The Benatar[1] is an M-class spaceship used by the Guardians of the Galaxy. It superseded the Milano as the Guardians' main spacecraft. In the aftermath of the Snap, the Benatar was used by the Avengers to journey around Earth and travel through space. Following the Blip, the Benatar was returned to the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians eventually purchased the Bowie to use as their primary ship while the Benatar was kept in their garage as a secondary vessel.
History[]
Used by the Guardians[]
Groot's Adventures[]
In addition to the Quadrant, the Guardians of the Galaxy acquired a new ship with an auxiliary pod ship attached, which they dubbed the Benatar. They flew it to Grundar,[2] Gangalor[3] and Falligar.[4]
Infinity War[]
In 2018, the Guardians of the Galaxy received a distress call sent by the Asgardian ship Statesman. They took the Benatar to the location indicated by the distress call in order to rescue its sender, only to find multiple bodies floating in outer space among spaceship debris. However, one Asgardian was still alive: Thor, who fell onto the Benatar cockpit window. Thor was promptly taken aboard the spaceship.
Once Thor was awakened by Mantis, he explained that the Asgardians had been attacked by Thanos and the Black Order. Thor took some time to recover from his ordeal aboard the Benatar but then decided to head to Nidavellir so he could have a new weapon forged to fight Thanos. Thor, along with Rocket and Groot, used the auxiliary pod to travel to Nidavellir while the other Guardians left for Knowhere, as they suspected Thanos would go there to take the Reality Stone from the Collector.
The Guardians landed the Benatar in Knowhere's third quadrant. Disembarking, they infiltrated the planet and encountered Thanos, who defeated them and captured Gamora.[5] The Guardians then returned to the Benatar, where Star-Lord attempted to distract himself by playing music, much to Drax's displeasure. They soon realized that they had been left a message by Nebula, who instructed them to meet her on Titan, prompting Star-Lord to fly the Benatar there.[6]
Used by the Avengers[]
Stranded in Space[]
- "Some fuel cells were cracked during battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves about forty-eight hours of time. But it's now dead in the water."
- ―Tony Stark[src]
Following the Snap, Tony Stark and Nebula were the only survivors on Titan and used the Benatar to lay a course to Earth. En route it was found that the Benatar’s fuel cells had been damaged during the Battle of Titan. Without a supply of spare parts, however, the two were unable to repair the ship and they were left stranded in deep space.[7]
Brought to Earth[]
Before the oxygen supply ran out, Captain Marvel, who had been sent by the Avengers, found the ship and carried it through the galaxy to Earth and landed it on the front lawn of the Avengers Compound in New York.[7]
Ambush on Thanos[]
While at the Avengers Compound, Rocket managed to repair the damages to the ship. Once Rocket revealed that another energy surge was detected on a planet that Nebula identified as Thanos' refuge, Rocket co-piloted the Benatar with Captain Marvel and flew Captain America, War Machine, Thor, Black Widow, Bruce Banner and Nebula into space, arriving on the planet. Following Thanos' death, the group, with the exception of Thor, used the Benatar to return to Earth.[7]
Recruiting Thor[]
As official members of the Avengers, Nebula and Rocket used the Benatar to return to space in order to help other planets recover from the Snap. By 2023, Rocket returned to Nidavellir and reclaimed the Benatar’s space pod, reattaching it to the main ship. After the Time Heist had been proposed, Nebula and Rocket used the Benatar to return to the Avengers Compound. Rocket and Hulk then flew the Benatar to Tønsberg, Norway, which had now been named New Asgard, to retrieve Thor and fly him back to the Compound.[7]
Time Heist[]
Once the Time Heist had been planned, the Benatar was then shrunk down via Pym Particles and given to Hawkeye. Hawkeye, Black Widow, War Machine and Nebula then used the Quantum Realm to travel to an alternate 2014 timeline. Upon arriving, the Benatar was restored to its normal size and the four used it to fly from Earth to Morag. Upon arriving on Morag, Nebula input the coordinates to Vormir on the Benatar for Black Widow and Hawkeye while the space pod was disengaged for herself and War Machine to potentially use.
Hawkeye and Black Widow sat in the pilot seats of the Benatar enjoying the ride as the ship flew them to Vormir, going along the set course. Once they arrived, they landed the ship and disembarked, using the Pym Particles to shrink the ship down once more. After Hawkeye had collected the Soul Stone, he returned to his time, bringing it back with him.[7]
Returned to the Guardians[]
Second Flight to Norway[]
Following the battle, Clint Barton relinquished the Benatar, restoring it to its normal size and returning it to the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians then flew the ship from New York to Tønsberg, Norway in order to retrieve Thor and return to space, with Thor and Star-Lord arguing over who was the ship's captain.[7]
Asgardians of the Galaxy[]
During his time with the Guardians, Thor began working out to get back into shape. With help, he pulled the Benatar for triceps workouts. In 2025, the Guardians responded to a distress call from the Indigarrians and flew to Indigarr. After Thor defeated the insurgency of Booskans and accidentally destroyed the Indigarrian's sacred temple, Thor was given two Indigarrian goats named Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher. The two goats proceeded to scream and cause chaos inside the ship. After learning about Gorr's crusade against the gods, Thor and Korg set off to find one of his closest friends Lady Sif. Departing ways with the Guardians, Thor said goodbye to them. With Thor and Korg left on Indigarr, the Guardians then proceeded to fly away on the Benatar through the Universal Neural Teleportation Network.[8]
Secondary Ship[]
Parked in Garage[]
By 2025, the Guardians of the Galaxy purchased the significantly larger Bowie to use as their new primary vehicle. As a result, they kept the Benatar parked in their garage as a secondary ship.[9]
Alternate Universe Versions[]
Void[]
In an alternate universe, the Benatar was pruned by the Time Variance Authority and transferred to the Void.[10]
Appearances[]
In chronological order:
- I Am Groot
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Deadpool & Wolverine (alternate universe)
Trivia[]
- The Benatar is named after American singer and songwriter Pat Benatar.[11]
References[]
- ↑ James Gunn on Twitter - May 2, 2018
- ↑ I Am Groot: 1.02: The Little Guy
- ↑ I Am Groot: 1.04: Groot Takes a Bath
- ↑ I Am Groot: 2.03: Groot's Snow Day
- ↑ Avengers: Infinity War
- ↑ Avengers: Infinity War Deleted Scene
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Avengers: Endgame
- ↑ Thor: Love and Thunder
- ↑ James Gunn on Twitter - December 2, 2022
- ↑ Deadpool & Wolverine
- ↑ James Gunn on Twitter - April 30, 2018