According to director James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 puts Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) front and center. The final farewell to Gunn's gang of misfits delves deep into Rocket's backstory, one intrinsically tied to the film's antagonist, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Part of that backstory resurfaces in the present, as seen in an exclusive clip that Gunn shared with Collider's Steve Weintraub. In it, we are introduced to three figures, friends, from Rocket's past: Teefs the walrus (Asim Chaudhry), Floor the rabbit (Mikaela Hoover), and Lylla the otter (Linda Cardellini). The reunion of Rocket and Lylla is especially emotional, an allusion to a deeper connection that's more than simply a shared origin.
And there is a reason for that: in the comics, Lylla, or Lady Lylla, is Rocket's "soulmate." Lady Lylla, who has already endeared herself to fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, has a comic book history that is best described as bonkers. Hers is a story about loss, love, caretaking, and (oddly) toys. In other words, a character that fits into Gunn's penchant for introducing the lesser lights of both Marvel and DC.
When was Lylla the Otter First Introduced in the Comics?
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 pair made their debut together in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #271 in 1982 (Rocket had only one appearance previously, in Marvel Preview #7, 1976). Hulk is transported to Halfworld, a far-off planet where he meets Rocket Raccoon and Wal Rus and joins them in rescuing Lylla. Lylla, the heiress to the Mayhem Mekaniks toy company, is in the clutches of the evil mole Judson Jake, who wrested control of the company after killing Lylla's parents. The group is successful in freeing Lylla and stopping Judson Jake from retrieving the powerful Gideon's Bible and using it to take over not only Halfworld but other worlds as well.
Halfworld's dark history is explored in the four-issue miniseries Rocket Raccoon in 1985. Originally, Halfworld was used as a giant asylum, where colonizers kept the mentally unwell for treatment. Eventually, the project was abandoned, and the doctors left behind robots to look after the patients. When a supernova happened nearby, the robots were inundated with so much radiation that it led to them becoming sentient. In turn, these living robots took the companion animals that were also left behind and began genetically modifying them, eventually retreating to the other half of the world and leaving the anthropomorphic animals behind to care for the "Loonies." (This is where the toys come in, as the animals created them to entertain and soothe those in their care... and just got really, really good at it.) It's these genetic modifications that led to the creation of Rocket, Lylla, Wal Rus, Judson Jake, and many more.
The 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3' Couple Take Separate Paths
The final issue of the Rocket Raccoon miniseries saw Rocket and Lylla leave Halfworld together, setting off on adventures aboard a ship crafted by the robots. It seemed to be a happily-ever-after ending for the pair, but it was not meant to be. Years would pass before Lylla reappeared, and during that time she and Rocket split up. Rocket, of course, ended up partnering with Groot before they joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. The pair would be reunited in Marvel Comics' Annihilators #4 in 2010, but much had changed over the years. Lylla was now married to Blackjack O'Hare, an anthropomorphic rabbit who had been both enemy and ally to Rocket years before. Lylla and O'Hare were happy together, and Rocket was happy for them. They part ways again, with Rocket returning to Groot and the Guardians for further adventures.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is clearly taking some liberties with Rocket and Lylla's origins. It appears that the High Evolutionary plays a much more significant role in the genetic modifications that led to the creation of the anthropomorphic creatures. Really, the fact he plays a role at all in that development isn't true to the comic book history, although writers have been known to claim the High Evolutionary is Rocket's creator, depending on the storyline. Halfworld has been adapted into Counter-Earth, a replica of Earth on the other side of the sun that the High Evolutionary made for himself and his warped experiments on living creatures. Counter-Earth doesn't have any "Loonies," but does have the New Men, an advanced animal-human species with the ability to speak and think. The High Evolutionary created the New Men when he was still Herbert Edgar Wyndham, a smart human with a sadistic, serial-killer manner.
What Role Will Lylla the Otter Play in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'
How these changes relate to Lady Lylla's history in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is unknown at this point, especially given how little we've actually seen of her to date. There has not been any sight of her uncle Wal Rus, or of Blackjack O'Hare. Or at least not by those names — Wal Rus could very well be Teefs, and maybe Floor the rabbit inhabits some of the traits of O'Hare. Lylla's Mayhem Mekaniks toy company probably isn't an entity in the movie, which would mean that any mention of her parents, or of malicious mole Judson Jake, is in passing or not present at all. She and Rocket never left together on a quest for adventure, with Gunn confirming that Lylla, Teefs, and Floor have never left Counter-Earth, or couldn't. If that is the case, then it would be interesting to know how Rocket managed to escape, and what sort of promises he may have made to Lylla before he left. Regardless, the snippets we've seen from the film have made it clear that Rocket is awash in emotions and memories we have only seen bits and pieces of previously, humanizing the beloved "trash panda." Those same snippets make it clear that Lylla plays a deep role in bringing those character traits out of Rocket. It is a relationship that never really had a chance to be fleshed out in the comics but does seem to be a relationship that is going to be utilized effectively in Gunn's final farewell to the Guardians.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is in theaters now.