Marvel Announces The Dark Guardians Of The Galaxy

The latest run of Guardians of the Galaxy is still about a month away and it appears the new series will introduce a new group to the Marvel Comics mythos within the first few issues. According to Marvel’s comic solicitations for March 2019, Guardians of the Galaxy #3 will introduce a group called the Dark Guardians, seemingly an anti-hero counterpart to the main squad of Guardians.

Along with the solicitation, a David Marquez-drawn cover was released that seems to reveal the initial makeup of the Dark Guardians. Front and center is Cosmic Ghost Rider, the recent creation from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, the creative team behind this run of Guardians.

Along with future Frank Castle, the rest of the Dark Guardians include Gladiator, Starfox, Nebula, and Wraith. The inclusion of Kallark and Cosmic Ghost Rider on the Dark Guardians is an interesting development as the pair had been in the running for spots on the main Guardians squad.

If you take Shi’ar powerhouse and Spirit of Vengeance out of the equation, that would leave Star-Lord, Darkhawk, Phyla-vell, Beta Ray Bill, Adam Warlock, Silver Surfer, Moondragon, Richard Rider/Nova, and Groot vying for the team’s remaining spots.

Another interesting note is the inclusion of Starfox/Eros as the character has been thrust into the spotlight in the light of Thanos’ death. Cates previously ComicBook.com that the character is a bit conflicted over the death of his genocidal brother.

“Right! Eros has been a wonderful character to write fro that very conflicted reason,” Cates said. “He’s sad that his brother is gone, but on the same hand, his brother was THANOS, so it’s not the worst thing to happen to the universe. Still, there’s a reason Eros is the one reading his will. No one knew Thanos quite like his brother. And as much as he is in mourning (check out that new Eros costume Geoff gave him!) he knows that the real work must begin now. Before his brothers will rips the universe in half.”

The full solicitation for Guardians of the Galaxy #3 can be found below.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #3
DONNY CATES (W) • GEOFF SHAW (A)
Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
• The Dark Guardians ascend!
• With a new Thanos rising, the galaxy calls for a group of heroes who will use any means necessary to end this threat.
• Unfortunately for Star-Lord, that’s NOT the Guardians of the Galaxy!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 soars into comic stores on January 23, 2019.