“I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)”

DISCLAIMER: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!! 

Please do not continue reading this article if you intend on watching this hour-long Christmas special since it does contain major The Guardians of  the Galaxy Holiday Special spoilers (originally released exclusively on Disney+ on November 25th). 

Previous Articles

(SPOILER FREE) Go check out a previous Guardians of the Galaxy article, “Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Official Trailer Breakdown and Hidden Details”, which breaks down the trailer for the Christmas special and is spoiler free. 

https://talonnews.org/1555/entertainment/marvel-studios-special-presentation-the-guardians-and-the-galaxy-holiday-special-official-trailer-breakdown-and-hidden-details/

(MAJOR SPOILERS) Go check out a previous Guardians of the Galaxy article, “‘Christmastime Is Here’: Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Review”, which is a thorough review by Val Kohan (Editor-in-Chief) where she breaks down the hour Christmas special and how well James Gunn wrote and directed it. 

https://talonnews.org/1890/entertainment/but-chirstmastime-is-here-marvel-studios-special-presentation-the-guardians-and-the-galaxy-holiday-special-review/

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Cast

The cast includes Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Dave Bautista (Drax), Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel voicing Groot, Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Michael Rooker cameoing as Yondu, Cosmo returned to the Guardians of the Galaxy (voiced by Maria Bakalova), and introducing Kevin Bacon (of course playing himself). This holiday special was directed and written by James Gunn, who has directed every Guardians of the Galaxy project to date in the MCU and will finish out the Guardians trilogy as fans await the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn confirmed at Comic Con that the third film will be the end of an era for the Guardians saying, “Some stories have to end, doesn’t mean everyone dies.” But before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 can completely destroy fans, enjoy a fun and Christmasy Guardians adventure as it may be the last care-free one before the third installment. 

Hidden Details/Easter Eggs: 

