I don't think I would face much disagreement when I say Marvel hasn't had a great animated series since "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" and that since "Ultimate Spider-Man", their animation department has gone down in quality. While "Ultimate Spider-Man" has gotten better over time, that series and "Avengers Assemble" are mediocre with a few high points compared to their predecessors. I didn't even bother with "Hulk and the Agents of SMASH" because 1. it's boring to have a team of heroes who have the same power set, and 2. the "Real World" aspect of the Hulks living together and filming confessionals just shouldn't be an aspect of a superhero show.
With Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" film being the surprise hit of 2014, an animated spin-off was fast tracked. Compared to the other recent Marvel animated shows though, I was actually excited for a Guardians cartoon because it would be the first of its kind and not have anything to compare to. Now that the series has begun, I can safely say that Marvel has knocked it out of the park this time around.
I don't really want to say much about the plot of the premiere, other than that it's good set-up for the basis of the season and that it involves characters from multiple sides (Guardians, Ravagers, and Thanos at this point) in pursuit of a powerful artifact (and no, it's not another Infinity Stone).
In my opinion, the best thing the show has going for it is the characters. Between the action and the dialogue, I wouldn't find it hard to see Chris Pratt and company actually acting this show out in real life, as it definitely feels like a continuation of the movie, which is saying something compared to what Marvel's tried to do with "Avengers Assemble". On that show, the characters are really two-dimensional and really immature (especially Hawkeye) and fight over things like cookies and video game controllers, which makes it hard to see the movie versions of the characters being the same on the show. The only ones who seem to stay faithful to their characters are Captain America and Black Widow, but that's not saying much. My point is, the heroes we see on "Avengers Assemble" aren't as ideal or well-rounded as they are in the movies. "Guardians of the Galaxy" doesn't have that problem though. They can get away with not acting like ideal heroes because they're not. As Quill said in the movie, they're "something good, something bad, a bit of both". There's more depth to them as well, acting like strong characters while still dealing with issues from their past. Quill has a carefree personality but still feels pain from losing his mother and anger at Yondu for abducting him. Gamora is trying to redeem herself from her past actions working under Thanos. Drax is still the strong silent type but we see his softer side a few times when he pulls out a holographic image of his late wife and daughter. Rocket's still a wiseass and trigger happy but his soft side shows as well when he has to replant a damaged Groot in a pot of soil for him to grow (again). And of course Groot is...Groot. Their personalities which made them so memorable in the film are retained for this series.
Another aspect that carries over from the film to the series is the use of classic music. I thought that since animated series don't really include actual songs like live action movies do, that an "Awesome Mix" wouldn't be part of the show, but apparently the producers worked hard to get rights to some songs to use. It's also exciting that they're compiling the songs they're using on a "Cosmic Mix" soundtrack, which will be released in a few weeks. I'll be getting it, and I'm sure other Guardians fans will as well.
If there's one blemish on the kick-off of the series though, it's actually Thanos. We all know that in the MCU, he's being built up for the "Infinity War" 2-parter that will most likely bring both the Avengers and the Guardians together. It should be worth mentioning that while the Guardians animated series acts as a continuation of the film, it is NOT part of the MCU canon. Despite that, I think it was a bad idea for Thanos to actually battle the team in the final act (more specifically Drax, who apparently didn't learn his lesson about jumping into battle without a plan from his fight with Ronan). Thanos has also been used recently this past season on "Avengers Assemble" and I'm sorry to say that I don't like how he's being portrayed in these animated series. In my opinion, he just seems like this overpowered brute, and his voice actor doesn't help. I know it's been stated that Thanos is the main villain of the series, but I'm really hoping they save him for the first season finale. Thanos is a villain that can't be just used willy-nilly. He needs to have build-up, working from behind the scenes until he's ready to put his endgame into action.
As much as I enjoyed the Guardians' series premiere, I can't help but wonder if this is a sign of better things to come in other areas. Part of me thinks it's clear that Marvel does listen to its fans. By Ultimate Spider-Man's third season, the cutaway gags and fourth wall breaking that plagued the first two seasons had been drastically cut down to where they don't make the show unbearable to watch. At this point I can only hope that with Ultimate Spider-Man's fourth season and Avengers Assemble's third, the quality is going to be kicked up a notch compared to Guardians. It may also be a plus that it seems like Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4 may be more Spidey-focused with rumored appearances by Kaine and Gwen Stacy. I'm getting off point though.
Taking the two-part premiere as an indication, if you're a fan of the film, I have little doubt you can experience that same enjoyment with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" animated series from the start and what they have in store as it continues. You could say you'll be...hooked on a feeling (come on, you know I had to throw that line in somewhere).
SCORE: 9/10
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