What do you think?
Rate this book
Guardians of the Galaxy by Brian Michael Bendis
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
When an alien race discovers that Jean Grey is back on Earth, they decide to punish her for Dark Phoenix's genocidal crimes! Now, the Guardians of the Galaxy must help the All-New X-Men save Jean from twisted intergalactic justice - but can they prevail against the universe's most powerful army? Then, with Star-Lord missing and the entire galaxy gunning for the Guardians, it's time to bring in some help. But as the team recruits Venom and Captain Marvel, unexpected dangers arise that may tear them apart! What does Star-Lord's disappearance mean for Earth's safety?
Collecting: Guardians of the Galaxy 11-17, All-New X-Men 22-24, Guardians of the Galaxy: FCBD 2014
Collecting: Guardians of the Galaxy 11-17, All-New X-Men 22-24, Guardians of the Galaxy: FCBD 2014
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 19, 2016
3 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,411 books2,573 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 25, 2017
Bendis! Don't pull a you on this one!
So, in typical Bendis fashion, the first volume of Guardians stories is fantastic. Great character work, imaginative stories, lots of big, exciting action, and a page-turning plot that pulls you in right away.
Also in typical Bendis fashion, the second volume of Guardians does not do this. It's like the brakes have been put on the whole series for a bit while he thinks of other ideas or something. I really don't understand why this seems to be his M.O. ever since his New Avengers days. The dude is a great writer and one of my favorites, but the frequency with which his stories fall off a cliff in their second years is pretty astounding.
So, in this volume, we get essentially a full year of stalling. First up, we get the crossover with Bendis's other series, All-New X-Men, in which Jean Grey (from the past) gets arrested by the Shi'ar Empire and tried with mass genocide, based on the crimes her older self committed in a past she has not yet lived. Interesting idea! I really like that setup and the weird moral implications!
But then it just kind of... fizzles. All of the stakes are dropped away as most of the story involves the other X-Men riding around in a spaceship with the Guardians of the Galaxy trying to find Jean. They run into Cyclops's dad by sheer coincidence in the middle of OUTER SPACE. They emote. Rocket makes jokes about wanting to kill things. And, in the extremely anti-climactic ending, . It is MADDENING storytelling. The whole thing could've been one issue long.
After this, we get another story with a great idea: the Guardians are attacked and separated thanks to the efforts of Peter Quill's father, the King of Spartax. He flings them to the ends of the galaxy and seemingly defeats them all, and we're left wondering "how the hell are the Guardians gonna claw their way out of this one??" Well, they aren't!
In another bit of anti-climactic nonsense, Captain Marvel just kind of shows up and saves everyone. She has barely been mentioned ONCE in Guardians thus far. They interacted with her extremely briefly during Infinity, and that was that. But now I guess she's one of them out of nowhere? And just happened to be in the right place at the right time, again? How small does Bendis think the galaxy is?
And another thing on the characters just kind of showing up front: what the hell is Venom doing here? Current symbiote-haver Flash Thompson is recruited by Tony Stark (who is no longer a member of the Guardians, by the way) to join the Guardians and represent earth, or something. Then, in the very first issue in which he is a Guardian, he gets captured by Skrulls and never utilized. He just kind of sits the whole story out. We never even see him interact with any other Guardians except Drax! What is this?? Why shove Venom into the Guardians of the Galaxy if he's not even going to talk to them?
All in all, this is a very strange and frustrating book. The only thing that really saves it for me is Nick Bradshaw's fantastic art, which will keep me reading this book for as long as he does it. Within his attention to detail and cartoonish-yet-realistic approach, there's hardly a better person out there to pencil a comic set in space. Bradshaw alone made this book worth reading.
So, here's hoping Bendis gets back on track in the next volume, cause if it's gonna keep being this loosely-plotted, deus-ex-machina garbage, I'm gonna sit this series out.
So, in typical Bendis fashion, the first volume of Guardians stories is fantastic. Great character work, imaginative stories, lots of big, exciting action, and a page-turning plot that pulls you in right away.
Also in typical Bendis fashion, the second volume of Guardians does not do this. It's like the brakes have been put on the whole series for a bit while he thinks of other ideas or something. I really don't understand why this seems to be his M.O. ever since his New Avengers days. The dude is a great writer and one of my favorites, but the frequency with which his stories fall off a cliff in their second years is pretty astounding.
So, in this volume, we get essentially a full year of stalling. First up, we get the crossover with Bendis's other series, All-New X-Men, in which Jean Grey (from the past) gets arrested by the Shi'ar Empire and tried with mass genocide, based on the crimes her older self committed in a past she has not yet lived. Interesting idea! I really like that setup and the weird moral implications!
But then it just kind of... fizzles. All of the stakes are dropped away as most of the story involves the other X-Men riding around in a spaceship with the Guardians of the Galaxy trying to find Jean. They run into Cyclops's dad by sheer coincidence in the middle of OUTER SPACE. They emote. Rocket makes jokes about wanting to kill things. And, in the extremely anti-climactic ending, . It is MADDENING storytelling. The whole thing could've been one issue long.
