WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #3 by Al Ewing, Nina Vakueva, Chris Sprouse, Belén Ortega, Juann Cabal, Karl Story, Federico Blee and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
In the new Guardians of the Galaxy #1, the members of the titular cosmic superhero team decided to retire. Well, most of them, anyway. With the evil forces of the Marvel Universe always lurking around a new corner, Star-Lord and Rocket found themselves called to action once again. Not wanting to call Drax, Gamora and Groot out of retirement, they put together a new team comprised of Nova, Marvel Boy and the parallel universe versions of Phyla-Vell and Moondragon who originally surfaced in Infinity Wars.
Unfortunately, this all-new version of the Guardians didn’t fare too well in their first mission against the dark Olympian gods. While they did manage to add Hercules to their ranks, they suffered a catastrophic loss when Peter Quill sacrificed his life to defeat their new enemies. Now, Star-Lord's death may lead to further chaos: a “civil war” is brewing in the ranks of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
After the heroic death of Peter Quill, a heartbroken Rocket takes it upon himself to break the news to the rest of his makeshift family. At the start of Guardians of the Galaxy #3, Rocket tells Gamora, Drax and Groot about Quill's death and they are each left reeling, but none takes it harder than Peter’s girlfriend, Gamora. The Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy isn’t just sad — she’s angry. She’s angry at Rocket in particular, for accompanying Star-Lord on his new mission. She’s also furious with Hercules, Nova, Phyla-Vell and Moondragon for failing to save his life.
She's angry enough to threaten their lives. In fact, Drax believes she may go as far as killing those she blames for Peter’s death. The other Guardians are still off on their own, but Gamora puts her own team back together, along with a new member: Drax’s daughter, the original Moondragon. With Peter gone, Gamora intends to keep the Guardians’ mission alive.
Therefore, there are now two Guardians of the Galaxy groups: on one side, there is Rocket’s team, which includes Nova, Phyla-Vell, Moondragon and Hercules. On the other, there is Gamora, Drax, Groot and the original Moondragon. Between them is a rift caused by loss — one that has pitted them against one another. In fact, the synopsis for the next issue teases a battle between the two groups.
The Avengers had their own civil war after a terrible tragedy. It looks like the Guardians of the Galaxy may follow suit.