The Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special received critical acclaim and great Christmas cheer from fans. In it, Kevin Bacon was forcibly brought face to face with Peter Quill. But aside from kidnapping a movie star, the Guardians of the Galaxy dropped a big change MCU canon like it’s not a big deal at all. At the beginning of the Holiday special, Nebula casually mentioned that the Guardians bought Knowhere from the Collector. That’s right, the Guardians of the Galaxy now possess a huge desolate head floating through space.
Despite me mentioning it so casually, The Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special created some major changes in canon for the MCU. Knowhere was once home to the Collector and millions of other aliens who created an economy by mining the dead Celestial’s biological material. It’s natural that the Collector no longer wanted the place after it was destroyed by Thanos, but it raises a lot of questions. Where is the collector now? What happened to his collection, or is he selling it? And how will this play out Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3? Knowhere is a big place, and it’s valuable space real estate. If the Guardians own it, it could mean bigger things in the MCU.
The Guardians bought Knowhere
At the beginning of the Holiday Special, Nebula casually mentions that the Guards ‘bought’ Knowhere from the collector. It’s a big reveal, not only that the collector physically owned Knowhere, but that he put it up for sale. For a long time, fans weren’t sure if the Collector was still alive since Thanos destroyed Knowhere Infinite War. Now that we know for sure, a lot of curious things have been brought into play by a collector on the loose.
The first and most interesting thing to consider is what must have happened to his collection. It’s Marvel Comics canon that his collection on Knowhere wasn’t his only one in the universe, so he’s probably leaning towards a different menagerie. But there were many interesting items hidden in his Knowhere vaults, including Cosmo, the space dog, who we saw enjoying her time on Knowhere with the Guardians. And we already know that Howard the Duck is free – he might even get his own Disney+ series. But what else was in those cages? Along with a few fun Marvel side characters, there could be some seriously valuable tech or magical items snatched before the Collector could get his stuff together.
It could even be that the Collector sold all of Knowhere to the Guardians and stored what little was left of his collection there. If so, maybe Peter Quill is in store to find some pretty incredible stuff in that cavernous skull. It’s also a pretty big plot hole waiting to be filled with opportunity. Knowhere has played an enormous role role in MCU lore because you’re just an empty head. All Black, Gorr’s Necrosword, although he got it from a dead Shadow Lord, was originally created from the materials in Knowhere’s chest. So Knowhere can still be an extremely valuable resource, even if it has burned down twice now.
How does this fit into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
James Gunn noted that Knowhere would have some sort of role in Full. 3. Now that the Guardians live on it, they turn it into a place for refugees and displaced people. Peter Quill is probably trying to make this the intergalactic home for people affected by the blip. This may be a very heroic act of charity, but it’s important to remember that the Guardians have made a lot of enemies in their past adventures.
We saw the High Evolutionary and the Sovereign in this most recent one Guards trailer, or at least we saw Adam Warlock, and we know that the Sovereign created him. But the one thing that has kept these enemies at bay so far is that the Guardians are constantly flying through the galaxy and cannot be tracked. Now they are located in a single, very famous location. And if they’re trying to create some kind of colony of lost souls, then word should get around quickly about where to find them.
Knowhere is also still full of very valuable resources. Not only could people come and reclaim various treasures that the Collector may have stolen, but the matter Knowhere is made of is worth something on the black market. Living in Knowhere puts a target on the back of all Guardians just by being there. It could be for greed, or it could be for revenge, but it’s very likely that someone is pointing a big gun at the Guardians of the Galaxy and their new home of Knowhere.