Does Rocket Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.’?

The storyline of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 focuses a lot on the past of Rocket because of the fact that he was the person that the High Evolutionary was after the entire film. That means he was in danger the entire time and could re-explore his past while facing what he ran away from for decades. The best part was that he now had friends to help him face his past. So, what happens to Rocket, and does he die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Rocket did not die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but he was almost killed during the events of the film. Adam Warlock severely injured Rocket Raccoon when he tried to retrieve him for High Evolutionary and the only way to operate on the small raccoon was to obtain a passcode that was at the time in possession of High Evolutionary. Still, Rocket survived and we might still see him in the MCU.

The fact that Rocket was one of the major focus characters of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a refreshing take on this franchise because much of Rocket’s past was a mystery before the third film’s release in the installment. As such, we got to see more of Rocket’s past and how he faced the very thing he ran away from his entire life. Let’s look at what happened to Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Rocket’s Fate in GOTG 3 Explained

Throughout most of the character’s storyline, since he was introduced in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Rocket’s entire history is a mystery as we don’t know how he became who he was and where he came from. On top of that, he never liked talking about his past, as this was a topic that he often tried to evade whenever it was brought up by any of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

However, the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opened up the opportunity for Rocket and the other Guardians to explore his past because it was necessary for them to do so. And this was because Rocket was on the brink of death during the movie’s first few minutes.

While the team was on Knowhere and Rocket was trying to keep the Guardians together, when Peter Quill was still depressed about the entire Gamora situation, Adam Warlock attacked and was seemingly after Rocket. During the attack, he left a fatal wound on Rocket’s chest after blasting him with one of his energy beams. And while the Guardians successfully repelled Adam, they were all worried about Rocket.

When they tried to operate on Rocket, they learned that a kill switch inside him prevented anyone from operating on him. That means that Rocket was either going to die due to his injuries or was going to be killed by the kill switch if someone were to try to operate on him. And this event started the entire storyline because Peter and the other Guardians were not about to let their friend die.

Peter and the rest of the Guardians infiltrated a corporation that the High Evolutionary owned. It was also revealed that the High Evolutionary sent Adam to get Rocket because he needed him for something important. And as Rocket’s past was explored, it was revealed that the High Evolutionary wanted to get his hands on Rocket’s brain because, out of all the creatures he created, this little creature was the only one capable of innovative thinking.

Of course, while the Guardians were successful at getting the information they needed from the corporation, they needed to go after the High Evolutionary because one of his men had the information they needed to disable the kill switch in Rocket’s body. Quill and Groot infiltrated the High Evolutionary’s ship on a planet called Counter-Earth and acquired the data they needed from one of their enemy’s men. However, they got stuck there because Nebula, Drax, and Mantis thought that Quill and Groot were still on the ship.

In the Guardians’ ship, Peter and Gamora could use the code to disable the kill switch and save Rocket’s life. However, Rocket had a vision of the friends that he made back when he was still a pawn under the High Evolutionary. That was when Lylla the Otter told him that it was not yet his time to join them in the afterlife as he still needed to accomplish some things in his life.

As such, Rocket woke up and was now all healed up, thanks to the efforts of his friends. But he was not yet out of danger because he and the other Guardians needed to rescue their friends on the High Evolutionary’s ship, which also housed a lot of different sentient lifeforms and animals being experimented on.

Rocket found himself in trouble when he tried to break out the animals that the High Evolutionary had on his ship because he met his creator face to face. The High Evolutionary, obsessed with Rocket’s brain due to his innovative and creative way of thinking, tried to kill the raccoon. However, Rocket found a way to disable his enemy’s control over gravity as he and his friends ganged up on the High Evolutionary to defeat him.

For once, he finally faced his demons and successfully conquered them. Rocket also escaped the High Evolutionary’s ship with all of his friends and the lifeforms being kept there. As such, he survived the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 events while becoming a better person after conquering his past.

What’s Next for Rocket Raccoon?

At this point, we aren’t sure what Marvel Studios has in store for Rocket Raccoon. But we know that he is now the new leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy after Peter Quill left the team to return to Earth to see his grandfather. Peter and the rest of the Guardians elected him as their new leader as the original Guardians disbanded temporarily.

That was why, in the mid-credits scene, Rocket Racoon was seen leading a new generation of Guardians of the Galaxy, which included a gigantic Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo the Dog, Phylla, and a reformed Adam Warlock. As such, his new role is that of the leader of the Guardians, as he now has to help this new generation of heroes learn what it is like to be a true Guardian of the Galaxy.

We aren’t sure if there will be more Guardians of the Galaxy movies in the future, especially after James Gunn left Marvel Studios to focus more on being the head of the DCEU. But the one certain thing is that Rocket Raccoon has now accepted his past and who he was. And that’s why he is the best leader the Guardians could ever have, moving forward.

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