Marvel Legacy: Guardians of the Galaxy

This fall, it’s a new dawn for the Universe as Marvel Legacy begins.

53 signature Marvel titles—and every series is an event! Each book pays homage to the beloved heroes, villains, teams, and artifacts that shaped Marvel’s past and determine its future. On November 1, dive into the Legacy of the Marvel Universe’s favorite dysfunctional family, as writer Gerry Duggan and artist Marcus To present GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #146!

Gerry and Marcus took time away from their mysterious intergalactic mission to give us some teasers about the Legacy launch.

Marvel.com: Without spoiling anything, can you give readers a hint about what happens at the start of Guardians Legacy?

Gerry Duggan: As we head into the Guardians story for Marvel Legacy, we’re continuing to explore Gamora’s relationship with the Soul Stone; that’s one of the big overall stories that we’re telling. At that point [artist] Aaron Kuder’s first arc will have concluded and we’ll have a little more information about what’s happening in the galaxy. The source of Groot’s affliction will have been revealed—but the problem will escalate. And it’s no secret anymore that Ant-Man has joined the team! He will leave Earth to get away and take a break in the wake of Secret Empire…but I don’t think he’ll find a lot of rest and relaxation in space.

We’ll also continue a story thread from my UNCANNY AVENGERS days, when Ultron infected aliens with a virus—and then told them that if they survived, they could look up the Avengers on Earth for payback. So he’s creating a lot of ticking time bombs, which will be of personal interest to Scott Lang.

The real thrust of this arc, though, is the idea that there’s a problem inside the Nova Corps and it relates to the Fraternity of the Raptors. So the Guardians are going to fight for the soul of the Nova Corps—joined by Rich Rider and some other unexpected cosmic favorites. In Marcus’ upcoming arc, we’re also going to be revealing the location of the first Infinity Stone.

Marvel.com: Ooh!

Gerry Duggan: Yeah, that’s the prize! We’re building up to a very special issue #150 that will see some new beginnings and at least one ending. It will all set the table for a conflict that centers around the Stones.

Really, this is going to be a story about two families: the Guardians and the Cosmic Elders. The Elders are not privy to all of the secrets of our universe, so they have theories to approximate some answers—the most crazed of which is the notion that there’s an intelligence behind their world that, maybe, doesn’t have their best interests at heart. Unfortunately for them, that theory proves true.

Marvel.com: There’s an interesting sense of history to the Legacy stories. Marcus, have you been doing any research into the old comics for inspiration?

Marcus To: Actually I have been digging—not necessarily specifically into Guardians of the Galaxy—but into old X-MEN stuff, old FANTASTIC FOUR, and Silver Surfer. They give a really good insight into why fans fell in love with these characters in the first place. So even though the artistic style might not be the same, I’d like to think I took a lot of storytelling cues to try to capture the same love that the original creators of these books had.

Marvel.com: What about you, Gerry? Have you been reading, say, THE INFINITY GAUNTLET?

Gerry Duggan: Actually…we’re not telling an Infinity Gauntlet story as much as we’re telling a story about the Infinity Stones. Not to misdirect you from Thanos and the importance of the Gauntlet, but Editor Jordan D. White and our collaborators all agree that the Gauntlet story has been told—and told well—so we’re going to blaze some new trails. So, yes the Stones are coming back in an interesting new way that I think will surprise some people. They’re out there…and we’ll get to see how they impact these characters.

But to answer your original question: yes, I have been reading a lot of old Marvel comics—and I’ve also been reading a lot about the notion that our universe could be a simulation.

Marvel.com: So what stories would you recommend people check out to get the full history of the Infinity Stones?

Gerry Duggan: I will say that readers should be reading up on Marvel Unlimited to see the stories by folks that have come before us. And make sure to check out the INFINITY GAUNTLET: WARZONES series I did with Dustin Weaver (co-writer and artist on that book); we’re going to start pulling some strings from that in a fun way.

Marvel.com: Marcus, during your artistic process, were there any particular challenges in the new book? Anything you were especially proud of?

Marcus To: I feel that every project has challenges of its own, but I take a lot of cues based off of who I work with. This is the first project I’ve worked with Gerry on and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. His storytelling style makes things very easy on an artist—it allows space to tell a story without bombarding it with exposition too much. That makes it fun because you can really pull off some comedic moments—and some character moments can breathe a little bit more. And since these books are delivered twice a month, we have a little more room to add scenes and really develop these characters the way we want to.

Gerry Duggan: Yeah, the pages that Marcus has been doing are great. It’s not just great character work and great gags, but also high drama. We try to put in a lot of real character moments to ground the story when things are a little bit crazy, especially now with a couple of different emergencies going on in outer space. Not everyone can nail the drama and the comedy, but Marcus has that talent and it’s a joy to work with.

Marcus To: Thanks, man!

Gerry Duggan: Thank you!

Marcus To: You know, what we love so much about these team books are the interactions they have with each other—the small, short moments are really when you get to know these characters. That’s what we’re really trying to inject into these issues, and art-wise those are my favorite things to draw. You can use comedic, lighthearted events—or even emotional ones—to do that. Gerry has allowed us to experiment with that a little bit more.

Marvel.com: Each of these characters has such a unique appearance. What’s it like telling a story with Groot, for example, largely using body language as a communicator?

Marcus To: If I can’t tell a story without words, then I’ve failed as a comic book artist. And I’m also a firm believer that storytelling is king. I’d like to think that, if you took out all the words, you could still kind of know what’s going on with my stories. I always try to practice that. When creating, I think of myself as the actor and director when it comes to these things, so hopefully it reads that way as well. I’ve always tried to make sure that, if there’s a character like Groot, who can’t express himself with words, he’ll do so with acting. Hopefully it reads that way as well!

Marvel.com: Any last words ahead of the new Marvel Legacy Guardians series?

Marcus To: Well, I guess Gerry did say that the Nova Corps will be there…my story revolves around the Guardians of the Nova, so you get to see all the Guardians dressed as Novas—even Groot! I laugh even thinking about it because it’s kind of ridiculous. But my favorite thing about it is Rocket because he gets to play a cop.

Gerry Duggan: With regard to the future of the Guardians, we’re definitely interested in telling new stories—not just with some familiar objects, but also older characters that may be coming back in new and exciting ways. So, check out Marvel Unlimited to read up on some of the old cosmic stories from Jim Starlin and Brian Michael Bendis to Jim Valentino and DnA (Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning). I think we’ll be tying into a lot of our predecessors in a cool way.

Keep your eyes peeled for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #146, by Gerry Duggan and artist Marcus To, available on November 1!