Rocket Raccoon is a genetically enhanced animal who loves gadgets, gizmos and weapons. But despite the countless guns, bombs and Hadron Enforcers he's wielded to lethal effect over the years, Rocket's handiest -- and potentially most dangerous -- gadget might be one he stole from the Collector in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy animated series.
The Pocket Dimension Vial is first seen in Season 1, Episode 3, "One in a Million You" and serves as a space-age equivalent to a classic Dungeons & Dragons item. Much like D&D's Bag of Holding, the vial lets Rocket fit a great many items into an easily portable container. Its way of achieving this, however, comes with a whole host of terrifying implications.
In the world of D&D, a Bag of Holding is considerably bigger on the inside than the outside. No matter how full the bag gets, its weight never exceeds fifteen pounds, allowing players to carry large amounts of items around with them. It's obviously a useful item for any party of questing characters who need to stock up on provisions and keep a variety of tools and weapons at hand. Arguably, it's an even more useful item for a spacefaring, heavily armed, technologically gifted raccoon.
When we first see the Pocket Dimension Vial on Guardians of the Galaxy during the episode "One in a Million You," it is being used by the Collector as a handy tool to help gather items for his collection. When Rocket's newest invention, a walking robot tank dubbed "Oblitobot," wreaks havoc, the Collector is able to stash it away in the pocket dimension. Later that same episode, while escaping the clutches of the Collector, Rocket steals the vial and reclaims his stolen creation. He hangs onto the vial and goes on to make good use of it.
In Episode 8 of the same season, "Hitchin' a Ride," the Guardians come under attack from a horde of Symbiotes. Rocket uses the vial to contain them, trapping the Symbiotes in the pocket dimension. No more thought is given to the Symbiotes -- or the tiny gadget that was able to imprison them with ease -- until the one Symbiote that Rocket missed attacks the team, resulting in Groot's destruction and leaving Rocket no choice but to enter the pocket dimension himself in search of the Symbiote carrying the last remnant of Groot.
This episode of Guardians of the Galaxy reveals the vast storage dimension where all manner of accumulated space junk and weaponry floats through a featureless expanse. While Rocket battles Symbiotes, Quill and the vial are abducted by Yondu. When Yondu takes and opens the vial, he unwittingly sets several ravenous Symbiotes loose on his ship. In short, the episode is a perfect demonstration of just how dangerous Rocket's Pocket Dimension Vial is. Not only does it give Rocket easy access to an entire arsenal of deadly weaponry at all times, but it also allows him to weaponize dangerous alien creatures like the Symbiotes. Despite their power, the Symbiotes were easily captured by the vial and just as easily released upon a band of unsuspecting Ravagers. Then there's the matter of getting stuck inside it. Its D&D counterpart may have limited storage capacity and even more limited oxygen, but that's certainly not the case here. Had the vial been lost while Rocket was inside, he could very easily have been trapped in there for all eternity.
This tiny gadget may not seem like much more than a sci-fi storage solution, but as a key to an extradimensional plane in the hands of the endlessly ingenious Rocket, there can be no doubting its dangerous potential.
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