Thursday, November 17, 2016

The Brave Or The Bold: The Micronauts Or The Guardians of the Galaxy?




Martinex1: We are back with our second installment of "The Brave Or The Bold," and we are headed back into space for this face-off.  But this time we have a challenge between two teams forged by Marvel in the 1970s...The Micronauts and The Guardians of the Galaxy!  (Okay, I admit I hedged a little bit as some of the GOTG crowd were first introduced in 1969 by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, but you get the idea).


The teams though significantly different have some striking similarities.  Both bronze age versions consist primarily of six members; five male characters and one female.  They specifically protect their region - our solar system and the Microverse.  The leader in both teams is an exploring astronaut of sorts who because of outdated technology arrives at their respective destinations 1000 years later than expected and is preceded by more advanced spaceships.  Vance Astro and Commander Arcturus Rann share that tragedy.  Their teammates are denizens of specific worlds with the Guardians the last survivors of our surrounding planet colonies and the Micronauts are from "planets" on their interconnected strand of worlds. 


Readers are treated to the stoic mystic warrior Yondu or the stoic monarch warrior Acroyear.  And there is the fiery headed and spirited Nikki or the fiery and spirited princess Mari.  The Micronauts have a couple of robots Biotron and Microtron (who are probably more akin to the Star Wars droids), and the Guardians have the rather robotic crystalline officer Martinex (very much unlike your author today).The Micros hailed from Spartak, Kaliklak and Homeworld, while the Guardians came from Jupiter, Mercury, and Pluto. 


The Guardians have a limited villain class and their most memorable enemies have been Korvac and the Badoon.  The Micronauts have traipsed into the Marvel landscape but their main antagonist is the megalomaniac Baron Karza.  They sometimes get help from the mysterious Time Travelers, while Vance Astro and the gang rely on the "one who knows," Starhawk.


I believe that Bill Mantlo, the Micronauts comic creator, cobbled together a bunch of influences and inspirations to create the conflicts and characters in those books.  They were based on the toy line after all, and like he did for ROM Mantlo created a complex world and series of threats for the heroes.  I enjoyed these stories immensely.  The Michael Golden art in the early issues was top notch.


The Guardians of the Galaxy has gone through some iterations over the years; the more recent team of Starlord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, and Gamora made it to the big screen.


I rabidly collected both team's appearances.  Personally I really liked the Bug and Acroyear friendship, but I also enjoyed the mystery of Starhawk and the suit that Vance could never remove. Despite their similarities, I never was distracted by it as I felt both had solid motivations and characterizations with some crazy stories throughout.


There is much to say about these characters and their adventures, so I turn the discussion over to you.  What do you think about these teams?   Do you have a favorite character or storyline?   How do you rate them in the pantheon of Marvel collectives?   Which spacefaring (or inner-spacefaring) group is your favorite?  Did you read and collect their books back in the day?  Do the more modern versions live up to expectations?  And are the original stories unique enough to recommend?   What say you BITBA readers?   Don't be shy ... it is the Brave or the Bold after all.

















7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the late 70s GOTG team, especially with the incredible crossover with the avengers in the Korvac saga.

I knew nothing of the new team with Groot and Rocket. But that GOTG movie is the most re-watchable thing from the MCU.

Read Micronauts as a kid but tbh I don't remember much of them, except marvel pulled out all the stops with their popular characters to get that ball rolling for them...

Yoyo

JJ said...

I had a lot of enthusiasm for the Micronauts as a young teen. I had a few of the figures and I was impressed with their design. They really stood out. Then came the comic, which I loved unreservedly, especially that initial run by Mantlo and Golden (oh how I long for a collection. Looks unlikely). Mantlo did a fine job turning the toys into viable characters. Rann, Mari, Acroyear, Bug and the two robots were a tremendous amount of fun. It was a team you could care about. Baron Karza, while cast very much in the Vader mode, was a compelling villain. And their ship was quite cool-looking. I just loved the the fact that they were tiny heroes who were formidable heroes in the Microverse, and at such a disadvantage when they travelled to earth. A fun change of pace.

I never warmed to the Guardians, despite having a few issues of their comic. The characters came across as bland to me. I like the retooled Guardians even less. (Film version. Have not read their comics.) Drax seems drab and dumbed down, and his new look is dull compared to the original. And where is that rage, that great arrogance? Gamora belongs with Adam Warlock and his cast. The "new" Star Lord is a cookie-cutter wise-guy Marvel dude. Rocket Racoon as voiced (poorly) by Bradley Cooper, struck me all wrong. Only Groot has any kind of appeal. I thought the movie overall rather clunky, acted and written poorly, and their use of Ronan the Accuser and the Nova Corps really missed the target. It's my least favorite Marvel film.

Your opinionated pal,
JJ

J.A. Morris said...

I was never a huge fan of either series. But I'll take the Mircronauts, since I found their adventures more enjoyable. I thought the Guardiians worked best as guest stars in other series and weren't interesting enough to carry a book on their own.

Dr. O said...

Micronauts RULE! Guardians DROOL! ;)

Love the Micronauts! The toys weren't well made, but were still cool and I own a complete run of the first series, including the X-Men/Micronauts mini-series. I tried the new IDW series (part of the Hasbro-verse), but didn't like it.

As for GoTG the 70s team never did it for me (I also think the Korvac Saga is overrated), and I thought the recent movie was terrible in that generic and boring way. I'd rather re-watch Howard the Duck or Corman's Fantastic Four.

Edo Bosnar said...

I like both the Micronauts and the Guardians OTG (the '70s crew, naturally), but I gotta give this one to the Micronauts. I loved, and still love that initial run by Mantlo and Golden, but also the stuff that came afterward. I did actually have a few of the Micronauts toys - they were indeed cool-looking and unique among the toys available back then.

Anonymous said...

I'd have to go with GOTG. I never got into Micronauts, though I did actually have a Star Searcher. I still have the two base components, but everything else is long gone.

Mike Wilson

Redartz said...

Enjoyed both series; really liked Steve Gerber'so run on GotG. But head to head, I have to give the nod to Micronauts. That Mantlo/ Golden run was a highlight of the later Bronze Age. As Yoyo noted, the changes in scale made for some fun situations. Never bought any of the toys, but did have a Biotron figure I found at a park. I used to have him posed on the tip of my drawing table...

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