Guardians of the Galaxy - or - The Avengers in SPAAACE

So Guardians of the Galaxy again.

I know, what're ya gonna do? It's this or nothing else, so you might as well enjoy it.

Guardians of the Galaxy is fun, its entertaining, it does a LOT of things right. And it does that by following some central ideas that have proved to be very successful. These ideas are the kind that fuels every single story, they get repeated because they are good. These ideas are called tropes.

Guardians of the Galaxy is as successful as it is, because it is borrowing some very old tropes, and very much the same tropes as the already, very successful The Avengers

You see. Guardians of the Galaxy, is basically The Avengers in SPAAACE.

There are many other aspects, but i'll talk about the main characters.

They're both Five-Man Bands composed of mismatched outcasts who are reluctantly put together to fight a Big Bad to prevent a catastrophic event from destroying their worlds. They bicker between themselves at first but are eventually united by The Power of Friendship.

Star-Lord, Peter Quill - Captain America, Steve Rogers

Both are the central characters, both are the heart and leader of the team, both are displaced in time with references and jokes made at the expense of their outdated taste, both are slightly goofy but kindhearted. Both were weak fragile younsters who against all odds became extremely competent and confident. Both are normal human beings, at the top of their game.

Gamora - Black Widow

Both are highly skilled and deadly assassins with a shady past and a suggestion of a cruel training as children. Both serve as sidekick to the Leader and as suggested but never accomplished love-interest. Both, despite their professional and cold outward demeanor, actually do care deeply about the morality of their actions.

Rocket Racoon - Iron Man

Godamnit even their godamn names are paralel, one is a man in iron, the other is a raccoon on a rocket. They are both reluctant users of implanted technology (Rocket is a cyborg), but use it to their advantage, both are technical geniuses able to build complex machines with a tendency to assemble powerful weapons. Both are thee short tempered, manic one-lining sarcastic of the group. They're even both short and furry.

Drax - Hulk

What? Two characters who are loquacious, socially awkward, don't pick up on social clues, and both are endowed with great durability and physical strength while having do deal with issues of anger and restraint?

Grooth - Thor

The magical, kinda dumb, honour-bound brave-hearted big guy. Extremely tough and powerfully strong, definitively the toughest guy in the fight and flatly valiant and corageous. The mystical/magical element of the group, both could have come straight from a fairy-tale. Both are even royalty (Groot in the comics is a monarch of his tree-people).

Nota: este texto está em inglês