{"id":33438,"date":"2025-07-29T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33438"},"modified":"2025-07-28T17:04:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:04:44","slug":"guardians-of-the-galaxy-epic-collection-volume-2-quest-for-the-shield-1978-1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/07\/29\/guardians-of-the-galaxy-epic-collection-volume-2-quest-for-the-shield-1978-1990\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians of the Galaxy Epic Collection volume 2: Quest for the Shield (1978 – 1990)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Jim Shooter<\/strong>, David Michelinie<\/strong>, Chris Claremont<\/strong>, Mark Gruenwald<\/strong>, Jim Valentino<\/strong>, Roger Stern<\/strong>, George P\u00e9rez<\/strong>, Bill Mantlo<\/strong>, Allyn Brodsky<\/strong>, Ralph Macchio<\/strong>, Sal Buscema<\/strong>, Dave Wenzel<\/strong>, John Byrne<\/strong>, Mike Vosburg<\/strong>, Bob McLeod<\/strong>, Jerry Bingham<\/strong>, Ron Wilson<\/strong>, Pablo Marcos<\/strong>, Klaus Janson<\/strong>, Gene Day<\/strong>, Bruce Patterson<\/strong>, Steve Montano<\/strong>, Win Mortimer<\/strong>, Josef Rubinstein<\/strong>, Dan Green<\/strong>, Rick Bryant<\/strong>, Ricardo Villamonte<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-5641-7 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are two distinct and separate iterations of the\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/strong>. The films concentrated on the second, but with inescapable connections between them and the stellar stalwarts here so pay close attention. The original comic book team were freedom fighters united to defeat a reptilian invasion by aggressive aliens The Badoon<\/em> a thousand years from the present. The other were a later conception: springing out of contemporary crises seen in The Annihilation<\/strong> publishing event.<\/p>\n

This treasury of torrid tales gathers landmark moments of the 31st<\/sup> century centurions, as seen in Avengers <\/strong>#167-168,170-177 & 181; Ms. Marvel <\/strong>#23; Marvel Team-Up <\/strong>#86; Marvel Two-In-One<\/strong> #61-63 & 69 plus an almost modern half dozen issues of 1990s sensation Guardians of the Galaxy<\/strong>, collaboratively and episodically spanning January 1978 through November 1990.<\/p>\n

It features a radically different set-up than that of the silver screen stars, but is grand comic book sci fi fare all the same. One thing to recall at all times, though, is that there are two teams. Never the twain shall meet\u2026until they one day did but not here…<\/p>\n

The resistance unit comprised Charlie-27<\/em> – a heavy-gravity miner\/militia-man from Jupiter and crystalline scientist Martinex<\/em> from Pluto. Both are examples of radical human genetic engineering: subspecies designed to populate and colonise Sol system\u2019s outer planets but now possibly the last of their kinds. They were joined in the struggle by 1000-year-old Earthman Major Vance Astro<\/em> and Alpha Centauri aborigine Yondu<\/em>. Astro had been humanity\u2019s first intersolar astronaut; flying alone in cold sleep to Centauri at a plodding fraction of the speed of light. When he got there 10 centuries later, humanity was waiting for him, having cracked transluminal speeds only two centuries after he blasted off…<\/p>\n

