GOTG 3's Lylla Gets A Much Happier Ending In The Comics

Contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has finally hit theaters, and if there's one thing fans can agree on, it's that James Gunn's Marvel Cinematic Universe swan song will leave you an emotional wreck. Most of that comes from the relationship between Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and his fellow animal test subjects, primarily Lylla (Linda Cardellini). Her death is one of the movie's most emotional scenes, but fans can hopefully sleep easier at night knowing her comic book counterpart has a much happier ending.

For "Vol. 3," Gunn put a few spins on Lylla's story, making it much darker overall. She isn't one of the High Evolutionary's experiments in the comics, meaning there are no horrific robotic body parts. Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema for 1982's "Incredible Hulk" #271, Lylla is the heiress of Mayhem Mekanikcs, the largest toymaking empire on Halfworld. Rocket, the protector of Halfworld, helps her end the Toy War on the planet, freeing the mentally unstable humans known as "Loonies." After exploring the cosmos with the loveable raccoon, she returns to Halfworld, caring for the planet's inmates and living out her days with her reformed villain rabbit husband, Blackjack O'Hare.

Lylla hasn't appeared in an issue of Marvel Comics for over a decade, with her last appearance being in 2011's "Annihilators" #4. Hopefully, "Vol. 3" catapults her into a new series soon, maybe one where she and her soulmate Rocket finally end up together.

Although "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is the first time fans have seen Lylla on screen, it isn't the first time she's popped up in the MCU.

In the first "Guardians of the Galaxy," after the Nova Corps arrests everyone's favorite ragtag group of space heroes, we see them going through processing. With "Vol. 3" now in mind, the information included in Rocket's brief scene is much more interesting. Under the list of known associates, the Nova Corps has listed Lylla, his otter friend from The High Evolutionary's experiments. At the time, this was simply another Easter egg Gunn included in the film, calling back to Rocket and Lylla's relationship from the comics. However, the director always planned to explore Rocket's backstory in future "Guardians" movies, so maybe it was a sign of what would come. The scene also identifies Rocket as "Subject: 89P13," the label that The High Evolutionary gave him, further connecting the "Vol. 1" moment to "Vol. 3."

While it's unlikely we ever see Lylla again in the MCU, Gunn shared some of her test footage on Twitter, calling Lylla "the very best space otter ever," making sure that it never gets easier to look back on her short but meaningful MCU tenure.