You have to hand it to Marvel Studios, they’ve found a great way to use comic conventions to promote their upcoming films. They just roll out props from the films and that’s enough to get fans salivating.
This year is no different as they have used their floor space at San Diego Comic Con to let fans see props from next year’s Guardians of the Galaxy. If you couldn’t be there, let me walk you through them. Images originally found on Bleeding Cool, iO9, Sideshow Freaks, and ComicBookMovie.
The most intriguing prop in this photo is not the mask, which appears to be Star-Lord’s, nor the two big guns. It’s that Walkman in the middle. See, kids, way back when your parents were your age, they didn’t have MP3s (I know, right!) or even CD’s. They had things called cassettes, and the nice folks at Sony made this devices so they could play their cassettes wherever they went! Crazy, crazy stuff!
But in all seriousness, unless the person setting up the booth left his Walkman there, this cultural artifact will probably tell us how long Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill has been in space. While you can still get a Walkman that plays cassettes, they were most popular in the 80’s and early 90’s. So, expect that to be when Quill was absconded into the stars. I just want to know where he got the AA batteries while he was out there.
Some boots might be made for walking, but these boots were made for flying. These appear to be Peter Quill’s jet boots he wears when he is Star-Lord. Of course, it seems like it would take a serious violation of the laws of physics for these to carry a man aloft on any planet that has gravity, but what do I know. Maybe he only uses them while he is in space?
That metallic ball thing is something that Quill was trying to steal in the clip shown at SDCC. Can’t really say I know what it is, comic book-wise, but I’d imagine it’s quite important.
A pair of blades. These could be Gamora’s or they could be Drax’s.
Next, onto how the Nova Corp will look in the film.
It’s not the spandex look of the comic books, and I can see some fans being upset about that, but it does fit in with the idea that the Nova Corps are the police of the universe.
The uniform also appears to be like the one Star-Lord wears in the comic books. I don’t know if there is some kind of connection between the outfits in the film, like Star-Lord is wearing a stolen Nova Corps uniform, but it is something to think about.
And maybe it’s just me, but the outfit also has a Judge Dredd look to it. I’m sure that it’s just a coincidence.
I also love the fact that the dressed the people who are supposed to look after the props in these outfits. It’s so meta. I mean, they are guarding the props like a cop would guard evidence. I wonder if they had to be in “character” while they were standing guard.
Another thing that might irk fans is this picture to the right. The appears to be a wrist mounted cannon. In the comics, the Nova Corps have superpowers. Now, you can have superpowers and still carry a gun. But if you’re a member of the Nova Corps, you really don’t need it. Unless, of course, in a break from the comic books, the Nova Corps are no longer super-powered.
The one thing that Marvel did so well is keep true to the spirit of the books and keep any changes they made to bean improvement. But after hearing that Henry Pym will no longer be the creator of Ultron, I have started to worry. A powerless Nova Corps? I can see reasons why that would fit the narrative, and it gives them some separation from the similarly themed Green Lantern franchise from DC, but, really, why use the Nova Corps if you aren’t going to keep them superpowered. Come up with an original interstellar peace keeping organization then.
I know I am ready way to much into a piece of costume dressing. But still…
Finally, we see how rank is illustrated in the Nova Corps. In the comics, it was the number of sunbursts on the character’s chest that signified rank. Here, its a patch on the sleeve, with the number of rays on a starburst to symbolize rank. This design is an improvement, I think. It looks more like something a military would do.