A legion of contemporary heroes eventually helped banish the Badoon and save 31st<\/sup> century humanity, but peace was unsettling for the Guardians, so they flew off in search of adventure. Along the way they picked up last Mercurian Nikki<\/em> and a weird space-god calling him\/herself Starhawk<\/em>. The radically different roster are astoundingly out of their depth as we open with an extended tour of duty beside their 20th<\/sup> century inspirations, courtesy of Jim Shooter, George P\u00e9rez & Pablo Marcos: embroiling the World\u2019s Mightiest Heroes of two eras in a sprawling tale of universal conquest opening in Avengers<\/strong> #167-168 (April & May 1978) before – after a brief pause – resuming for #170 through 177…
\n\"\"
\nPreviously, a difference of opinion between Captain America<\/strong> and Iron Man<\/strong> over leadership styles had begun polarising the team. Tensions started to show in \u2018Tomorrow Dies Today!\u2019 <\/em>with a reminder that in the Gods-&-Monsters-filled Marvel Universe there are entrenched and jealous Hierarchies of Power. Thus, when a new player mysteriously and clandestinely materialises in the 20th<\/sup> century the very Fabric of Reality is threatened. The plot begins to unravel when the Guardians of the Galaxy materialise in Earth orbit, having hotly pursued cyborg despot Korvac <\/em>through time. Inadvertently setting off planetary incursion alarms, their moon-sized vessel Drydock<\/em> is swiftly boarded by Avengers, where, after the customary introductory squabble, the future heroes wearily explain the purpose of their mission. Captain America had fought beside the chronal champions to liberate their home era and Thor<\/strong> had faced fugitive Korvac before, so peace rapidly breaks out, but even with the home team\u2019s full resources the time travellers are unable to locate their quarry. Meanwhile on Earth, mysterious being Michael<\/em> is lurking in the background. At a fashion show staged by The Wasp<\/strong> he compels a psychic communion with model Carina Walters<\/em> and they both vanish…<\/p>\n

Avengers<\/strong> #168 sees \u2018First Blood\u2019<\/em> drawn, stirring up more trouble as Federal liaison\/hidebound martinet Henry Peter Gyrich<\/em> starts making life bureaucratically hot for the USA\u2019s uncooperative heroes. In Colorado, Hawkeye<\/strong> gets a shock as his travelling partner Two-Gun Kid<\/strong> vanishes before his eyes and in suburban Forest Hills, Starhawk – as Aleta<\/em> (the female iteration of their shared form Aleta<\/em>) – approaches a sedate residence. Michael\/Korvac\u2019s scheme consists of subtly altering events whilst secretly gathering strength in preparation for a sneak attack on the 20th<\/sup> century\u2019s Cosmic Hierarchies and all revolves around not being noticed until he is too powerful to stop. However, when Starhawk confronts the future fugitive, Michael kills the intruder and instantly resurrects him\/them, but without the ability to perceive the assailant or any of his works…<\/p>\n

After a 2-issue break forced by deadline problems, Shooter, P\u00e9rez & Marcos pick up the drama in #170 with \u2018…Though Hell Should Bar the Way!\u2019 <\/em>As Sentinel of Liberty & Golden Avenger finally settle their differences, in Inhuman<\/strong> city Attilan<\/em>, former Avenger Quicksilver <\/strong>suddenly disappears even as dormant mechanoid Jocasta<\/em> (created by malign AI Ultron<\/em> to be his bride) goes on a rampage and escapes into New York City. In stealthy pursuit and hoping her trail will lead to Ultron, the Avengers stride into a fiendish trap \u2018…Where Angels Fear to Tread\u2019<\/em>, but triumph anyway thanks to the hex powers of the Scarlet Witch<\/strong>, the assistance of pushy, no-nonsense new hero Ms. Marvel<\/strong> and Jocasta\u2019s own rebellion against the metal monster who made her. However, at their moment of triumph the team are stunned to witness Cap & Jocasta wink out of existence…<\/p>\n

Problems pile on in #172 as watchdog-come-gadfly Gyrich is roughly manhandled and captured by out-of-the-loop returnee Hawkeye and responds by rescinding the team\u2019s Federal clearances. Thus handicapped, the Avengers are unable to warn other inactive members of the rapidly increasing disappearances as a squad of heavy-hitters rush off to tackle marauding Atlantean maverick Tyrak the Treacherous<\/em>, bloodily instigating a \u2018Holocaust in New York Harbor!\u2019<\/em> (Shooter, Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson)…
\n\"\"
\nAnswers to the growing mystery are finally forthcoming in \u2018Threshold of Oblivion!\u2019<\/em> – plotted by Shooter, with David Michelinie scripting for Sal Buscema & D(iverse) Hands to illustrate. As vanishings escalate, the remaining Avengers (Thor, The Wasp<\/strong>, Hawkeye & Iron Man), with the assistance of Vance Astro, track their hidden foe and beam into a cloaked starship to liberate the \u2018Captives of the Collector!\u2019<\/em> (Shooter, Bill Mantlo, Dave Wenzel & Marcos).<\/p>\n

