Who Is Guardians Of The Galaxy's Bug And Why Wasn't He In The Movies?

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy has concluded, and though we're going to see more of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) at least, the Guardians team as we know them have finished their on-screen adventures. Though they've added members like Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) over the films, the original group consisted of Star-Lord, Gamora (Zoe Sandaña), Groot (voice of Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper). The ragtag team of unlikely heroes could have had other members in their makeup, according to writer/director James Gunn (via ComicBook.com). One of those characters is Bug. (Look, his real name is unpronounceable by humans, so "Bug" it is.)

Haven't heard of Bug? Don't worry. While he was a part of the 2008 "Guardians" comic run by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, he wasn't exactly a well-known member. That said, there was a time when Bug was actually in a draft of the script. Let's take a look at Bug, and how he could have fit in. 

Bug first appeared in Marvel Comics in "Micronauts" #1 in 1979, so he's actually been around for a while. He even appeared in a solo one-shot in 1997. He's an Insectivorid from the planet Kaliklak (which is really fun to say out loud) in the Microverse. On Earth, he's much smaller than everyone else. He has a very distinctive way of speaking, with "tik" peppered in throughout his words. He's a "lighthearted flirt," according to his Marvel.com description, and a really good thief. He was originally a member of the Micronauts, and for a little while, he was also called Galactic Warrior. Bug was betrayed by family members more than once on his homeworld, but ran into some new friends like Acroyear, the crown prince of the planet Spartak. He ended up on Earth-616 (our current Marvel Cinematic Universe world when characters are not flitting through the multiverse) but at a twelfth of his size. In the comics, he ended up becoming buddies with a teenager and his dad. 

Bug has worked with the Fantastic Four and even the X-Men. In the 2008 run of "Guardians of the Galaxy," he was invited to join the Guardians by Rocket. Bug is also an agile fighter, can communicate with antennaed creatures (meaning he and Mantis would probably have had some fun conversations), and he can stick to walls. He would likely have had to be CGI, and we already had that with Groot and the series' secret protagonist, Rocket. 

So why didn't Bug make it in? Well, he was there for a bit, according to an interview Gunn, Pratt, and Marvel President Kevin Feige did with AMC in 2014, shortly before the first "Guardians" film hit theaters. The group was asked about the characters that were the closest to joining the Guardians, and Feige said that Bug was in early drafts. Gunn added, "Bug was kind of in and kind of out, but he was never a main Guardian." He said that Tantalus was considered as well, but that by the time he joined, Feige already had a core group (which Gunn said he probably would have picked as well). 

Look, you'd probably have to do a lot of explanation for this character if he'd made it, and we were already learning about a sentient tree that only says "I am Groot" (mostly), and a foul-mouthed talking raccoon. A small CGI insect-like guy who flirts may have put this over the edge. 

In addition, Bug's rights are complicated. In early 2022, Gunn posted a now-deleted tweet (via ComicBook.com) saying, "Marvel is not allowed to use Bug in films. I have tried to use him in all three movies, and was not able. I hope this settles your argument." in response to a fan. The character is technically owned by Hasbro, as part of the Micronauts, which Marvel was licensed to use for a while, but that license had expired. It probably would have been a little complicated to get him in there anyway. Hey, at least we have the -tik- comic run. 

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is currently in theaters.