In the early days of Heroclixin’, battle reports starring the Guardians of the Galaxy were like a regular thing, practically. Now with a new movie on the scene, equally new HeroClix are emerging. This F.U.N. Focus is a new look at all the pieces available to the theme, set by set.
But first, a little bit of context.
The Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t just one team or series; it’s been about four or five.
The first was a quartet that fought as a resistance force against the galaxy-dominating Badoon in like 3000 AD, appearing in late Silver Age/early Bronze Age comics in the ’70s. Core members included Charlie-27, Martinex, Yondu and Vance Astro.
It was created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan.
The second series was published in the early ’90s, expanding on the original concept and introducing a lot of new characters to the core team such as Aleta/Starhawk, Nikki, Hollywood and the Keeper.
Written and drawn by Jim Valentino, it lasted 62 issues.
The third team was a completely new one starring Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, Adam Warlock and Groot, set in the present time instead of the future. But as early as issue 2, it frequently tied into the original Guardians characters as the new team careened through time.
This 2008 series by writer team Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (DnA) is Heroclixin’s favorite by far.
The fourth team and series is the current Guardians of the Galaxy comic that’s mostly the previous lineup but with a few more present-day Earth characters on board. Heroclixin’ thinks this Brian Michael Bendis-helmed effort is a great letdown after the excellence of the DnA series.
(But it’s Bendis, so there might be a great payoff coming down the road.)
The fifth is the movie-based team, which is inspired by the third and fourth incarnations.
As of this writing, the Heroclixin’ staff has not yet seen the film.
We be looking at the figs thusly:
- Pre-NECA sets
- pre-“oreo-base” sets
- Galactic Guardians
- Movie set
- Current set
For each piece, we’ll highlight its role on a team and which incarnation it best fits. Stick with us these next couple of weeks.