Rocket

Subject 89P13
Alias	Rocket
Other names	Rodent, Hell-beast (by Drax) Rocky (by Groot) Little Fuzzy (by Mantis)
Profile information
Species	Unknown
Origin	Halfworld
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Occupation	Bounty hunter (formerly) Mercenary
Affiliation	Kree Empire (formerly) Bagoo! (formerly) Guardians of the Galaxy
Real-life information
Appears in	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: No Guts, No Glory
Voiced by	Alex Weiner
Debut	Marvel Preview #7 (1976)
See Rocket Raccoon at Marvel Database.

Subject 89P13, better known as Rocket, is one of the main characters in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. A genius-but-violent engineer, Rocket is an experiment subject from a Kree research facility on Halfworld. Now the inseparable partner of Groot, they both currently work as members of the team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Peter Quill, Gamora Zen-Whoberi and Drax.

Background

Born about fifteen years ago, Rocket—or rather, Subject 89P13 at the time—was one of many animals living deep in the woods of Halfworld until he was abducted by the Kree scientists on the planet's research facility. As part of the Kree's hybrid program, spearheaded by Rak-Mar during the Galactic War, Rocket was altered by bioengineering: He was ripped apart and rebuilt, over and over, which resulted in his body being physically enhanced and his brain being augmented with A.I. Rocket was one of the few who gained sentience and the ability to speak, along with Lylla.

Rocket and his fellow "super soldiers" were kept in line with Spinal Control Units. Rak-Mar made them repeatedly perform tasks to perfection; if not, he would shock them into unconsciousness. They also performed tests on Rocket in tubes of water, such as sensory deprivation, that would result in aquaphobia. From his cage, Rocket got a sneak peek at the cybernetics hangar, where experimental sentries were built, from his cage. It wasn't long before he realized what their purpose—dying on the front lines so that Kree soldiers might live—would be.

Refusing to accept their fate, as the program's last-living subjects, Rocket and Lylla decided to escape. Rocket overloaded a spinal control unit so that, when he and Lylla were let out of their cage, it blew a hole into the side of the lab. They got to the security fence while being pursued by sentry bots; Rocket then hacked the modulator frequency while Lylla covered him. As soon as the fence opened, Lylla pushed him through the door, and Rocket heard her die. Somehow he managed to steal a transport shuttle and escaped Halfworld.

Rocket soon found his way to Knowhere, which would soon be a new home to him. At a bar, he met Tella, who bought Rocket a drink and didn't flinch at his implants; they became friends, and Rocket fell for her. Then one day she convinced him to hack a ship for her. Wanting to impress her, Rocket did, but he was surrounded by the Badoon thugs that owned it. While they focused on Rocket, Tella took off in the ship and abandoned Rocket to his fate. The incident taught him a hard lesson on trusting others.

Although he was trying to keep a low profile as an escapee, Rocket was broke and thus, while drunk, decided to rob Taneleer Tivan. He lifted a Glarnot Mask from a passed-out customer at Mantlo's Bar, stumbled his way into the Collector's Emporium, put on the mask, flashed some "shiny rocks" he had found, knocked the assistant unconscious when their back was turned, and started cleaning out the place. The morning after, Rocket woke up on a stolen transport with loot and the infant Groot. Rocket immediately knew that he had to take care of Groot. The two became partners-in-crime since, with Rocket learning to speak Taluhnisan.

For a decade or so, Rocket and Groot worked as bounty hunters together. In one occasion, they were hired by Wheeler to steal a bioweapon from a research lab on Arago-7. Rocket, wearing once again a Glarnot mask, and Groot, wearing a Thanos mask, easily made their way in and stole the bioweapon, only to realize that Arago scientists had hired Wheeler to lure the duo there to study them. Although they caught Groot and locked him in a cage, Rocket reacted quickly and used explosives to free Groot and escape. Afterwards, the two ended up selling the weapon back to Wheeler for triple the price.

As bounty hunters, Rocket and Groot decided on taking a job to bring in Peter Quill, who had incurred the wrath of Ravager ex-leader Yondu Udonta. However, when Peter proved unable to outrun Groot, he convinced both Rocket and Groot to start a business enterprise together, as "heroes-for-hire", called the Guardians of the Galaxy. More recently joined by Drax and Gamora Zen-Whoberi, even after fourteen missions together, they have yet to achieve success.

Personality

Of a violent and surly disposition, Rocket has many antisocial tendencies. He is foul-mouthed, cynical, short-tempered, stubborn, trigger-happy, and often self-righteous. Liable to impatience and frustration, Rocket often sees explosives as the solution to his problems. He loves to gloat and rarely, if ever, admits his own mistakes, much less apologize, even if his actions get his teammates into trouble. With the sole exception of Groot, he cares little for others' feelings, especially when he feels slighted. He is also unrepentant in his criminal behavior, disregarding rules whenever he can, and having little respect for other people's property.

Rocket has a dark sense of humor, often making jokes at Peter's expense, and likes to annoy others, as seen when he is explains how the thumpers work, or when he shoots at Adam. He also tends to give everyone irreverent nicknames. The only one mostly exempt of his callousness is Groot, whom he considers his best friend and only family, and whom he is very protective of. He is also protective of the Milano, often referring to it as his "baby", prompting Peter to immediately correct his claims.

A self-centered individual, Rocket finds it hard to put others' needs before his own. Perceived by his teammates as cruel, sadistic (Drax), a liability (Gamora), vicious and unstable (Peter), Rocket's volatility is surprisingly consistent in all versions of him according to Mantis. Rocket himself doesn't deny his darker nature. Yet, while he seems at first glance to "hate everybody" other than Groot, Rocket is capable of showing concern for their well-being; however, he'd rather not admit it aloud. For example, when discussing why Peter jumped to save Nikki, Gamora and Drax tease him about how worried he was, but Rocket adamantly denies it. He also takes offense at being called a "raccoon" or an animal.

