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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally gave us the backstory of Rocket Raccoon, and it was a tragic tale that has certainly resonated a lot with audiences. A lot of the film actually deals with Rocket's backstory, to the point where you could even argue that Rocket is actually the protagonist of the film.
James Gunn took a lot of liberties with Rocket's origins in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and changed a lot of his comic book lore to fit his story. As a matter of fact, Rocket's story is completely different in the comics, with the high evolutionary not being a part of it at all. So, with the release of the film, let's take a look at how the MCU actually changed Rocket's origins.
Exploring Rocket's comic book origins and comparing the differences with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Rocket Raccoon was created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema and first appeared in Incredible Hulk #271 in February 1982. Rocket's origins in the comic books are quite different, to the point where the High Evolutionary isn't even a part of the story. His story in the comics begins on a planet in the Keystone Quadrant.
The story sees some humanoid aliens settle on the planet, where they aim to house the clinically insane. The aliens also have animals scattered throughout the planet that basically act as therapy pets for those who were being treated there. However, their funding unfortunately get cuts, which prompts the aliens to leave the planet.
But before they leave, they create robots to take care of those still left behind. Slowly, with time, the robots start gaining consciousness and start carrying out experiments on the animals that were there with them. They genetically engineer them to have anthropomorphic qualities, and Rocket is a part of them. This is basically how the Raccoon comes alive.
In the MCU, though, that's not how his origins came to be. The story in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is more tragic as the film sees the High Evolutionary experiment on a raccoon, which brings him alive. The Evolutionary's goal is to make the perfect species, and Rocket is just a stepping stone for him. Rocket then grows up in captivity alongside his friends Lyla, Teef, and Floor, who too were genetically engineered animals with limbs missing, but they had a conscience.
When Rocket proves himself to be smarter than the High Evolutionary, his creator doesn't like it and orders his goons to kill him and his friends off. Rocket then stages an escap; however, the Evolutionary's goon kill his friends, which causes Rocket to tear up his creator's face and make an escape.
This is how Rocket's tragic backstory came to be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and it is quite different from what it actually is in the comic books. James Gunn is known for taking already established characters and changing them in ways that could fit his story, and it looks like it pretty much worked considering audiences have resonated with the film very well.
Rocket's story is quite special because of just how much pain the character endured, and the rewarding moment at the end where he gets to lead the Guardians was worth sitting through this journey.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is playing in theaters right now.