After this, we get another story with a great idea: the Guardians are attacked and separated thanks to the efforts of Peter Quill's father, the King of Spartax. He flings them to the ends of the galaxy and seemingly defeats them all, and we're left wondering "how the hell are the Guardians gonna claw their way out of this one??" Well, they aren't!
In another bit of anti-climactic nonsense, Captain Marvel just kind of shows up and saves everyone. She has barely been mentioned ONCE in Guardians thus far. They interacted with her extremely briefly during Infinity, and that was that. But now I guess she's one of them out of nowhere? And just happened to be in the right place at the right time, again? How small does Bendis think the galaxy is?
And another thing on the characters just kind of showing up front: what the hell is Venom doing here? Current symbiote-haver Flash Thompson is recruited by Tony Stark (who is no longer a member of the Guardians, by the way) to join the Guardians and represent earth, or something. Then, in the very first issue in which he is a Guardian, he gets captured by Skrulls and never utilized. He just kind of sits the whole story out. We never even see him interact with any other Guardians except Drax! What is this?? Why shove Venom into the Guardians of the Galaxy if he's not even going to talk to them?
All in all, this is a very strange and frustrating book. The only thing that really saves it for me is Nick Bradshaw's fantastic art, which will keep me reading this book for as long as he does it. Within his attention to detail and cartoonish-yet-realistic approach, there's hardly a better person out there to pencil a comic set in space. Bradshaw alone made this book worth reading.
So, here's hoping Bendis gets back on track in the next volume, cause if it's gonna keep being this loosely-plotted, deus-ex-machina garbage, I'm gonna sit this series out.
July 9, 2025
👩⚖️🕷️🛸
“When the galaxy puts you on trial for your potential… who stands beside you?”
👩⚖️🕷️🛸
3.5 out of 5 stars
Best for: Readers who love crossover chaos, redemption arcs in spandex, and cosmic drama with just enough emotional core to hurt a little.
Skip if: You want tight plotting or quiet character work. This is loud, messy, and moving fast enough to leave character moments in its hyperspace wake.
This volume is Marvel at its most Marvel:
✦ Half courtroom drama.
✦ Half team meltdown.
✦ Half symbiote soap opera.
(Yes, that’s three halves. That’s the math of crossover comics.)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 collects a huge swath of issues that bounce from The Trial of Jean Grey to Venom joins the crew to Star-Lord vanishes into off-panel drama. The through-line? Everyone is fighting—for survival, for justice, for control of the narrative. And almost no one wins.
Let’s start with the trial:
Teen Jean Grey gets kidnapped and judged for something she hasn't done yet—namely, ending worlds as the Phoenix. The X-Men show up. The Guardians get dragged in. Space empires scream “justice” while mostly demanding vengeance. The emotional payoff is real—but you’ll have to chase it through overlapping plotlines and uneven pacing.
And then there’s the post-trial fallout:
Star-Lord goes missing. Carol Danvers joins up (short-term). Venom becomes an outer space liability. And the team dynamic shifts like a table with too many legs suddenly removed. What used to be snark + heart becomes snark + tension + symbiote rage.
The emotional highlight? Rocket.
Yes, really.
His simmering loyalty—equal parts protective and unspoken—becomes the glue holding the team together. Gamora, too, gets moments that remind you how much anger and grace can live in the same person.
And Peter? He’s… gone. Emotionally and narratively. Which might be the point.
“You’re not guilty of her crimes,” someone tells Jean.
“But you’re not free of them either.”
That tension—between inheritance and identity—is the best part of this book.
Visually, it’s a mixed bag: gorgeous, cinematic pages one moment, cluttered splash noise the next. The tone swings between MCU-level banter and heavy moral inquiry, and not every scene knows which lane it’s driving in.
But if you came for galaxy-class stakes and found family dysfunction? You’ll get both.
“When the galaxy puts you on trial for your potential… who stands beside you?”
👩⚖️🕷️🛸
3.5 out of 5 stars
Best for: Readers who love crossover chaos, redemption arcs in spandex, and cosmic drama with just enough emotional core to hurt a little.
Skip if: You want tight plotting or quiet character work. This is loud, messy, and moving fast enough to leave character moments in its hyperspace wake.
This volume is Marvel at its most Marvel:
✦ Half courtroom drama.
✦ Half team meltdown.
✦ Half symbiote soap opera.
(Yes, that’s three halves. That’s the math of crossover comics.)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 collects a huge swath of issues that bounce from The Trial of Jean Grey to Venom joins the crew to Star-Lord vanishes into off-panel drama. The through-line? Everyone is fighting—for survival, for justice, for control of the narrative. And almost no one wins.
Let’s start with the trial:
Teen Jean Grey gets kidnapped and judged for something she hasn't done yet—namely, ending worlds as the Phoenix. The X-Men show up. The Guardians get dragged in. Space empires scream “justice” while mostly demanding vengeance. The emotional payoff is real—but you’ll have to chase it through overlapping plotlines and uneven pacing.