After a staggering struggle, the heroes triumph and their old arch-nemesis reveals a shocking truth: he is in fact an Elder of the Universe<\/em> who foresaw cosmic doom eons previously and sought to preserve special artefacts and creatures – such as the Avengers – from the inexorable but slowly approaching apocalypse. As he reveals that long-anticipated Armageddon is imminent and that he has sent his own daughter Carina to infiltrate The Enemy\u2019s stronghold, the cosmic Noah is obliterated in a devastating blast of energy. The damage, however, is done, and the entrenched Hierarchies of Creation may have been alerted to the threat of an interloper…<\/p>\n

Avengers<\/strong> #175 triggers the final countdown as \u2018The End… and Beginning!\u2019<\/em> (Shooter, Michelinie, Wenzel & Marcos) has the amassed ranks of Avengers & Guardians following clues to Michael even as the new god shares the incredible secret of his apotheosis with Carina. \u2018The Destiny Hunt!\u2019<\/em> and \u2018The Hope… and the Slaughter!\u2019<\/em> (Shooter, Wenzel, Marcos & Ricardo Villamonte) depicts the legion of champions destroyed and resurrected as Michael casually overpowers all opposition before faltering at the crucial moment for lack of one fundamental failing…<\/p>\n

Despite being somewhat let down by the illustration after the magnificent P\u00e9rez gave way to less inspired hands like Buscema, Wenzel & Tom Morgan, and cursed by the inability to keep a regular inker (Marcos, Janson, Villamonte & Morgan all pitched in), the sheer scope of the epic nevertheless carries this tale through to its cataclysmic and fulfilling conclusion. Even Shooter\u2019s reluctant replacement by scripters Michelinie & Mantlo as his editorial career advanced couldn\u2019t derail this juggernaut of adventure. If you want to see what makes Superhero fiction work, and can keep track of nearly two dozen flamboyant characters, this is a fine example of how to make such an unwieldy proposition easily accessible to the new and returning reader.<\/p>\n

Some months later Avengers <\/strong>#181 introduced new creative team Michelinie & John Byrne, augmented by inker Gene Day, as \u2018On the Matter of Heroes!\u2019<\/em> sees Agent Gyrich lay down the law and winnow the costumed army down to a manageable, federally-acceptable seven heroes. With the Guardians of the Galaxy soon headed back to the future, Iron Man, Vision<\/strong>, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Beast<\/strong> & The Wasp must placate Hawkeye after he is rejected in favour of new member The Falcon<\/strong> – parachuted in to satisfy government affirmative action quotas…<\/p>\n

However, before the Guardians finally depart they interact with a few more 20th<\/sup> century stars beginning with Ms. Marvel in \u2018The Woman Who Fell to Earth\u2019<\/em> (#23, April 1979 by Chris Claremont, Mike Vosburg & Bruce D. Patterson). When alien conqueror The Faceless One<\/em> seizes control of Drydock, crusader-in-crisis Carol Danvers<\/em> teams up with Vance Astro to expel the invader, after which Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #86 (October 1979), shows undercover Guardians Starhawk, Nikki & Martinex stumbling over Spider-Man<\/strong> whilst attempting to eradicate evidence of their existence. The main threat as delineated by Claremont & Bob McLeod comes from a nefarious armaments company Deterrence Research Corporation who want to steal Drydock but the hardest part of the mission is preventing an ambitious reporter exposing the mission of the future heroes and publishing the \u2018Story of the Year!\u2019<\/em>
\n\"\"
\nSlightly out of chronology – but that\u2019s time travel all over, right? – the remainder of this collection is given over to team-ups with old Guardians ally Ben Grimm<\/em>, the Fantastic Four<\/strong>\u2019s titanic Thing<\/strong>. An extended interstellar epic opens in Marvel Two-In-One<\/strong> #61 with \u2018The Coming of Her!\u2019<\/em> (Mark Gruenwald, Jerry Bingham & Day) as time-travelling space god Starhawk becomes involved in the birth of a female counterpart to man-made man-god Adam Warlock<\/strong>. The distaff genetic paragon awakes fully empowered and instantly starts searching for her predecessor, dragging Ben\u2019s girlfriend Alicia<\/em> Masters<\/em> & mind goddess Moondragon<\/em> (a future member of the 21st<\/sup> century Guardians of the Galaxy) across the solar system, arriving where issue #62 observes \u2018The Taking of Counter-Earth!\u2019 <\/em>Hot on their heels, Thing & Starhawk catch Her just as the runaway women encounter a severely wounded High Evolutionary<\/em> and discover the facsimile Earth built by that self-made god has been stolen…<\/p>\n

