In an exciting new twist to the franchise, Marvel has debuted a wild new roster of Wolverine as their leader. There have been many versions of the Guardians in Marvel lore, but the most famous are the '60s originals and Peter Quill's modern team, as immortalized in the MCU. Now, a third iconic roster s them.

In the official preview of Steve Orlando, Ibraim Roberson, José Luis Soares Pinto, Oren Junior, Andrew Dalhouse and Cory Petit's Conquest #4, Marvel unites several of its newest heroes, declaring that the group "guards the galaxy" against both the Araneon Fleet and Dracula's new vampire legion. It's clear that Marvel is building up to declaring these heroes the Guardians of the Galaxy 2099.

In 2024, Marvel used the Annihilation 2099 series to introduce future versions of Nova, Red Hulk, Silver Surfer and Star-Lord - now they're uniting as an official team. And the wild thing is, this is only one of two new Guardians of the Galaxy rosters introduced this year. In fact, it may be the less surprising departure from the mainstream franchise, which we'll also explain below.

New Red Hulk, Nova and Silver Surfer Unite as the Guardians of the Galaxy 2099

X-Men's Wolverine Has Become the New Nova 2099

Annihilation 2099 began by introducing the new Nova 2099, with the surprise reveal that this is a future Wolverine who underwent experimental treatments to gain new powers. The series also revealed the origins of a new Silver Surfer, who made a deal with Mephisto, and a new Red Hulk, who gained his powers on Ego the Living Planet. Finally, fans met Starlord 2099, an intergalactic hero connected to a futuristic Wakanda, and seemingly mentored by Peter Quill.

Even as Marvel seemingly introduces the Guardians of the Galaxy 2099, fans get a second new roster in the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy.

These heroes have united in Conquest 2099, as Dracula becomes a cosmic threat and the spider-like Araneons go on the warpath, with a rebel member of the species working alongside the team as Spider-Woman 2099. They've also been ed by of the pre-existing X-Men 2099. While Marvel hasn't used the title 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2099' just yet, from the cover art for this series, it seems the key will be:

Marvel's 2099 imprint has been around for decades, but has been reinvented in recent years, consolidating its lore to depict a more consistent shared universe. Interestingly, the continuity has never had its own Guardians of the Galaxy before, as the space-faring team's fame has waxed and waned, never quite crossing over with the peaks of 2099 storytelling. That's the same reason Marvel's Ultimate Universe imprint never had its own Guardians - a fact which is likewise about to change with the introduction of a new roster.

The Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy Are Coming

Marvel's Dark New Timeline Has Its Own Space-Faring Heroes

As seems to be happening in Marvel's 2099 continuity, Marvel's Ultimate Universe is also getting its first official Guardians of the Galaxy. Originally launched in 2000, and recently rebooted in 2023, the current Ultimate Universe is a timeline where key heroes were corrupted or never gained powers, leaving villains in charge of the planet. The Ultimates #8 from Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri will debut the Ultimate Guardians, with new versions of Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, Cosmo and Ultimate Nullifier.

These heroes will be from the far future (like the original '60s Guardians), coming back in time to search out America Chavez - a rebel hero working with Tony Stark's Ultimate Network. Given the imprint's habit of corrupting iconic heroes (and the fact that Ultimate Nullifier is a villain in Marvel's main continuity), it's possible that the Guardians will enter Ultimate canon as villains. Either way, it's an exciting development, since the original Ultimate imprint never had its own Guardians, published prior to the 2014 movie adaptation starring Chris Pratt.

It's a transformative time to be a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and few would have guessed that two such different iterations of the team would debut at the same time. Of course, that would have seemed likely compared to the possibility of a Guardians of the Galaxy roster led by Wolverine.

Conquest 2099 #4 is coming December 4 from Marvel Comics.