Wheels within Wheels

The Structure of Guardians of the Galaxy

INTRO:

I hope, in my previous structure articles, I have established that a well structured story delivers satisfaction to the human subconscious. Take a human being on a dive into the Unknown, and bring them back to the surface, and you’ll have cranked a turn on the little dopamine pump in their brain. But why turn that crank only once per story? Let’s turbo charge that little sucker! The story circle isn’t just effective for structuring entire works, it’s also effective for building acts, issues, chapters, or individual scenes.

Which brings me to this week’s story: Guardians of the Galaxy. This film has excellent story structure: every section contains a well-wrought story circle that fits into the larger overall loop. Guardians could readily be broken into four to six parts and consumed as a series, and each piece would be a satisfying on its own. Writer/director James Gunn consistently delivers at least seven total compelling trips around the story circle: six smaller circles that make up one big seventh circle. There are probably some smaller ones in there that I didn’t catch. Add a fusion of 70’s pop hits with gonzo sci-fi and a couple of adorable CGI characters, and you’ve got the recipe to turn a low-tier Marvel Comics IP into gold.

This article’s going to be a little dense. I have broken up the big story circle for Guardians into six “subcircles.” 1. YOU, 2. NEED, 3. GO, and 4. SEARCH each have their own subcircle. FIND/TAKE gets a fifth subcircle, and RETURN/CHANGE gets a sixth.

SUBCIRCLE 1: YOU

Peter Quill’s origin is established. As a young boy, his mother gives him a final gift on her deathbed. She asks him to take her hand, but he is too distraught, and she dies before he can connect with her one last time. He runs outside and is abducted by aliens. This is a “YOU-flavored” circle. This substory is all about establishing Peter’s character, and it is laying vital groundwork that will be utilized throughout the rest of the film, particularly the end.

1.1. YOU – Peter Quill listens to 10cc on his Walkman outside his mother’s hospital room.

1.2. NEED – His grandfather comes out and tells him his mother wants to see him.

1.3. GO – He enters the room. His family is gathered and grave.

1.4. SEEK – His mom asks about his black eye. He got in a fight defending a frog from kids that were tormenting it.

1.5. FIND – His mom gives him a present!

1.6. TAKE – She feels death coming and asks Peter to take her hand, but it’s too much for him. He refuses, and she dies as he hesitates.

1.7. RETURN – Peter runs from the hospital room.

1.8. CHANGE – He is abducted by aliens, and as we will see, has had his emotional development stunted by the trauma of his mother’s death.

SUBCIRCLE 2: NEED

Years later, a masked man explores an alien world. He’s seeking something from the past. He enters ancient ruins, pulls out his Walkman, does a dance number, finds the treasure, fights off some baddies, and escapes to his ship.

Just as the first circle served YOU, This section does a lot of work towards setting the film’s tone, as well as building up the orb as an ancient, mysterious NEED that is desired by many dangerous people.

2.1. YOU – A grown Peter Quill on the alien planet Morag.

2.2. NEED – A mysterious ancient treasure, hinted at by the holographic projection of the past Peter is following

2.3. GO – He enters a crumbling ruin, puts on his headphones, and starts dancing.

2.4. SEEK – He fights off some space rats, jets over a chasm, and picks a lock.

2.5. FIND – The orb!

2.6. TAKE – The big bad’s cronies show up and try to take the orb.

2.7. RETURN – Peter escapes and flees to his ship.

2.8. CHANGE – Peter has learned this mysterious orb is more valuable and dangerous than he originally thought. He also has ticked off multiple enemies and has a bounty placed on his head.

SUBCIRCLE 3: GO

Yes, Peter is “going” to Xandar, but rather than making him the YOU of this section of the film, instead we are introduced to Rocket and Groot, a pair of bounty hunters. They are seeking fresh bounties on Xandar. They spot Peter and go after him, but that is complicated by the fact that Gamora is also chasing him. They ward off Gamora catch Peter, only to be arrested.

Guardians “goes” a lot of places, so what’s the primary unknown that our heroes are descending into? Teamwork. This is the first point at which our “team” is thrown together. Our group of loners have been forced by fate and their selfish decisions into interdependence. They begin as antagonists, but will grow into a family as the story progresses.

3.1. YOU – Rocket and Groot. Rocket is a cynical cybernetic raccoon. Groot is a tree person of questionable intellect.

3.2. NEED – To capture a bounty. Peter’s will do nicely.

3.3. GO – Before they can get to him, Gamora steals the orb. Now they’re caught in a three-way fight sequence.

3.4. SEEK – Groot’s lack of understanding of typical mammalian pronouns causes a mix up, and he tries to put Gamora in a bag instead of Peter. Peter runs.

3.5. FIND – They finally put Quill in the bag.

3.6. TAKE – Gamora attacks again and chops off Groot’s arms.

3.7. RETURN – They are arrested by the Novacorps and sent to prison.

3.8. CHANGE – Locked up together, their purposes align. They all need to get out of prison. Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Peter are becoming a rudimentary team.

4.      SEEK

The team gains another member, Drax, as they organize their escape from prison. Things are still rocky at this point. There is a lot of bickering between members. They are not yet true allies, only loners bound by a common interest.

4.1. YOU – The arrest sequence: Peter, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot are reintroduced via the Novacorps criminal processing.

