The parts that are hard to follow from the film alone, explained with a story summary, a character map and key terms.
Released
2014
Runtime
122 min
Set in
2014
Good to know before watchingNo spoilers
You don't need to know the other films
It's set almost entirely in space, with hardly any Earth heroes. It stands on its own.
The music is a star
Seventies songs from the mixtape Peter's mother gave him play at key moments.
Thanos shows up
Thanos, glimpsed at the end of The Avengers, appears briefly here.
Stay until after the credits
There's a fun little scene at the very end.
Character mapSpoilers
Who's who in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), with Peter Quill and Gamora at the center. The Guardians are above, enemies below.
Because of copyright, we can't use stills, posters or any other images of the characters as they appear in the film. All face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors themselves (non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site; people without a photo are shown with initials).
Drag to move, pinch (or scroll on a computer) to zoom. Tap a person to read about them.
Face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors from Wikimedia Commons, cropped to a square and resized. Non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site, and people without a photo are shown with a placeholder (initials).
On Earth, young Peter's mother dies of illness. Running outside the hospital, he's taken by a spaceship.
2. Stealing the Orb
Twenty-six years later, Peter, now the treasure hunter Star-Lord, steals an orb on a distant planet, and others who want it start chasing him.
3. Meeting in prison
Fighting over the orb with assassin Gamora and bounty hunters Rocket and Groot, they all end up in prison. There, Drax, who wants revenge on Ronan for killing his family, joins them.
4. The breakout
The five work together to break out and head for a buyer who'll pay big for the orb.
5. What's inside the orb
In Knowhere, the Collector reveals the orb holds an Infinity Stone. Then Ronan arrives and takes it.
6. Becoming a team
Ronan plans to use the stone to destroy the planet Xandar. Setting aside their selfishness, the group decides to fight to protect it.
7. Groot's choice
As Ronan's ship crashes, Groot wraps his body around his friends to protect them.
8. The Guardians are born
Holding hands, the five withstand the stone's power together and defeat Ronan. They become known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Groot starts growing again from a small sprout.
