Marvel Just Killed The Guardians Of The Galaxy

This article contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy" #6 (by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Alex Lins, KJ Diaz, and VC's Cory Petit)

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy have been killed by one of their former allies: Groot.

In the current ongoing "Guardians of the Galaxy" series from Marvel Comics, the superteam is fractured after an incident caused permanent damage to the family-like group of interstellar superheroes. The mysterious force breaking up the team was revealed to be Groot, who has been transformed into a giant, fiery, terraforming creature capable of destroying entire planets. As a result, Rocket Raccoon left the Guardians, while at the same time, the team's remaining members traveled to the space sector called the Manifold Territories in an attempt to prevent the darkest version of Groot — dubbed Grootfall — from destroying another world.

Unfortunately, their former friend has proved too much for the team to handle, even with Rocket rejoining the team in the midst of Grootfall's attack. Star-Lord tried to reach out to Groot and find a way to convince him to stop the widespread death and destruction he's causing in his new form. However, the team's attempts failed, with Grootfall swallowing the Guardians. Now, the events that led to Groot's transformation into Grootfall are finally revealed, at the cost of Peter Quill, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Nebula, and Drax meeting their end in their former friend's fiery embrace.

How did one of Marvel's most beloved and gentle heroes become a planet-destroying monster? It's a sad story ...

In "Guardians of the Galaxy" #6, after Grootfall consumes the team, they're taken to an afterlife-like world where they're forced to confront the events leading to Groot's change from hero to villain. The flashback-like sequences show the Guardians on their home base, the Proscenium, discovering "preserved worlds" marked by the Kree Empire. After getting the go-ahead, Rocket Raccoon and Groot investigate the mysterious star system, where Groot is stormed with lost memories of the "Branch Worlds," aka his former home. However, the worlds are now petrified, and the two Guardians discover the first of Groot's kind, a giant tree who calls herself Granopy, in rough shape. In fact, she's dying.

Granopy reaches out one of her branches to Groot, offering him a gift. When she connects with Groot, it lights a flame inside him and transforms him into Grootfall. Rocket refuses to take down his friend, despite having an opportunity to do so, as he blames himself for Grootfall being freed in the first place. The Guardians struggle with what to do about their friend-turned-foe, with Star-Lord placing the Proscenium between Grootfall and the Manifold Territories in an effort to protect them. As a result of his outburst, Groot seemingly kills several of his former teammates, including Moondragon, Hercules, and Phyla-Vell, among others. The remaining Guardians (the main characters of the current series) live on in guilt, believing they are personally responsible for their friend's transformation and actions while thinking they should have done more to stop Groot and his attack.

The fate of the Guardians of the Galaxy, both past and present, is dire. The extended non-MCU team members who were featured in Al Ewing and Juan Cabal's "Guardians of the Galaxy" series preceding the current one were the first victims of Grootfall, with Groot's explosive, deadly new form consuming them, causing the remaining team to splinter. And now, the main squad has also been killed in their attempts to reach Groot and free him from his planet-destroying transformation. The heroes do seem to exist in some sort of afterlife inside Grootfall, but the damage has been done. And to make things even more ominous, after Groot swallows them, his tree-like face turns into a shape resembling Star-Lord's helmet. Having stolen his former friend's face, Grootfall will continue its deadly mission to exterminate life across the galaxy.

Marvel Comics

The Guardians, led by Star-Lord, tried their best to fight their guilt over their past teammates' deaths and stop Grootfall. However, their opponent was simply too powerful. While death isn't ever permanent in superhero stories, as most recently evidenced by Ms. Marvel's recent demise and resurrection, there's little doubt about the team's fate in the issue. It's possible, even likely, that they could be reborn in the future, but for now, the Guardians of the Galaxy are dead, and Grootfall is why.

The synopsis for "Guardians of the Galaxy" #7 confirms the team is dead, and the Manifold Territories they defended are no more. In their wake, Hulkling, the King of Space, and his husband Wiccan, both past members of the Guardians, will try to pick up the pieces of the team and defeat Grootfall. In Marco Checchetto's cover art for the upcoming comic, Hulkling and Wiccan can be seen walking past the graves of their former teammates while seemingly carrying Peter Quill's body. Will Wiccan's magic be able to save his fallen friends? Check out the poignant artwork, followed by the accompanying preview text for the issue below, which further teases a new Guardians team rising from the ashes of the old one.

Marvel Comics

R.I.P. GUARDIANS! The Guardians of the Galaxy are dead. The Manifold Territories are no more. In their place is Grootspace! With the cosmos' heroes defeated it's up to Emperor Hulkling and Wiccan to hold the Grootfall back from the rest of the universe. Is this the beginning of a NEW Guardians of the Galaxy?

The incident that ignited Grootfall and caused the deaths of the Guardians of the Galaxy can be seen in "Guardians of the Galaxy" #6 from Marvel Comics, which is in comic book stores and available at online retailers now.