• The Marvel Studios opening crawl is usually a montage of MCU characters with clips from previous movies to the iconic Marvel theme which culminates into the red Marvel Studios logo. Marvel usually changes the scroll a bit to fit appropriately for the project it is in front of. Recently changed the opening in front of Wakanda Forever from the usual montage of the characters to a crawl that is just multiple shots of T’Challa and Chadwick to a purple backdrop for Black Panther. In The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special where the usual Marvel logo panel flips by, all of the panels have been replaced with specific stories taken from the Marvel comics, referencing old Christmas comics. 
• Benicio del Toro’s The Collector hasn’t been mentioned or seen since Avengers: Infinity War (he did have a major role in What If…? but since those plot lines take place in other universes, 616’s The Collector’s fate was never revealed). Many presummed the character was killed since Thanos (as seen in Infinity War) took the Power Stone from him during the reality bending sequence on Knowhere. However, in the Holiday Special it was revealed that Peter bought the mining colony from The Collector. The Guardians are rebuilding Knowhere after Thanos’ attack (seen in Infinity War) meaning the planet was probably abandoned during the Blip. Will Benicio del Toro return as The Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?? 
• Cosmo the Spacedog is finally back in the Guardians scene as the character was first seen in Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014, “in the Collector’s Collection after being sent into space by the Soviet Union.” Now since the Guardians bought Knowhere from him, Cosmo is sticking with the Guardians which explains why she will be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In the Holiday Special, Cosmo is voiced by Borat star, Maria Bakalova, as she will be returning as the character in Guardians 3 as well. Even though Cosmo has been a recurring background Guardians character as a part of The Collector’s collection. The Holiday Special transformed her as a more comic book accurate form, having Cosmo have her voice unit (voiced by Maria Bakalova) and the powers of telekinesis. 
• As mentioned above, Cosmo was tested on the Soviet Union but this may be changed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as it is assumed that Cosmo will have a similar origin to Rocket, who was experimented on by the High Evolutionary. As seen at Comic Con, High Evolutionary will be in Guardians 3 played by Chukwudi Iwuji. 
• Many fans are complaining and questioning Groot’s new look in the Holiday Special as he is all grown up. His new look is presumably setting up Guardians 3 but did Marvel break the MCU timeline?? This is where fans are having issues with his new buff look, Groot has completely grown up between Thor: Love and Thunder to the Holiday Special. The only way this would fit chronologically is if Thor: Love and Thunder took place in 2024 where the Holiday Special is in Christmas of 2025. 
• The Guardians’ found family aspect just got a bit more interesting with having an actual family member of Peter Quill’s be revealed. Fans find out that Mantis’ father is Ego meaning she and Peter are siblings. In this festive adventure it explores a deeper connection between the characters that makes fans feel more for the characters and become more connected to them as well. So having Mantis and Peter be siblings is not the issue, it is how Marvel went about it in quite a lazy way. In the special Mantis and Drax talk about this as if Marvel expected fans to already be aware of the interesting turn of events… because they did. Two days before the holiday special (on November 23rd) Marvel released two new episodes of Marvel Legends on Disney+. Marvel Legends are twenty six episodes of recaps of Marvel heroes and villain’s stories before an upcoming Marvel release (for example Marvel started putting out episodes right before WandaVision released having the first two episodes be about Wanda and Vision). The most recent episodes being for Mantis and Drax anticipating the holiday special showing clips from Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Infinity War, Endgame, and a snippet from Thor: Love and Thunder. But instead of the shorts recapping major plot points from the character’s stories, Marvel Legend leaked a major spoiler before the holiday special even released. At the end of the Mantis short, there was a never before seen clip of a deleted scene from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 of Drax asking Mantis, “Why don’t you want to tell him [Peter]? He should know you are his sister.” Mantis then tells Drax that her and Peter’s only connection, meaning Ego, their father, brought him so much pain and suffering, so instead of spoiling their relationship she thinks it’s best to keep it a secret. 
• “I’m gonna ask you this one time; Where is Gamora?” “Yeah, I’ll do you one better; Who’s Gamora?” “I’ll do you one better; Why is Gamora?” So, where is Gamora?? Gamora has been missing throughout the entirety of Phase Four (she did have a major role in What If…? but since those plot lines take place in other universes, 616’s Gamora has yet to return since Avengers: Endgame). The entire Holiday Special is surrounded by how Peter is depressed because he lost his Gamora (due to the events from Infinity War as Thanos obtained the Soul Stone by sacrificing his daughter) but if fans recall, in Endgame, a variant of Gamora restored her present day due to time travel. Even though Peter is rejected by that version of Gamora, based on the teaser trailer shown at Comic Con of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, their paths will cross once again but Gamora has become a Ravager?! The main premise of the third film is, “Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally the Guardians of the Galaxy on a mission to defend the universe and protect one of their own.” So will Peter finally be able to face the fact that his Gamora is lost or will love and longing take over him, endangering the lives of all her loves as well as himself?  
• This is an easy to miss easter egg as the Holiday Special barely shows this but there are quite a few Eternals hidden details throughout the special that viewers have to look out for. When Drax and Mantis travel to Earth, to go to Hollywood, to find Kevin Bacon. On the streets of LA, Drax and Mantis pass a movie poster advertising a new Kingo film titled, “Kingo’s Kristmas”. ScreenRant questioned this easter egg saying, “This MCU Easter egg is rather an odd one, though, because Kingo was kidnapped by the Celestial Arishem in Eternal’s cliffhanger ending.” 
• While in Hollywood, Drax and Mantis pass a group of Avengers cosplayers on the streets. Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Black Widow, and Captain America can be seen.
• Ant-Man: Scott is officially a “celebrity” in the Quantumania trailer. Though we have seen bits and pieces of his so-called celebrity life in other MCU projects, most notably in Avengers: Endgame when Scott, Steve, and Natasha are having lunch with Bruce/Smart Hulk. After some fans take a picture with the Hulk, Scott asks, “Did you want to grab one with me? I’m Ant-Man. They’re Hulk fans. They don’t know Ant-Man. Nobody does.” As seen in the trailer much has changed in Scott’s life from Endgame to Quantumania. His budding stardom is possibly from his new career as a writer/autobiographer based on the teaser from Comic Con. In the teaser from Comic Con fans saw a clip of Scott reading an excerpt to an audience of his autobiography titled, “Look Out For the Little Guy”. So now with his growing fame, Scott’s presence is known and not just as an ex-con or former Baskin Robbins.
• One of the saddest parts in the Holiday Special may actually go unnoticed. Two of the cosplayers are dressed as Black Widow and Captain America, both of which are fallen heroes (as seen in Avengers: Endgame). When Mantis sees the Captain America performer, she cries out, “Steve!” Many fans are suspecting that she either doesn’t know Steve is “dead” or she does in fact know and just thinks he’s back. Either way, it’s extremely sad and fans are highly affected by this.

