Is he a raccoon or is he an alien that looks like a raccoon? The answer is more complex than you might think. Either way, he’s a tech genius, mastermind in fighting, and deadly with just about any type of gun there is. He’s also quite the pilot and best friends with a talking tree man. So how does a dangerous creature such as Rocket become a household name?
Far off in the Keystone Quadrant of space, there is an asylum that is kept safe from intruders by a team of humanoid animals. Rocket Raccoon is one such creature, genetically engineered to appear like a cute raccoon to soothe the patients of the asylum and to be its chief law officer. Among many other animal friends, Rocket would deal with bizarre threats to the asylum. The main goal was to keep the patients happy on Halfworld, named so because it was half technology and half plant life for the entire planet.
Or so it would seem? Rocket was also locked up in a Matrix-like system, filling his mind with a false reality of being a protector of this strange place. Rocket was possibly an alien species that just happened to look like the Earth species known as raccoons. Maybe he really was a raccoon that had been genetically modified? The experiment he was in was so bizarre that he could be either or none of the above. Sometimes people return from the Halfworld days of his life and other times he meets aliens that look like they belong to his species. Things are weird.
Wherever he comes from, Rocket would find his way to the Guardians of the Galaxy to deal with the Phalanx threat to the Kree homeworld. Here, he would meet his best friend, Groot from the Planet X. Rocket would often play the role of their tactician and demolitions specialist. The team would deal with cosmic threat after cosmic threat and lose members over time until reforming into a much smaller team formation, Rocket and Groot becoming nearly an inseparable duo. There were even adventures where Rocket and Groot would go off together, leaving the Guardians for a time.
Rocket and Groot would have strange adventures together and even apart. One journey had Rocket learning about his bizarre past and possibilities. They’d deal with being trapped in the deadliest television programs, find old friends, and even deal with the return of Thanos, who they thought they had helped lock away in another universe. This would cause them to reunite with the Guardians and Rocket would even lead them from time to time. Rocket has had to visit Earth on several occasions and has never really cared for it, he doesn’t like people thinking of him as a cute animal and pretty much is only enjoying some of our fast food options.
There you have it! Rocket Raccoon started as a strange character and has only gotten weirder with time. Now, he’s a household name and one of the most well loved Marvel characters in their cinematic universe. What will he get up to next? Who knows? See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Rocket Raccoon
Guardians of the Galaxy
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
