Comic book character, created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen and owned by Marvel Comics. The character's name is inspired by the Beatles' 1968 song "Rocky Raccoon," and he made his first appearance in "Marvel Preview #7" in the summer of 1976. He is an anthropomorphic space raccoon.
For several decades, Rocket was really not used very often. After his debut appearance (when he was actually called "Rocky"), he didn't show up again until an issue of "The Incredible Hulk" in 1982, when we were told that Rocky was a nickname for Rocket. In fact, in his first 30 years as a character, Rocket only appeared in 10 comics, including a four-issue limited series and three issues of guest appearances in the "Sensational She-Hulk" series in the early 1990s.
Rocket really hit the big time when he appeared as a major character in 2007's "Annihilation: Conquest" crossover series. While Star-Lord was the lead character, Rocket grabbed a lot of attention as the cosmic strikeforce's grumpy but adorable tactical member in the battle against Ultron and the Phalanx. After the crossover ended, the series creators, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, decided to create a new Guardians of the Galaxy series in 2008 starring Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer.
Rocket's official origin is complicated and weird -- which is kinda to be expected when your creator is Bill Mantlo, the Eldritch High Lord of all things complicated and weird in comic books. On a distant planet called Halfworld, designed as a planet-sized asylum for lunatics, the robotic caretakers of the patients created genetically engineered animal companions to keep the patients occupied so the robots could hide out and build rockets and fancy toys. After an incredibly convoluted plot by a group of wicked animals to take over Halfworld, Rocket and his allies -- Wal Rus, Lylla, and Blackjack O'Hare -- saved the Halfworld Bible and delivered it to the robots so they could use it to build a device to cure the madness of all the patients. They then left the planet in a giant humanoid spaceship built by the robots so they could see the rest of the galaxy. Eventually, a lot of this is revealed as fabricated memories implanted by a psychic supervillain incarcerated on Halfworld.
Rocket doesn't have a lot of special powers. He's described as having the normal attributes of an Earth raccoon -- he's fast, his senses are more powerful than a human's, he's got sharp claws, and he can climb well. However, he is also an excellent pilot, marksman, and gadgeteer, and he dearly loves big guns. His skills as a military tactician are top-notch, and he's taken over as leader of the Guardians on more than one occasion.
Rocket appeared in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" film in 2014 and its 2017 sequel, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," and 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," and 2023's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." He was voiced by Bradley Cooper, with Sean Gunn (the brother of "Guardians" director James Gunn) providing the motion capture performance. The film's animators used a live raccoon as a visual and behavior guide to help Rocket look and act like an actual raccoon. The raccoon's name was Oreo. He attended the film's European premiere.
For reQuest 2018
("I'd like Jet-Poop to do Rocket Raccoon.")