era's Guardians of the Galaxy. Together both teams of Guardians track the problem to an old enemy, Michael Korvac. But they are too late to stop time from ending. The Marvel event SECRET WARS occurs and the Guardians find themselves in a totally new universe on a planet called Battleworld. There they act as enforcers to an area of Battleworld called Forest Hills. The area is run by Korvac. There they discover another anomaly, the world isn't right. They are the ones who know and the only ones who can do anything about it.

THE GOOD

Alex Ross artwork for issue #6

The writing is fast paced. The action is hard hitting. The characters are ridiculously cool. The comic lasts for 8 issues before being interrupted by Secret Wars (it has a prologue at the end of Bendis's Guardians of the Galaxy #14 which is the story's technical beginning). During those issues the story is told from Geena's point of view. She describes the characters while watching them royally kicking Badoon butt. Her view of them is sort of awe-inspiring, which translates to the reader viewing these characters the same way. It's a fantastic way to keep the pace going strong while explaining to your readers who these characters are in a quick concise manner (more concise than my quick character breakdowns above).

Each of the characters is treated respectfully and accurately as far as their skill sets and powers. You can tell Dan Abnett loves these characters because after reading these issues you feel the same way. The story incorporates a ton of guest cosmic characters too like Gladiator, Star-Lord, a future Herald of Galactus, and the last surviving Nova Corpsman (a descendant of Richard Rider too!) complete with the Worldmind. These cameos quickly remind you of how vast the cosmic Marvel universe is and how great this world is. In addition to all of that there are references galore to the previous Guardians books from the 1990's on back and of course to Abnett and Lanning's prior Guardians title.

One thing about referencing the older books that I don't think the majority of writers at Marvel realize is that a simple gesture like that validates the writer in the eyes of the reader. It lets us, the reader, know that the writer has done his/her research and therefore we feel more comfortable in their hands. Not only that but it also makes the story seem all the more grander. Yes it is its own story but it also is a part of something far bigger too. Not only does it validate the author in our minds, but, if we have read the older books, it validates the time and devotion we readers have already given to these characters. If you think this caters only to long time fans you'd be wrong. For new readers a reference to an older story adds a new level of intrigue and makes the new reader feel like they have just discovered a whole new universe and are now a part of something bigger.

Issue #3 Cover an homage to a classic Star-Lord cover from Marvel Preview

There's humor too. Clever humor. The guest appearance of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the shining moments in the volume. In the three issues that feature them they are far better represented and written than in the entirety of Bendis's run or any other writer for that matter (other than Andy Lanning of course ;). For a brief moment the modern Guardians felt like their old selves again. And the addition of Carol Danvers Captain Marvel is great too. Then Secret Wars happens and the volume is prematurely ended.

But even in this the story ties into the events occurring in Secret Wars. Whereas most of the Secret Wars tie in mini series are self contained and unconnected to the previous series, the Guardians 3000 tie in mini series titled KORVAC SAGA connects to the previous series and continues it all the while functioning on its own as well. The story from issue #1 of G3000 is geared toward the inevitable interruption of Secret Wars. So, instead of 8 issues and a "What if" fantasy scenario mini series afterwards we get a full 12 issue story. Captain Marvel's and Moondragon's appearances in Korvac Saga are absolutely wonderful too!

Here's the list of the issues that make up the total story:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 #14 (backup story)

Guardians 3000 #1-8

Korvac Saga #1-4

THE BAD

The art work for the majority of the 12 issues ranges from simply okay to terrible. While I could find positives here and there as a whole I didn't enjoy Gerardo Sandoval's art. The art is very angular, jagged, and cartoony. That may work well for light-hearted books like Spider-Man and Squirrel Girl but I feel it was inappropriate here and as a result a "death sentence" for the book. I thought the art got better once Nico Leon took over from issues 6-8. The art for Korvac Saga was probably the worst but not far off from Sandoval's.

Variant Cover for KORVAC SAGA #2

Abnett uses a type of sci-fi future-speak for a lot of the dialog. While this is incredibly sci-fi immersive it kind of detracted from the experience at points. Secret Wars forced the book to end prematurely (as Secret Wars did to just about every book). Because of this the story feels rushed. As a result some characters are left under utilized and the potential for the book is cut in half. Some of the character designs too are a little underwhelming (Nikki is the big one that comes to mind).

THE VERDICT

Variant Cover for KORVAC SAGA #3

This book was doomed from the start because of Secret Wars. Even still, Abnett went with the best story he could tell in a compressed amount of time and used every moment to its fullest. Abnett appears fully aware from the start of how Marvel intended to screw him over with Secret Wars. Despite this he turns out a fantastic story from start to finish. I gained more enjoyment from issue #2 than the entirety of Bendis's Guardians run. I've reread the whole volume twice, something I haven't done with a Marvel comic in over five years.

Concept Designs for KORVAC SAGA

For the first time since 2011 I received an incredible cosmic comic book from Marvel. It inspired me to go back and reread Thanos volume 1 thru Annihilation thru The Annihilators. Fortunately in December of 2015 Marvel is launching another Guardians book written by Dan Abnett titled GUARDIANS OF INFINITY. The book will feature the modern Guardians, the Guardians 3000, and new team of Guardians as well. Hopefully Abnett will connect it to Guardians 3000 and continue the story.