‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Surprise: Absolute Greatest Cameo In Marvel Movie History

Guardians of the Galaxy features the greatest cameo appearance in the history of Marvel movies. And we’re not just talking about the 10 films, including Guardians, that make up the interconnected Marvel Universe series produced by Marvel Studios. We’re talking about any Marvel Comics-based movie, ever.

At least, it will be the greatest for true, hardcore fans of Marvel Comics and the company’s brilliant history, going back to the Marvel “Golden Age” of the early-to-mid 1970s. But if you want to be truly surprised when you see Guardians of the Galaxy, please stop reading this article right now.

Because if the reports of this fantastic Guardians of the Galaxy cameo are accurate, you’re about to be exposed to a MAJOR SPOILER. So don’t say you weren’t warned.

Here’s the story, which originates with the site Stitch Kingdom. The site says that it received a final credit list for he upcoming movie — which actually saw its world premiere in Singapore on July 12. So Singaporean readers will be able to confirm whether this spoiler is actually true or not.

But the rest of us will have to wait until August 1.

The credits list gives away a couple of interesting but unremarkable cameos. For example, Marvel legend Stan Lee, who has had a cameo in, if not every Marvel-based movie ever made, then certainly in most of them, makes his customary cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy as well — still going strong at age 91.

Rob Zombie also has a voice cameo in the film, and the movie’s own director, James Gunn, sticks his face in there as well.

But here’s the real spoiler and the hands-down greatest Marvel cameo ever. The credits list for Guardians of the Galaxy offers a credit to the team of Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik.

What? you say. Who are those guys?

Well, true Marvel aficionados will recognize those names immediately. Gerber, who sadly passed away in 2008 at age 60, was one of Marvel’s most creative and offbeat writers of the 1970s — and beyond. Mayerik, 64, a top-notch artist, collaborated with Gerber on the writer’s most famous creation — the one that apparently has a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, which would be the only reason to credit Gerber and Mayerik as a team.

That’s right, we’re talking about this guy:

Howard the Duck!

Now, a younger generation of filmgoers will be aware of the great Howard the Duck only through the classically bad 1986 movie adaptation, often ranked among the worst movies of all time, and produced by George Lucas, of all people, in which Howard looked unfortunately like this:

But longtime Marvel readers will recognize Howard the Duck as the most surreal, satirical and insanely original character the company ever published in a comic book, starting with his first appearance in Adventures Into Fear #19, in 1973.

Does this mean that audiences may be in for a new Howard the Duck movie — an actual good one this time? There’s no way to know right now. But if Marvel will make a movie of Ant Man, there’s no reason not to give Howard the Duck another try.

What Howard the Duck will actually do in Guardians of the Galaxy has yet to be revealed. Unless you live in Singapore.