# Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team)
The Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team) is the original [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics) superhero team of that name, a group of 31st-century freedom fighters who debuted in *Marvel Super-Heroes* #18 (January 1969) and fought the alien Badoon empire that had conquered Earth and its [Solar System](https://www.edgepedia.org/solar-system) colonies.[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/15429/x) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) They share a name, and one member, with the modern Star-Lord-led team created in 2008, but they are a separate group of characters set in a different era.[3](https://www.comickingedmonton.com/comics/marvel/guardians-of-the-galaxy)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *Marvel Super-Heroes* #18, published January 10, 1969; story "Earth Shall Overcome!"[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/15429/x) |
| Creators | Writer Arnold Drake and artist Gene Colan, with inker Mike Esposito and colorist Stan Goldberg, edited by Stan Lee[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/15429/x) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) |
| Founding members | Major Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex, and Yondu[4](https://www.comicspriceguide.com/titles/marvel-super-heroes/18/ukuub) |
| Setting | The 31st century (the debut story opens in the year 3007), under occupation by the reptilian Badoon[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/04/24/ka_boom/1493043125_400244.html) |
| Later members | Nikki (from the Mercury colony) and Starhawk, joined when the team returned in 1975[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/) |
| Own titles | *Marvel Presents* #3-12 (1976-77) and a 62-issue series written and drawn by Jim Valentino (1990-1995)[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) |
| Continuity | Their future timeline was later designated Earth-691 in Marvel's multiverse[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) |
## Creation and debut
Writer Arnold Drake and artist [Gene Colan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-colan) brought the team into being. Drake, who had worked for DC, where he helped launch Deadman and [Doom Patrol](https://www.edgepedia.org/doom-patrol), spent a short period freelancing for Marvel during the late 1960s, while Colan would go on to earn recognition for his lengthy Daredevil run.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) According to a Spanish-language history of the team published in *El País*, the idea originated in a proposal by editor and writer [Roy Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-thomas) that appealed to his mentor Stan Lee; Thomas had imagined a United States divided between Russian and Chinese communism, but the concept was reworked until it became unrecognizable, emerging as a far-future story in which the team was the galaxy's last defense against the Badoon, reptilian aliens Stan Lee had created for the second issue of *Silver Surfer*.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/04/24/ka_boom/1493043125_400244.html)
The debut appeared in *Marvel Super-Heroes* #18, an anthology title, in a 22-page story titled "Earth Shall Overcome!" credited to Drake as writer, Colan as penciller, Mike Esposito as inker, and Stan Goldberg as colorist, under editor [Stan Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-lee).[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/15429/x) • [7](https://www.comics.org/issue/1246604/) In the story, Charlie-27 returns from a mission to find his home planet of Jupiter enslaved by the Badoon and teleports to other worlds for help, joining Martinex on Pluto and then [Vance Astro](https://www.edgepedia.org/vance-astro) and the Centaurian Yondu on Earth; after a brief misunderstanding fight, the four realize they fight on the same side and form the team.[4](https://www.comicspriceguide.com/titles/marvel-super-heroes/18/ukuub) After this single appearance, the team vanished for five years.[8](https://nerdist.com/article/how-marvel-guardians-of-the-galaxy-went-from-obscure-comics-to-mcu-popularity/)
## Premise and original members
The original Guardians are rebels against the Badoon, man-reptile tyrants created by Stan Lee and John Buscema for the late-1960s *Silver Surfer* title, who conquered Earth and its colony planets across the Solar System.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) Their future timeline was later dubbed Earth-691 in Marvel's multiverse.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
