10 Memes That Perfectly Sum Up Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 was the much-anticipated final installment to the beloved MCU trilogy, and it did not disappoint. The film marked the end for several characters with each member of the team getting an appropriate send-off. Though some characters will likely still make future MCU appearances, it will be a new era for the Guardians.
While James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy is known for its humor and charm, the third movie of the trilogy took a different approach looking into Rocket Raccoon’s past. Featuring one of the MCU’s most evil villains to date in the High Evolutionary, the film had one of the darkest tones so far in the MCU. Though the film is filled with vulnerable and emotional moments, here are 10 memes that embody the Guardians’ beloved third journey.
10 A Newfound Love For Rocket Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 follows the Guardians’ battle against the High Evolutionary, Rocket’s creator and a mad scientist of sorts. The High Evolutionary spent many years creating batches of experiments, choosing the perfect ones to inhabit his planet of Counter-Earth. Though Rocket showed significant intelligence, his batch was not chosen as one of the successful ones.
Rocket was introduced in Guardians Of The Galaxy as a confident, sly, and methodical thief who did a good job of hiding his vulnerabilities. His past was always hinted at, but all the Guardians knew was that Rocket was genetically enhanced and experimented on in the past. Vol. 3 opened the team up to the true extent of Rocket’s torture under the High Evolutionary. While Rocket would likely hate the pity, everyone can’t help but feel a newfound emotional attachment to him.
9 We’re The Guardians Of The Galaxy British actor Will Poulter was first confirmed to play Adam Warlock in 2021, building much anticipation for the comic character’s first appearance in the MCU. Since Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 confirmed that he was released from his birth pod early, Adam Warlock isn’t at his maximum potential just yet. However, with him now teaming up with Rocket’s new Guardians, the MCU is sure to explore the full extent of his powers.
Prior to Poulter’s MCU debut, his breakthrough film role was in the crime comedy We’re The Millers, starring alongside Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, and Emma Roberts. In a now infamous scene, the fake family argues over the pay gap between them for their current job, while Poulter’s character, Kenny, is in shock that they’re getting paid at all. Instagram user @stoneageradio13 combines Poulter’s two roles in his meme, embodying the confusion that both Adam Warlock and Kenny probably felt.
8 Emotional Damage In A Song If there’s one guarantee in a James Gunn Guardian Of The Galaxy movie, it’s that there’ll be a perfect soundtrack. Songs like “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone and “Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede are just two of the retro classics that helped make the movies livelier, and music has been a continuing theme into the franchise’s third film.
To signify the end of an era, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 ends with Rocket moving onto the 2000s playlist on his Zune. In a cathartic dance party set to “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine, the touching montage of the original Guardians moving on is the perfect way to end the film. Especially after almost 2 hours of high emotions and trauma, the song definitely left audiences both crying and smiling in their seats.
7 Humanimals and Counter-Earth Out of all of the High Evolutionary’s experiments, Batch 92 was deemed successful enough to inhabit his planet of Counter-Earth. A world meant to be a mirror of Earth, Counter-Earth’s residents were made up of human-animal hybrids. While they were meant to be perfect, the Guardians’ time on Counter-Earth in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 revealed that the Humanimal society encountered issues of their own. As a result, the High Evolutionary killed off the entire planet, already having plans for a new civilization.
The Humanimals have drawn comparisons to plenty of other anthropomorphic animals in media, leading to jokes that these characters were creations of the High Evolutionary all along. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are some of the most well-known talking animals, four turtle brothers who fight crime. In another world where the Humanimals had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on their side, perhaps the crimes the Guardians witnessed in the streets of Counter-Earth wouldn’t have happened.
6 Missed Potential For A Dave Bautista Easter Egg In just one MCU appearance, the High Evolutionary proved himself to be one of the most evil Guardians of the Galaxy villains. Not only did he experiment on millions of innocent beings, but he showed that he had no hesitation in disposing of them when he deemed them to be “imperfect.” While some other MCU villains at least have motives somewhat based on logic, the High Evolutionary’s actions solely stem from his God complex.