• Black Widow’s cosplay suit is a questionable choice. The cosplayer in Hollywood can be seen wearing Black Widow’s suit from her solo film, Black Widow. This suit is barely seen and hardly famous, so why would she be wearing this one?? Some suspect this is a nod to the kick start of Phase Four, which was in fact Black Widow. This is a full circle moment as Phase Four has come to a close with its final project of Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. 
• Some other non-Marvel cosplayers that can be seen are Transformers and Jack Sparrow, meaning both Transformers and Pirates and the Caribbean exist within the MCU.
• Countless tales of Santa Claus are floating around in deep space, one mentioned in the Holiday Special is that, “Santa has epic superpower.” Even though this is not the lore most Earthlings know, in the Marvel Comics, Santa actually does have powers as he has been revealed as a mutant. 
• There may have been a subtle reference to the Kree Sentries. Drax mentions that robots killed his cousin, revealing his deep hatred for robots. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax’s tragic origin story is revealed that his people, including his wife and daughter, were completely wiped out by the Kree, more specifically Ronan. Now that Drax said that his cousin was killed by robots, this suggests that the Kree could have used robots, Sentries, during this slaughter, hence why Drax despises them. In the comics, the Sentries have actually battled the Avengers, so this may be hinting at a future conflict?! It won’t be long until Sentries show up in the MCU. 
• Kevin Bacon has been referenced in the MCU a couple times before the Holiday Special, mainly by the Guardians, who had a hilarious banter with pop culture enthusiast Peter Parker. Marvel has been setting up Kevin Bacon’s cameo since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie released in 2014. Peter has referred to Kevin Bacon as “the great hero” who taught him how to dance (he’s obviously referencing Footloose). In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor says, “The Avengers are Earth’s mightiest heroes.” Which Mantis asks, “Like Kevin Bacon?” Thor hilarious replies, “He may be on the team. I haven’t been there in a while.”  That’s not the only time Kevin Bacon is mentioned in Infinity War. When the Guardians meet Tony, Peter (Parker), and Strange, Drax tells Peter to, “tell him about the dance-off to save the Universe.” Which Peter (Parker) being the movie buff he is asks, “Like in Footloose? The movie?” “Exactly like Footloose!! Is it still the greatest movie in history?” “It never was.” So it was about time that Kevin Bacon made a cameo even though he has been in a Marvel movie once before. Kevin Bacon was originally in Fox’s X-Men: First Class back in 2011 as Sebastian Shaw, who Magneto eventually kills by the end. This being said, assuming the Fox X-Men movies are somewhat canonized in the MCU due to PAtrick Stewart’s cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, how is Kevin Bacon in the MCU if he was Magneto’s enemy?? 
• Throughout the special, Drax and Mantis refer to some of Kevin Bacon’s most iconic roles, most notably being Ren McCormack in Footloose. In an interview, Kevin Bacon revealed how delighted he was to join the MCU as himself and shared a story when he first saw Guardians of the Galaxy, saying, “I had no idea, and I sat there and all of a sudden they’re talking about me and my jaw just dropped.” 
• Possible plot hole? Rocket Raccoon doesn’t like being referred to as a raccoon or a trash panda or even Drax’s puppy. He even says, “Ain’t no thing like me, except me!!” Kevin Bacon calls Rocket a raccoon but since Rocket was part of the Avengers while saving the world in the events during Avengers: Endgame, shouldn’t he be a household name?? In Ms. Marvel, at AvengerCon, they were selling a Rocket Raccoon plush. Some fans like to believe that Ms. Marvel easter egg was a nod to Avengers: Endgame when Tony says, “Until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-a-Bear.” To which Rocket replies, “Maybe I am.” 
