Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends (well, actually ends) on a note that feels reminiscent of the shawarma scene in the first Avengers movie. But, more than anything, it has convinced me that James Gunn knows how to strike the right tone for a completely different superhero in an entirely different universe.
That Avengers post-credits coda showed Tony, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Bruce, and Steve gathered around a table in a small restaurant, quietly eating as a woman in an apron swept the floor in the background, a sign that appeared to read, “Shawarma Palace,” displayed behind her. It gave us a brief look at the Avengers in the moments after they were done saving the world; hungry and exhausted. Guardians 3’s post-credits scene has a similar energy.
At the end of the movie, Peter Quill decides to leave the team to attempt to get in touch with his grandfather on Earth. He doesn’t know if the old man is still alive, but he decides it’s worth trying to reconnect with the only link he has to his previous life. When he gets there, his grandfather instantly recognizes him, standing to his feet and wrapping Peter in an embrace. It’s a heartwarming moment for Quill, who we first met nine years ago, getting pulled away from the same man by an alien tractor beam.
After the credits, we skip forward a bit. Quill and his grandfather seem to have settled into a domestic routine, as Quill eats cereal and his grandpa reads the paper. Peter says that he’s willing to mow an elderly neighbor's lawn, but he doesn’t understand why her 45-year-old able-bodied son won’t do it. His grandfather says something to the effect of , “Don’t get me started on that.” Quill’s ears perk up. Now he really wants to know the backstory, he says. The scene ends.
As I shuffled out of the theater, I got the feeling that the people around me were underwhelmed. It felt like the theater reacted with a vague, “That’s it?” But, for me, it felt refreshing. Gunn has operated for so long in the realm of wacky characters and larger-than-life personalities, that seeing his take on two people having a quiet conversation in a kitchen lit by natural light seems novel.
And, even though this scene didn't have to accomplish much beyond establishing Quill's new normal, it gave me confidence in Gunn's next major project, which will need to have a different tone from the Guardians of the Galaxy series or The Suicide Squad — Superman: Legacy. When DC announced the film, it also released a plot synopsis which says the film "tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned."
Truth, justice, and the American way are slightly more high-minded virtues than the ones practiced by the rough-and-tumble Guardians. But, as GOTG 3 ends, Quill seems to be on a similar journey, attempting to reconcile the life he has lived among the stars with the homeworld that he was taken from. The quiet scene between Quill and his grandfather could, with some light tweaking, be a conversation between Clark and Pa Kent.
It's a small moment, but Gunn has operated for so long in the realm of the quirky— which he does better than anyone else making superhero movies, to be clear — that there have been doubts that he would be able to nail the more straightlaced goodness of Superman. Clark Kent's Kansas farm is a long way from Knowhere. But Gunn's favorite theme is found family and, when it comes to superheroes, you don't get a more classic example of found family than the Kents.