It’s hard to believe that just five years ago, hardly anyone had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was considered to be a risk when Marvel Studios decided to adapt them into the MCU, but a Guardians movie hardly seems a risk anymore.
Peter Quill and Gamora have enjoyed one of the most complex and interesting relationships in the MCU, Groot and Rocket have become a beloved double act, and Drax is so iconic that audiences will go along with him whether he’s vowing revenge or bragging about the size of his turds. Here are The 10 Best Guardians of the Galaxy Funko Pops, Ranked.
Funko POP Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Flying Rocket Toy Figure
When James Gunn was rehired to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he said that the main reason he was excited to return was the chance to finish Rocket’s character arc.
Rocket is the character that Gunn has always identified with the most. In the first Guardians movie, he learned to be a hero from Groot’s sacrifice. In the second one, he learned to care about other people and appreciate the family he has from Yondu’s sacrifice. Since then, in the last two Avengers movies, we’ve seen him really mature. It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up.
Funko POP! Marvel: Avengers Infinity War - Groot with Stormbreaker
All throughout Avengers: Infinity War, the teenage version of Groot showed himself to be just as moody and disinterested as any other teenager. But then he proved that he actually does care when he went with Thor and Rocket to get the God of Thunder a new weapon on Nidavellir.
Eitri forged Stormbreaker, Thor’s incredibly powerful axe, out of a dying star, and when it was done, Groot stepped in to give it a handle with his arm. In this Funko Pop, we see him holding Stormbreaker in his hand before breaking off his arm and giving it to Thor.
Funko Pop! Marvel: Avengers Infinity War - Young Gamora with Dagger, Standard Toy, Multicolor
Aside from Star-Lord, Gamora is the Guardian whose backstory has been fleshed out the most in the MCU. We’ve seen that Thanos invaded and decimated her homeworld, and then decided to adopt her and raise her as his own daughter.
That’s what turned her into the badass assassin we met in the first Guardians movie before she discovered the power of love and heroism. The younger Gamora that appears in a flashback in Avengers: Infinity War, represented here with this Funko Pop figure, is also the version of her that Thanos saw in the Soul World after snapping his fingers.
Funko POP Vinyl Figures - Movie Collection: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - Adorable Mantis Toy
On the surface, empathy might not sound like the most thrilling superpower to have, but it does make Mantis one of the most emotionally interesting characters in the MCU, and from a narrative perspective, she’s very useful.
Drax doesn’t show his pain, but when Mantis takes his hand and bursts into tears, we can see what he’s going through. Plus, she’s been handy in defeating powerful villains – she has managed to put both Ego and Thanos to sleep during the heroes’ final battle against them. In the latter case, Star-Lord ruined everything, but until then, Mantis was doing a great job of sedating him.
Funko 5177 POP Marvel: Guardians of The Galaxy Series 2 Nebula Action Figure
As a victim of Thanos’ abuse with most of her body parts replaced with cybernetic prosthetics as a result of his favoritism for Gamora, Nebula is one of the most tragically complex characters in the MCU, with an interesting character arc.
Over the course of the two Guardians movies and the last two Avengers movies, Karen Gillan has turned her from a misunderstood villain into one of the franchise’s most beloved heroes. She’s one of the funniest characters, too, and Gillan delivers all of her lines hysterically, like her dig at Peter Quill: “It was either him or the tree.”
Funko POP Marvel: Guardians of The Galaxy - Drax Vinyl Bobble-Head Figure
Drax’s characterization changed drastically between the first and second Guardians movies, but he proved to be just as popular. In the first one, he was a badass warrior driven by revenge, and in the second one, he was mere comic relief.
Dave Bautista expressed his disappointment with this development, but he eventually learned to have fun with the part. Hopefully, in the third movie, these two incarnations of Drax can be brought together and come full circle, because they’re both a lot of fun and both pleased Marvel fans (well, generally, they did – you’ll never be able to please all Marvel fans).
Funko 5175 POP Marvel: Guardians of The Galaxy Series 2 Yondu Action Figure
Michael Rooker has always been great at playing anti-heroes, but perhaps Yondu is his finest example of taking a character who isn’t initially likable and turning him into someone you can really root for. Yondu didn’t mean to get into the trafficking business and he got out of it as soon as he could.
He wasn’t a great parent to Quill, but then his own parents sold him into slavery, so he had no idea what he was doing – at least he cared, and at least he tried his best. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gave us the perfect ending to his arc, as he sacrificed himself to save Quill’s life.
Funko POP Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Toddler Groot Toy Figure
We’ve seen Groot at a few different ages over the course of his character arc, because he sacrificed himself at an old age to save the other Guardians at the end of their first solo movie. Then, Rocket replanted him and he was reincarnated as a baby, although James Gunn has said that this was not a resurrection – the first Groot is dead and this is a new character.
The presence of Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 served a very important role in the sequel’s theme of parenthood. As Quill helped Rocket to raise the newborn Groot, it helped him to realize that raising kids is hard and Yondu did his best.
Funko POP Marvel: Guardians of The Galaxy - Gamora Vinyl Bobble-Head Figure
With any luck, Gamora isn’t gone forever, and Quill and the rest of the Guardians will be able to track her down and bring her back into the fold in the upcoming, albeit delayed threequel, because she’s one of the most complex and badass characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s a shame that her character development will be undone as the Gamora that’s alive in the current timeline is from right before her arc began, but that will just make way for more character development. Nebula expedited some development in Endgame by touching on the emotions she knew Gamora was hiding, so it might not take as long to catch her up as we think.
Funko POP Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Star-Lord Toy Figure, Styles May Vary
It’s hard to believe that casting Chris Pratt as the lead in a movie was once considered to be a risk, because now, every studio wants a piece of Pratt. James Gunn was the first to realize his potential as a leading man (actually, it was the casting director who brought Pratt to Gunn’s attention) as he gave him the role of Peter Quill, the immature, half-Celestial leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Quill might not be particularly smart or particularly strong, but he has a huge heart and he’s there for his friends when they need him – that’s what makes him a real superhero.
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