Guardians 3000 #1 Review

With the battle of the box office over and Guardians of the Galaxy being the biggest hit of the year, it’s obvious that Marvel would bring us all a slew of Guardians related comics. We have seen solo titles for team members Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon, both having launched back in July, which expands the focus on the modern take on the group.

However, the Guardians line has just expanded with another title that instead of focusing on members of the current team, we are headed back to the oldest version of the Guardians; Martinex, Charlie-27, Vance Astro, and Yondu (the true version of the character, not the film version). This is the first time the original members of the team have been seen in comics since 1969 in Marvel Super-Heroes #18. The team operates a thousand years in the future and are battling a far deadlier Badoon Brotherhood for the freedom of the galaxy.

This also marks the return of the talented Dan Abnett to the Guardians line, after having brought the Guardians of the Galaxy back to relevance in 2008 with Andy Lanning. Abnett is teamed up with Gerardo Sandoval on this series and much like the 2008 series, it still remains clear that Abnett knows how to write a sharp, action packed, Guardians book. The crux of the series seems to be focusing on something that’s fracturing time and space; the how and why will clearly be front and center of this series, which could potentially wind back in to the 2008 run which saw our present day team of Star-Lord and company meet a time lost Major Victory and a Starhawk who kept shifting appearances as existence shifted around them. If this is actually in the plan, then even more praise to Abnett’s writing is deserved for tying everything together with these plot threads.

Abnett quickly introduces us to the team through the eyes of Geena Drake whom the team is spiriting away from danger. I thoroughly enjoyed the old team and their power sets; my personal favourite being Martinex, and seeing the true comic book version of Yondu is great, who in this series would put nearly all of the greatest bowman in comics to the test. Vance Astro AKA Major Victory is another badass character from the past who carries an item from current time; Captain America’s shield, which serves as his inspiration to protect the galaxy. The first comic is a whirlwind of action and intro to the plot, so those who don’t know these characters very well may need a few issues to settle in with them. Those who are jumping on this title thanks to the movie may end up lost. As a recommendation, I suggest reading Guardians of the Galaxy #14 which highlighted this team of the future, or reading some of the older series to get a feel for these characters.

Abnett appears to be favouring an action heavy story and hard science fiction ideas so far, all fit inside a superhero mold. So it does have a different feel to his 2008 run on Guardians but by no means is that a detracting factor; he has done an excellent job setting up this series. Sandoval has matched Abnett’s writing with putting together some truly excellent panels, highlighting the danger that the team is in and the powers and abilities they have. The high energy of this issue is captured perfectly, which can be seen in Charlie-27, an engineered soldier who practically rips through the pages as the story progresses.

Long time fans of the classic team will love this issue and be excited for more; it’s a fun read and will hook readers from the get go. While none of the new pop culture icons of the current team appear in the issue, I firmly believe that the classic team will become just as popular with comic book fans as this series progresses. As a book all on its own, there could be more explanation to the species in play and the characters themselves, but that will come in time as this story unfolds.

So if you want to get a feel for the original team and see where things stand a thousand years in the future, pick up this title and discover a new-old Marvel team that you will love. Guardians 3000 #1 is on shelves now.

Let us know in the comments if you are picking up this title.