Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy features dozens of Easter eggs that connect the game to a larger Marvel cast of characters and events. Some of the Easter eggs have shown links between Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man 2, while others connect the GOTG game to the X-Men series. Square Enix has already confirmed that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in a separate universe from their Marvel’s Avengers game, so the possibilities of Easter eggs meaning something for a sequel to GOTG are endless and unrestricted, mostly.
Of course, it’s unlikely that any real crossover between Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Insomniac’s Spider-Man series would ever occur because they’re from two different studios. Nonetheless, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is still filled with an array of Easter eggs indicating the presence of small- to cosmic-scale Marvel characters and items. These Easter eggs go beyond every costume in Marvel’s GOTG that references a comic appearance and into larger, in-game and lore-related topics.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy makes multiple references to comic characters associated with the Guardians, Asgardians, Earth, and beings of cosmic proportions. While these references don’t necessarily mean that all of these characters will see the spotlight in a future Marvel’s GOTG game, their presence certainly makes fans want to know more about the background stories of these characters or items. The Guardians of the Galaxy have always encountered some unique items on their adventures, and the items in Marvel’s GOTG game are no different.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Game: Guardian Easter Eggs
Nova Corps Firelord Missile & Staff: Like Nova, there are a few references to Firelord, a should-be hero in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Firelord is another character associated with the Nova Corps and is a frequent ally of the Guardians in the comics. However, unlike Nova, there aren’t any mentions of his name or significance in the Nova Corps files. Instead, Firelord has two nonverbal references. The first is during the Chapter 1 mission into the Quarantine Zone that can only be found through Star-Lord’s visor. The second is his Staff in the Collector’s Emporium, which was apparently traded to the Collector in exchange for a planet.
Moondragon’s Criminal Files: Moondragon’s reference aboard the Nova Corps ship is one of the most interesting because she has a criminal file, is a galactic-level threat, and is supposed to be the daughter of Drax. However, unlike the differences between Nikki’s comic and GOTG origins, Moondragon’s place has yet to be revealed. Heather Douglas, better known as Moondragon, is a frequent member of the Guardians of the Galaxy as well, and her father in the comics is Drax. Drax was originally Heather’s father brought back to life with the sole purpose of defeating Thanos, and so Arthur Douglas became Drax the Destroyer. With Drax’s history tying in closely to the MCU’s version of the character, it’s unclear what role Moondragon will play, if any, in a future Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Game: Asgard Easter Eggs
Hofund, Sword of Heimdall: Found in two pieces on display inside the Collector’s Emporium, Hofund is a sword that was originally wielded by the Asgardian Heimdall. Heimdall was charged with watching over the Bifrost, an Asgardian technology that allowed them to travel to the Nine Realms. In the comics, Heimdall was mortally wounded by the Mangog, a creature that belongs in the monster pens in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, as it was formed by the hatred of a race wiped out by Odin. Additionally, Mangog broke Hofund into two pieces. In Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the Collector’s Emporium describes the weapon as spotted hate-filled bloodstains of Mangog.
Throg and Frogjolnir: The story of Loki turning Thor into a frog is a commonly known narrative in both the comics and the MCU. Throg, however, is a frog named Puddlegulp who became Throg, Frog of Thunder, after being able to lift a piece of the chipped Mjolnir. This transformed Puddlegulp into the Throg, giving him all the power of the god of thunder. In Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Throg was “saved” by the Collector and given a permanent home in his collection. Frogjolnir is a mini hammer made from the chipped-off piece of Mjolnir. Throg’s hammer resembles Thor’s Mjolnir identically in all ways, except for size. Marvel’s Avengers was inspired by Thor: Ragnarok, so adding Throg was a nice way to incorporate the god of thunder in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy as well without repeating the same take.
Blade of Ichor: The Blade of Ichor is the weapon of Aldrif Odinsdottir, also known as Angela. Angela is the sister of Thor, although she is not the same character that is featured in the MCU. It’s unclear how the Collector came to acquire these weapons, but he is well aware of the harm Angela would cause him if she were united with her blades. Like Thor, Angela is definitely alive somewhere in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Game: Earth Easter Eggs
Superhuman Registration Act: The Superhuman Registration Act found in the Emporium was originally featured in the Civil War conflict on Earth in the Marvel comics, showcasing another way where Square Enix draws connection to the MCU. Superheroes were pitted against one another as the U.S. government passed legislation regulating the actions of super-powered individuals. The MCU sees a loose adaptation of this conflict in Captain America: Civil War. Fortunately, the Superhuman Registration Act is just a prophecy that has yet to happen in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mandarin’s Rings: The Mandarin is an iconic villain in the Marvel comics, often facing off against Iron Man as one of his main enemies. The Mandarin receives his powers from the 10 rings on display in the Emporium. While the MCU saw Iron Man confront a fake Mandarin in Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings features the same rings in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game.
Cosmic Cube: The Cosmic Cube is one of the most recognizable artifacts in the Collector’s Emporium. In Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game, the Collector explains on his display that the Cosmic Cube is one of the most important items in his collection because he uses it to secure his artifacts in pocket realities. Additionally, the Collector explains that the voices of past owners whisper to him through the Cosmic Cube. He notes one particular voice with an “infernal temperament,” most likely referring to Red Skull.
Wendigo & S.W.O.R.D.: The Wendigo are the toughest enemies that the Guardians encounter on Maklu 4, aside from Marvel’s GOTG Fin Fang Foom boss fight. They resemble a cross between a wolf, a bear, and traditional interpretations of the wendigo. They violently scream their name allowed as they attack the Guardians, but they appear to be smart enough to listen to their higher-up’s orders. The spaceship that the Wendigo are found around originally looks like a generic crashed ship, but further inspection of the documents lying around the ship reveals paperwork from S.W.O.R.D.
S.W.O.R.D. is a branch of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization that is widely known throughout Marvel’s comics, the MCU, and other games of the same genre. S.W.O.R.D. primarily works with extraterrestrial threats to Earth, but the crashed ship suggests that S.W.O.R.D. went beyond their normal operating procedures. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy indicates that S.W.O.R.D. likely sent a ship full of the Wendigos on Earth into space, where they crashed on Maklu 4. It’s unlikely that another S.W.O.R.D. reference like this will appear in a Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Game: Marvel’s Cosmic Easter Eggs
Kang’s Time Chair: Kang the Conqueror’s Time Chair is on display in the Collector’s Emporium. The description of the chair explains that a Kang united all Kangs across alternate realities after manipulating the time stream. The Collector was able to obtain a chair after two Kangs killed one another in the Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy universe. Kang the Conqueror was recently introduced to the MCU in Loki, a new Disney+ series.
Eye of the Watcher: Although the label of the item in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is the Eye of the Watcher, the Collector’s description calls it the Eye of a Watcher. This is one of the items players have to check out before they beat Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. There are multiple Watchers in the Marvel universe, and they each watch over a different area of the universe. They never interfere with the events of the universe. In the comic, the Earth’s Watcher, Uatu, had his eye stolen from him, so the eye most likely belongs to him. It’s unclear, however, who the eye belongs to exactly, and if it is currently watching over that area of the galaxy in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
