From Mantis and Drax's adventures in Hollywood to a terrified Kevin Bacon,
and even a special cameo by Kingo,
the "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is filled with Christmas cheer…and Easter eggs.
Marvel Studios has gotten more creative with its opening credits sequences in Phase 4,
especially with music cues. "Eternals" replaced the typical Marvel theme with
something reminiscent of a vintage Western. "Thor: Love and Thunder"
put a power ballad spin on it. But Marvel Studios' first ever special presentation,
the Halloween special "Werewolf by Night," made the most significant changes to the
status quo with its new title graphic, its black and white claw slashes, and its screams and howls.
"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" continues this emerging tradition with
its Christmas-themed opener. As The Pogues' Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" plays,
the usual comic graphics of Marvel superheroes are interspersed with images of Christmas trees,
garlands, kids ice skating, and, of course, the big guy himself: Santa Claus.
While the "Werewolf by Night" opener ends with some black and white flashes of lightning,
the intro of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" ends with
the words "Marvel Studios" lit up in red and green Christmas lights. These cheeky
alterations aren't just a nod to the season. Santa is actually part of Marvel Comics' canon.
On the subject of music choices, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" features two
live performances by professional musicians. First up, alternative country band Old '97s
are decked out in holiday attire. They've been transformed into four different alien species,
all of whom are playing their Earth instruments for the first time. They
do this as they try to write a new song and "historical document" about human Christmas.
"Everything I know about Christmas, I learned from Rocket, who learned from Cosmo,
who learned from Kraglin, who learned from you."
That new song, "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is
Here)," is full of hilarious misinterpretations of Christmas stories and symbols. For example,
the alien band thinks that if children misbehave, Santa puts dung in their socks, as opposed to coal
in their stockings, which a frustrated Peter Quill insists isn't "part of the lore" at all.
Later, Kevin Bacon joins the Old '97s to perform one of the group's
pre-existing holiday numbers, "Here It Is Christmas Time."
Bacon isn't just a movie star and the subject of the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,
he's also a member of the band The Bacon Brothers alongside his sibling Michael. The Bacon Brothers
play a similar style of country folk rock music to the Old '97s, so when this fictionalized
version of the actor chooses to stay of his own volition to celebrate the holidays on Knowhere,
he picks up a guitar and fits right in with the alien entertainment. The holiday special's
soundtrack includes some other fun auditory Easter eggs, too, like The Strokes' Julian Casablancas'
rendition of the "Saturday Night Live" Christmas song "I Wish It Was Christmas Today."
Writer and director James Gunn said that "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" will
fill in some important narrative gaps and prepare fans for "Vol. 3," which
is scheduled to premiere in May of 2023. Those appear to be these two new facts:
The Guardians are the proud new owners of Knowhere, and Mantis is Peter Quill's half-sister.
Let's start with Knowhere. Viewers might not realize that this is where they are when the
special begins, but Nebula tosses off a line in which she explains that they've purchased
the world that was once a Celestial's skull from the Collector. We also see Knowhere in
the background as Mantis and Drax fly away. This confirms that Taneleer Tivan is still
alive and strongly implies that Knowhere will be at least the partial setting of "Vol. 3."
By the looks of it, the Guardians have done a commendable job of rehabilitating the one-time
mining colony and outpost into a tight-knit community that's beginning to thrive again.
As for Mantis, she's afraid to tell Peter the truth about their relationship because
she suspects it might remind him of his awful father, Ego, and his mother's death at Ego's
hand. Of course, Peter is thrilled to have someone he can call family,
but it remains to be seen how their kinship will impact the Guardians going forward.
News broke that Maria Bakalova had been cast in "Guardians of the Galaxy:
Vol. 3" shortly after her star-making performance in the second "Borat" movie
though nobody knew in what capacity. While she's expected to play a much larger role in the film,
she has a fun cameo-sized role in two scenes of the holiday special as the new voice of
Cosmo the Spacedog. Cosmo has appeared in the MCU before in "Guardians of the
Galaxy" where the dog is behind glass as part of the Collector's collection. Cosmo
also appears in the end credits of "Vol. 2" and "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?"
The character originated in the comics, where he's male and part of the Russian
space program. The dog was based on a real canine space explorer, who also happened
to be female. With Bulgarian comedian and actor Bakalova's casting, Cosmo has been gender-swapped,
retroactively rendering her female in her previous MCU appearances. But, presumably, she retains the
same backstory. The already species-diverse "Guardians of the Galaxy" can only get more
delightfully absurd with the addition of the uproariously funny Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog.
Sending Mantis and Drax to Hollywood created a perfect opportunity for James Gunn and company
to have fun at their own industry's expense. The two most socially inept Guardians walk
confidently down Hollywood Boulevard in their search for the hero Kevin Bacon,
but they pause in front of the famous TCL Chinese Theatre. In a fun Easter egg,
the actors who play the two Guardians have put their real handprints and signatures in the
concrete just to the right of where Mantis and Drax are standing during their photo session.
Instead of Chris Evans or Scarlett Johansson in their Captain America or Black Widow suits,
we see people in Spirit Halloween-quality Avengers costumes posing for pictures with tourists.
Besides Cap and Natasha, there's an Ant-Man, a Captain Marvel, a Thor,
and a Jack Sparrow for good measure. Mantis and Drax mistake the counterfeit Captain
America for the real Steve Rogers, which leads to an embarrassing moment. But soon,
they realize these selfie-happy MCU fans are a money-making opportunity, and they gladly
snap some group pics before continuing their quest for the best Christmas present ever.
