Cosmic Greetings, my fellow Raccoonatics! I come to you today as your Commander to discuss a word. A word that I feel is very relevant to the discussions of Rocket Raccoon at this time. And that word. Is Change. Change can be good and change can be bad. One of its worst forms for a comic fan, with few exceptions, is the retcon. Rewriting the history of a character or series of events simply for the convenience of a current story or, possibly worse, doing so to create marketing synergy with a movie (that is supposed to be set in a different universe, anyway). Those learning of Rocket Raccoon today will know Rocket differently than those who have known him since Guardians volume 2 and earlier...Flarkin' Awesome 011 – A Raccoon By Any Other Name
Yes, it has been a while since I provided an entry in this series (roughly two months as of this writing). The subjects I am discussing today have been touched upon in past articles, but they have developed in recent months and there are decisions that I have made as Rocket's #1 fan that I feel are somewhat important. (More After the Jump)
Once upon a time, it was said that Rocket Raccoon (note the surname) was a genetically modified raccoon from Halfworld. Raccoons are cunning, clever creatures, if you had sufficient technology, as many alien races in the 616 do, making something like Rocket out of a raccoon would be very plausible. It is such a humble origin made grand by great accomplishments as a hero, despite not having real superpowers. That is a wonderful, inspiring origin.
We go from this in 1976....
And this in 1985...
And this in 2008...
And this a bit later...
And Marvel Heroes released June of just last year...
To this in 2014...
Yes, I know. What the flark happened?! Back when hints of this retcon first showed themselves in October, my prime suspect was Brian Michael Bendis, he was the writer for the new Guardians of the Galaxy series and would logically have the most creative input on the direction of those characters, even when they appeared in a series he did not write, like Captain Marvel, above. Plus, he was also involved in the Ultimate Spider-man cartoon, where the retcon first technically reared its head. And Mr. Bendis continued to be the suspect, until I found something out...
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a different universe, it is and should be allowed to be different in numerous ways from the 616, the mainstream comic universe. However, there is something called synergy and one of the goals of the Marvel NOW relaunches was to try and get some of the elements of their comics closer to the MCU counterparts. You see, I had been operating under the assumption that, even if Bendis said Rocket is no longer a raccoon, he would definitely be one in the MCU. After all, James Gunn was inspired by the pre-Bendis DnA run of Guardians. He extensively researched raccoons for the characters. And used a real-life raccoon named Oreo as a model for Rocket. That all definitely indicated Rocket would be a raccoon on the movie...
But, then, on Monday, there was a Q&A session on Facebook before the debut of the new trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. In response to something that was a joke in which someone called Rocket, Rocket Raccoon. James' response referred to him simply as Rocket and added as a last sentence. “He's not a raccoon.” The joke involved Groot as well, so I thought, maybe, it was a misunderstanding and I asked him on Twitter...
I did get a response from James Gunn, indirectly, after a follower responded to my inquiry by saying it must've been a joke... "I adore @Raccoonatic but it’s no joke. Rocket’s an alien raccoon-like lower life form genetically modified."
And also... "@Raccoonatic He’s no more a raccoon than human-looking aliens are human. We see him as a raccoon so #YearoftheRaccoon is still ok" (That last line is a silver lining, at least and we will get to that later)
What does this have to do with the MCU, marketing synergy, and my suspecting Bendis for causing the retcon? Note that those tweets present an origin for Rocket that is very similar to the 616 retcon for Rocket as it was first presented on the Ultimate Spider-man cartoon. I bring this up because, in my conversation with James on Twitter, he also said... "I wrote his cinematic origin story." Not Bendis. I had been looking at it backwards thinking that James was staying closer to the old status quo for Rocket and Bendis was changing things, just because. Now, I am thinking, since this retcon seems to have originated with James, that Bendis was told, my by higher-ups involved in marketing, to change Rocket's origin to be closer to the MCU. In this situation, if that is what happened (and this is all speculation, let me make that clear), neither would really be at fault. James was making an MCU version of a character how he felt he should and Bendis was following orders, so to speak. No matter how things happened, or who did what, one fact stands, it is what it is, and what is that...
Rocket Raccoon is not a raccoon. He never was one in the MCU (and, in fact, his name in the movie, in all official places is not even Rocket Raccoon but just Rocket). And, while he was one for decades in the 616, he is not one any longer. That's the reality, whether you love it or hate it. It is all Marvel's creation and their decisions are the only ones that count. But remember that silver lining...
If James Gunn, who, at the very least, used a similar origin story for Rocket as Marvel NOW and Bendis uses, says that it is ok to casually refer to Rocket as a raccoon, well guess what, that's what we can do. We will still be Raccoonatics, etc. After all, most people who have called Rocket a raccoon lately and incurred his wrath have done so mockingly or condescendingly. We, his fans, use it in the most complimentary way possible. Not unlike calling someone who is very awesome at something a “beast”. I don't think Rocky would mind too much, and I'd like to think, retcon aside, I know him fairly well. We cannot correct someone if they matter-of-factly say he is not one, true, but if anyone gives you trouble, as a fan, for calling him a raccoon, you send them to the Commander, I'll tell them how it is.
Now, we have that dropping of the Cockney accent thing, too. Less of an issue, but I think I've worked out an explanation for that, if you need one. Rocket Raccoon is a witty and cunning guy, who seems to enjoy being the center of attention. Let's just say he was messing around with a fake accent to be funny or to stand out more. Or, hey, maybe he was just going through a phase where he was obsessed with English culture. Maybe a bit far-fetched, but Steve Blum did the accent convincingly and he's from Santa Monica.
Where does that leave us in the future, I don't know. I think there is a chance, someday, well after the Guardians movie comes out, they will revisit Rocket's origin, maybe make him a raccoon again. Things like this do often have a way of coming back around. For now, we have to accept this reality for Rocket. But we are still Raccoonatics and 2014 is still the Year of the Raccoon. So, until next time, see ya 'round the, yes, Raccooniverse.