It is funny to think that just a decade ago, few people knew anything about a ragtag group of space farers which includes a talking raccoon and giant tree. Now, thanks to some successful films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and their own upcoming game aptly titled Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the team have practically become a household name. While Square Enix's previous effort with Marvel's Avengers disappointed in some areas, its interpretation of the Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be aiming a little higher this time.
One of the most common criticisms of Marvel's Avengers was the paltry offering of super villains on display throughout the experience. For such a legendary IP with years' worth of material, fans were expecting at least a few more baddies to face off against. While no major villains beyond Lady Hellbender have been shown off for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy just yet, Square Enix has an opportunity to remedy past errors and give players a more worthy rogues gallery this time around. Eidos Montreal is in charge of the project, and based on the action in recent Tomb Raider games and the high sci-fi elements in Deus Ex, the title is in good hands. The Guardians of the Galaxy have no shortage of cosmic based villains to choose from, either, with plenty character from the comics being a fine fit for the upcoming game.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Ronan
While not remembered as one of the best MCU villains, there are benefits to Ronan as an antagonist, especially when paired against the Guardians. Ronan is a ruthless warlord, with a no nonsense attitude in his villainous pursuits. It makes it that much more hilarious that his dry personality contrasts the bizarre, wacky nature that is so often seen in portrayals of the Guardians. The first trailer for the game clearly keeps the expected humor intact, so Ronan would be an excellent choice if the game wanted to emulate the tone of the first film.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Thanos
After serving as the main antagonist in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Thanos has been shown to be a formidable threat to any Marvel superhero. Even without the power inside the Infinity Stones, Thanos is a skilled combatant and expert tactician, making him no pushover to contend with. As seen in the MCU, it takes an entire team to go toe to toe with Thanos, and luckily in this instance, players would have the entire Guardians of the Galaxy team by their side in the fight. However, if the game does tackle the Infinity Stones storyline, with the Guardians travelling the cosmos to gather them before Thanos can, gamers would be in for quite the treat.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Kang the Conqueror
Speaking of Marvel big bads, it has been confirmed that Jonathan Majors will portray Kang the Conqueror in the MCU going forward. Kang is a time travelling tyrant, hell-bent on invading timelines and conquering the inhabitants who occupy them (his MO is right there in his name). Seeing as he will be the next major villain in the films, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has a great opportunity here to get ahead of the movies, introducing this new character to fans and demonstrating what he is capable of. The time travel nature of the villain instantly opens doors to interesting gameplay mechanics and a potentially mind-bending campaign if he were to appear in the final game.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Annihilus
Commonly butting heads with the Fantastic Four in the comics, Annihilus is an interdimensional insectoid who, like Kang above, seeks to conquer any and all he comes across. In the Marvel comics lore, Annihilus comes from a pocket dimension called The Negative Zone, a place where unspeakable horrors thrive. Knowing all the intergalactic shenanigans and cosmic "oopsies" that Star-Lord and the rest of the team often find themselves in, perhaps they accidentally unleash Annihilus into the universe and feel responsible to stop him before any further damage is done.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Ego
If Square-Enix and Eidos follow the principle that "bigger is better", then you literally can't get any bigger than a gigantic living planet. Ego quite honestly lives up to his name as a massive, sentient planet capable of advanced thought and menacing schemes. As depicted in the comics and plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego's primary goal is to spread pieces of himself across different planets, essentially infecting them with his essence to warp existence into his image. Being a Guardians of the Galaxy game, players will naturally be hopping across different planets throughout the journey. Ego would serve as a great narrative reason for players to trek across the galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Versus Galactus
If there's any Marvel villain bigger than a planet, it would have to be a supervillain that literally eats the planets themselves. Galactus is another foe most commonly associated with the Fantastic Four, but due to his cosmic nature, he would fit right at home in a Guardians of the Galaxy video game. Similarly to Ego above, Galactus' conquest to consume as many worlds as possible would serve as more than enough reason for Star-Lord, Drax and the rest of the gang to jump into action and find a way to stop the carnage. Considering the power within next-gen consoles, actually fighting Galactus would be something to rival the scale and spectacle of the boss battles in the God of War series.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled to release on October 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.