The Guardians of the Galaxy have gotten a new ship in Marvel's Universe, and a new vehicle demands a new pop culture name. This time around, Star-Lord and his crew are paying tribute to a late, iconic rocker, as they travel the stars as The Guardians of the Galaxy aboard the starship Bowie.
While this nod to David Bowie is a continuation of Peter Quill's love for naming his ships after 1980s icons, this is actually the first ship that he's named after a man, as opposed to one of his childhood crushes. That's all thanks to Gamora, who finally gets to exercise her own taste when it comes to fitting ship titles. In the process, confirming the question nobody ever thought to ask: which Earthling does the daughter of Thanos crush on?
The team's comic series actually rebooted with a new ship and new crew of Guardians, bearing the name Ryder, for actress Winona. Of course, Peter Quill's naming conventions don't just occur in the comics, as MCU fans also know that the Guardians of the Galaxy have had TWO spaceships named in tribute to iconic women of Quill's childhood years of the 1980s. First the Milano, named for Alyssa Milano, with Guardians Vol. 2 destroying that ship and necessitating the introduction of the (Pat) Benatar ahead of Avengers: Infinity War. But Peter's love for naming his ships after his female crushes, while charming at first... has drawn eye-rolls from his teammates.
After the Guardians' last ship was destroyed while battling the Dark Guardians, the team headed for some much needed rest on the planet Dolo-Mayan (the kind of reward that they definitely deserve for killing Thanos quicker than the MCU's Avengers). On this planet of ill repute, gambling, and all-around great times, Groot wins a new ship playing Shi'ar-rules backgammon. But before Quill can even see the ship, let alone decide on its new name, Gamora interjects--asking if it can be named after "a pretty Earth man this time." Assuming that Earth even has any pretty men.
Letting that subtle jab slide, Peter agrees to put together a list with pictures so Gamora can decide which '80s male celebrity will get the honor this time. All this assuming that they can get to the ship before the new punk rock Groot paints a werewolf in a bikini on it (or something similarly moody). And as an added bonus for fans of the '90s, Peter does offer both "The Gellar" and "The Balk" as potential monikers, presumably referring to actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar (I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Fairuza Balk (The Craft). We'll let fans decide which entries in their filmography have stuck with Quill years later.
The christening of The Bowie is a nice tribute to the late singer, who almost had a connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy by way of the MCU films. Marvel's Kevin Feige was working to get a David Bowie cameo in Guardians 2, with director James Gunn revealing that it was his hope of having David Bowie play an original Guardian. While he never got the chance to play a role in the films, Ziggy Stardust himself still played a role in the MCU galaxy, with his song "Moonage Daydream" playing as the Guardians first enter Knowhere. Now making the leap to the Marvel Comics canon as Gamora's personal pick simply adds to that legacy.
Guardians of the Galaxy #6 is available now from Marvel Comics and at your local comic shop.