Rightfully so, the Guardians are enraged when they witness the footage of Rocket getting experimented on. When Rocket’s attacked and cornered by the High Evolutionary, the Guardians show up to help take him down in what is a brutal yet satisfying demise for the villain. In another universe, perhaps Drax got the final blow on the High Evolutionary, showing off the Batista Bomb finisher that actor Dave Bautista used in his WWE career.
5 Rocket’s Acceptance A running gag throughout the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy is others referring to Rocket as anything but a raccoon. To the humans of Earth, Rocket is simply a talking raccoon, and to beings from other planets, he resembles a pet of some sort. Rocket has shown his dislike for the term Racoon, but that changes in GotG 3.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opened with a baby Rocket getting picked from a cage of scared raccoons. When he slips away during the final rescue on the High Evolutionary’s ship, he comes across a cage of wild baby raccoons from Earth that greatly resembles his childhood. It dawns on Rocket that he was once just like them, and he finally accepts his true origins as a raccoon. For what was once a point of comedy, the reveal of the new name Rocket Raccoon has deeper meaning after Vol. 3.
4 An Imposter Among Us

Source: via DeviantArt

When the trailer for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 was first released, a certain scene drew comparisons to another popular game. Among Us is an online multiplayer game that blew up in popularity during the pandemic. Among the chaos and betrayal of the game, the game’s most beloved feature is the colorful and cute Crewmates that the players control.
When the Guardians go to infiltrate Orgocorp, they are given suits by the Ravagers to protect them from the galaxy’s atmosphere. Each suit is a different bright color, much to Drax’s dismay, and many pointed out the Guardians’ resemblance to the adorable Crewmates. Though James Gunn confirmed on Twitter that the true inspiration was 2001: A Space Odyssey, watching the Guardians do their tasks in their colorful suits still got a laugh out of people like JuanpaDraws on DeviantArt.
3 One Of The Saddest Scenes In The MCU Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is not just the trilogy’s darkest film but one of the darkest in the MCU to date. With the nature of Rocket’s backstory, parts of the story were bound to be hard to watch. From the experimentation on innocent creatures to the genocide of a whole planet, nothing could prepare audiences for arguably the saddest scene in the MCU.
In a flashback, Rocket finds out that the High Evolutionary has no intention of letting him and his friends Lylla, Teefs, and Floor go. Desperately trying to help them escape, the High Evolutionary catches them and shoots Lylla in front of the group. A grief-stricken Rocket cries and mauls the High Evolutionary’s face off, and Teefs and Floor are shot by guards. It’s a tragic moment seeing how close the friends were to escaping, and knowing they never got to live their dream of freedom together solidifies the scene as one of the MCU’s saddest.
2 I Am Groot In a bittersweet scene near the end of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, the Guardians are discussing their future plans away from the group. The group assures Rocket that they all have complete faith in his ability to lead the new Guardians, with Star-Lord officially passing on the leadership mantle to him. At the height of the touching scene, Groot says “I love you guys” to the group, starkly contrasting his usual “I am Groot” lines.
Director Gunn has since confirmed on Twitter that the line was the audience understanding Groot for the first time, with members of the Guardians having to translate in the past. This signifies that the audience is now part of Groot’s family in a touching moment, but it’s also the moment that Groot actor Vin Diesel’s MCU line count virtually doubles. As Reddit user Noah_Erz points out, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 truly breaks barriers in more ways than one.
1 The Return Of The MCU Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’s box office numbers proved that the anticipation for the film was huge, and the many positive Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 reviews reflect the film’s quality. The trilogy’s final installment is an emotional yet touching journey with the perfect payoff for the team of beloved characters. Since Avengers: Endgame, audiences have been waiting for Marvel to recreate the MCU’s peak storytelling, and Gunn delivers that with Vol. 3.
With the MCU heading into the Multiverse Saga, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 actually had nothing to do with the multiverse. This may be a reason why it was so well-received, with the concepts staying simple and true to the characters without needing to set up a future multiverse-related narrative. One thing is for sure: if Marvel wants to achieve their Infinity Saga success once again, the studio will need to take notes from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 on how to achieve the classic MCU magic.
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