**Vance Astro** is the leader and the team's link to the 20th century. A young astronaut sent on a lone deep-space mission, he lacked faster-than-light technology, so his ship would take 1,000 years to reach [Alpha Centauri](https://www.edgepedia.org/alpha-centauri); to survive the trip he was injected with an artificial blood, encased in a metal second skin, and placed in suspended animation. When he arrived, humanity had since developed faster-than-light travel and was already living alongside the blue-skinned natives of Centauri IV, and psionic powers had developed in him during hibernation.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) He later renamed himself Major Victory in the 1990s series.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
**Yondu Udonta** is a blue-skinned spiritual warrior from Centauri IV, far removed from his later MCU portrayal, who fights with a bow and a quiver of arrows made of *yaka*, a sound-sensitive metal found only on his home planet.[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/) • [9](https://classicmarvelforever.com/cms/assets/files/other_stuff/downloads/downloads_hidden/Netbook.Compiled.Marvel.Phile.pdf) **Charlie-27** is a genetically modified soldier built to live under Jupiter's oppressive gravity, massively strong and wide, and the last survivor of that world's fall to the Badoon.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) **Martinex T'Naga** is the last surviving settler of Pluto, covered in a silicon crystalline skin that helps him survive extreme temperatures and able to manipulate energy, including fire and ice.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) • [10](https://www.thecomicsprofessor.com/article/a-history-of-guardians-of-the-galaxy-from-1969-origins-to-modern-marvel-universe/)
When the team returned in 1975, two members had been added: Nikki, a genetically modified woman from Earth's Mercury colony with flames instead of hair, and Starhawk (Stakar Ogord), a cosmic-powered human from the near future.[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/) Starhawk's story, explored in the 1970s appearances, made him a cold, remote figure powered by an alien Hawk God and doomed to relive his own life countless times; he was eventually revealed as a man and a woman, adopted siblings and lovers Aleta and Stakar, merged into one being.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
## 1970s appearances
[Steve Gerber](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-gerber), Marvel's writer of the day known for unconventional stories, rescued the team from obscurity in *Marvel Two-in-One* #4-5 (1974), teaming them with the Thing and [Captain America](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-america), and then in his mid-1970s Defenders run.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) *The Defenders* #26 (August 1975) detailed the future history of Earth for a mainstream audience, and the following issues took [Doctor Strange](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-strange), Hulk, Valkyrie, and their teammates to the Guardians' year 3007 to fight the Badoon and meet Starhawk.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
The team then received a 10-issue run in *Marvel Presents* #3-12 (1976-77), written by Gerber with artist Al Milgrom, which introduced Nikki and explored Starhawk's character.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) This run is remembered for a scene in which Vance Astro and Nikki, in astral form, have sexual intercourse in disguised narrative terms, described as the first blatant act of sexual intercourse in a Comics Code-approved superhero book.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/04/24/ka_boom/1493043125_400244.html) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
The Guardians also returned repeatedly to 20th century Earth, most notably helping the Avengers against Korvac in the late-1970s Korvac Saga, one of Marvel's best-known storylines of the period, which earned the entire team honorary Avengers membership.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) • [6](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/)
## The 1990s revival
After the 1970s, the team was seen last in *Marvel Two-in-One* #69 and then disappeared from the [Marvel Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-universe) for nearly the entire 1980s.[11](https://www.planocritico.com/critica-guardioes-da-galaxia-1990-1995-1-a-62-e-anuais-1-a-4/) In 1990, writer-artist Jim Valentino, then one of Marvel's rising stars, gave the team its own series, keeping the classic roster and setting rather than retooling it.[11](https://www.planocritico.com/critica-guardioes-da-galaxia-1990-1995-1-a-62-e-anuais-1-a-4/) • [12](https://www.comicbookherald.com/90s-guardians-ongoing-series/) The series ran 62 issues across the first half of the 1990s, with the team operating from a starship named Captain America as self-appointed protectors of the [Milky Way](https://www.edgepedia.org/milky-way).[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
Valentino's run leaned into the far-future premise, filling the book with 31st-century descendants of existing Marvel heroes, including future versions of [Ghost Rider](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghost-rider), Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer, and [Wolverine](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolverine), and it was here that Vance Astro adopted the name Major Victory.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) Valentino left Marvel in 1993 to co-found Image Comics as one of its seven original partners, and the series limped on without him until it ended in 1995.[13](https://firstappearanceof.com/groups/guardians-of-the-galaxy/) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) The team then stayed out of the limelight for over a decade.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
