Looper Survey: The Absolute Best Guardians Of The Galaxy Duo According To Fans

Without question, writer-director James Gunn has created one of the most eclectic groups of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the title characters in the "Guardians of the Galaxy," a group of lovable misfits who first assembled in the film of the same name in 2014. Since then, the group has appeared in two more "Guardians" films, a holiday special, and two "Avengers" movies, as well as "Thor: Love and Thunder," giving audiences ample time to get to know all of the characters. 

As such, Looper asked fans in a YouTube survey which "Guardians" duo was the absolute best, and a clear winner was selected after 26,000 votes were cast. According to the survey, Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) dominated the voting with 62% of fans naming them the best duo. 

Baby Groot, of course, first appeared in "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2," as an iteration of the character that regrew from a mere stick of the tree-like character after the original version of Groot sacrificed himself to save his fellow Guardians at the end of the first film. From there, Groot was featured as a teen character in the "Avengers" movies and "Thor: Love and Thunder," before growing to the same height, roughly, as Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3." Oddly enough, at various points of "Vol. 3," the baby version of Rocket was also featured in flashback scenes.

Following the domination of Rocket Racoon and Baby Groot in the Looper fan poll, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) were voted the second-best "Guardians" duo with 23% of the vote. Drax has been featured in all of the "Guardians" films and Mantis made her debut in "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2." The duo of Drax and Mantis were key to the narrative of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," as they traveled to Earth to find the best possible Christmas present for Star-Lord, and irresponsibly snatched actor Kevin Bacon — gleefully played by himself — as a result.

Coming in third in Looper's fan poll to name the best "Guardians" duo was Star-Lord and Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who earned 12% of the vote. The uncertain status of the duo's romance is key to the plot of "Guardian of the Galaxy: Vol. 3," since Gamora, whom Star-Lord believed was deceased, resurfaces as a member of his former gang, the Ravagers — but as an earlier iteration of the character who has no idea who her future boyfriend is.

Lastly, the late former Ravager leader, Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker), and Gamora's sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), rounded out the survey with 3% of the vote.

Commenters, including Ryan Floom, agreed with the outcome of the survey, noting "Rocket and Groot are the biggest selling points of the 'Guardians.'" Meanwhile, Tristan Heckroodt seconded that notion by posting, "I have to go with Rock and Groot. Rocket is badass."

Other commenters like different pairings over those that were offered in the survey, including Gamegen88 and Isaiahtjee, who like the idea of Star-Lord and Nebula offering. "I really liked where they were taking Peter and Nebula," Isaiahtjee posted, pointing to the developing dynamic between the two characters in "Vol. 3."

In addition, a couple of commenters on the Looper survey added their thoughts about yet another duo who weren't on the ballot. For example, Bryan Scamman and xXxAce nominated former Ravager Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Spacedog (voice of Maria Bakalova) as their favorite "Guardians of the Galaxy" duo.

"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" is currently playing in theaters.