Cosmo is a Labrador-breed dog who possesses enhanced intelligence and psionic abilities. In 1966, she was sent into outer space by the Soviet Union as part of their space exploration program. She was found by the Collector, who kept her on display in his museum on Knowhere, where she was given a collar that allowed her to telepathically speak with others. When the museum was destroyed by the Power Stone in 2014, Cosmo was freed and continued to reside freely on Knowhere. Eleven years later, she reunited with the Guardians of the Galaxy after they purchased Knowhere and officially joined their team as they worked to rebuild Knowhere as a community and their headquarters.
In 2026, following an attack by Adam Warlock, the Guardians left Knowhere to save a mortally wounded Rocket and left Cosmo and Kraglin Obfonteri in charge until their return. When her fellow Guardians succeeded, Cosmo helped defend Knowhere when it came under attack by High Evolutionary's Hell Spawn, and using her powers, she managed to stop the ship from colliding into Knowhere. Following the conflict, Star-Lord, Mantis, Nebula, Drax and Gamora resigned from the team, leaving Cosmo to continue serving as a Guardian alongside new members under the leadership of Rocket.
Cosmo was a Labrador[3] bred in the Soviet Union on Earth.[4] In 1966, the Soviets suited Cosmo up in an astronaut outfit. She was then placed in a rocket and sent into outer space as a test for their space program, with no plans to bring Cosmo back to Earth and intending for her to die in space.[1]
While orbiting in space, Cosmo was discovered by Taneleer Tivan, who kept her in his museum on Knowhere, inside of a large glass box for display. Cosmo underwent scientific enhancement programs that granted her newfound capabilities, including telekinesis, higher durability, improved intelligence, and a much longer lifespan. She was also able to telepathically communicate through her collar.[2] In 2014, when the soon-to-be Guardians of the Galaxy were guided through the establishment by Carina, Cosmo and Rocket growled and bared their teeth at each other.
When Carina unleashed energy from the Power Stone, it demolished a large portion of the museum and its properties. Cosmo's box was also destroyed, allowing her to leave her former housing space unscathed, but she chose to remain inside the museum.
Shortly afterwards, while Tivan, who also managed to survive, sat in the ruins of his museum in bandages, Cosmo walked up to him to politely lick his face, as Howard the Duck commented that it was gross and asked Tivan why he let her lick him.[4] In 2018, Cosmo survived when Thanosattacked Knowhere to obtain the Reality Stone.[5]
Guardian of the Galaxy[]
Joining The Team[]
By 2025, Cosmo was reunited with the Guardians of the Galaxy after they bought Knowhere from the Collector as their new base of operations. Cosmo was then recruited as a member of the team.[2]
In December 2025, Cosmo was working with Rocket to rebuild Knowhere using her telekinetic powers, however, she ended up getting frustrated with Rocket and asked for treats to work. Later that night, Cosmo along with the other inhabitants of Knowhere, helped Mantis and Drax the Destroyer decorate their base with Christmas decorations to cheer up Peter Quill which ended up temporarily failing because Quill found out Kevin Bacon was kidnapped.
After Kevin Bacon agreed to sing to cheer up Peter Quill, Cosmo hunted and killed a Orloni and gave it to Kraglin Obfonteri as a Christmas gift. Later, Cosmo and Rocket tried to decorate Groot as if he was a Christmas tree, but Groot ended up moving, dropping all the decorations in the floor, upsetting Cosmo and Rocket.[2]
Months later, after finishing their rebuilding of Knowhere, the Guardians usually helped Peter Quill, who was constantly drunk. One night, Cosmo showed off her telekinetic powers to the Knowhere civilians, overshadowing Kraglin Obfonteri, who then called her a "bad dog," hurting her feelings. Shortly after that, Adam Warlock attacked Knowhere in order to kidnap Rocket, but only mortally wounded him. The Guardians of the Galaxy left Knowhere to save him and put Cosmo and Obfonteri in charge until they would return. Cosmo asked Obfonteri to take back his insult, but he refused.[1]
Later on, while Cosmo was playing cards with Kraglin Obfonteri, Bzermikitokolok, the Broker, Howard the Duck, Steemie Blueliver and Gridlemop, she began telling them about how badly the Soviets treated her, but they never called her "bad dog." Cosmo's constant complaining annoyed the other players, who begged Obfonteri to take back his words, but he continued to refuse, much to her upset.
They were then interrupted by Peter Quill, who contacted Obfonteri and told him to bring Knowhere to the Arête Laboratories in order to help save Nebula, Mantis and Drax who had been captured by High Evolutionary. Upon doing so, they were promptly attacked by High Evolutionary's Hell Spawn and henchmen, who managed to infiltrate Knowhere. Obfonteri managed to eliminate the intruders with the Yaka Arrow until it got stuck, leaving just Behemoth, who charged at him, so Cosmo protected him. Obfonteri finally called Cosmo a "good dog" as she used her powers to slam two walls against Behemoth. An overjoyed Cosmo then licked Obfonteri for his praise.
