Based on Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández's Image Comics series, the movie adaptation
of The Old Guard hit Netflix in summer 2020 and we've got the major differences between
the two right here. Fair warning to all you mortals: Spoilers
ahead for both the comic and movie.
The Old Guard follows a heroine named Andromache of Scythia, played by Charlize Theron. This
apparently modern woman serves as the leader of a lively team of mercenaries, a group which
also includes characters by the names of Booker, Joe, and Nicky. Those are actually the modernized
versions of their names, because like Andromache, or 'Andy' for short, they're all immortal,
and impossibly old. The comic features numerous flashbacks to
all their fascinating origin stories, and while Andy gets a few flashbacks in the film,
her associates largely just tell, rather than show, their true natures. The comic goes into
much more detail about who they are and how they came to be, so audience members who only
watch the movie will miss out on dramatic, formative moments like the story of how Booker
fought with Napoleon's army in the 1800s, or how lovers Joe and Nicky met when they
were fighting on opposite sides during the Crusades.
In the comics, Andy is the classic lone wolf action hero with a dark and violent past,
lots of secrets, and a reluctance to let anyone get past his emotional barriers. She also
does whatever she can to make herself feel alive, if only for a little while.
The first issue opens with Andy walking away from a one-night-stand, not even wanting to
know the guy's name on her way out the door. Readers also get a flashback to the time she
fell in love with a former slave named Achilles, which ended when he got old and pushed her
away. In the film version, Andy's romantic life isn't explored at all. All her feelings
seem to be totally wrapped up in her devotion to her de facto family of mercenaries.
The Andy of the comics is more than just a sardonic gun for hire growing tired of death
and rebirth. She resents and distrusts the modern world, believing that people have grown
worse over the centuries. She thinks technology provides a means to make cruelty faster and
more efficient. The movie version of Andy also thinks that humanity is on a downward
trajectory... "The world can burn for all I care."
...but she doesn't seem to fear gadgets.
Early in the Old Guard comics, Andy fails to properly use a smartphone and resents having
to learn the interface on a new iPad. She's old. But it's established right away in the
film version of The Old Guard that Andy has no problem using electronic devices. When
she realizes she's appeared in the background of a stranger's photo while in a hotel lobby,
she offers to take another picture for the stranger herself, deftly and quickly deleting
the first pic in order to preserve her secret identity. She's also apparently keenly aware
of how phones track people; after she makes a call, she smashes the phone.
One of the most memorable and entertaining set-pieces in the movie doesn't actually appear
in the comic: After convincing Nile, who has just learned of her own immortality, to come
with her to meet the others, Andy loads her into a cargo plane carrying a load of drugs.
Nile wonders if such a transport is safe, and Andy wryly informs her that such things
don't really matter to immortals. Nile isn't convinced, so she straps herself into her
seat. Andy casually holds the ceiling of the cabin and takes swigs from a bottle of vodka.
As the flight progresses, Nile attempts to take control, restraining Andy and attempting
to hijack the plane. Andy calls her bluff and shoots the pilot.
"We don't need a pilot. We can jump and survive."
"I am not jumping from a plane!"
But it turns out she only pretended to shoot him; she told him in Russian to "pretend to
be dead" a command that gets a callback in the movie's climax.
A lair is a necessity for a good superhero. It's a place to relax, plan, and, most importantly,
be as far away as possible from enemies, snoops, and the general public. So obviously The Old
Guard has one. And the differences between the comics and movie headquarters also reflect
the differences between the comic and movie versions of Andy's character.
The comics Old Guard meet in a decrepit building full of trash, broken glass, and used needles
not exactly homey. In the film, Andy, Nile, and company have much nicer digs, reflecting
their more familial relationship: a well-preserved, abandoned church in a French forest. The only
downside: It's near an airport, so flying planes are a little loud.
Movies often need a character to serve as an audience surrogate, who can ask a lot of
questions and get a lot of answers in the form of exposition. Ex-Marine turned ageless
immortal warrior Nile doesn't play this role in the comic, but in the movie, she does.
She's arguably the movie's lead character, serving as a grounded counterpoint to the
more experienced characters and their unreal world on behalf of the audience.
In the book, Nile's military career isn't given much thought before Andy whisks her
away. In the film, viewers see the distrust she generates and how she comes to terms with
both her role on the team and her own newly-discovered immortality.
Her backstory is explored in more detail as well. Most notably, Nile becomes the hero
of the movie, rescuing everyone. In the comics, Joe and Nicky just bust themselves out of
Merrick's lab.
In the movie, before she found her current squad of immortal warriors, Andy met another
immortal named Quynh. A flashback sequence depicts them fighting alongside one another
and developing a profound friendship.
"Just you and me."
"Until the end."
They're eventually captured and accused of witchcraft. Upon surviving the deadly trial,
they're deemed too powerful to be allowed to stay together. Andy looks on helplessly
as authorities drag Quynh away, confine her in a metal coffin, and throw her into the
ocean, where she's spent the last few centuries drowning, dying, and coming back to life.
Andy reveals that she spent a long time looking for Quynh, but has never found her. Quynh
is the reason Andy protects her teammates so ceaselessly. Quynh's fate ends up serving
as an inspiration for the entire Old Guard but only in the movie. Surprisingly, she's
not a character in the comic at all.
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