How Twitter Reacted To The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special

Contains spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special"

There's something for everyone in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," from Easter eggs to a casual confirmation of the Collector's (Benicio del Toro) fate after "Avengers: Infinity War." In the span of just 44 minutes, James Gunn's special dances between animation, musical numbers, character introductions, fight scenes, multiple Christmas parties, and everything in between ... without ever losing sight of the fact that it's very much a touching Holiday story at heart. In other words, the Holiday special is one wild ride that's full of intergalactic Holiday cheer – just like reviews have indicated. 

Now that fans have the chance to see the special themselves and make up their mind about its quality, it appears that the general positive buzz around the project is only getting louder and louder. Viewers have already started expressing their opinions on Twitter, and their comments have highlighted several things about "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." Here's what Twitter had to say about it. 

Twitter users who have watched "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" have plenty of good things to say about it. Many of them have been extremely moved by the touching, humorous look at the Guardians' attempts to figure out a holiday barely any of them understands, just to make one of their own feel slightly better. The combination of the heartwarming premise and solid execution has won many fans over, and they've been quick to let their thoughts be known.   

"This is my favorite new holiday special!" @strangefluxx wrote. "The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special was so spectacular. These guys are what really pulled me into the MCU, and to see something this adorable and cute 8 years later is so special to me. I love them so much," @beskarspidey analyzed the viewing experience. 

Meanwhile, some viewers drew attention to the special's beautiful visuals, and compared it favorably to other MCU projects. "How is it that guardians of the galaxy's holiday special looks better than 70% of their movies, and is one of their greatest projects yet?" @mysterirfan asked. 

Others peppered their praise for the special's general quality with specific nods to newly appointed Guardian Cosmo the Spacedog (as voiced by Maria Bakalova) and MCU debutant Kevin Bacon, who plays himself. "It's so nice having Gunn back as writer and director. Also, Cosmo is so adorable! I can't wait to see more of her!" @Daniboi03 analyzed. "New best Guardians character," @NickTweetsALot wrote about Cosmo, while @TheHorizoneer suggested that every future Holiday special would benefit from an appearance by Bacon.

Mantis (Pom Klementieff) hasn't had an easy tenure in the MCU. She's served Ego (Kurt Russell) in utter isolation for years, and once she met the Guardians, she became a common target of jokes due to her naivety and inexperience around people. Here, however, she fully rises to the front and center of the story. Not only is her genuine wish to make Star-Lord happy at front and center of the Holiday special, but she gets a cool buddy adventure with Drax (Dave Bautista) ... and is even revealed to be Star-Lord's half-sister. 

Twitter has taken notice of Mantis' important role in the special, and there has been much rejoicing. "@PomKlementieff's #Mantis was the star of the #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy #ChristmasSpecial. Everyone had their moments but both Mantis and @DaveBautista's #Drax were on a different level. Perfect mix of heart and humor," @adingdingdiing tweeted. "MANTIS was heart of this show, she has proven why she is a GUARDIAN," @sandeep_sanmeyo agreed. 

Being a prolific Twitter user, James Gunn himself took to the platform to join the informal Mantis appreciation society before the special dropped — and from the looks of it, he's very delighted that people have embraced Klementieff's character as the star of this particular show. "I'm especially grateful for all the raves about @PomKlementieff's performance as Mantis. This is Mantis' true debut as her full-fledged self in the MCU, out of the background & out of the shadow of Ego," Gunn tweeted.

"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" features plenty of scenes to get excited about, but Twitter seems to have taken an immediate liking to one throwaway moment in particular. Though neither Nebula (Karen Gillan) or Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) feature particularly prominently in the special, the two former adversaries share a moment that shows just how far their relationship has come. Clearly remembering that Rocket has taken a liking to the Winter Soldier's (Sebastian Stan) cybernetic arm, Nebula has somehow managed to acquire said arm offscreen, and gives it to the visibly moved Rocket as a Christmas present. 

This brief moment of camaraderie has not gone unnoticed by the Twitterati. "He finally got bucky's arm," @NotReginaldKray tweeted. "Rocket getting Bucky's arm like he's wanted is one of the best moments of phase 4," @fkafreddie wrote.

Other users like @artoflilyk, @untidysouls, and @tickticktardis also tweeted about the moment, which might be short, but clearly resonates with viewers. 

"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is available for streaming on Disney+.