Square Enix's Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game features a post-credits scene that may set up a sequel. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy takes the classic five-member team of Drax, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Star-Lord across the galaxy to save everyone from a horror thought to have been safely cast away. Through motivational speeches, bonding, and out-of-pocket plans, the Guardians of the Galaxy eventually prevent the galaxy’s population from being wiped out entirely. With the help of various characters that Star-Lord has convinced to help save the galaxy, almost everyone that the crew interacts with makes it out alive.
[Warning: Major spoilers for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy are below.]
The post-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy opens with the team speaking with Nikki, one of the main characters who play a prominent role throughout the game. Although she is not a playable character, she ultimately becomes a vital part of the Guardians and joins them for whatever adventure comes next. Her presence aboard the Milano, as a twelve-year-old child who just lost her mother, presents a clear concern for Star-Lord in the post-credits scene. While the rest of the team is deciding where Nikki should sleep, Star-Lord is talking to himself in the mirror regarding how he may have to play a parental figure and leader for Nikki.
Before diving into the post-credits scene, it's important to know that Nikki is a prominent figure in Marvel's original Guardians of the Galaxy comics. While parts of her, such as her Kree heritage, are plot points unique to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, there is still a lot of source material that the game draws from. Nikki was originally depicted as an adult who was genetically engineered to live on Mercury. While she does have the power to withstand heat and ultraviolet radiation, how she receives these powers in the comics vs Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is vastly different. Nonetheless, she becomes an official member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the game, and her presence may play a huge role in a potential sequel.
How Nikki Sets Up A Sequel In Marvel's GOTG Post-Credits Scene
Half of the plot in the Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game focuses on the bonds that Star-Lord was trying to form amongst all members of the team. Although Peter, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot have taken part in a dozen missions together, they mostly still lack care and concern for one another at the beginning of the story. Aside from the relationship of Groot and Rocket, and the half-hearted respect for their leader Star-Lord, the Guardians are still very much a dysfunctional group of individuals for hire, who lack the cohesion of other superhero teams in the Marvel Universe.
Through several major plot points and Star-Lord’s one-on-one time with each member, the Guardians of the Galaxy eventually come around to sharing close bonds and care for one another. Additionally, speaking with each member on the team after retrieving one of the collectibles in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy reveals dialogue that shows their team growth as well. By the time the post-credits cutscene is shown, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot have drastically improved their team mindset as they eagerly decide where Nikki should sleep. It’s a significant plot point that gives some insight into what a sequel to Marvel's GOTG could contain.
Nikki quickly became the focus of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Whether she served as the alluded daughter of Star-Lord or a pseudo-antagonist, Nikki’s backstory is arguably set up as well as the Guardians’. Her first responsibility as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy was protecting the team from the might of an evil Adam Warlock. Nikki’s powers were only teased in chapter 16 of Guardians of the Galaxy, but they quickly solidified her importance as a Guardian.
The post-credits scene of Marvel’s GOTG also shows Star-Lord becoming filled with angst as he tries to, roughly, put a plan together for how Nikki can be taken care of going forward. Although Star-Lord found out that he wasn’t Nikki’s father, Nikki still means a great deal to him. While these details probably wouldn’t mean as much if they were a regular part of the game, because of their presence in the post-credits scene, they provide valuable clues as to where a potential Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2 would venture next.
How GOTG's Post-Credits Scene Sets Up Star-Lord's Arc For A Sequel
Those that are familiar with the Marvel Cinematic Universe know that a post-credit scene always contains either a bit of comic relief or a tease of what's to come in the next film. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy adopts this MCU trait and leans less into the comedic aspect, with Nikki being the center of attention. Combined with an angsty Star-Lord, a major plot point in a sequel to Marvel’s GOTG could be the team's leader feeling responsible for Nikki’s future.
Even after Ko-Rel revealed that Star-Lord was not her father, he still showed signs of parental concern for Nikki. Ko-Rel knew that only Star-Lord could bring Nikki to reject her Promise, but she didn’t ask for Star-Lord to care for Nikki with the same feelings that he had when he set off to rescue her. Star-Lord came to that decision on his own, and it's indicated through signs of guilt when he tells Nikki through a dialogue option, “There’s a lot of blame to go around, but there is no way you deserve any of it.”
It’s possible that part of Star-Lord’s concern for Nikki’s well-being is driven by his own belief that he’s at fault for Ko-Rel’s death shortly after selling the contraband in Guardians of the Galaxy. Although this isn’t directly stated in GOTG, Star-Lord does admit he released Magus from the Soul Stone in the quarantine zone. Even though the Guardians ultimately stop Magus from destroying the galaxy, there is still part of Star-Lord shown in the post-credits scene that indicates he feels responsible for Nikki’s fate.
While Nikki probably will not fill the role of a pseudo-villain in a potential sequel to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, she’ll undoubtedly have an important role to play as Star-Lord tries to move beyond his guilt. Additionally, provided players pay the Nova Corps fine when the Guardians of the Galaxy speak with the Worldmind, the very end of the post-credits scene sees the GOTG talk about buying more business cards. After saving the galaxy twice, the Guardians should hopefully be able to bring in more business.
The post-credits scene gives a glimpse of what kind of arcs could be developed in a sequel to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Nikki is almost certain to play an important role in this regard as the Guardians acquire more business. It may be unfortunate that there wasn’t any more time for Nikki to show off her powers, but they may play another important role in a sequel, whether it’s preventing another cosmic force from taking over the galaxy, or something else entirely.