All
things considered, Tony Stark is probably lucky that he has no idea Rocket
exists, because if he knew that there was a genetically-modified and
cybernetically-enhanced raccoon somewhere in the Universe brilliant and techie
enough to build a moon-destroying bomb out of spare parts, he’d feel so
inadequate. Today is all about Rocket (a
few Guardians of the Galaxy
spoilers.)
Aside
from the general technical and engineering genius, Rocket has a lot of basic
personality traits in common with Tony as well, though it’s no surprise that
the effect is slightly different when we’re looking at a talking raccoon bounty
hunter instead of a playboy billionaire inventor. Rocket is brash and arrogant, and while he’s
good in a crisis, he’ll drive you crazy while he’s there because he’s almost
pathologically unable to take things seriously when you need him to. Because
he’s so smart, he naturally assumes that he’s always right and will gleefully
let anyone know what he thinks of their inferior intellect. Fortunately, though, he doesn’t appear to
share Tony’s playboy ways – I know that they’re in an area with lots of
interplanetary mixing, but I don’t need to see a raccoon hooking up with an
even vaguely humanoid alien.
Mostly,
the cocky routine works for Rocket because he can back it up. When he brags about how many prisons he’s
broken out of, he promptly adds another escape notch to his belt, even throwing
his plans into overdrive when a well-meaning Groot accidentally screws up his
timetable. He’s the polar opposite of physically
imposing, but that doesn’t stop him from making colorful threats of bodily
harm, which he backs up with serious fire power (including some of his own
invention) and Groot, who often serves as his personal muscle. And even though Groot is usually the one who
does the most damage in a fight, Rocket is frequently right there in the thick
of it as well.
Like
most of the characters in Guardians of
the Galaxy, Rocket winds up becoming a hero fairly despite himself. He’s comfortable with collecting bounties,
busting himself and Groot out of prison, and generally being an acerbic
scoundrel. He first comes into contact
with Peter Quill because of the price on Peter’s head, which is also the reason
he sticks around (until he finds out that the orb Peter is carrying is worth
way more and upgrades his expectations.)
However, slowly, begrudgingly, he starts to find himself doing the right
thing – the huge, complicated, butt-risking thing – with no personal profit at
stake. Given the potential fallout if
Ronan’s evil plan succeeds, it’s understandable that he eventually comes into
the fold, but it’ll be interesting to see where that hero/rogue line is drawn
when the second film rolls around.
Like so
many brusque, cocky smartasses before him, Rocket has his more unguarded
moments that catch you (and probably him) by surprise. In his case, these moments often stem from
what at first merely seems like a bit of visual absurdity – the fact that he’s
legitimately a raccoon. Yes, the rude
raccoon with the big mouth is an amusing sight.
Yes, the badass raccoon with the enormous gun is a lot of fun to
watch. But in a scene of sharp
vulnerability, Rocket lashes out at those who think he’s just “some stupid
thing,” pointing out, “I didn’t ask to get made! I didn’t ask to be torn apart and put back
together over and over and turned into some little monster!” It’s a shocking moment for the other
characters, who probably never thought of Rocket as having any emotions, and it’s a shocking moment for the audience, too, who
probably never expected to feel for a CGI raccoon with a machine gun.
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