Guardians of the Galaxy

Ahead of the pint-sized potted plant's release, Sideshow Collectibles has teamed with YouTuber Optibotimus to provide a closer look at the upcoming Hot Toys Little Groot 1/4 scale figure from ​Guardians of the Galaxy.

Phil Noto knows how to create a stylish retro vibe, and he can conjure up a soft-edged gauzy aesthetic that perfectly evokes the nostalgic familiarity of photographs from the 1960s and 70s. It's a talent that he exploited to beautiful effect in a series of pieces for his Tumblr that presented Silver Age Marvel heroes in the mode of old celebrity snaps from Life Magazine; the images that would have existed if these heroes had been real in the age they were created. Those Tumblr images are the clear inspiration for a month of Phil Noto variant covers at Marvel this February, though the inspiration stretches beyond Life Magazine pastiches to cover hip-hop, fashion photography, and even candid personal images. Several of the covers were released this week courtesy of Marvel, Comic Vine, CBR and Newsarama, and they're a gorgeous selection of images, so we've collected them all in one place for your appreciation.

Aside from the larger connections in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s one thing that ties every one of their superhero films together, regardless of which studio is behind it: a cameo from comic book creator Stan Lee. Even ‘Big Hero 6’ gave Lee his own cameo in animated form. But James Gunn apparently almost disrupted this long-standing Marvel movie tradition, as the director revealed that he originally planned to kill off Stan Lee for his cameo in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’

The world's most adorable sentient potted tree voiced by Vin Diesel can now be yours. Minus the Vin Diesel and the responsibility of taking care of an actual living plant.

Everyone has assumed that, at some point towards the end of this current Marvel Cinematic Universe, the paths of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers would cross. Yes, one superhero team is busy protecting Earth, and the other occupied in outer space, it makes too much sense to not have them meet up in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ right? Never mind the “it makes sense” part, we just really want this to happen. Well, we might never happen according to ‘Guardians’ director James Gunn who warns fans about making such assumptions.

A lot of Blu-rays and DVDs put blooper reels on their DVD and Blu-ray releases, but Marvel Studios’ tend to be the best. When you get a bunch of really charismatic actors in crazy costumes and give them very silly dialogue, their inevitable mistakes are just so much funnier. Watching an actor mess around on set is funny, but watching an actor dressed like your favorite superhero goof around on set is hilarious. So, it should go without saying that the blooper reel for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is a real winner.

Everyone loves comic book trivia, but with 75 years of superhero comics behind us right now, there's always some new obscure fact to learn. That's why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite characters in our new video series. You think you know comics? Well here's a few things you might not know! This week, we're going deep with the biggest movie stars of the summer, the Guardians of the Galaxy! Find out about their obscure origins as a time-tossed team battling the galactic scourge of the Badoon, all the way up to their rebirth as one of the decade's most prominent franchises!

Ever since Marvel created a wildly successful shared movie universe, studios have understandably taken note. But just because the model works for them, doesn’t necessarily mean it can work for every franchise. Universal wants to try the approach with rebooting their classic monsters, and even a new series of Robin Hood films will try its hand at the shared universe idea, with multiple planned films in store if all goes well. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ director James Gunn finds this approach to be a little overzealous, and took to his Facebook page to express concern with what he calls a “flawed” business model.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is the biggest movie of 2014. It’s made over $750 million worldwide. Kids love it. Adults love it. Grandparents even love it. Lots of people (us included!) have seen the movie multiple times, but do you know everything there is to know about Marvel’s latest superhero phenomenon? They're the frickin Guardians of the Galaxy!

The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe is based around the fact that the strongest power in the universe are these magical Infinity Stones, gems of incredible power over time and space. When Ronan the Accuser combines an Infinity Stone with his hammer in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ he becomes nigh-invulnerable and almost unbeatable. The only things left to stop him from destroying the universe are the Guardians… and dance moves. Sweet hot funky dance moves.