Guardians Vol 3. Finally Reveals How Rocket Got His Name (& If He's A Raccoon)

Rocket has a long history of getting offended when people refer to him as other animals. He's been called everything from a rabbit to a badger, but even when Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) calls him a raccoon, he gets offended. It's all been part of Rocket's personality where he's had a perpetual chip on his shoulder, always feeling like he never quite fit in anywhere. And it makes sense to an extent why he'd be put off when people call him these various animals. 

For Rocket, he's always been one-of-a-kind. There's nothing else in the galaxy quite like him, as confirmed by the High Evolutionary, who goes to extreme measures to recapture Rocket for experimentation. It feels like a good part of Rocket's identity stems from being unique, so when he gets belittled by being compared to creatures with less mental abilities, he throws a fit. 

However, that changes when he finds an area of the High Evolutionary's ship housing other animals, including a cage of baby raccoons. Rocket opens the cage, and the babies quickly flock to him. And right there on the label Rocket learns what he's always been all along — a raccoon.