A thousand years from now, Vance Astro, Yondu, Martinex and Charlie-27 will rise to free the enslaved planet Earth -- as the Guardians of the Galaxy! Soon, Captain America, Doctor Strange, the Thing, the Hulk and more join the time-spanning heroes in the war to reclaim the future! Threats arise from other worlds -- as well as new allies Nikki and the uncanny Starhawk! But when Guardians and Avengers join forces in the present day, will even the combined might of two millennia be enough to stop the deranged demigod Michael Korvac? Plus: the Silver Surfer, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man and Adam Warlock! Collecting: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1967) #18; MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) #4-5, #61-63 and #69; GIANT-SIZE DEFENDERS #5; DEFENDERS (1972) #26-29; MARVELPRESENTS #3-12; THOR ANNUAL #6; AVENGERS (1963) #167-168, #170-177 and #181; MS. MARVEL(1977) #23; and MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #86. Written by ARNOLD DRAKE, STEVE GERBER, STAN LEE, ROGER STERN, LEN WEIN, JIM SHOOTER, DAVID MICHELINIE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, MARK GRUENWALD & MORE Penciled by GENE COLAN, SAL BUSCEMA, DON HECK, AL MILGROM, JOHN BUSCEMA, GEORGE PEREZ, DAVE WENZEL, JOHN BYRNE, MIKE VOSBURG, BOB McLEOD, JERRY BINGHAM & RON WILSON Cover by JOHN ROMITA "More cosmic goodness from Marvel, this time showcasing the "Avengers of the Future." A rag-tag teams of heroes come together to stop a powerful common foe named Badoon. The team was created by two greats: Arnold Drake (Doom Patrol) and Gene Colan (Tomb Of Dracula), who certainly know a thing or two about science fiction and fantastic tales." -- Chris Marshall "Through these stories you begin to see the growing number of futures that would eventually denote many different Earths and timelines.... These early stories also feature some fine work from the decade's premier writers including Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and Steve Gerber, who is never dull to read. Sal Buscema, Don Heck, and Al Milgrom are among the visual stylists in addition to [Gene] Colan, who got it all started." -- Robert Greenberger "The story of the Guardians unfolded over time slowly and in a meandering way, touching first one port of call then another over the years as we learned more and more about these fascinating characters. They became increasingly woven into the larger fabric that was the sprawling Marvel Universe, but in a manner which seemed natural and less contrived somehow than what we chance upon these days with persistent events dominating the flow ofthe storytelling." -- Rip Jagger "To truly get the full Guardians experience, starting with their metaphorical 'season one,' you have to start here. If you're a fan of space opera or classic comic book storytelling, you'll enjoy reading these cosmic adventures from some of the medium's biggest creators." -- Brett White "Overall, this is great space adventure of a sort that was totally unprecedented at the time. It still holds up well, and Marvel did a really good job of collecting this storyline from its several major sources." -- Shannon Appelcline Arnold Drake was best known as the creator of Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and also worked on Batman and X-Men . In 1950, he wrote what may be the first American graphic novel, It Rhymes With Lust . Steve Gerber was best known as the creator of Howard the Duck, but he also put words in the mouths of virtually every major character in the comic book world-- from Superman to Scooby Doo -- and his work appeared under the imprint of almost every major publisher in the field. He also wrote extensively in animation and television. Chris Claremont wrote the Uncanny X-Men for seventeen years as well as the novelization of the movie X-Men 2 . He was the co-creator of several series for Marvel Comics, including Excalibur , Wolverine , New Mutants , and Captain Britain . He wrote the Star Trek graphic novel Debt of Honor for DC Comics, as well as Alien/Predator: The Deadliest of Species for Dark Horse. Len Wein was the co-creator of Wolverine and the New X-Men. He was a former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, Disney Comics, and Top Cow Comics. His previous work includes The X-Men Masterworks , The Untold Legend of Batman , and Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals. Roger Stern has written for radio, television, the stage, and the Internet. Stern has written hundreds of stories about such diverse characters as Green Lantern, Supergirl, Superman, Starman, the Atom, and the Justice League for DC Comics; and Spider-Man, Captain America, Doctor Strange, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and the Avengers for Marvel. His first prose novel, The Death and Life of Superman , was a New York Times bestseller. Jim Shooter sold his first story to DC Comics at the age of thirteen. He went on to write Superboy , The Legion of Super-Heroes , Superman and other titles. In 1978, he became Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics. He later founded Valiant, Defiant, and Broadway Comics, and is currently the Editor-i