Yondu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yondu
Yondu on the cover of Guardians of the Galaxy #44 (January 1994) Art by Steve Montano and Kevin West
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (January 1969)
In-story information
Alter ego	Yondu Udonta
Species	Centaurian
Team affiliations	Guardians of the Galaxy Avengers Ravagers
Abilities	Expert archer Empathic relationship with all life forms

Yondu Udonta, or simply Yondu, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version of the character is depicted as the last survivor of his species in the 31st century, and is a founding member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team from the Marvel Multiverse alternate reality known as Earth-691. Yondu in Earth-691 is depicted as a blue-skinned male with a large red fin protruding from the back of his head and his back; he is a spiritual warrior who can control his killing arrows via sound waves, most commonly by whistling. Yondu joined Vance Astro and other survivors of the Badoon attack on the solar system in the 31st Century, who became known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. As part of the Guardians, Yondu traveled to present-day Earth and became an honorary member of the Avengers. The original Yondu never starred as a solo character in any Marvel Comic books, but was a core member of the team in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic that ran from 1990 to 1995.

Michael Rooker portrayed Yondu as a space pirate leading one of the factions of "The Ravagers" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). After the release of the first film, Marvel Comics introduced this version of the character to the Earth-616 comic book continuity. Additionally, Rooker voiced Yondu in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) and alternate versions of Yondu in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021).

Since his introduction, the present-day Yondu character has appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series and in several video games.

Powers and abilities

As a member of the marsupial alien race of the planet Centauri IV, Yondu possesses an intuitive mystical "sixth sense" perception that permits him limited empathic relationships with other lifeforms. The higher the lifeform, the more limited is his empathic potential. Additionally, Yondu possesses an intuitive rapport with nature, particularly with his own world, but also with any world that still possesses natural wildlife. With this rapport, he can sense incongruous elements (foreign bodies or substances) or focus on specific elements within the whole (such as the location of a given plant). He is also sensitive to mystical beings and forces and is able to detect their presence and activities without effort. Yondu is able to replenish his own inner strength by going into a trance and communing with natural forces.

Yondu is an above average physical specimen of his race. He has slightly more strength and endurance than the average human male. As a hunter, Yondu is an expert in the use of bow and arrow. His ability to whistle with a range of four octaves aids his archery (see Weapons, below). The native Centaurian language is a system of grunts, clicks, and whistles, but Yondu has managed to master the English language, although it is painful for him to speak for too long without resting his throat. He is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, and a highly skilled hunter and tracker. He has extensive knowledge of the social and religious customs of the natives of Centauri IV.

Weapons

Yondu uses a 5-foot (1.5 m) single curve bow and a quiver of arrows composed of yaka, a special sound-sensitive metal found only on Centauri IV. A yaka arrow can actually change its trajectory in response to certain high-octave whistle-sounds some Centaurians can produce. Yondu is so skillful at controlling his arrows, he can cause an arrow to return to his hand or weave its way through a crowd of people without touching them. Yondu's arrows are 15 inches (38 cm) in length and are very flexible. He carries about 20 of them at one time. In Secret Wars, Yondu utilizes his expertise in archery by shooting "drone-arrows" to give the Guardians an eye in the sky.

Yondu's right hand is replaced for a time by a bionic device called a weapons concealment appendage, a metal cup replacing his right hand. Thus, he could no longer practice archery nor perform functions requiring him to grasp with his right hand. The device can release from within itself a number of weapons, including a mace, a hatchet, a scythe, a barbed spear, and others; when not in use the weapons are concealed within the appendage at a reduced size, until enlarged by Pym particles. Yondu's bionic weapon-hand is later replaced with a duplicate of his original hand.

In other media

Television

• Yondu appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by James Arnold Taylor.
• Yondu appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat, voiced again by James Arnold Taylor.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Michael Rooker as Yondu at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Yondu Udonta appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Michael Rooker. This version is a cyborg armed with a self-propelled arrow that he can control through whistling and a head-mounted control fin. Additionally, he is the leader of a clan of space pirates called the Ravagers.

• Udonta first appears in the live-action film Guardians of the Galaxy. In 1988, he kidnaps a young Peter Quill on behalf of the latter's father, later revealed to be Ego, but chooses to raise the boy as a Ravager instead. In the present however, Quill steals an orb instead of turning it over to the Ravagers, leading to Udonta pursuing him. Udonta later captures Quill and Gamora, who discovered the orb contains the Power Stone and persuade him to help them save Xandar from Ronan the Accuser. Once Ronan is defeated, Udonta claims the orb from Quill and departs. While he learns it was a fake containing a Troll doll, an amused Udonta adds it to his collection of small figurines.
• As of the live-action film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, set a few months after the first film, the greater Ravager community has exiled Udonta and his faction after discovering they broke the Ravager code by trafficking children. Following this, Ayesha of the Sovereign hire Udonta to track down the Guardians of the Galaxy in retaliation for Rocket stealing their amulax batteries. Udonta and his Ravagers capture Rocket and Groot. However, when he announces his intent to renege on the deal, Taserface launches a mutiny and executes all of Udonta's loyalists while Nebula destroys his control fin. After being imprisoned, Rocket, Groot, and Kraglin Obfonteri help Udonta secure a prototype fin so he can kill Taserface and the mutineers before escaping to help Quill and the other Guardians defeat Ego. As Ego is destroyed, Udonta sacrifices himself to save Quill, having grown to see him as a son. At Udonta's funeral, Quill declares him his real father while Rocket informs the other Ravagers of Udonta's redemption.
• Alternate timeline versions of Udonta appear in the Disney+ animated series What If...? with Rooker reprising the role. The first variant appears in the episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", where he raises a young T'Challa after his underlings Kraglin and Taserface mistake him for Quill and abduct him instead. Over the following two decades, T'Challa inspires Udonta and the Ravagers to become more heroic. The second variant appears in the episode "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?", attending Thor's party on Earth with some of his fellow Ravagers.
• Udonta appears in animated flashback sequences in the live-action television special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Video games

• Yondu appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Chris Edgerly.
• Yondu appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.
• Yondu appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2.
• Yondu appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, voiced by Mark Barbolak. This version has history with Peter Quill and Rocket Raccoon. In a flashback in episode one, Quill recalls Yondu claiming that his mother told the latter to watch over him. If Quill trusts Yondu, he agrees to go him. If Quill does not, Yondu will forcibly drag the former to his new home. In episode two, the Guardians of the Galaxy visit Yondu on the planet Rajek and enlist him to help repair their starship, the Milano. Yondu agrees, and he will also accompany the Guardians if the player chooses not to accompany Rocket to Halfworld, resulting in Rocket stealing Yondu's ship.
• Yondu appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
• Yondu appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.

Collected editions

See also

In Spanish: Yondu para niños