United in mystery, the odd grouping trail the planet out of the galaxy and expose the incredible perpetrators, but Her\u2019s desperate quest to secure her predestined, purpose-grown mate ultimately ends in tragedy as she learns \u2018Suffer Not a Warlock to Live!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Marvel Two-In-One<\/strong> #69 (November 1980, by Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Ron Wilson & Day), then finds Ben clashing with the still time-displaced Guardians of the Galaxy whilst striving to prevent the end of everything. \u2018Homecoming!\u2019 <\/em>finds millennial man Vance Astro ready to endanger all of existence by trying to stop his younger self ever going into space, and making his\/their life the epitome of pointless misery. With nature running wild and all New York\u2019s heroes battling the chaos, and with Ben adding his hard-earned experience to the debate, Vance does and does not succeed…<\/p>\n

The journey home clearly took a little while. This much reprinted saga here concludes with the first mission of the returned time-travellers in their origin era. It comes from Guardians of the Galaxy<\/strong> volume 1, #1-6 by rising star Jim Valentino and inker Steve Montano which were originally released almost a decade later with cover-dates\/June-November 1990. Heartily embracing the notion of a full and fully-connected Marvel Universe continuity one thousand years later, the restored warriors Starhawk\/Aleta, Major Vance, Charlie-27, Nikki and new leader Martinex, emerge in full fight mode in 3017 AD, battling to save the defenceless superstitious and xenophobic citizens of Courg from resource plunderers. The war is going well until the cyborg invaders unleash a super-warrior who seems familiar to the chrononauts…<\/p>\n

\u2018… But Are They Ready for… Taserface!\u2019<\/em> sees extended clashes lead to defeat and separation, at the hands of The Stark<\/em>: a race who lucked into Iron Man technology in their distant past and developed it into an interstellar cult of conquest. As the Guardians resist the Stark, Yondu – long believing himself the last of his species – succumbs to despondency on learning that there is another: a female, but one who has abandoned the Spirtuality of Anthos<\/em> as described in the Book of Antag…<\/p>\n

That holy tome had inspired the team\u2019s latest quest, and propelled them into the vast trackless void in search of a legendary artefact promising invincibility for its holder which Vance had reasoned could only be the lost shield of Captain America. Sadly, the myths around the disk had also inspired other, less nostalgic or altruistic searchers…<\/p>\n

The saga takes a violent downturn in second chapter \u2018The Stark Truth!\u2019<\/em> as Taserface is reinforced by a cadre of super-cyborgs resulting in increased warfare and the catastrophic sundering of Aleta and Starhawk (AKA Stakar<\/em>) into separates bodies. The worsening situation is soon exacerbated far, far away by the momentous meeting of Firelord <\/em>– current Protector of the Universe (and extremely mellow former herald of Galactus<\/strong>) with another shield-seeking crew…<\/p>\n

Force<\/em> are also a disparate squad of super-powered beings from various worlds, but are ruthless bloody mercenaries, led by scheming elemental transmuter Interface<\/em> who intends to use the shield to become an even bloodier, more unstoppable marauder. His team are a match for any martial power in space, consisting of old Guardians\u2019 foe Brahl the Intangible<\/em>; enigmatic Tachyon<\/em>; \u201cpink Kree\u201d Eighty Five<\/em>; mutant Zn’rx\/Snark tracker Scanner<\/em>; gravity-warping Broadside<\/em> and outcast mutant Centauran Photon<\/em>, who had rejected all of her expired race\u2019s ideals just as they had rejected her…<\/p>\n

