The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Christmas Special Explains the Fate of a Forgotten MCU Character

Before ‘Ant-Man 3’ makes a profound impact on the MCU, the christmas special of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ by James Gunn (Disney+) It’s been a blast from the pastand we are not just referring to references to Kevin Bacon in ‘Footloose’ or hints that Henry Winkler will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the gang of space rogues celebrated the snowy season, there was a major throwback to the early days of the MCU.

Although Gunn admits there were several blueprints for bringing the Guardians to the big screen before he took the reins, he earned that honor in 2014’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. His arrival, however, was announced a year earlier in ‘ Thor: The Dark World’. Despite the fact that the current team will say goodbye in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’, the holiday special gave some nods to what will happen in the last installment of the trilogy, to the point that ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ begins already in the Christmas special.

Though The Benicio del Toro Collector Doesn’t physically appear in the Christmas special, we’re offered a throwaway line about what Taneleer Tivan has been up to. At the beginning of the special presentation, the nebula by Karen Gillan says: “Since we bought Wisdom from the Collector, we don’t have time for trivialities like Christmas”.

For those who need a refresher, Wisdom is the severed head of a Celestial that became the home of Tivan’s operations. In addition, it is remembered for housing the “collection” of The Collector, which contained some of the rarest artifacts – and people – in the entire cosmos.

Sif (Jaimie Alexander), who appears in the mid-credits scene of ‘The Dark World’, gave the reality stone to the Collector for safekeeping. It’s easy to forget, but the Collector, conducting his own quest for all the Infinity Stones, was something of a precursor to Thanos (Josh Brolin), who has sadly faded into the background of the MCU.

We know he was less successful than the Mad Titan, and after having his base of operations wiped out by the power gem, a defeated Collector was last seen with a bandage on his head sharing a drink with the former exposed beings, Howard the Duck and Cosmo the space dog.

It is true that we have seen more of Benicio del Toro in the MCU, since an illusory version of The Collector appeared in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.

Although it looked like The Collector was thrown into one of his own cages and Thanos was killed by Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), this was just an illusion caused by using the Reality Stone. Fading away, Wisdom was revealed to be on fire and The Collector was nowhere to be found, making it clear that Thanos had attacked the premises. With no trace of Tivan since ‘Infinity War,’ some assumed he had been killed off-screen.

Now that we know that the Guardians have purchased Wisdom from The Collector and have made it their new base of operations, it is a small (but important) confirmation that Tivan is alive Over there.

It remains to be seen if we will see more of del Toro or not, but the events of the Christmas special at least heor prepare for a possible cameo in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’. The Collector has some crucial ties to the broader MCU, and as one of the Elders of the Universe in the comics, he’s also the brother of Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster.

With an appearance just as fleeting as that of Benicio del Toro, Goldblum had a minor role in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and his part was cut from ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’. We know the MCU is building their teams and, alongside the Illuminati, Young Avengers and ‘The Thunderbolts’, a team of Elders of the Universe would make a great lineup of villains as the franchise reaches for the stars.

Remembering that big reveal of the ‘Happy Holidays Special’ about Mantis, it is also convenient to remember that Ego the Living Planet was a member of the Elders in the comics.

As for the possibility of Benicio del Toro returning alongside Goldblum in the third volume or in one of the many other space projects, the pieces are fitting together like a game of galactic chess. The Collector has only taken care of himself, so we imagine it’s a blow to his pride that he sold Wisdom to the Guardians.

It’s unclear if Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock will be a major villain in Vol. 3, so imagine the scene where the Collector, the Grandmaster, and others like Father Time or the Stranger face off against our heroes. If not, confirmation that the Collector is still collecting somewhere sets up his potential return in the ever-expanding MCU.