89P13, also known as Rocket, is a major character in the science fiction adventure video game Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. He is a raccoon-like alien who Kree scientists genetically altered during the galactic war. Years acter escaping his creators, he joined the heroes-for-hire group the Guardians of the Galaxy.
He was voiced by Alex Weiner.
Biography[]
Around fifteen years ago, Rocket—originally known as Subject 89P13—was just one of many animals living deep in the forests of Halfworld. That changed when Kree scientists abducted him and brought him to a research facility on the planet. As part of the Kree's hybrid program, led by Rak-Mar during the Galactic War, Rocket was subjected to relentless bioengineering. He was torn apart and rebuilt repeatedly, resulting in extensive physical enhancements and an AI-augmented brain. While most test subjects perished, Rocket was among the few who gained sentience and the ability to speak—alongside Lylla.
To maintain control over their creations, the Kree implanted Spinal Control Units that could render them unconscious with a single shock. Rak-Mar forced them to perform tasks to perfection, punishing any failure. Rocket also endured grueling experiments, including sensory deprivation in water, which left him with aquaphobia. From his cage, he caught glimpses of the cybernetics hangar, where experimental sentries were constructed. Over time, he pieced together the horrifying truth: they were nothing more than expendable soldiers, destined to die on the front lines so that Kree warriors could live.
Determined to escape, Rocket and Lylla—now the program’s last surviving subjects—hatched a plan. Rocket tampered with a Spinal Control Unit so that when they were released, it would detonate, blowing a hole in the lab. They made it to the security fence, pursued by sentry bots. As Rocket hacked the modulator frequency to open the gate, Lylla held them off—then, at the last second, she shoved him through to safety. Rocket heard her die. Somehow, he managed to steal a transport shuttle and flee Halfworld.
Eventually, he found his way to Knowhere, where he built a new life. At a bar, he met Tella, a woman who bought him a drink and didn’t flinch at his implants. They became close, and Rocket fell for her. One day, she convinced him to hack a ship for her. Eager to impress, he agreed—only to be ambushed by the ship’s Badoon owners. As they turned their attention to Rocket, Tella took off in the ship, leaving him behind. It was a harsh lesson in trust.
Trying to keep a low profile as an escapee, Rocket still found himself broke. In a drunken haze, he decided to rob Taneleer Tivan, the Collector. Using a stolen Glarnot Mask, he stumbled into the Collector’s Emporium, distracted the assistant, knocked them unconscious, and looted the place. The next morning, he woke up aboard a stolen transport, surrounded by stolen goods—and a tiny, sentient sapling: Groot. From that moment on, Rocket knew he had to look after him. The two became partners-in-crime, with Rocket even learning to speak Taluhnisan.
For over a decade, Rocket and Groot worked as bounty hunters. On one job, they were hired by Wheeler to steal a bioweapon from a research lab on Arago-7. Disguised—Rocket in a Glarnot mask, Groot in a Thanos mask—they infiltrated the lab and stole the weapon. However, they soon realized they had been set up; the Arago scientists had hired Wheeler to lure them in for study. Groot was captured, but Rocket acted fast, setting off explosives to free him. In the end, they turned the tables, selling the weapon back to Wheeler—at triple the price.
Their work led them to Peter Quill, wanted by ex-Ravager leader Yondu Udonta. However, when Quill failed to outrun Groot, he proposed a new idea—rather than turn him in, why not start a business? A team of "heroes-for-hire," the Guardians of the Galaxy. Rocket and Groot agreed. Since then, Drax and Gamora Zen-Whoberi have joined them, and after fourteen missions together, they’re still chasing their first big success.