On Courg, \u2018Split Decision\u2019 <\/em>left both halves of Starhawk relatively unharmed, but as Aleta pitched in against the Stark, the cosmic \u201cOne Who Knows\u201d suddenly flees the planet and as abruptly returns with a crucial ally (and future teammate) in \u2018…And Then Came the Firelord!\u2019<\/em> Soon, with Taserface maimed and the Stark reprimanded and ignominiously repelled, the reunited Guardians are following in new spaceship The Captain America II<\/em>, solving ancient clues to their final destination. That is Mainframe<\/em>, a sentient world inextricably linked to Earth in the long-ended Age of Heroes. Sadly Interface and Photon have deduced the same location and \u2018A Force to Reckon With!\u2019 <\/em>finds the heroes and villains competing in bizarre gladiatorial combats with unguessable rules and scoring systems for the mystic prize…
\n\"\"
\nThe contest ends with plenty of revelations but as no one could have predicted even though \u2018… And to the Victor… The Shield!\u2019<\/em> ultimately sees Vance Astro in possession of the only other known relic of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

The Beginning…<\/p>\n

Supplementing these much-reprinted yarns is Valentino\u2019s serialised text partwork The History of the Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> from #1-4, preceded by a variety of collection covers that graced earlier collections: Perez\u2019s 1991 Avengers: The Korvac Saga<\/strong> accompanied by that book\u2019s new framing sequence from Mark Gruenwald & Tom Morgan. Also here is the GotG<\/strong>\u2019s only other 80\u2019s appearance – one panel on one page of John Byrne & Al Gordon\u2019s Sensational She-Hulk<\/strong> #6 (1989).<\/p>\n

Enhancing the info levels are a burst of pages from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe<\/strong> (1983) briefing us on Charlie-27, Martinex, Nikki, Starhawk, Vance & Yondu; their ship Freedom\u2019s Lady<\/em>; The Collector and Korvac, followed by their entries from OHMU (Deluxe Edition) <\/strong>illustrated by Al Milgrom, Elliot R. Brown, Dennis Jensen & Josef Rubinstein. Behind the scenes data comes via interviews culled from Marvel Age<\/strong> #86 & 88 before Valentino & Montano\u2019s cover for Guardians of the Galaxy: Quest for the Shield <\/strong>original TPB and Overstreet\u2019s Price Update<\/strong> by Valentino & Jeff Albrecht prior to a gallery of original art by Byrne, Day, Valentino & Montano\u2019s and more Korvac collected covers by P\u00e9rez, John Romita, Jr., Joe Rosas, Terry Austin, Thomas Mason, John Kalisz, Tom Chu, Dave Kemp, Valentino & Matt Milla.<\/p>\n

A bombastic, drama-drenched, star-roving romp, this is a non-stop feast of tense suspense and blockbuster action: a well-tailored, on-target tool to turn curious movie-goers into fans of the comic incarnation and another solid sampling to entice newcomers and charm even the most jaded interstellar Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights fanatic…
\n\u00a9 2025 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, Chris Claremont, Mark Gruenwald, Jim Valentino, Roger Stern, George P\u00e9rez, Bill Mantlo, Allyn Brodsky, Ralph Macchio, Sal Buscema, Dave Wenzel, John Byrne, Mike Vosburg, Bob McLeod, Jerry Bingham, Ron Wilson, Pablo Marcos, Klaus Janson, Gene Day, Bruce Patterson, Steve Montano, Win Mortimer, Josef Rubinstein, Dan Green, Rick Bryant, Ricardo Villamonte … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Guardians of the Galaxy Epic Collection volume 2: Quest for the Shield (1978 – 1990)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[278,94,165,18,54,182,247,288,98,79,107,157,39,231,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adam-warlock","category-avengers","category-black-panther","category-captain-marvel","category-fantastic-four","category-guardians-of-the-galaxy-graphic-novels","category-hawkeye","category-hercules","category-hulk","category-marvel-superheroes","category-science-fiction","category-silver-surfer","category-spider-man","category-the-thing","category-x-men"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Hk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33438"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33446,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438\/revisions\/33446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}