EDITORIAL: Flarkin' Awesome! 007

Disclaimer: Leo Wyld is an editorial contributor for Guard The Galaxy. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of every other contributor associated with this site.

Cosmic greetings!  I am Leo Wyld, the Raccoonatic Commander, and well, I am not feeling particularly awesome right now. Here we are, the first month into the Year of the Raccoon (first day if you go by Lunar, heh) and things are not goin' too well for me or for our favorite hero...

Flarkin' Awesome! Issue 007 - Raccoonatics vs. The World

In the merchandise issue, I believe it was 005, I touched on the difficulty of finding Rocket-related merchandise currently. This is because the general public has not largely become aware of Rocky's awesomeness and demand dictates supply, etc. Similarly, it can be a tough position, at times, simply to be a Raccoonatic. Especially when, at the times, it feels Rocket is the Rodney Dangerfield of Marvel's roster (well, if Rodney had been a badass space raccoon): he gets no flarkin' respect!

(More after the jump)

No Respect!

Ok, fine, Marvel green-lit a Guardians of the Galaxy movie a couple years back (only six months left to release, woot) and decided to put Rocket on the rosters of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Marvel Heroes to cross-promote. They did that right. But even Marvel is capable of ignoring our procyonid protagonist. Today, Marvel wrapped up their 25 Best Heroes of 2013 list. Rocket was chosen to represent Guardians for UMvC3 and Marvel Heroes, why, he is the heart of the team. That team, in 2013, had a series of Infinite comics leading up to, the launch of Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3 (also in 2013). A run that has not only been well-received by critics and the public, but one that also proved to be a financial success. Why, then, was Rocket (and all the other Guardians of the Galaxy) completely snubbed from said list? I am no marketing major, but I would think placing Rocket Raccoon high on such a list might pique curiosity and help promote the upcoming movie to their general readership. It is difficult for us Raccoonatics to get others to believe Rocket is awesome when Marvel themselves do not seem to think so. (And don't even get me started on this month's animal variant for Guardians)

Raccoons are awesome, in general, but Rocket Raccoon is the most awesome raccoon. We've established that, correct? Helping save the entire galaxy on a regular basis while being a cannon-wielding total badass. There are just not many degrees of awesome above that. And several ranks of awesomeness below that would be Earth-bound criminal. That still can be awesome but never as much so as cosmic badass. Tell that to SuperHeroMoviesNews.com, though. A site whose loyalties, you would think, side with, I dunno, superheroes!  They introduced an article about the announcement of the Sly Cooper movie with the words "Move over Rocket Raccoon..."  No, I'm sorry, Rocket does not take second place to Sly Cooper ever, in any sense. Don't worry, Raccoonatics, your Commander left them a fun little comment. (Don't worry I stayed *mostly* civil)

"Don't call me a Raccoon!"

Sometimes people mean well, but it is clear they are doing something as a quick aside, for commercial reasons, whatever. Heyuguys.co.uk wrote an article about the characters they are most looking forward to seeing on movies in 2014.  Rocket made their list, yay, and that would have meant something, except that the only "research" they bothered to do for the character was, clearly, just watching the Guardians episode of the Ultimate Spider-man cartoon. How do I know that... this line...

 "(in the comics, Rocket comes from a race that looks like raccoons, but rumour has it that he’ll be a genetically enhanced raccoon)"

... Facepaw, epic facepaw. Guys the genetically enhanced raccoon thing, *that* comes from the comics. The first thing, not so much from the comics but from a cartoon episode. (Even though there were indicators that might be introduced into 616 canon, hasn't happened yet and hopefully won't). I do not like people to be misinformed about Rocket, as Raccoonatic Commander, I cannot let it happen. So, I left a comment correcting the error. And that comment was promptly deleted. Nice.

On LEGO Marvel Superheroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy were chosen to be on the roster. That's great. Sorta. Almost all of the heroes, even Aunt May, had their own dedicated tweet focusing on their existence in the game. Guess who didn't. Yep. And with good reason, Rocket was made practically useless in the game. Cannot use any situational powers, his awesome guns cannot destroy special bricks, he is even one of the only heroes who cannot do basic things like activate switches or drive vehicles. What's a Raccoonatic to do?

I've also had some bad dealings for being the Raccoonatic Commander. Many many times on Marvel Heroes forums over the past year plus. Specifically, just a few days ago, I was openly mocked and belittled in vulgar fashion by a Marvel Heroes bully who decided to follow me onto Twitter. The basis for these attacks, my being a fan of Rocket Raccoon. Seriously.

Much like people who stay loyal to a local sports team that never has a chance to win a championship, being a Raccoonatic can often be a struggle and an uphill battle. Convincing people he is awesome when, at a first glance, he is mistaken for a cutesy cartoon, not an easy thing to do. And then you remember what an amazing character he is and you realize it is not something you can walk from, even if it means facing down the entire world. But, going back to the sports team analogy, this is the Year of the Raccoon, this is the year we metaphorically win the championship. Stay strong and, Raccoonatics, Unite!

Until next time, hopefully a happier time for us Raccoonatics, see ya 'round the Raccooniverse!