| “ | Enough... ENOUGH of this. The true divine vessel awaits. You are nothing but a husk. A faded shadow... But even you will feel the light. | „ |
| ~ Raker mocking Warlock's fate. |
Raker, also known as the Grand Unifier Raker, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Magus) of the 2021 video game Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
He serves as the leader of the Universal Church of Truth, who is bent on spreading the "Promise", a strange and malevolent phenomenon, throughout the entire galaxy, in order to end grief and suffering to those who are affected by it, known as the Converted. He does so by manipulating Nikki/Nicholette Gold into becoming the Church's Matriarch.
He was portrayed by Andreas Apergis.
Appearance[]
Raker is a tall, elderly male, who is a human-cyborg hybrid (formerly a human in the past). He has brown (later gold) eyes, bald head and a white beard. In his head is a golden plating that is spaced in the middle, as well as a golden streak that reaches between his forehead up to his mouth. His hands are covered with two golden gauntlets with intricate cube-like patterns that reach to his shoulders. He wears a red-and-black robe with the Church's symbol in front of it.
Depending on Gamora's actions during the escape to Sacrosanct, Raker would also have a severed left arm.
Personality[]
On the outside Raker, at first, is seen as a benevolent person, who invites them to meet the Matriarch (not knowing that it was Nikki in the first place). In reality Raker is a zealous fanatic, who is fervently convinced that the Fulfillment will put an end to grief and suffering to those affected by it, which all rooted from his son's passing.
Raker is extremely manipulative, as evidenced by his ability to persuade Adam Warlock to let him remove his Soul Stone and subsequently persuade Nikki to take on the role of Matriarch, serving as the figurehead leader of his religion. Raker does, however, have a soft side, when he loved his own son, which was his motivation to resurrect him.
History[]
Past[]
Raker, who lost his son to an unidentified illness, is a key figure in the enigmatic Universal Church of Truth, which seeks to spread the supposed "Promise", the means to end all grief and suffering, across the whole galaxy, which became more predominant after the Galactic War and the damage Thanos caused to the universe. He frequently travels with two giant inquisitors that serve as his bodyguards. After an explosion nearly killed Raker, a necessary reconstruction of his body was done, leading him to the person he is currently.
Guardians of the Galaxy[]
In Chapter 2: Busted, Raker firstly appears meeting with various members of the Nova Corps, while Nikki was escorting Quill and Rocket after their arrest within the Quarantine Zone. Shortly after his ship suddenly exploded, which led to Quill getting temporarily separated by Rocket.
In Chapter 8: The Matriarch, Raker later guides the Guardians to the Church's base of operations known as the Sacrosanct to see the religion's new Matriarch. Unbeknownst to Raker, Rocket was seen hacking a faith-powered golden cube, while the Guardians were attempting to distract him. After minutes have passed, Raker and the Guardians soon arrived at the chamber where the Matriarch is. Quill and Gamora later found out that the Matriarch is none other than Nikki, which prompted Raker to bring the Matriarch out, before he was angered when Quill rejected the Promise, calling those who do so including him "unworthy". Raker soon battles the Guardians, but their attacks proved no match to him, prompting him to throw a faith-powered spear, exploding it as it hits the group. He later sends his army to deal with the Guardians, before escaping the chamber.
In Chapter 14: Into The Fire, Raker was seen venting his anger towards a captive Warlock for "abandoning his flock", while Warlock only claimed that he partnered with him to create the Universal Church of Truth. But only Raker attempted to subjugate his subjects, something that Warlock disagreed with, and his fanatical mania was not among Warlock's many mistakes. An infuriated Raker then pointed out how he is nothing more than a husk of his former self, before proceeding to continue on his goal of readying his restoration ritual to spread the Promise.
In Chapter 15: Broken Promises, Raker managed to single-handedly restrain the Guardians and Warlock, while allowing Nikki/Matriarch to let Magus take a humanoid form, before it proceeded to devour most of the galaxy with it. Due to Quill's motivation of destroying Nikki's Promise-laden fantasy, Raker's own ritual was stopped for good and with Nikki absorbing the Soul Stone's powers. Angered, Raker then sends his army to eliminate the Guardians, once and for all, but he was defeated by them subsequently. Nikki then pointed out to Raker how Magus only used his and hers' losses (with Nikki being Ko-Rel and Raker being his son) to manipulate both of them into spreading the Promise throughout the entire galaxy, before Raker passed away for good.
Legacy[]
With Raker's defeat and death, as well as with Warlock absorbing Magus inside of him, the Universal Church of Truth was finally stopped for good. However, the Guardians still faced off against Magus who managed to take control of Warlock's body, before he too was defeated by Quill when he absorbed him inside the Soul Stone.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Raker serves as a dark parallel of Peter Quill. Both of them lost close family members; Peter lost his mother while Raker lost his son. However, Peter was eventually able to overcome the loss of his mother, while Raker never moved on and became obsessed with bringing his son back. Raker represents what Peter would have become if he never overcame his grief.
