Where did Rocket's repair tool come from?

Question

After the Milano crashed, we saw Rocket repairing the damage using some tool that appears to be a cross between a 3D printer and a paint sprayer:

This resembles nothing else we've seen in the MCU thus far, and unfortunately the film goes into absolutely no detail as to what exactly that tool is or where it came from. The script is even less helpful, saying only this:

Rocket is SOLDERING the ship.

What he's doing sure looks more advanced than soldering to me…

So is this tool something Rocket built, or did he acquire it somehow?

Knowing Rocket he most likely built it. With that said though I don't know for sure — TheLethalCarrot, Jan 22 '18 at 16:55
The MCU wikia page has no information on it that I can see and my Google-Fu turns up nothing. — TheLethalCarrot, Jan 22 '18 at 17:05
@TheLethalCarrot Yeah, I checked there first before coming here. — Bob, Jan 22 '18 at 17:07
@bob “And don't anybody say "Black Panther" or "Vibranium" please. Remember, this movie is set in 2014” — remember, you said “we’ve seen”, not “the characters have seen”. — Paul D. Waite, Jan 22 '18 at 20:19
I loved this scene. Such a flagrantly overpowered repair device, and Rocket just casually using it without explanation. The perfect way to push the audience's suspension of disbelief far enough that nothing would seem unbelievable afterwards. Very comic booky :) — Nacht, Jan 23 '18 at 00:27
Post Infinity War, this does look a bit similar to Tony’s nanobot Iron Man suit which repairs a hole in a ship in a similar fashion. Do we think Rocket snuck into Avengers HQ and stole it? Or commissioned Ant-Man to do so??? — Paul D. Waite, May 25 '18 at 11:54
It's from STAR TREK! One of the numerous hand-held devices that makes a strange trilling sound and somehow fixes things with no visible contact. Rocket probably stole it from the U.S.S. Enterprise D. One like it appeared in Picard--but it had tentacles. Maybe Rocket stole it from the 24th century. — Sovereign Inquiry, May 05 '20 at 16:27

TheLethalCarrot · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-23T16:12:53.083

167

I asked James Gunn, the director of Volumes 1 and 2, on Twitter and it turns out Rocket didn’t invent the device. In fact, he stole it (because it was expensive).

Gunn also gave some insight to how it works.

@CarrotLethal: Hello! Did Rocket create the repair tool he uses on the Milano or was it a standard tool? Thanks.

@JamesGunn: He didn't invent it, but it's expensive. It keeps the entire ship in its memory and can recreate all of it or just the damaged parts, similar to an incredibly sophisticated 3D printer. It takes expertise, time, and patience to employ.

@themattblair: It's expensive = he stole it, right?.

@JamesGunn: Yes, he did steal it.

_{Twitter, @JamesGunn}

edited Oct 23 '18 at 16:12

answered Jan 22 '18 at 19:04

TheLethalCarrot

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Nice. Talk about going directly to the source... – Zeiss Ikon Jan 22 '18 at 19:59
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That's called leading the witness! :) – Igby Largeman Jan 22 '18 at 21:55
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It's so odd to realize that your question may have retroactively caused a fictional character to steal something. Twittering canon into existence -- what times we live in! – Jeroen Mostert Jan 23 '18 at 12:12
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@JeroenMostert I know right! Though to be fair this is Rocket, anything he hasn't invented he's most likely stolen. – TheLethalCarrot Jan 23 '18 at 12:14
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@JeroenMostert Does that make Bob and TheLethalCarrot some kind of deities to the MCU!? – josh Jan 23 '18 at 12:56
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@josh - The MCU must have a lot of deities then. – ibid Jan 23 '18 at 16:06
@josh I thought that was Stan Lee's job? – user64742 Jan 23 '18 at 21:59
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I like how he nicely addresses why this thing wasn’t just immediately used to solve... nearly any problem ever. – KRyan Jan 24 '18 at 18:53
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This made it to Reddit – ThePopMachine Jan 25 '18 at 04:37

Where did Rocket's repair tool come from?

1 Answers1