Marvel Reveals First Member of the New Guardians of the Galaxy

The Guardians of the Galaxy are making their return to the forefront of Marvel Comics in 2019, with a brand new direction and creative team. Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, who previously brought Thanos to life, will be taking over the next iteration of Guardians, and they are currently building a mystery as to which characters will be added to the team when the book arrives.

Marvel's initial teaser image for the book was a sprawling page of Shaw's art, consisting of just about every Marvel character who has ever been a member of the team. The teaser posed the question, "Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy?"

While we may not know the full team until January, Marvel has officially revealed the first addition to the crew, and it's a new character that has never before joined the ranks of the Guardians.

To no one's surprise, the first member of Cates and Shaw's Guardians of the Galaxy is Cosmic Ghost Rider, aka future Frank Castle. This Punisher-turned-Herald of Galactus was created by Cates and Shaw in their recent Thanos series, and he is now the subject of his own mini, where he has stolen baby Thanos in order to try and change the course of his future.

Marvel fans everywhere have fallen in love with Cosmic Ghost Rider, and it's only fitting that he becomes the first member of Cates' roster.

Looking at the cover for the first issue, only Cosmic Ghost Rider can be seen, but it's easy to pick out a couple of other characters standing in the shadows. The head that towers over the rest seems to belong to Groot, while a pointed helmet to his left suggests either Nova or Darkhawk will be present.

Back in September, after Guardians of the Galaxy was announced, Cates shared the first details regarding his exciting new project.

"Geoff and I have some INSANE plans for our first Guardians arc," the writer said. "This arc is called 'Endgame,' and as seen in Thanos Legacy, it begins with the reading of Thanos's last will and testament. An artifact that Thanos's brother Eros dug out of his late brother's heart, which very well may spell doom for the entire universe. What horrid secrets are contained inside the will of the titan?!! Find out this January!! And oh yeah... our new lineup. Well, that's a surprise as well. Use the hashtag #WhoAreTheGuardians online and maybe we'll give out some teases as we get closer! See you all in space!"

Are you excited for Marvel's new Guardians of the Galaxy series? What other characters do you want to see included on the roster? Let us know in the comments!