4.2. NEED – A guard has taken Peter’s Walkman. He needs to get it back. Gamora is hated by half the cell block. Everyone needs to escape.  Drax the destroyer is after Gamora, but when he learns that she is the key to him getting to kill Ronin, he also wants to team up.

4.3. GO – Rocket explains his plan. Groot steals a battery early, plunging the prison into lockdown.

4.4. SEEK – Peter’s after a prosthetic leg, Gamora’s after a guard’s armband, Groot and Rocket are defending themselves from the guardbots.

4.5. FIND – The team enters the prison tower with each of their contributions.

4.6. TAKE – The guards begin an elaborate firing sequence on the prison tower.

4.7. RETURN – Rocket cuts the artificial gravity and they escape. Peter doubles back to get his Walkman.

4.8. CHANGE –Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Peter, and now Drax are growing closer as a team.

SUBCIRCLE 5: FIND and TAKE

They go to the Collector, an eccentric keeper of curios. There they learn that the orb is actually an infinity stone capable of destroying planets. This is the big FIND for the entire film.

The information they gain from the Collector comes at a heavy price. Drax, eager for a fight, summons Ronin, and gets his butt kicked. Gamora is chased down by her sister and blasted into the vacuum of space. Quill sacrifices himself to Yondu and the Ravagers in order to save her. This is the big TAKE for the entire film.

5.1. YOU – The escapees regroup on Peter’s ship.

5.2. NEED – To sell the orb to the Collector. (Except Drax, who wants to kill Ronin)

5.3. GO – They travel to Knowhere.

5.4. SEEK – While they wait for the Collector, they get drunk and gamble. Peter and Gamora have a romantic moment. Rocket, Groot and Drax get into a fight.

5.5. FIND – The Collector summons them. They learn the orb is actually an infinity stone. Meanwhile Drax has found what he wanted: a way of calling Ronin.

5.6. TAKE – The stone allures, and then blows up the Collector’s servant. Ronin and the Ravagers arrive at the same time. Drax is humiliated in combat with Ronin. Gamora’s ship is destroyed, and she is left drifting in space. Ronin takes the infinity stone.

5.7. RETURN – Peter calls Yondu to come pick him up, then risks himself to help Gamora. Peter and Gamora are beamed onto Yondu’s ship. Drax, Rocket, and Groot come after them.

5.8. CHANGE – The team, reunited, agree to work with the Ravagers to save the galaxy.

SUBCIRCLE 6: RETURN and CHANGE

                We RETURN to Xandar, where Gamora, Rocket, Groot, and Peter all first met. There are other returns tucked into this section. Peter doesn’t return to earth, but there is the return of the “take my hand” moment from the film’s first scene, as well clever use of the mixtape his mother gave him. Remember that the RETURN doesn’t have to be literal. It can be a return to a moment from the past. Often that’s better, because the whole point of RETURNing is to compare who the heroes were to what they’ve become now that they have CHANGED.

                This section effectively displays the CHANGE of the Guardians. Notably that they’re now getting good at being a team. For example, the Novacorps are exemplars of cooperation. Their ships, while small, can interlock and form a barrier that stops Ronin’s ship. The Guardians, and Peter in particular, must show they have overcome the obstacles that prevented them from bonding with others and that they can work together like the Xandarians. This they do by linking hands and collectively channeling the power of an infinity stone.

6.1. YOU – The Guardians of the Galaxy and Ravager fleet.

6.2. NEED – To stop Ronin, now armed with a planet-killing infinity stone, from reaching the surface.

6.3. GO – Rocket blasts a hole in the side of Ronin’s ship. Peter, Gamora, Drax, and Groot head inside.

6.4. SEEK – They fight their way through the ship. Gamora must defeat her sister to unlock the doors to Ronin’s chambers.

6.5. FIND – Gamora busts the lock. They rush in and shoot Ronin with a big gun.

6.6. TAKE – The gun barely hurts Ronin. He instantly overpowers the Guardians. Rocket crashes Peter’s ship into the chambers, stunning Ronin, but also sending Ronin’s ship into a nosedive. Groot grows into a big rootball airbag, sacrificing himself to save the rest of the team from the impact as the ship crashes.

6.7. RETURN – In the wreckage of the crash, Peter’s mother’s mixtape is still playing. We haven’t just returned to the surface of Xandar. We’ve returned to boy with the Walkman at the start of the film. Peter has a dance-off against Ronin, distracting him for long enough that Rocket and Drax are able to blast the infinity stone off his hammer.

6.8. CHANGE – Peter takes hold of the infinity stone, and then takes the hands of his teammates, distributing the deadly force of the infinity stone between them and using it to defeat Ronin. Peter grabbing Gamora’s hand is intercut with visions of his mother offering her hand. The film’s resolution is intertwined with the very first scene so the audience may compare the boy from the film’s start with the man at the end.

CONCLUSION

                I doubt that James Gunn graphed out the screenplay for Guardians the way I have here. Most of this story probably came from years of experience as a writer and filmmaker, listening to his instincts, and receiving quality feedback from his peers at Marvel. So how much “story geometry” do we need to do? As much as it takes to integrate these concepts. Understanding the rules and their effect when used well is the first step towards breaking them effectively. Guardians of the Galaxy, despite being an irreverent film about a group of misfit rule-breakers, follows the rules of structure flawlessly, doubling-down on them, in effect. The result is story that is both compelling and satisfying throughout, due to the effective tension and release found within each trip around not just the big story circle, but six smaller subcircles as well. The perfect dynamo for the ol’ dopamine pump.