Maybe one of my favorite things about superheroes making the jump to the mainstream is how suddenly ridiculous names are now serious. Objectively speaking, grown-ass adults named Drax or Sif or Doctor Doom are kind of silly, but that’s why we love them. But even among the superhero set, some names are just outlandish enough to cause anyone to pause. One of those names is Taserface.
Just who is Taserface? A quick search of the Marvel website would tell you he doesn’t exist. But that’s a lie. Taserface is a villain from the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 who made his first live appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, though to what appears to be little fanfare. At the time, James Gunn told ComicBook a little about the character:
“When I first got Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, I posted a picture of Taserface, the dumbest character of all time and I said, ‘This is gonna be the star of Guardians of the Galaxy!’ and people were laughing and making fun of him and I made this big joke then, I’m like, ‘No, no, I’m not really gonna do that.’ I think in this movie, we have the head of the Ravagers as a real dumbass. A very powerful guy. I decided he named himself and called himself Taserface.”
After Comic-Con, Taserface faded from the public eye as more hype turned to Kurt Russell playing Star-Lord’s dad, Ego the Living Planet. But with ToyFair 2017 wrapping up in New York City recently, along with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 merchandise beginning to hit stores, it’s becoming obvious that there’s more to Taserface’s role than merely comic relief and/or a foil to Yondu’s leadership style. For the most part — save for Star Wars — characters don’t get action figures if they aren’t at least a little big important.
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But who is Taserface? Originally a member of the Stark race (don’t ask), the character appeared in a handful of Guardians of the Galaxy comics throughout the 90s — even adopting the moniker Overkill — before fading into villain obscurity. As James Gunn has played fast and loose with some of the established comic book lore, there’s little indication of whether or not the version played by Chris Sullivan will bear any resemblance to his print counterpart. Though considering the MCU hasn’t created a race of aliens who were uplifted to a technologically advanced society by stumbling upon Stark tech that was jettisoned into space (I told you not to ask), I’m guessing the movie will be tweaking Taserface’s story. How he fits into the greater narrative of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 remains to be seen. But between him, Ego the Living Planet, Mantis, Ayesha, and whomever Sylvester Stallone is playing, Marvel is adding a whole lot of layers to their non-Terran franchise.