And then there’s the post-trial fallout:
Star-Lord goes missing. Carol Danvers joins up (short-term). Venom becomes an outer space liability. And the team dynamic shifts like a table with too many legs suddenly removed. What used to be snark + heart becomes snark + tension + symbiote rage.
The emotional highlight? Rocket.
Yes, really.
His simmering loyalty—equal parts protective and unspoken—becomes the glue holding the team together. Gamora, too, gets moments that remind you how much anger and grace can live in the same person.
And Peter? He’s… gone. Emotionally and narratively. Which might be the point.
“You’re not guilty of her crimes,” someone tells Jean.
“But you’re not free of them either.”
That tension—between inheritance and identity—is the best part of this book.
Visually, it’s a mixed bag: gorgeous, cinematic pages one moment, cluttered splash noise the next. The tone swings between MCU-level banter and heavy moral inquiry, and not every scene knows which lane it’s driving in.
But if you came for galaxy-class stakes and found family dysfunction? You’ll get both.
December 17, 2016
The first half of this book is a crossover story with the X-Men. The original 60's era X-Men have time-travelled to the present day. When the Shi-ar learn of Jean Grey's presence, they come up with a plan to put her on trial for the crimes she will eventually commit when she becomes Phoenix. This doesn't really make a lot of sense, as most of the other powerful alien races in the Marvel Universe are quick to point out. So the Guardians and the X-Men--past and present--team up to rescue her. In the second half of the book, Starlord's father seemingly succeeds in breaking up the team ... Guess how long that lasts?
One thing that struck me as odd about this book ... So Brian Michael Bendis wrote it, right? Goodreads certainly thinks so, and he seems to write, like, everything Marvel publishes. His last name is on the front cover of the book. But. In the table of contents where they list the creative teams for the individual comics reprinted in this volume? They mention the artists and everybody, but make no mention of the writer. Nor does his name appear on any of the pages prior to that. It's like they just assume you know who wrote it. Which, to be fair, I do, but still ... weird.
Overall, I liked this book. The action moves at a brisk pace, the characters are fun--I particularly enjoy the banter between them. This is just a fun title. Recommended!
One thing that struck me as odd about this book ... So Brian Michael Bendis wrote it, right? Goodreads certainly thinks so, and he seems to write, like, everything Marvel publishes. His last name is on the front cover of the book. But. In the table of contents where they list the creative teams for the individual comics reprinted in this volume? They mention the artists and everybody, but make no mention of the writer. Nor does his name appear on any of the pages prior to that. It's like they just assume you know who wrote it. Which, to be fair, I do, but still ... weird.
Overall, I liked this book. The action moves at a brisk pace, the characters are fun--I particularly enjoy the banter between them. This is just a fun title. Recommended!
May 9, 2018
Epic stuff. Loved it.
March 5, 2021
Already read Trial of Jean Grey, but the rest of it is cool too. I will say that having one writer for all the titles makes the crossover much more readable than your usual.
March 25, 2021
With Bendis writing, a potentially good story became an average slog.
September 7, 2016
3.5? I liked the movie but I'm not really familiar with the comic version of Guardians of the Galaxy. I was interested and then it started dragging for me after the X-Men stuff was done so I don't really feel a need to go find other volumes but if I happened to be stuck somewhere and it was available to read I'd probably enjoy it.
The art was all over the place and did not end on a high note but mostly it was enjoyable to see. Overall the book felt like it could've been two volumes. The X-Men stuff felt very separate, and since that was the reason I checked out the book it was a little bit of a bother to have another half of a book to read. I did spend a lot of the movie wondering about his dad so I was happy to see that question answered, but I wanted them to have a better relationship and make up and fly away for space adventures like Scott and his dad. :)
I don't think I'll go to the trouble of requesting other volumes but I'll check them out if I see them at the library.
The art was all over the place and did not end on a high note but mostly it was enjoyable to see. Overall the book felt like it could've been two volumes. The X-Men stuff felt very separate, and since that was the reason I checked out the book it was a little bit of a bother to have another half of a book to read. I did spend a lot of the movie wondering about his dad so I was happy to see that question answered, but I wanted them to have a better relationship and make up and fly away for space adventures like Scott and his dad. :)
I don't think I'll go to the trouble of requesting other volumes but I'll check them out if I see them at the library.
June 25, 2017
Not the worst collection of Guardians of the Galaxy I've read. Actually I had read all the stories in this volume before. But at least these stories were all readable. But there was really nothing special about them. And none of the Guardians as written are actually that interesting. The past Jean Grey continues to be the best version of that character ever written.
October 11, 2016
Better than the hot mess the Avengers prelude to infinity was, or whatever (those books were not at all my cup of tea, maybe because I am not familiar with the mythology?) but enjoyed this after reading All-New X-Men, since both series share a writer (Bendis) and I have warmed up to the writing. Plus, Rocket and Gamora are my faves.
April 11, 2016
Didn't realize until I started this that I had already read all of this material in the smaller trades. Trial of Jean Grey and what not.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews