When Guardians of the Galaxy opened in theaters in 2014, it marked a distinct tonal shift in the way Marvel told its stories on the silver screen. Gone were the brooding heroes struggling to cope with the crushing onus of destiny. In their place, we got a motley crew of misfits and mercenaries who were humanoid if not entirely human.
With Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, as the sole Earthling lead among a polychromatic cast, the Marvel Cinematic Universe opened itself to a cosmos of possibilities. Even then, the movie studio has only begun to scratch the surface.
From household names like Rocket Racoon and Groot, to the boozy aliens known as the Ciegrimites, here are 20 of the strangest species Marvel has to offer.