The Big Picture

• Rocket Raccoon becomes the leader of the new Guardians team with Groot by his side, embodying growth and unity within the group.
• Kraglin proves himself deserving of joining the new team after his valiant defense against The High Evolutionary with Yondu's arrow.
• Adam Warlock joins the Guardians, redeeming himself from his brainwashing and showcasing his powerful abilities for the greater good of the team.

The line-up of our favorite musically inclined space adventures has changed forever with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and now there is an entirely new team ready to defend innocent people in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The third film in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and the supposedly final Marvel film to be directed and written by James Gunn, certainly lived up to the promises of changing the beloved franchise forever. Before the film's release, many were expecting that to mean that at least a few of the established Guardians would be killed off. Yet, surprisingly, all the core members survive their terrifying encounter with The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

However, while they're all grateful to be alive and back together, several members decide it's time for them to leave for a bit. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) decides to return to Earth and reunite with his grandfather, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) feels she needs to explore the galaxy and find her place in the universe, and Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Drax (Dave Bautista) want to remain on Knowhere and rebuild it after their battle with The High Evolutionary. That leaves Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) as the only remaining members of the team, but Star-Lord and the former members are confident that they'll be able to build a new team of heroes.

In the mid-credits sequence of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we see that there are six new members picking up where the preceding team left off.

Rocket Raccoon Leads the New Team

Rocket is one of James Gunn's favorite characters in the series, and that's evident by the character's incredible MCU journey. When we first meet Rocket in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, he's a selfish bounty hunter with his only soft spot saved for his partner in crime, Groot. Despite Drax the Destroyer's presence in the group, Rocket is by far the most pessimistic and grumpy member of the group, preferring to stick his head into his inventions rather than interact with other people. Still, Rocket tolerates his fellow Guardians, finds fighting evil across the galaxy to be quite a bit of fun, and becomes a father figure to the now-baby Groot.

Rocket's bad attitude persists in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with him getting the team into plenty of trouble and getting on everyone's bad side in general. While the rest of the crew are busy acquainting themselves with the sinister Ego (Kurt Russell), Rocket and Groot are kidnapped by the Ravagers. Shortly after, the Ravager leader Yondu (Michael Rooker) is betrayed by his crew, and he and Rocket form an unlikely bond whilst they're in the Ravager crew's custody. They eventually escape and save the other Guardians from Ego, but when Yondu sacrifices himself to save Star-Lord, Rocket realizes that he should cherish the family he found while he still can.

Rocket and Groot spend most of their time in Avengers: Infinity War helping Thor (Chris Hemsworth) forge a weapon to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin), but even that isn't able to prevent the Mad Titan from acquiring all the Infinity Stones and snapping most of the Guardians to dust. In Avengers: Endgame, Rocket and Nebula are the team's only surviving members. Thankfully, they're able to help the other surviving characters get their friends back, and they can get back to what they do best - saving the freakin' galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is Rocket's most personal adventure yet. While he spends most of the movie in critical condition after a battle with Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), we finally get to see Rocket's incredibly tragic backstory. We see him go from a normal raccoon into a technologically advanced genius, even befriending fellow advanced creatures like Lyla the Otter (Linda Cardellini), Floor the Rabbit (Mikaela Hoover), and Teefs the Walrus (Asim Chaudhry). We see exactly why Rocket doesn't like to talk about his past, as his friends met a grim fate at the hands of the High Evolutionary, but we also see him defeat his former tormentor and save all the animals he has stored in his base.

Rocket is dismayed to hear his friends are moving on, but they all entrust him as the new leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Star-Lord sets this in stone by giving Rocket his trusted Zune. What's one of the first songs Rocket plays? The same song that introduced us to Peter Quill in the original film: "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone.