Shaped by the traumatic experiences he lived through on Halfworld at the hands of Kree scientists and his bad experience with Tella on Knowhere, Rocket is very distrustful of biologicals as well as aquaphobic. Regarding his self-esteem, for all that Rocket calls himself a genius or makes boasts, he is particularly touchy about being considered "worthless", or a "perfectionist" (a trait he associates with Rak-Mar). Fixing stuff—almost obsessively so—is a coping mechanism to the stressful memories caused by Rak-Mar, and helps Rocket feel calm and in control whenever he gets overwhelmed. Accounting for the loss of agency he suffered, Rocket refuses to ever let anyone control him again; probably related to this is his authority problem, ever an underlying issue with Peter's leadership, at least until the latter finally shows some decisiveness in saving Drax from the Promise.

Gameplay

Rocket is a non-playable character who assists Peter in battle and explorations. He is the team's technical expert: he can hack into multiple devices, and can help Peter improve his equipment with collected Components on Workbenchs. Due to his size, he is able to squeeze into spaces too small for the others in order to open paths. In action, Rocket (called "The Loose Cannon") is a weapons expert who attacks from a distance, and focuses on damaging multiple targets at a time with his Abilities. He sometimes climbs on top of Groot, thanks to a harness, to shoot his Bye-Bye Engine.

Regarding items, the archive Team Costumes was written by him, and can be found in his room. Rocket has eight outfits—his standard look, one inspired by the 2014 film, and four taken from the comics. He has three Collectibles related to his past:

• Spinal Control Unit - Tells Peter about his escape from Halfword and how the Kree controlled their test subjects.
• Deep Mine Device - Explains about his tech obsession and his experience with Tella.
• Glarnot Mask - Tells the story of how he accidentally stole Groot and a masked job on Arago-7.

Like everyone, he has several related trophies: "Aim Assist", "Boom Show", "Dynamic Team", "Eat It, Rodent", and "Fully Loaded".

Records

• Galactic Compendium
• Criminal File

ROCKET RACCOON

When the Galactic War took a heavy toll on the Kree empire, they turned to their experimental scientists on Halfworld to bolster their forces. Rocket (SUBJECT 89P13) was born of those torturous experiments. One of the few augmented "war beasts" to develop superior intelligence and the ability to speak, Rocket's newly-acquired sentience soon enabled him to realize exactly what his captors intended: he was to go out in a blaze of glory defending an untenable position on the front lines, just so some less intelligent Kree soldier might live. Refusing to accept this fate, he blew up the experimental lab, stole a transport shuttle, and escaped.

Rocket found a new home on Knowhere, a haven for thugs and smugglers that matched his own violent, surly disposition. It was there that he eventually met his best friend Groot—a Flora Colossus and last of his kind. They went on to work many bounty hunting contracts together, ultimately taking a job to bring in a rogue named Star-Lord. Instead, they ended up joining his team, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

---

First appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (1976)
Writer: Chris Claremont, Bill Mantlo
Artists: Keith Giffen, Vicente Alcazar, Esteban Maroto, Michael Nasser
Cover Artist: Bob Larkin
Editor: Marv Wolfman

SUBJECT 89P13

THREAT LEVEL: Continental
ALIAS: Rocket
STATUS: (1) Unpaid Fine
ORIGIN: Halfworld

INDICTMENTS: Disorderly Conduct, Petty Theft, Conspiracy, Solicitation, Assault, Resisting Arrest, Cyber Crime, Forgery, Fraud, Blackmail, Illegal Scavenging, Smuggling, Mutiny, Arson, Armed Robbery, Murder

NOTES: Subject 89P13, AKA "Rocket," is an escaped bio-cybernetic experiment from the now-abandoned Kree research facility on Halfworld. His origin prior to this facility remains unknown. He is frequently seen in the company of the Flora colossus known as Groot.

Give Subject 89P13's history of violence, the Worldmind recommends all attending officers exercise extreme caution when engaging. A sweep for hidden explosives and traps is also prudent.

Should charges be laid, the Worldmind prefers that Subject 89P13 be incarcerated in the Kyln.

ADDENDUM: Subject 89P13 has recently joined the "Gardeners of the Galaxy", a supposed legitimate business founded by Peter Jason Quill. Further monitoring will be required.

AFFILIATIONS: Kree Empire, Bagoo! Bounty Hunters, Gardeners of the Galaxy

Gallery

In-engine render by George Nagulov.

Rocket and his workbench in Chapter 6.

Rocket and Groot in Knowhere's prison in Chapter 7.

Rocket reprogramming Gubbins in Chapter 8.

Rocket hacking a device in Chapter 8.

Trivia

• Regarding Rocket and Groot's redesign, the inseparable nature of the duo resulted in not only a complementary fighting style but also a visual design that played on the strengths of their bond. Rocket's passion for gadgets was reflected in his outfit. Gauthier-Leblanc explains that their gear echoes their dynamic and how integral they are to one another. For instance, Groot wears a harness created by Rocket so he can climb up and fire away at enemies, and Rocket sports a bead-shaped like a mini-Groot in his goatee.
• One item Rocket only chats about is called "The Zipper", which is, according to Peter, a weapon which can turn people from the inside-out. It is mentioned when Peter acquires the Plasma Element.
• The creators of Rocket were very much inspired by The Beatles' song "Rocky Raccoon" from the White Album.