• It was revealed that Peter and the Guardian’s new ship is called “The Bowie”. Which is a tribute to the late music legend, Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie. In the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter’s ship was called “The Milano” after his childhood crush, Alyssa Milano from Who’s the Boss?
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had one of the most emotional deaths with the sacrifice of Yondu. The movie ended with Peter gifting Kraglin Yondu’s Yaka arrow and headpiece, leaving him to be the new Yondu. In the pre-credit scene in Guardians 2, Kraglin (Sean Gunn, director James Gunn’s brother) is seen struggling to use the arrow but once he gets it to fly, he accidentally stabs Drax. It is revealed in the Holiday Special that Kraglin still has yet to learn how to use a flying arrow so hopefully by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 he’ll know how to use it probably and be pretty useful in the fight against High Evolutionary, Adam Warlock, and any other space villain to go against the Guardians. 
• Kraglin recalls Peter who once “saved the galaxy through dancing”, which is a reference to the dance-off between Peter and Ronan. “I’m distracting you, you big turd blossom!!” Drax goes as far to compare Peter to Footloose, hence where Peter gets his love from Kevin Bacon from and why Drax and Mantis thought it was such a great idea to abduct Kevin Bacon as a Christmas present, which is technically human trafficking, but how would Drax or Mantis know?? 
• The most unexpected part of the entire special was what Nebula gave Rocket, which is arguably the best present ever. She gifted Rocket Bucky’s metal arm which is a hilarious nod to Infinity War. “How much for the gun?” “Not for sale.” “Okay, how much for the arm? Oh, I’ll get that arm.” This moment between Rocket and Bucky has become such a fan favorite and now for Rocket to finally have this full circle moment in getting Bucky’s arm. The only thing now is, how did Nebula get it? I think we are all hoping this is answered eventually. 
• The Holiday Special reveals the origins of Star-Lord’s blasters. The special wraps up with a heartwarming scene of Peter’s “father”, Yondu, gifting Peter the blasters he has been seen using in every Marvel project. Even though Yondu is a scrooge around the holidays, he is so touched by Peter’s gift that it makes his heart grow three sizes. 
• Marvel likes to include subtle Star Wars easter eggs throughout their projects and Guardians of the Galaxy is no different. The Holiday Special ends with an animated flashback of Yondu taking his ship through “hyperspace”. 
• Many fans complained about the animation used for flashbacks in the Holiday Special, but James Gunn fought back with critics and posted on his Instagram stating, “For the #GuardiansoftheGalaxyHolidaySpecial, we used old-school rotoscoping animation in the style of Ralph Bakshi films I liked growing up – and to give us that 1970’s & ‘80’s nostalgic Christmas Special feel. We filmed actors Luke Klein [Young Peter], Michael Rooker [Yondu] & Sean Gunn [Kraglin] & then traced the footage frame-by-frame.” He went on to add, “Luke’s features were altered to more closely resemble young Peter, Rooker’s fin was added, & Sean was reduced in size to his younger self.” All the animation was done by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which may sound familiar as they have worked on Robot Chicken and Marvel’s MODOK. 
• The Old 97’s were transformed into an alien rock band for the Holiday Special. James Gunn explained, “The alien band is played by my favorite band in the world, the Old 97’s”.
• Fans who watch the special must know there is a festive post credit scene to stick around for it, especially for Groot fans (wink wink).

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+!!

Happy Holidays!!