Once the Arête Laboratories was piloted into Knowhere, Cosmo used her telekinetic powers to attach the two together, allowing for the Guardians of the Galaxy, along with all the children they were rescuing to safely get across onto Knowhere. The effort soon became too much for Cosmo, who began to tire, so Mantis came to her aid and used her empathic powers to give Cosmo more strength. While Cosmo was able to hold on long enough for the Guardians to recuse all the animals and jump across, Quill fell behind right as Cosmo passed out from exhaustion and let go of her hold.
Cosmo howling during the celebrations
Luckily, Quill was saved by Adam Warlock and returned to Knowhere, where everyone gathered around Quill and hugged him, with Cosmo licking his face. In the aftermath, as the citizens helped the newcomers, Rocket began playing music and danced, so everyone joined in on the dancing to celebrate. As Cosmo danced alongside Obfonteri and Blurp, she also found an Orloni and began playing with it in her mouth. Cosmo then let out a howl, and the rest of the Guardians all joined in by howling.[1]
Now serving under the leadership of Rocket Raccoon, Cosmo remained as a member of the new Guardians of the Galaxy, consisting of Groot, Kraglin Obfonteri, Adam Warlock, Blurp and Phyla. The new Guardians found themselves on Krylor, defending a settlement from a stampede of creatures. Prior to the battle, the Guardians discussed their favorite artists and bands on Rocket's Zune. Soon enough, they found themselves charging at the incoming stampede to defend the settlement.[1]
Personality[]
"Just concentrate, you stupid mutt. What?" "I refuse to do any more work while you demean me."
Cosmo does not like being disrespected by others and will react strongly to these demeaning acts. When Rocket Raccoon taunted her with her poor aim, Cosmo retaliated by stating that she would refuse to do any work while Rocket demeans her and demands to be treated well. When Kraglin said she was a bad dog, Cosmo felt offended and repeatedly annoyed Kraglin on many occasions so that he could take back his words, and she was visibly happy when Kraglin finally admitted that she was a good girl.
Moreover, Cosmo is a loyal and caring member to the Guardians. Despite being very strained and tired from pulling Knowhere and the High Evolutionary's laboratory together so as to allow the Guardians and the other test subjects to escape, Cosmo still tried her best until she can no longer hold the strength and almost passed out. When Kraglin was attacked by Behemoth and was defenseless due to the Yaka arrow impaled to the wall and unable to be pulled out, she walked in front of Kraglin to protect him and use her telekinesis powers to kill Behemoth. During the team's Christmas celebration, she brought a dead creature to Kraglin as present, though the latter was reluctant to receive this as a present. She also accompanied the new incarnation of the Guardians in adventures across the galaxy with Rocket as their new leader.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"Cosmo, what use is telekinesis if you can't even aim?"
Telekinesis: Cosmo is capable of moving objects through her mind. She used these abilities to assist Rocket Raccoon in repairing buildings on Knowhere. Cosmo used her telekinesis to lift two giant debris to kill Behemoth and she was later able to stop the Arête Laboratories from crashing into Knowhere.
Abilities[]
Marksman: Cosmo accurately hit every target with a peeble while demonstrating her telekinesis.
Bilingualism: Cosmo can understand Groot due to spending time and bonding with him.[7]
Equipment[]
Other Equipment[]
Soviet Union Space Suit: Cosmo wears a space suit from the days of the Soviet Union to help her survive the harsh environments of space. Her suit originally included a helmet, which appears to have been removed some time before December 2025.
Aluminium Neck Ring: With her high-tech collar,[6] Cosmo can communicate with others.
Translator Implant: Cosmo has a translator implant that helps her understand many of the languages spoken in the universe.[8]
Facilities[]
Collector's Museum: Cosmo was kept in a cage in the Collector's Museum after being found by the Collector. After most of the museum exploded, she escaped from her cage but stayed in the remains of the museum.
In the comics, Cosmo was a male dog and test animal of the Soviet Space program. He was launched into Earth's orbit as part of an experiment in the 1960s but drifted off into space. He later arrived on Knowhere and became mutated, gaining telepathic and telekinetic abilities.
Cosmo was created as a Marvel character loosely based on the real life story of Laika, a Soviet dog that was sent into space aboard the Sputnik 2 to test whether it was possible for humans to survive the launch and conditions of outer space. James Gunn opted on making Cosmo a female in the MCU as an homage to Laika.[9]