Groot Stays By Rocket's Side

Even with Rocket now the captain of the Guardians, he wouldn't go anywhere without the Chewbacca to his Han Solo, Groot. Where Rocket is often cocky and arrogant, Groot is often cool as a cucumber, and maybe that's because he only says the words I, am, and Groot. He's effectively Rocket's living conscience, guiding him on the right path every time. He seemingly dies when he sacrifices himself to protect the team in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, but Rocket manages to salvage one of the stray twigs left after Groot's sacrifice.

A new Groot is thus born, who starts as a baby in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, then into a teenager in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and then a buff young adult in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Groot has gone through what's literally his biggest growth spurt yet in Vol. 3's mid-credits scene, where he's now a gargantuan muscle-bound companion who is the size of a small house. This effectively makes him the new team's most imposing member.

Kraglin Goes From Ravager to Guardian

While Kraglin (Sean Gunn) is a somewhat recent addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy team, he's been with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise since the very beginning. Kraglin was once Yondu's second in command, serving his Ravager mentor at every beck and call. His faith in Captain Yondu is temporarily tested when the other Ravagers mutiny, but he eventually comes around and helps Yondu. When Yondu dies, Kraglin inherits his psychic head fin that controls his incredibly powerful arrow.

The only problem is, Kraglin doesn't exactly know how to control it, and is embarrassed to admit that he's not nearly as adept with the weapon as Yondu was. Thankfully, when The High Evolutionary invades Knowhere, Kraglin finally shows he's a worthy successor to Yondu and easily dispatches the Hellspawn using the arrow proving himself as a suitable addition to the new team.

Cosmo the Space Dog Adds Another Animal to the Guardians of the Galaxy's Roster

Many superhero teams have brilliant psychic minds, but none of them can claim they're adorable space-faring animals. Thankfully, the new Guardians of the Galaxy can make that claim, as Cosmo the Space Dog (Maria Bakalova) is now a bona fide member. Some may not remember Cosmo made her MCU debut all the way back in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, where she was one of the many prisoners of the kleptomaniac Collector (Benicio Del Toro). Despite the Collector's collection being destroyed by the Power Stone, we see that Cosmo is perfectly fine, even comforting her captor in the end credits scene of the first film.

What she was up to for the past ten years in the MCU isn't known, but we do see that she remained on Knowhere in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and helps the Guardians with their new base of operations. Cosmo spends much of the movie berating Kraglin, who dared to call her a "bad dog" after showing how much better she is at moving objects with her mind. By the end of Vol. 3, we see that she and Kraglin have buried the dog bone, so to speak, and are now loyal teammates.

Adam Warlock Finally Makes His Appearance and Joins the Team in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’

Adam Warlock is a character that comic fans have long waited for, and while his addition to the team isn't surprising, it's nice to see he was able to forgo his brainwashing by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). Adam was created to be the ultimate lifeform, with Sovereign leader Ayesha hoping to use her "son" to exact vengeance on the Guardians who humiliated her. However, problems arise quickly as Ayesha's master, The High Evolutionary, orders her to release Adam from his cocoon early.

Due to this, Adam isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, despite being incredibly powerful. He's basically a child in an adult body, but he starts to see the error of his ways when he adopts a cute animal companion. Adam officially switches to the side of good when he's saved by Groot, repaying the act of kindness by rescuing Star-Lord. Adam is certainly a powerful ally that will assist the new Guardians team in many ways, but more importantly, he'll be able to learn from a caring found family rather than a malignant mother figure.

Phyla May Connect 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to Another MCU Character

Phyla (Kai Zen) is arguably the most mysterious of the new members. Phyla is one of the many "Star Kids" that were part of The High Evolutionary's genetic experiments in Batch 91, who the Guardians recused in the film's climax. We see that Rocket and the other Guardians have taught Phyla English, but she also seems to have some unexplained powers of her own. Given her first name, this character may be Phyla-Vell, who, in the comics, is the descendant of the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. Whether she is that same character or not remains to be seen. Either way, Phyla is already looking like she'll be a great asset to Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, and Adam Warlock as they protect the cosmos as the new Guardians of the Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.

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