GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Page 4 of 4

CHARACTERS

Batwing

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9-11, 19-23, 30-34, 36, 38-39, 50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4

Powers: bioblast power transmits concussive force and disrupts nerve endings, inducing pain and unconsciousness in his victims, flight

Fact: Bat-Wing is Rancor’s cousin. To teach him a lesson about questioning her decisions, she once partially scalped him. Thereafter, he wore a red bandana on his head.

Bear

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9
Last appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9 [killed by Blockade]

All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9

Powers: excess body mass grants him superhuman strength and durability

Fact: Bear secretly sided with Haven’s human resistance against Rancor’s regime, which is why his son, Blockade, killed him in disgust.

Blaster

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
Last appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #10 [shot by Giraud]

All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8, 10

Powers: release focused energy beams, flight

Blockade

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8-11, 19-23, 30-34, 38-39, 50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4

Powers: enormous strength, endurance and resistance to physical injury, mass-boosting effect magnifies his size, strength and durability while molding his physique into a living wall of hyper-dense flesh

Fact: Blockade was permanently blinded when Nikki shot him in the eyes with a laser gun. Later on, he received a pair of suboptic glasses, enabling him to see once more.

Mindscan

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8-11, 19-23, 30-34, 37-39, 49-50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #61

Powers: telepathic abilites

Fact: Mindscan is bald, but wears a wig to hide her disfigured head. It has a cone-like in shape and is covered with thick veins and clusters of additional brain matter.

Rancor

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8-11, 19-23, 30-34, 36-39, 50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #61

Powers: fifth generation feral mutation gives her heightened strength, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes and lifespan, hyper-keen animalistic senses, a healing factor that inhibits physical injuries, poison and disease, and razor sharp retractable finger claws

Fact: Rancor was Haven’s ruling queen for over five generations.

Rhodney

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9
Last appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #11 [shot by Charlie-27]

All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9-11

Powers: superhuman strength, endurance and resistance to physical injury

Fact: Given Bat-Wing’s strong reaction to his death, it seems that he and Rhodney were romantically involved.

Shaddo

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8-11, 19-23, 30-34, 39, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4

Powers: summon Darkforce energy into a living cloak that shapes and expands to her will, can lift and manipulate matter from a distance, cut or slice targets, asphyxiate victims by flowing down their throats, and induce fear in others

Sidestep

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #8-11, 19-23, 30-34, 39, 46, 50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #52

Powers: open teleportation gateways between points in space

Phoenix IV (Giraud)

First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9
All appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9-12, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #2, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #34-37, 47, Galactic Guardians #1-4

Powers: tap into the enormous power of the Phoenix Force for telepathy, psychokinesis, and the manipulation of matter and energy on a vast scale

Fact: Giraud carried within himself a latent psionic power, which is why the Phoenix Force picked him as its avatar. After getting a first taste of the Phoenix Force’s full scale, Giraud consented to being placed under psychic dampeners to keep the entity in check.

Major Victory (Vance Astro)

First appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes (1st series) #18
All appearances: Marvel Super-Heroes (1st series) #18, Marvel Two-in-One #5, Giant-Size Defenders #5, Defenders (1st series) #26-29, Marvel Presents (1st series) #3-10, Thor Annual #6, Avengers #167, 173, Ms. Marvel (1st series) #23, Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #86, Marvel Two-in-One #69, Fantastic Four Annual #24, Thor Annual #16, Silver Surfer Annual #4, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #1-25, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #2, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #27-39, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #3, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #40-50, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #4, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #51-59, 61-62, New Warriors (1st series) #68, Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #134

Powers:
- developed his mutant psionic power during 1000 year space voyage, allowing him to project psychokinetic energy to move and propel objects with concussive force, cast protective force fields and construct PK energy constructs
- ionic energy within his bloodstream raises his strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, and immune system to peak human levels, and amplifies his psionic power
- survives within a sympathetic exo-armor formed from the power of That Which Lies Within Yet Beyond
- formerly carried Captain America's steel/vibranium alloy shield
- formerly wore a flexible spacesuit composed of advanced kevlar, and later adamantium metal weave

Fact: For a while, Vance wielded Captain America’s shield and used it in combination with his telekinetic power. Eventually though, he donated it to the newly elected president of Earth who had it put on a display to serve as a rallying symbol for Earth’s reunited people.