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Guardians of the Galaxy: Marvel Studios’ First Flop?

Ever since their release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel Studios has managed to take Hollywood by storm and become a major player in the business of making superhero films. With every release, their branding of classic comic book characters into blockbuster films have taken the world by storm and have broken all kinds of records. Later this year, Marvel Studios is embarking on one of their most riskiest endeavors yet, trying to take a C-List comic book team and turn it into another part of their major franchises. Since their inception in 1969, the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book has never had the popularity of the X-Men or The Avengers. While full of characters from all over the universe and the future, the comics have always struggled in the comic book market place. When Marvel Studios had announced that they would be adapting the series into a feature film, I was most certainly excited, but wondered if they were making the right decision to expand on their comic book universe. In this article, I plan on exploring on both Pro's and Con's towards the rag tag group and explore Marvel's latest property. Con: No one know's who these characters are.

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The great thing about coming out of gate with a character like Iron Man, is that he's existed long enough that the public consciousness knows who he is. Hell, even rappers have made multiple nods to various Marvel characters, that perpetuate these icons into popular culture. With the Guardians, no one knows who they really are, they're just rag tag group of characters, that fight off intergalactic aliens and entities. With this in mind, Guardians has the slight chance of be another Green Lantern. Pro: There's nothing like Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Guardians_03 While the odds are certainly against them, maybe that's exactly what'll make the Guardians stand out a whole lot more. To have an equivalent to something like Star Wars in the Marvel Cinematic universe, would be extremely refreshing and offer some variety to the typical superhero stories we've received up until now. Con: James Gunn isn't an established name. Gunn_01 While I certainly know who James Gunn is, there's a majority of people that haven't seen his work. With films like Super and Slither under his belt, the level of comedy and action that he could inject into something like Guardians also offers something very dynamic, much akin to Joss Whedon contributions to the Avengers. The only thing that most people have heard of from Gunn is his script work on Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead and the live action Scooby Doo. Pro: It'll expand the Marvel Cinematic universe more than any previous film. Guardians_04 While both Thor films and The Avengers deal with other worldly creatures and aliens, showcasing both the characters in the Guardians team and threats that they deal with would take the Marvel Cinematic universe in a bold direction. It would give the films a grander scope, that would further the Marvel brand, as well as give the spotlight to some characters that deserve cinematic treatment. While I don't know what the future holds, as a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy, I sure hope that the feature film is as awesome as the comics. I'll just have to wait and see how the film fares this upcoming August. Do you think Guardians of the Galaxy will be awesome, or will it be the first major flop of Marvel Studios? Let us know what you think in the comments below or in the forums!

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Meet the Author

About / Bio
Ruben Rosario is the head editor of the Movie Department at Entertainment Fuse. He co-hosts The Plot Hole, with Simon Brookfield and has a major love for cinema, comics and anime.

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