WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #8 by Al Ewing, Marcio Takara, Federico Blee & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket Raccoon took on the role of a grizzled Noir detective as he tried to figure out the truth in a case where all signs pointed to Marvel Boy committing murder. However, everything was not as it seemed, as Guardians of the Galaxy #8 revealed.
This all started thanks to the Kree and Skrull Empires joining forces and creating a peaceful partnership under the leadership of Hulkling, the one man with Kree and Skrull blood flowing through his blood. However, someone didn't like this partnership and set up a devious plan to end it before it had a chance to get started, the Profiteer.
Rocket is a weapons expert, allowing him to solve the crime and figure out what happened. He cleared Marvel Boy's name and stopped the reignition of the Kree-Skrull War. Marvel Boy claimed that Val-Lorr shot his gun and killed himself, and it turns out that is exactly what happened. Rocket had Super Skrull take Val-Lorr's gun and asked him to shoot Marvel Boy in the head. Skrull ignored Hercules' threats and did it, but the gun reversed in his hand and he shot his own eye out. Rocket knew it was a rigged gun.
And that rigged gun was provided by the Profiteer. As Rocket said, the targeting array was too big, and he knew it was a gene-scanner created to take out anyone aiming it at a Kree. Rocket said the purpose would be to destroy the peace between the Kree and Skrull. When asked why he said a Utopian killing an Imperial could force Hulkling into revenge, and that could push him off the throne and restart the war. He believed someone in the room supplied the gun.
Peacebringer of the Chitauri then triggered a booby trap that would kill everyone on the ship within two minutes. While everyone attacked and fought to stop him, Rocket revealed that he wasn't the true villain. The real culprit was Lani Ko Ako. Rocket deduced that a representative of the Badoon Sisterhood would not show up at a diplomatic meeting, so The Profiteer must have shown up in disguise. Rocket revealed that all the Kree guns The Profiteer sold the Skrulls would reverse fire if aimed at a Kree, and this would start a new war.
The reasons are simple, and The Profiteer might be one of the most dangerous Elders in the Universe because she profits from death and destruction. She sells weapons, slaves and kids and turns death into cash. Not only that, but she does it for a hobby, which Rocket said makes her the "worst person" he ever met in his entire life. The Profiteer admitted she never created Peacebringer, but she felt that if everyone exploded and died here, the Snarkwar would start and she would profit.
Ironically -- considering profit is all that matters to this woman -- the entire conflict was stopped due to financial concern. When Zoralis Gupa received a call during the battle, he learned his homeworld went black and is now dead, slaughtered in mere moments. He pointed out to The Profiteer that the tragedy and all the deaths would bankrupt the galaxy. If there were a war, the people fighting could no longer afford her weapons.
The Profiteer was last seen in Empyre: Fantastic Four #0 by Dan Slott, R.B. Silva, Sean Izaakse, R.B. Silva, Sean Izaakse, Marte Gracia, Marcio Menyz and Joe Caramagna. In that issue, she tried to make money off re-enacting famous battles between the Kree and Skrull and took bets on who would emerge the victor. She made it clear to everyone that she made her greatest profit when the Kree and Skrulls were fighting. She did everything she could here to reignite the war, but with Knull coming, she realized it was time to step back into the shadows.