In 1988, following his mother's death, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by a group of alien thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers led by Yondu Udonta.

Meredith Quill put together a mix tape she titled "Awesome Mix Vol. 1" so her son could know all the songs she used to listen to when she was growing up. After his abduction, it is one of the few mementos Peter has from Earth.

QUILL: There's another name you might know me by ... Star Lord.
KORATH: Who?
QUILL: Star Lord, man. Legendary Outlaw ... forget it.

Thousands of years ago, Morag was the home of an advanced and flourishing civilization, that was wiped out by a global warming catastrophe. Sometime prior to their demise, the inhabitants of Morag built a temple to guard the Orb, an artifact that contained an Infinity Stone.

When Quill attempts to sell the orb on Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire, Gamora ambushes him and steals it.

Thanos meets Gamora while he is murdering half the population of her homeworld. He adopts her and raises her to be an assassin.

As part of Gamora's training, Thanos pits her against her foster sister Nebula.

Star Lord's fight with Gamora draws in a pair of bounty hunters: the genetically and cybernetically modified raccoon Rocket, and the tree-like humanoid Groot.

Since his film debut, Groot has become a pop culture icon, with his repeated line "I am Groot" becoming an Internet meme.

An inmate at the Kyln, Drax attempts to kill Gamora due to her association with the powerful intergalactic warlord Thanos and Ronan the Accuser who killed his family. But Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, and Quill convinces Drax she can be of use.