If you look closely at one banner in particular near Hollywood Boulevard,
it advertises Kingo's latest project. In our world, we might all be watching "The
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," but in the world of the MCU, the public is
getting "Kingo's Christmas." A large vertical billboard marketing the actor-slash-Eternal's
special can be seen on the side of a building before Mantis and Drax enter the bar.
Kingo, played by Kumail Nanjiani, is an immortal being, but in
"Eternals," he's biding his time on Earth as a celebrity who keeps reinventing himself
as his own son or grandson, so as not to arouse suspicion about his
eternal youth. The MCU's version of Kingo really enjoys being a celebrity. He also fits Mantis,
Drax, and Nebula's impression of actors as self-absorbed fame chasers who aren't heroes.
"He's an actor! He's never actually saved anyone!"
"But actors are repugnant!"
"I know!"
This is because Kingo doesn't show up to help the rest of the Eternals in the climax of that film.
Another Easter egg that works as a multilayered joke with multiple meanings is the inclusion of
celebrity star maps. When a drunk Mantis and Drax come to a dead end in their hunt for Kevin Bacon,
the owner of a souvenir shop overhears their conversation and offers the alien duo a map of the
stars. These maps are big business in Hollywood, though they're not always reliable, so the
idea that Mantis and Drax could use one to find Kevin Bacon's house is a joke in and of itself.
Since she lost her money, Mantis deploys her powers to steal the map and the rest of the
cash in the woman's fanny pack. A graphic appears onscreen that purports to show the
locations of the residences of a handful of celebrities. There's Queen Latifah,
John Cena, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a photo of a young Mark-Paul Gosselaar
from his "Saved by the Bell" days. Once Mantis and Drax get to Kevin Bacon's house,
the house number, 1988, is a reference to the year Peter Quill was taken into space
by Yondu. Star Maps is also a sort of double entendre since the Guardians of the Galaxy
exist in space and frequently travel between planets using maps of various star systems.
"The Guardians of the Galaxy" movies largely take place in space,
and many scenes take place aboard spaceships. That means there are tons of vehicles in the
"Guardians" movies, and most of them have pretty innovative and recognizable designs,
as well as clever names. Peter Quill started with the Milano, named after '80s and '90's TV
star Alyssa Milano. He upgraded to the Benatar, named for singer Pat Benatar,
which can be seen in "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame," and "Thor: Love and Thunder."
"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" introduces the Guardians' newest ship,
the Bowie, named after rock icon David Bowie. Star-Lord commands his crew to get Kevin Bacon
aboard the Bowie and fly him safely back to Earth so that they're not on the hook
for human trafficking anymore. But once in the driver and passenger seats of the spacecraft,
Kraglin and Kevin Bacon have a heart-to-heart. Kevin decides to stay a little longer to teach
everyone on Knowhere the meaning of Christmas. The Bowie first appeared in the comics in 2019,
so the holiday special is simply making the ship officially part of the MCU's canon.
Once everyone starts exchanging gifts, the Easter eggs in "The Guardians of the Galaxy
Holiday Special" get even wittier and more self-referential. Nebula,
who isn't exactly known for being warm and fuzzy,
gives Rocket a sizable rectangular box. He opens it to discover a metal appendage.
"Bucky's arm?" he asks, to which Nebula says, "Merry Christmas."
She doesn't want to acknowledge it, but this is an incredibly thoughtful gift,
not to mention an expensive one – Bucky's most recent arm was made out of Vibranium.
In "Avengers: Infinity War," Bucky and Rocket fight side by side. At one point,
the former lifts the latter into the air and they take out their surrounding enemies with a circular
barrage of gunfire. Afterward, Rocket tries to negotiate a price for Bucky's gun…and his arm.
"How much for the gun?"
"It's not for sale."
"Okay, how much for the arm?"
This callback to "Infinity War" also calls back to the first "Guardians" movie. In it,
Rocket instructs the newly banded Guardians to steal a prosthetic leg in their attempt
to break out of prison. When it comes time to put their plan into action,
he reveals that he didn't need the leg, he just thought it would be funny.
An older teenage Groot carves little wooden dioramas for all of his friends
in the "Guardians" holiday special. He hands out the wrapped boxes and each member of the
Guardians opens theirs. Mantis' diorama depicts the beginning of the live-action
part of the special when the Guardians were standing on a balcony talking about how Yondu
ruined Christmas. Peter Quill gets a carving of Mantis and Drax chasing a terrified Kevin
Bacon down the street. Drax receives a miniature version of himself flipping over a police car.
Nebula's scene recreates the moment everyone gave Kevin Bacon, still under Mantis' control,
to Peter Quill as a gift. In other words, the presents Groot has given his friends tell the
story of the holiday special. That leaves Kraglin, who opens his box last. For him,
Groot has carved a small Kraglin opening an even smaller Kraglin opening an even smaller Kraglin.
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" films have given the MCU some of its weirdest supporting and featured
characters, and the wackiest might be Taserface. This numbskulled and aggressive space pirate has
been in the comics since 1990, but he made his MCU debut in "Guardians of the Galaxy:
Vol. 2" when he tried to stage a mutiny and came into conflict with Rocket Raccoon. Rocket
repeatedly mocks his name, to which Taserface infamously replies with a full-bodied shout.
"It's metaphorical!"
Taserface didn't make it out of that film alive, but he popped up in "What If...?" where, in an
alternate reality, he and Kraglin pick up T'Challa instead of Peter Quill. We don't see an animated
Taserface in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," but the character still gets a shoutout.
As Yondu goes through the garbage can of presents and decorations
that he destroyed and threw away in a fit of anti-Christmas rage,
we can see that one package has been designated for Taserface. The sloppy handwriting is likely
a clue that young Peter remembered Taserface and got the angry Ravager something special.