Rocket Raccoon is a character with the unique ability to be very cute and very deadly. He has the natural skills of a raccoon, though enhanced beyond his Earth cousins, plus he’s a genius, weapons specialist, talented starship pilot, skilled tactician, good fighter, and expert marksman. The hero made his first appearance 50 years ago in Marvel Preview #7 (June 1976).

Creators Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen introduced Rocket as the Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant, which was cut off from the rest of space by the Galacian Wall. Rocket and his first mate Wal Rus hailed from the planet Halfworld where animals were experimented on and transformed into anthropomorphic versions of themselves. In these new forms, they were forced to care for the mentally ill on the planet.

When Rocket’s friend Lylla Otter was kidnapped by Lord Dyvyne, he teamed up with Blackjack O’Hare to save her. In retaliation for that defeat, Lord Dyvyne teamed with Judson Jakes to destroy Rocket’s ship and kill Rocket, but they were the ones who died in the conflict. Rocket and his friends helped to cure the mentally ill on their planet, then he and other animals left Halfworld to travel through space.

Rocket Raccoon returned to comics as a part of Star-Lord’s team that was trying to stop Phalanx from infiltrating the Kree homeworld. After Rocket showed off his tactical skills and fearlessness, Star-Lord invited him to join the new Guardians of the Galaxy. When Ronan sent Star-Lord into the Negative Zone, Rocket became the new leader and welcomed Groot to the team. Under his leadership, the Guardians rescued Star-Lord and saved Earth when it was invaded by aliens.

Rocket and Groot were manipulated into going back to Halfworld and Rocket learned that his memories of his home were not entirely accurate. In reality, Blackjack O’Hare and Judson Jakes had actually worked with Rocket when he was doing security at Halfworld Asylum. He also learned that Dyvyne was the Head of Psychology there and the mutated animals and automatons were made to keep the inmates calm.

It turned out that Rocket’s memories had been changed by Star Thief, who had been admitted into the hospital and wanted to turn people against each other. Rocket found a way to trap Star-Thief by altering his mind, and when Star-Thief’s body died, his mind escaped the asylum and Rocket learned the truth.

When the Guardians of the Galaxy reassembled, Rocket rejoined the team, and became the leader once again while Star-Lord was on Spartax. Nyx threatened to destroy all light in the universe, and Rocket was part of a team assembled to stop her. He joined Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hulk, Spectrum and others to defeat her, then after she was neutralized, Rocket noted that he was an unofficial Avenger.