Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally explored the backstory of Rocket Raccoon, and it was anything but bright. In fact, it was much more tragic than expected as it chronicled his time as a test subject for The High-Evolutionary, alongside his only friends. Sadly, the movie iteration of Rocket had a tragic end to his innocence as he set off to through the galaxy becoming a mercenary and later a Guardian of the Galaxy. But of all the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, no other's comic book origin was as unexpected as that of Rocket Raccoon.
While he's always been known for his sarcasm and love of explosives, Rocket was also a ranger and freedom fighter. Alongside his good friends Lylla and Wal Rus, he was a protector of Halfworld, in the Keystone Quadrant. In fact, it was in these years that the most prominent parts of his personality took form and set him up to be a hero of the larger Marvel Universe. That said, though his journey has shown him many strange sights, nothing could've prepared Rocket for encountering the Incredible Hulk.
Rocket Raccoon Had a Bizarre First Encounter With the Hulk
Incredible Hulk #271 (by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema) continued a story in which Hulk was jettisoned from a space battle into the planet Halfworld. While there he was found by Rocket Raccoon, in his official Marvel debut, alongside Wal Rus. While not much was known of them at the time, it was clear the world was out to get the small freedom fighter as a giant robotic lawnmower tried to kill them. Instead, it incurred the wrath of an angered Hulk and from there, the Green Goliath joined Rocket in his crusade.
Readers quickly learned of how Rocket and his allies protect Halfworld from Judson Jakes and the many evil factions that he uses to try and reach Gideon's Bible. The Bible was said to hold the secrets to the Keystone Quadrant but can't be deciphered. Nevertheless, the Hulk did his best to help his allies until he was sent home by Rocket's enemies. While his adventure ended, Rocket's debut would set a precedent for the character that would have readers returning to Halfworld.
Rocket Raccoon's Encounter With the Hulk Shaped His Future
While Rocket first appeared as an ally to The Hulk, it wouldn't mark the end of his journey. In fact, he next appeared in a four-issue limited series by Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola that showed his further adventures as a ranger on Halfworld. He wouldn't reach prominence for quite some time, however, as his next big adventure saw him in Guardians of the Galaxy (by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and Paul Pelletier). From there Rocket's personality would truly shine as he joined a new team and ironed out the personality traits that would eventually shine in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Since his movie debut, Rocket has been prominent in both solo comic runs and various teams of Guardians, with him being a mainstay in almost every iteration. While Rocket has grown from ranger to Guardian to leader, he's always had a spirit of adventure buried deep within and a welcoming attitude. Even the movies expanded this further and made it a key component to a character that went through considerable growth on-screen as well. But none of these traits would've been prominent or nearly as important had they not been introduced alongside the Incredible Hulk.