Top 10 Tuesdays: 10 Possible Ramifications of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Marvel Studios' biggest gamble yet has paid off big time as the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), "Guardians of the Galaxy", is now the highest grossing film of 2014 (not to mention the biggest August opening of all time which is awesome because August is a notoriously crappy movie month). Now that it's pretty clear that Marvel could make a Devil Dinosaur movie and make a good haul, all eyes are on May's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - that is, all eyes except ours! In honor of one of the most obscure properties in comics topping the box office, The Weekly Crisis is looking ahead so here are 10 Possible Ramifications that the events of "Guardians of the Galaxy" could have on the MCU!  

10) The Infinity Stones

If you don't already know, the MCU's over-arching storyline since the first "Thor" film has been building to an intergalactic conflict involving the "Infinity Stones," a set of immensely powerful MacGuffins that have been wreaking havok on the Marvel Universe since before Odin. We were introduced to the first in "Thor," when S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury showed Dr. Erik Selvig the Tesseract, a space-warping cube that served has the main point of conflict in "The Avengers." Other stones include the gem in Loki's staff, the Aether from "Thor: The Dark World" and the Orb that appears in "Guardians." It's safe to assume - like many have - that this is all leading to an Avengers film involving the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove that when holding all six stones can (for better or worse) control unlimited knowledge and omnipotence. What one man can hold all that power, you ask?
 

9) Thanos

Affectionately referred to as "the purple guy at the end of 'The Avengers,'" Thanos is no freaking joke. Known through out the galaxy for his ruthlessness, the Mad Titan wants to destroy the entire Marvel Universe. Why? Because he's in love with Death, a female personification of the absence of life. Being the only person in Thanos' life to care for him, he is willing to stop at nothing to impress her. He's after the Infinity Gauntlet so he can use it's Godlike power to give the gift that keeps on giving - the ultimate destruction of the universe. 

8) Who is Peter Quill's father?

"Guardians" made a pretty big deal about the mystery surrounding Peter Quill's newly discovered alien heritage in its epilogue. So who is his father? Well, in the comics, Quill is half-human and half-Spartoi. The Spartoi are a race of space-savvy humanoids from the planet Spartax. Their emperor, J'son of Spartax, is Peter's father making him the Prince of Spartax. However, "Guardians" director James Gunn told Empire Magazine that J'son would not be Peter's father in the MCU. With that revelation, who do Marvelites think Peter's dad will be?

7) Adam Warlock

Fans and pundits alike have speculated that artificially created human Adam Warlock is Peter Quill's father. Warlock was created with the intent of molding and exploiting the "perfect human." After discovering his creators' true plans for him, he rebells and escapes not long after hatching from his cocoon (yep, his cocoon). There's a few issues with this theory, namely Warlock being in the cocoon long after the death of Quill's mother and his long history with Thanos and Gamora. However, Gunn has confirmed that the large, green cocoon that appears in the second Thor film and "Guardians" is indeed housing Warlock and Peter's mother did say his father was like an angel "comprised of pure light" (Warlock had a very human-sight-unfriendly glow about him in earlier comics). 

6) Bereet

This could very well just be an obscure character used for a throwaway gag, but Bereet (portrayed by Greek actress Melia Kreiling in the movie) was actually a major supporting character for the Hulk in the late '70s. A famous movie star and musician on her home world of Krylor, Bereet gained notoriety by producing and starring in fantastic adventure films about herself and the Hulk. They were even a thing for a short while. Bereet is one of several extraterrestrial love interests of the big, green rage machine. Another was Caiera, an alien warrior born on the planet Sakaar, whose natives appear in "Guardians" as Ronan the Accuser's henchmen. Does this mean "Planet Hulk?" Contradictory comments from Marvel president Kevin Feige say no but no ever said that ole Hulk can't join the Guardians for their next adventure.  

5) Knowhere

This one's actually pretty cool. One of the central setting of "Guardians" was Knowhere, a space port that sort of a mix between Vegas and Tortuga from "Pirates of the Caribbean." Knowhere is severed head of a Celestial, an ancient race of giant and powerful aliens in the Marvel universe. Alien pirates and outlaws come from all over to harvest organic material from the head and set up black markets inside. A lot of Celestials are tasked with balancing the universe and it would surprise us if we saw more of them in the events leading to Thanos acquirement of the Infinity Stones.

4) Cosmo the Space Dog

A former test flight animal for the Soviet space program, Cosmo was a shot into space by the Russians and genetically altered to gain telepathy, telekenesis and speech. Having served as the head of security on Knowhere and an on-again-off-again member of the Guardians, Cosmo could very well become a major player in this new corner of the MCU after his brief stint in "Guardians."  

3) Yondu

Yondu Udanta, played by "The Walking Dead'"s Michael Rooker, probably had the most changes from his comic book counterpart (in space, no one can hear you drawl). In the comics, Yondu was apart of the first group of space heroes to call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. We know fan favorite Yondu is coming back in the recently announce 2017 sequel, but this time could he be bringing some original Guardian's guests with him? Vance Astro, anyone?

2) The Nova Corps

Sure the Nova Corps is just Marvel's version of the Green Lantern Corps but "Guardians" sure made you feel for Nova more. The biggest thing that could come from Nova's inclusion in the MCU is the introduction of Richard Rider, the eventual Nova-sanctions protector of Earth. With Marvel Studios' new outlook on IP risk and wide selection of characters to use, could Earth's Nova appear in an Avengers film down the line?

1) The durability of Groot

During the climax of "Guardians," everyone's favorite tree guy sacrificed himself to the team during their battle with Ronan. In case you didn't know, it is very hard to kill a member of Groot's species. As long as one sliver of his genetic material can be saved, that material will grow back into a fully formed Groot when planted. It may spoil any attempt to put Groot in harms way in future films but it did offer up one of the best moments in the entire movie (above). 

What were your favorite parts of "Guardians of the Galaxy?" Where do you think this new corner of the Marvel U is headed? Where do you want it go? Leave a comment and let us know!

Be sure to join me next week for another Top 10 Tuesday.