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Credit: Inside the MagicWARNING! Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 past this point!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 should have ended with the tragic and terrifying death of Rocket Raccoon, at least if the marketing and hints from the director and cast were to be believed. While we are certainly all breathing a sigh of relief that he’s indeed still with us, there might still be something sinister afoot.
From the day Rocket first appeared on screen with his arboreal amigo, Groot, he’s been the unofficial face of the Guardians of the Galaxy. While a gunslinging, trash-talking, genetically-engineered raccoon might not be the strangest thing to come out of the MCU, one little factor about him will make a few fans retch.
“I Didn’t Ask For This!”
Guardians 3 revealed a lot about our favorite trash panda, and his heartbreaking backstory in the clutches of the High Evolutionary is definitely the most disturbing and unsettling thing we’ve seen come out of the MCU since The Multiverse of Madness. But for all Rocket has been through, he still has that never-say-die motif that makes fans love him so much.
Right from the very beginning, Rocket tried to keep the horrors of his past hidden from the rest of the team. As confirmed by the film, he kept his origins under wraps for a long time, but he might have actually displayed a very big and very tragic tell this entire time.
Tell us if any of these lines sound familiar. “I’m gonna need that guy’s leg.” “And that guy’s eye..” and “How much for the arm?” Rocket’s fascination with artificial, cybernetic, and prosthetic limbs seems like one of his many quirks, but the third film in the franchise reveals something far more dreadful.
Tragic Mementos for Rocket Raccoon
@isuperebba just a heartbreaking movie #mcu #marvel #avengers #gotg #guardiansofthegalaxy #guardiansofthegalaxyvol3 #rocketraccoon #groot #comictok #filmtok #movietok #lylla #starlord
@isuperebba shares his “semi-confirmed” fan theory about Rocket in the TikTok above, and the response from James Gunn himself definitely gives it more meaning. However, we’re willing to go further with its prove with the evidence we observed after watching the film. Consider what bits and pieces Rocket gets his paws on, then think back to his friends in the lab.
Over the course of his MCU career. Rocket obtains an artificial leg, a bionic eye he gives to Thor, and Bucky’s arm for Christmas on Knowhere. What seems random at first immediately relates back to the first friends he made in the clutches of the High Evolutionary.
The eyes symbolize the constantly staring gaze of Teefs the Walrus, the leg to the spider-like Floor, and (most tragically of all) the arm reflecting the robotic limbs of his beloved Lyla. While the first two might be something of a stretch for some, there’s no denying his reaction to Bucky’s arm has a huge connection to those of his murdered love.
Even Nebula, daughter of Thanos who was mutilated by her own father, admitted that Rocket has the most tragic backstory of the Guardians, maybe even all of Marvel. Rocket’s fixation with cybernetic implants isn’t one of his many quirks. It’s a cry for help that’s been staring us in the face for years.
Do you think this is true? Tell us at Inside the Magic in the comments below!