Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: 10 Best and Funniest Twitter Reactions
This list contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special!
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is the perfect way to launch into the holiday season as the team of cosmic heroes celebrate Christmas the way only they can: by kidnapping Kevin Bacon. This special Marvel presentation puts a festive button on phase four. While relatively inconsequential to the MCU as a whole, Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special it is deliciously cheerful and full of emotion, subtly serving as a prologue Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023.
The special tugs at the heartstrings as Mantis and Drax work their way through their plan to give Peter a great Christmas as he’s down and missing Gamora. With the inclusion of Kevin Bacon as himself, Cosmo the Spacedog and some clever details in the background, Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special it has something for everyone.
A touching start to the holidays
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special it’s just a fun, festive project—a time to enjoy the characters and their love affairs without the burden of an overarching narrative. In fact, the special is one of the only MCU properties without an antagonist.
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will no doubt become a holiday staple for many Marvel fans, as it should be. Now, however, fans want more, whether it’s Christmas or Halloween, but luckily, many fantastic characters could be directing their own special presentation.
Mantis, MVP
While the special is largely irrelevant to the Multiverse Saga, it does include a very important element that greatly enhances the team’s individual story. It was officially confirmed that Mantis is indeed Peter Quill’s half-sister, who is also a daughter of Celestial Ego. Interestingly, this means that Mantis only survived being with Ego, unlike his other children, as his unique powers were still useful to him.
This was what motivated her to want Peter to have a good Christmas experience, culminating in an incredibly emotional moment when they finally hugged like brothers.
KEVIN BACON!
Of course, the big star of the special was Kevin Bacon, Peter Quill’s hero for movies like Footloose i Friday the 13th. It had previously been mentioned in Guardians of the Galaxybut now it’s here as the special’s MacGuffin with a song to boot.
As others have noted, this is Bacon’s second time at a Marvel property. He was there too X-Men: First Class like Sebastian Shaw. Interestingly, with mutants coming into play more and more in the MCU, and even some from Fox X Men franchises like Deadpool and Wolverine, perhaps there would be some sort of acknowledgment of Kevin Bacon’s previous mutant role.
Drax, God of War
From beating up one of the innocent cosplayers on Hollywood Boulevard to appreciating the bouncy elf that tried to steal Kevin Bacon, Drax is one of the funniest characters in the MCU. It was the butt of a very funny joke in the special, though.
Mantis and Drax took a picture with some fans, one of whom called him the God of War. This would be suitable for Drax, but clearly refers to the character Kratos from the popular video games. god of war.
The best girl!
Eventually, Cosmo the Spacedog joined the crew and got some attention. Voiced by Maria Bakalova, Cosmo was first shown among the treasures and trophies of the collector’s emporium. Now that the Guardians own Knowhere, Cosmo is free and uses his telekinetic abilities to help them.
This was a fun way to engage the audience for their appearance Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and showcases some great visual effects as, unlike previous appearances, Cosmo is created using CGI. These achievements could open the door for other animal characters to join the MCU.
DCU in the MCU?
A special delight in Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is the multiple references to Marvel’s top competitor, DC Studios. The highlight is naturally Kevin Bacon’s conversation with Drax and Mantis as they travel through space and he starts talking about Batman.
While it’s always been thought of as such or not, this was a fun acknowledgment of James Gunn’s new role as CEO of DC Studios. This also comes with an appearance by Flula Borg as a barmaid in Hollywood’s gay bar and the map sequence in which John Cena and Margot Robbie were also referenced, all a clear nod to The Suicide Squad.
What a thoughtful gift
Although Peter got the best Christmas present ever, one sister, Rocket, definitely got the second best. Nebula gave him Bucky Barnes’ Vibranium arm, a callback to Rocket’s comments during the Battle of Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War when he said “I’ll get that arm.”
Interestingly, this opens up a whole can of worms as to how and when Nebula got it. Hopefully, Bucky will have another arm since he’ll be back thrones and it would be very useful depending on who the bad guy is.
A Star Wars holiday special?
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a fun tribute to the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, which was so panned that it’s not even available to stream on Disney+. There’s even a blink and you’ll miss it War of the galaxies a cameo when Mark Hamill randomly appeared as a drinking Ravager happily participating in the festivities.
His involvement was revealed a while ago and this was a fun little moment, but hopefully Hamill can get a chance with a more prominent MCU character in the future.
She-Hulk and Deadpool would be proud
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special ends with a fun post-credits scene. In it, Rocket and Cosmo are decorating Groot as a Christmas tree, and when the ornaments fall, Rocket humorously breaks the fourth wall to mock another special. The breaking of the fourth wall was an element of the story that fans could not have predicted.
Also, this little scene adds fuel to the fire of more specials, as these specials are becoming incredibly popular and very clever ways to expand the MCU.
Flight. 3 Next!
of course, Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday SpecialThe big purpose of the MCU is to reacclimate MCU audiences to the team ahead Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3which will be released on May 5, 2023. Interestingly, they have not directed a project on their own since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017, followed after few appearances in the avengers movies and Thor: Love and Thunder.
While this special was largely lighthearted, so far that’s not the impression Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s supposed to be the end of the team’s story in the MCU, which has many fans ready for a more emotional and dark journey. This moment of happiness should be valued while it is still applicable.