## Legacy and the modern team
In 2008, writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning assembled a new Guardians of the Galaxy out of characters from the 2006-2008 cosmic line, beginning in *Annihilation: Conquest* and continuing in their own title from May 2008, with an initial lineup of Star-Lord, Quasar, Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) This team was inspired by the original Guardians but largely unconnected to them; only Vance Astro (Major Victory) and Yondu appear in both lineages.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/) • [3](https://www.comickingedmonton.com/comics/marvel/guardians-of-the-galaxy) • [17](https://www.marvel.com/characters/starhawk-stakar-ogord-earth-691) The name itself was passed on through a time-travel encounter in the comics, in which one of the old members met the new team.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/04/24/ka_boom/1493043125_400244.html)
In the years that followed, the original Guardians resurfaced intermittently, occasionally guest starring in the modern team's stories and even headlining a revival title of their own that did not last long.[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/)
The original team also reached the Marvel Cinematic Universe indirectly. In *Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2* (2017), the post-credits scene in which Stakar Ogord, played by Sylvester Stallone, reunites his former Ravager crew, including Aleta Ogord, Charlie-27, Krugarr, and Mainframe, is a nod to the first Guardians of the Galaxy team from the comics.[14](https://time.com/4754639/guardians-galaxy-2-post-credit-scenes/)
## Collecting
*Marvel Super-Heroes* #18 is the key issue for the team. A graded copy sold at auction for $10,157.50 in August 2014, and a page of the original splash-page art by Gene Colan and Mike Esposito from the same issue realized $14,340 the same month.[15](https://intelligentcollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IC-Spring-Summer-2017.pdf) The early appearances have been collected in the Epic Collection line, gathering *Marvel Super-Heroes* #18, *Marvel Two-in-One* #4-5, *Giant-Size Defenders* #5, *Defenders* #26-29, *Marvel Presents* #3-12, and *Thor Annual* #6.[16](https://www.staffars.se/previews/marvel33-01.pdf)
## References
1. [Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) #18, Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/15429/x)
2. [Guardians of the Galaxy: a history of the comics, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/guardians-galaxy-comics-history/)
3. [Guardians of the Galaxy Comics & Key Issues, Comic King](https://www.comickingedmonton.com/comics/marvel/guardians-of-the-galaxy)
4. [Marvel Super-Heroes #18 Values and Pricing, ComicsPriceGuide](https://www.comicspriceguide.com/titles/marvel-super-heroes/18/ukuub)
5. ['Guardianes de la Galaxia', el origen del éxito más inesperado de Marvel, El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/04/24/ka_boom/1493043125_400244.html)
6. [The original comic book Guardians of the Galaxy are nothing like the MCU, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-comics/)
7. [Marvel Gold. Guardianes de la Galaxia: Vengadores Cósmicos, Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/issue/1246604/)
8. [How Guardians of the Galaxy Went From Comic Obscurity to an A-List Marvel Team, Nerdist](https://nerdist.com/article/how-marvel-guardians-of-the-galaxy-went-from-obscure-comics-to-mcu-popularity/)
9. [Compiled Marvel Phile, Classic Marvel Forever](https://classicmarvelforever.com/cms/assets/files/other_stuff/downloads/downloads_hidden/Netbook.Compiled.Marvel.Phile.pdf)
10. [A History of Guardians of the Galaxy: From 1969 Origins to Modern Marvel Universe, The Comics Professor](https://www.thecomicsprofessor.com/article/a-history-of-guardians-of-the-galaxy-from-1969-origins-to-modern-marvel-universe/)
11. [Crítica | Guardiões da Galáxia (1990-1995), Plano Crítico](https://www.planocritico.com/critica-guardioes-da-galaxia-1990-1995-1-a-62-e-anuais-1-a-4/)
12. [1990's Guardians of the Galaxy Series Review, Comic Book Herald](https://www.comicbookherald.com/90s-guardians-ongoing-series/)
13. [First Appearance Of Guardians of the Galaxy: Two Teams, Two Eras](https://firstappearanceof.com/groups/guardians-of-the-galaxy/)
14. [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Has Five Post-Credit Scenes. Here's What They Mean, TIME](https://time.com/4754639/guardians-galaxy-2-post-credit-scenes/)
15. [Intelligent Collector, Spring/Summer 2017](https://intelligentcollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IC-Spring-Summer-2017.pdf)
16. [Marvel Collected Editions preview, Staffars](https://www.staffars.se/previews/marvel33-01.pdf)
17. [Starhawk (Stakar Ogord) Powers, Enemies, History, Marvel](https://www.marvel.com/characters/starhawk-stakar-ogord-earth-691)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Comics and sequential art › Comics characters and fictional worlds › Marvel teams and groups*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license