<P> Rocket Raccoon is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, the character first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (Summer 1976). He is an intelligent, anthropomorphic raccoon, who is an expert marksman and master tactician . His name and aspects of his character are a nod to The Beatles' 1968 song "Rocky Raccoon". </P> <P> Rocket Raccoon appeared as a prominent member in the 2008 relaunch of the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy . The character has appeared in several media adaptations as a member of that team, including animated television series, toys, and video games . He appears in the 2014 live - action film Guardians of the Galaxy and its 2017 sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with his voice provided by Bradley Cooper and motion capture provided by Sean Gunn . </P> <P> The character was created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen, and inspired by the Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon". Other references to the song were featured in Rocket's appearance in The Incredible Hulk #271 (May 1982), which was titled "Now Somewhere In the Black Holes of Sirius Major There Lived a Young Boy Named Rocket Raccoon" and saw the Hulk help Rocket stop a villain trying to steal "Gideon's Bible", which in the Marvel Universe was a book that contained the sum of all knowledge on the Loonies colony . </P> <P> Rocket Raccoon first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (Summer 1976), in the back - up feature "The Sword in the Star", under the name "Rocky". He would next appear in The Incredible Hulk #271 (May 1982), where it is learned that "Rocky" is short for "Rocket". In 1985, he received his own four - issue limited series and in an afterword to the first issue, Mantlo himself asserted that this was the same character seen in Preview, penciled by Mike Mignola and inked by Al Gordon with Al Milgrom . Rocket appeared in Quasar #15 in 1990 and later appeared in three issues of Sensational She - Hulk in 1992 (#44 - 46). The character only appeared in a total of ten comic books in his first thirty years of existence . </P>

Who is rocket in guardians of the galaxy