Cosmo the Spacedog

"Cosmo (comics)" redirects here. For the Imperial Guard member, see Imperial Guard (Marvel Comics) § Other members.
Cosmo the Spacedog
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceNova vol. 4 #8 (Jan. 2008)
Created byDan Abnett (writer)
Andy Lanning (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoCosmo
SpeciesGolden Retriever–Labrador Retriever mix
Place of originEarth
Team affiliationsGuardians of the Galaxy
Knowhere Corps
Pet Avengers
AbilitiesVarious psychic abilities

Cosmo the Space-dog (Russian: Космо, romanized: Kosmo) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Cosmo, a telepathic Soviet space dog, is the security chief of the space station Knowhere and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.[1] The character was created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning as a reference to Laika and first appeared in Nova vol. 4 #8 (Jan. 2008).[2]

A female version of Cosmo the Spacedog appeared in a cameo role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), as well as in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021). She is voiced by Maria Bakalova in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).[3]

Fictional character biography

Cosmo was a Soviet space dog during the 1960s and was launched into Earth's orbit by the Soviet space program as part of an experiment. Cosmo was lost in space and mutated by exposure to cosmic rays, gaining psychic powers. Eventually, Cosmo landed on Knowhere, a city located within the severed head of a giant Celestial, and became Knowhere's security chief.[4]

Nova meets Cosmo shortly after encountering Suspensor, who he kills in self-defense. Cosmo and Nova are ambushed by a group of zombies, including the surviving members of Suspensor's former team, the Luminals. The two determine that Abyss was responsible and seal him away.[5]

Peter Quill's original Guardians of the Galaxy team operated out of Knowhere for some time, thus dragging Cosmo into many of their exploits. During one such adventure, Cosmo and the Guardians bounce around the time stream in an attempt to stop the Fault, a tear in the universe, from eliminating all of reality. During this adventure, Cosmo is de-aged into a puppy.[6]

During The Thanos Imperative storyline, the corrupted beings of the Cancerverse invade Earth-616 through the Fault. The Guardians of the Galaxy allied with Thanos to stop Mar-Vell. During the battle, Phyla-Vell is killed and Adam Warlock, Drax, and Star-Lord are presumed dead. At Star-Lord's request, Cosmo gathers Silver Surfer, Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, Quasar, and Ronan the Accuser to protect the universe together.[7]

Cosmo is seen with several new Knowhere enforcement allies called the Knowhere Corps. They assist him in capturing a violence-loving gangster called Yotat.[8]

Powers and abilities

In addition to a dog's standard enhanced sense of hearing and smell, Cosmo has psionic abilities, including high-level telepathy and telekinesis. He has shown to be capable of creating defensive shields strong enough to deflect energy blasts, as well as project mind blasts of tremendous force. His exact power levels are unknown, but he has shown to be strong enough to take on a being such as Adam Warlock by himself, and powerful enough to unleash a telekinetic blast able to disable two separate teams of super-humans.

In addition to these abilities, Cosmo seems to have a considerably extended lifespan as well — especially for a dog since he has been around since the time of the Soviet Union.

Other versions

Earth-97161

An alternate universe version of Cosmo from Earth-97161 appears in Guardians Team-Up #5.[9]

Ultimate Universe

An alternate universe version of Cosmo from Earth-6160 known as Cosmo Starstalker appears in the Ultimate Universe imprint. This version is female, originates from the 61st century, and sports a cybernetic leg.[10]

In other media

Television

Marvel Cinematic Universe

A gender-flipped version of Cosmo the Spacedog appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, physically portrayed by dog actors Fred and Slate and voiced and motion-captured by Maria Bakalova.[11]

  • In Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), she is introduced as a prisoner of the Collector who witnesses the eponymous team arrive before being freed following an explosion caused by the Power Stone.[14]
  • Cosmo makes a cameo appearance in the end-credits scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[15]
  • An alternate timeline version of Cosmo appears in the What If...? episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?".[11] After the Collector's slave, Carina, frees his captives, Cosmo joins the Ravagers in traveling to Earth.
  • As of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,[16] Cosmo has exhibited psionic powers, become a member of the Guardians, and befriended Rocket.[17]
  • In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,[18] Cosmo assists the Guardians in fighting off the High Evolutionary's army and helping the children and animals aboard his ship escape to Knowhere, before joining a new iteration of the Guardians under Rocket.

Video games

Miscellaneous

Cosmo the Spacedog appears in Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!.

References

  1. ^ Pearl, Nick (January 5, 2021). "How Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Introduced Cosmo the Spacedog". CBR. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ Gose, Lance Peter (July 25, 2022). "GotG 3: James Gunn Explains Why the MCU's Cosmo is a Girl". CBR.
  4. ^ Nova (vol. 4) #8 (January 2008)
  5. ^ Nova (vol. 4) #9 (February 2008)
  6. ^ Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 3) #18 (October 2014)
  7. ^ Thanos Imperative: Ignition one-shot (July 2010)
  8. ^ Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 4) #5 (February 2016)
  9. ^ Guardians Team-Up #5 (July 2015)
  10. ^ Ultimates (vol. 4) #8 (March 2025)
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Cosmo the Space Dog Voices (Guardians of the Galaxy)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 3, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  12. ^ Truitt, Brian (February 19, 2015). "Guardians of the Galaxy 'Assemble' again on TV". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  13. ^ Goldman, Eric (August 23, 2016). "Ultimate Spider-Man Introducing Spider-Gwen into Animation in "Return to the Spider-Verse" Storyline". IGN.
  14. ^ "'Guardians of the Galaxy' Cameos, Hints at MCU's Future (Heavy Spoilers)". Stitch Kingdom. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  15. ^ Fullerton, Huw (April 30, 2017). "The 11 best Easter eggs in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". Radio Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  16. ^ "Rachel Paige on Twitter".
  17. ^ Taylor, Drew (October 25, 2022). "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Trailer Features Christmas Cheer With Kevin Bacon (Video)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  18. ^ Vary, Adam B. (July 23, 2022). "Marvel Studios' Phases 5 and 6: Everything We Learned at Comic-Con About the Multiverse Saga". Variety. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "Characters". IGN Database. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Cards".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.