Who is Ego the Living Planet? If you just watched Guardians of the Galaxy you know that Ego, played by Kurt Russell is Peter Quill aka Star Lord’s father. In the comics he has a similar origin as he explains in the movie, except he is not the father of any of the superheroes in the Guardians. (Unless this has been retconned. If so, let me know.)
So exactly who is he? What is he? Where did he come from? Keep reading for more answers…
I was digging around my old comic book archives looking for more stray trading cards and came across a few old issues of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. These official handbooks were compiled character profiles that were assembled into issues before Marvel started publishing them in the large hardcover format.
I flipped through a few pages and landed right on Ego the Living Planet! I had been meaning to do a profile since watching Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend but this saved me a ton of time. I scanned the two Ego pages and posted them here. I don’t think Ego has really changed much since this was printed, but if it has then please let me know!
Guardians of the Galaxy manages to keep the heart and spirit of adventure from the prequel and inject a new level of weirdness into the sequel and it is 100% appreciated by this comic book fan.
I really loved this movie. When I said there is a new level of weirdness in Vol. 2, I meant it in the best way possible. In this movie we are literally walking around on a friggin Living Planet! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 features the group who has now, through a series of adventures and misadventures, begun to mesh together as a tea
Ayesha of The Sovreignm and family. They lend out their special talents to others, in this movie a race of genetically perfect, super pretentious, gold skinned people called “The Sovereign”, to take on threats that would send other people running for the space hills.
That threat is a giant rainbow shooting, bug eyed tentacle monster that has been eating (?) some very expensive space batteries that the Sovereign use. The interesting part about this scene, which is right at the beginning of the movie, is that in most sci-fi movies a fight scene like this would usually be THE key scene in the film. It’s a scene that would usually be the end or mid movie climax that is meant to grab and hold your attention. In Guardians of the Galaxy it’s just a backdrop for baby Groot to dance to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra.
Mantis has empathic powers and is able to transfer feelings to others as well as receive them.The music in this movie is just as good as the first with some nice cuts like Fox on the Run by Sweet, My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, and Southern Nights by Glen Campbell and Bring it on Home to Me by Sam Cooke. The highlights of the soundtrack for me were Brandy by Looking Glass and Father and Sons by Cat Stevens. It was amazing to see how “Brandy” was used to illustrate the longing and the calling of the sea to the vast ocean of space that called Ego the Living Planet (played by Kurt Russell) away from Peter Quill’s mother and how that same calling can and will affect Peter in all of his future relationships. It’s a powerful and nuanced moment that I can’t help but feel that is almost too deep for a movie that features a talking tree and raccoon and where almost every other main character is a different hue. But it fits. It fits perfectly. I didn’t think that that soundtrack was quite as powerful and striking as the Awesome Mix vol. 1 (Peter dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” is my favorite opening scene in all of the Marvel movies) but it still hit all the right notes right when it needed to.
Yondu gets his “fin” in Vol. 2.To be completely fair and objective despite the amazing visuals and banging soundtrack, the first act of this movie is a bit of a mess. It’snot unwatchable by any means (far from it actually), it just lacks direction. There isn’t that one thing that really advances the plot (like trying to constantly stay one step ahead of Ronan the Accuser and keep the Infinity Gem out of his hands) and it kind of meanders a bit between action set pieces and people sitting and talking. I’ll say this though, characters sitting and talking never gets boring because all the actors in this movie are all over the top interesting and the delivery of comedic lines are on point. When Ego finally lays bare his plans, that’s when things get REALLY get interesting. I won’t spoil anything here, but he reveals a critical plot point that elicited loud gasps of disbelief in my theater.
That’s all I can really say about this movie for now because the longer I talk about it the more I’ll want to reveal some spoilers! If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend going as soon as you can. It’s worth the full price of admission, especially if you were a fan of the prequel.
What did you think about the movie? Have you seen it yet? How many times have you seen it? Comment below and let me know.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Rating: 4.5/5
+ Amazing visuals and soundtrack.
+ Some truly touching and heartbreaking moments.
– Plot meanders a bit in the first 1/4 of the movie.
*make sure you stick around for all 5 post credit scenes…
The character was created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen and inspired by the Beatles song “Rocky Raccoon”. Other references to the song were featured in Rocket’s appearance in this issue of The Incredible Hulk which was titled “Now Somewhere In the Black Holes of Sirius Major There Lived a Young Boy Named Rocket Raccoon” which saw the Hulk help Rocket stop a villain trying to steal “Gideon’s Bible”, which in the Marvel Universe was a book that contained the sum of all knowledge on the Loonies colony.
Rocket Raccoon acts as the “Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant”, an area of outer space sealed off from the rest of the cosmos by the so-called Galacian Wall. Rocket is captain of the starship Rack ‘n’ Ruin, and he and his first mate Wal Rus (a talking walrus) come from the planet Halfworld in the Keystone Quadrant, an abandoned colony for the mentally ill where the animal companions were genetically manipulated to grant them human level intelligence and bipedal body construction for many to become caretakers of the inmates. Rocket was Halfworld’s chief law officer (“ranger”) who protected the colony against various threats.
At one point, Judson Jakes tried to steal the Halfworld Bible, but was thwarted by Rocket and various animal associates. Later, Lord Dyvyne abducted Rocket’s friend Lylla, and Jakes began the Toy War. As the Toy War continued, Blackjack O’Hare teamed up with Rocket, and Rocket was reunited with Lylla. The Rack ‘n’ Ruin was soon destroyed, as Judson Jakes and Lord Dyvyne teamed up to kill Rocket Raccoon. Rocket Raccoon and his friends cured the Loonies of their mental illnesses, as Judson Jakes and Lord Dyvyne were apparently killed. Rocket and the animals as well as the robots left Halfworld and took off into space for their own adventures. Some time later, Rocket was revealed to have been a laboratory subject on the Stranger’s planet, and escaped his captivity there.
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