Category: Guardians of the Galaxy

MANTIS, TWO

She’s an empath with the ability to calm minds. She’s also a bit of a slave, or someone too frightened to leave a powerful boss. We like her, especially after Drax calls her ugly. She isn’t, although her eyes are unsettling, and she’s so wounded by his casual honesty that we sympathize.

I jump immediately to Two. Her social concern for others, her ability to sense their feelings, is like a Heart Type superpower. I’m also led, though, by her pain. A Two in weakness will not stand up for themselves. Their gentleness can lead to them becoming victims, especially of bullies like Ego. She breaks my heart she’s so vulnerable and open. I hope Marvel gives her more than a cursory character treatment.

YONDU UDONTA, FOUR

Tough love! We don’t completely understand until the second Guardians how much Yondu loves Peter and looks on him as a son. It’s a great roll-out. Yondu doesn’t arc, but our understanding of his character does. He is quite consistent.

He’s not gentle, though. No coddling. The whole “the crew wanted to eat you at first” bit seems slightly villainous. Only after he repeats it do we understand that this is just a gag. Yondu’s sense of humor is dry and biting. He’s not a cuddly fellow. And why should he love Peter? He has a job to deliver a human kid to a godlike being. There’s something gentle and quiet in Yondu that makes him break from the job and raise Peter himself.

Again, all of this depth is only revealed over two movies.

So, who is this lovable ravager? He’s not a Body Type. His weapon asks no physical capabilities from him beyond the ability to whistle. He’s a thinker, but he doesn’t dwell there. What he enjoys is to mess with your mind. Think of the scene in the store where he mumbles gobbledy gook at the orb-buyer to manipulate him. Yondu gets a kick out of the show. Heart Type.

Hahaha! He collects little cute action figures for his dashboard. Does that indicate he’s a Two? Hilarious! No, I think he’s a Four because of his acerbic humor. He thrives on the battle of wits. When Peter replaces the infinity stone with a troll doll, Yondu loves it. His protege tricked him, and he thinks that’s wonderful. He’s a gamesman, and personality quirks are his playfield. And no one must ever know how tender he is under that rough blue exterior.

DRAX, EIGHT

I immediately want to say Eight. His reaction to everything is physical. He has a bluntness that I think goes beyond the literal thinking of his people. He’ll say anything, which is an Eight trait. The filmmakers use that, an Eight’s willingness to speak without a filter, and combine it with his innate lack of metaphor, to drive much of his comedy. He calls a sympathetic character, Mantis, ugly and we laugh. That’s a tough balance to hit.

At the end of the first Guardians, he comforts Rocket by petting him. It’s such a beautiful, honest moment that feels perfect. That is the Eight coming through. Physical, tender, and the absolute right thing to do when a heart is broken.

GAMORA, NULL

Ah, the Front Row Kid! She’s obedient as a child, which wounds Nebula, and she’s obedient as an adult, working for the betterment of the universe against her father’s wishes. Every other teammate should and does drive her crazy with their disorder.

I quite dislike Gamora, possibly because she strikes too close to home! Here’s where I think the portrayal goes wrong, though: the dilemma of a Front Row Kid is that they’re only organized on the outside. On the inside they’re terrified of failure. I don’t see that tension in Gamora. She’s too physically competent. It gives her a confidence that her personality shouldn’t have.

I would’ve liked to see the portrayal go either into One, as a physical and orderly being, or into Six, as a cerebral and orderly being. As a One she would’ve been less uncomfortable with the other teammates, and she would’ve had a playful, biting wit that nailed their disorder. As a Six she would’ve been less confident, less physically capable, but her moral certitude would’ve persuaded and comforted the other teammates.

Is it fair to call this Gamora a Null? I could probably call her a Four as a kind of catch-all, but Nebula owns that Enneagram number so thoroughly that anyone else feels false. I could call her a Nine based on her physical competence and her stoic personality, but she doesn’t have the generous sweetness of a Nine. Possibly a Three, based on her get-’er-done competence, but she’s too uncertain to be a Three. I think they miswrote her. I’m sticking with Null.

GROOT, NINE

His relationship with Rocket indicates he’s a Nine, but let’s look at him in more detail.

Even though he’s a monosyllabic tree, he definitely fits the definition of Body Type. He’s quite competent as a superhero fighter, growing limbs and using his strength. He’s so cheerful about knocking people about with his extra-long arms.

He and Rocket are a symbiotic duo. Groot doesn’t have to be smart; Rocket is the brain. Rocket doesn’t have to be nice; Groot is the diplomat. In real life I’d want to break these two apart so each could grow the weaker side of their personality. Since they’re comic book characters, though, they are wonderful together. They literally speak a language only known to them.

Without this relationship, would I be able to identify Groot’s Enneagram? I doubt it. That they travel together is key. Their interaction is beautifully written and conceived.

ROCKET, SIX

He loves practical jokes. An elaborate plan to break the team out of prison includes a request, straight-faced, for an artificial leg that has no purpose beyond being funny. What commitment!

He’s deeply insecure. Is that a trait intrinsic to his Enneagram, or is it a product of the abuse he’s suffered as a lab experiment? He’s a Head Type; an ingenious wizard in the body of a raccoon. Anybody would feel less-than under those circumstances.

Five, Six, or Seven? Well, hilariously, I immediately discount him as a Five because he’s so short. It’s not his fault! He’s a small animal!

He’s so dour he must be a Six. A Six can be very glass-half-empty, and that’s Rocket. Disaster is always around the corner for him. His love of Groot — a Nine if ever there was one — is also very Six. A Six moves to Nine in strength, and what raccoon wouldn’t dream of being a powerful tree, lol? Their partnership, I would suggest, is based in this Enneagram relationship.

Rocket is the darkest version of a Six possible, which is rooted in his lab-animal history, but we still get his cutting humor, his crafty intelligence, and his tender heart. Well done.

PETER QUILL, TWO

He’s an orphan. As far as he knows, his father is a deadbeat dad (whatever the romantic stories his mom spins) and his mother dies while he’s young. It isn’t until the second Guardians that Quill comes to see Yondu as a father figure. Much of Quill’s character is defined by this. He wants a family, and he’s very forgiving of someone like Rocket, who’s so hard-shelled he can be impossible to know.

I do think that his openness to life, regardless of his childhood loss, is part of his Enneagram. Different numbers would react differently to being an orphan. He’s still so willing to engage and believe in people. When he gets to Ego, he believes a little too much and too easily.

So I want to say Heart Type. His inability to form a plan is a running joke in the Avengers. (Not a Head Type.) He’s physically competent, but it doesn’t define him. (Not a Body Type.) He’s no Three; his luck is too haphazard. And he’s not acerbic enough to be a Four. 

Two. He collects songs, of course.