Yondu Udonta, or simply Yondu (), is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version of the character is depicted as the last survivor of his species in the 31st century, and is a founding member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team from the Marvel Multiverse alternate reality known as Earth-691. Yondu in Earth-691 is depicted as a blue-skinned male with a large red fin protruding from the back of his head and his back; he is a spiritual warrior who can control his killing arrows via sound waves, most commonly by whistling. Yondu joined Vance Astro and other survivors of the Badoon attack on the solar system in the 31st Century, who became known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. As part of the Guardians, Yondu traveled to present-day Earth and became an honorary member of the Avengers. The original Yondu never starred as a solo character in any Marvel Comic books, but was a core member of the team in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic that ran from 1990 to 1995. Michael Rooker portrayed Yondu as a space pirate leading one of the factions of "The Ravagers" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). After the release of the first film, Marvel Comics introduced this version of the character to the Earth-616 comic book continuity. Additionally, Rooker voiced Yondu in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) and alternate versions of Yondu in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021). Since his introduction, the present-day Yondu character has appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series and in several video games. Publication history The Earth-691 version of Yondu first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (January 1969). According to Roy Thomas, all of the original Guardians of the Galaxy were created in a conference between Arnold Drake and Stan Lee, but it remains uncertain whether each individual character was created by Drake, Lee, or both. Writer Steve Gerber included the character when he revived the team in several Marvel titles: Marvel Two-In-One #4-5 (July-Sept. 1974), Giant Size Defenders #5, and Defenders #26-29 (July-Nov. 1975), and Marvel Presents #3-#12 (Feb. 1976-Aug. 1977). Yondu appeared along with the rest of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team in the 2014 series Guardians 3000. Writer Dan Abnett described