Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Universe)

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a team of superheroes who protect the galaxy from dangerous threats.
 * The team consists of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot, and Drax the Destroyer. Their first design and voice actors were based on their appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man (which was based more on the comics) while their later appearance changed their design and voice actors to reflect their upcoming animated series (which was based more on the film). The Avengers had to deal with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the time when Galactus was led to the D'Bari's planet by Iron Man (who was under the power of the Power Cosmic) to consume it instead of the Earth, causing the D'Bari to evacuate. There was a mentioning by the Guardians of the Galaxy that most inhabited planets have a "Galactus Contingency Plan" where Star-Lord is surprised that Earth doesn't have one. Even though the Avengers and the Guardians had a hard time, they then realized that Iron Man led Galactus to the D'Bari's planet because it had become unstable where the explosion knocked out Galactus. After the D'Bari found another planet to settle on, Captain America tells Star-Lord that he hopes that their paths cross again. In the episode "Widow's Run," Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon try to get the Avengers to let the Infinity Gems be in their custody only to be turned down by Tony Stark. When the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive to claim the Infinity Gems from Black Widow and Thor, Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon stated that their trip to Asgard served as a beacon where they listed the Spartax, the Sakaarans, and the Celestials as examples of those who want the Infinity Gems. The Avengers end up fighting the Guardians even when Black Widow had a vision that the Guardians of the Galaxy would fall under the Infinity Gems' influence. Using special teleportation disks, Falcon teleports the Guardians back to their ship. While their appearance prior to Widow's Run was based more on their comic counterparts, they were redesigned to look more like their film versions and also changed the voice actors to the ones voicing them in their upcoming animated series.
 * The Guardians of the Galaxy appear in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "It's a Wonderful Smash." The team consists of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot, and Drax the Destroyer. In their self-titled episode, the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. run into the Guardians of the Galaxy when they come across a plot by Super-Skrull to create gamma-powered Skrulls on an unnamed planet. In the episode "Planet Monster" Pt. 2, the Guardians of the Galaxy are among the superheroes that help the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and the Avengers fight the forces of the Supreme Intelligence.