Star-Lord
Star-Lord is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Peter Quill was born to Meredith and Jacob Quill during an unusual astronomical phenomena when many of the planets began to align. After his birth, his father Jacob saw no resemblance in the child to him and believed that his wife had committed infidelity. As a result, he angrily took the newborn and was ready to kill the infant when he died of a sudden heart attack. As a result, Peter Quill was raised by his single mother until she was killed by aliens when he was eleven years old. Afterwards, Peter would be placed in an orphanage though he eventually escaped in order to pursue a career by becoming a trainee NASA astronaut. In those moments, he was visited by an alien intelligence known as the Master of the Sun who appeared at the space station that Quill was placed at with numerous other astronauts. The Master of the Sun offered the mantle of the Star-Lord which was an interplanetary law enforcement officer to one of them. When Peter Quill volunteered, he was rejected in favor of a colleague who he had treated badly. An outraged Quill would be recalled back to Earth where he was discharged from service due to his conduct. However, he simply steals a scout ship which he uses to return to the space station and took his colleagues place. This resulted in him taking the mantle of Star-Lord with the Master of the Sun creating an illusion whereby Peter Quill managed to find as well as kill the aliens that murdered his mother thus freeing himself from his past. He was then provided a sentient vessel called "Ship" whereby he began his career at Star-Lord. (Marvel Preview v1 #4)
Several years later, Star-Lord was involved in stopping a band of slaves that were destroying entire worlds. His activities during this time allowed him to uncover a conspiracy to replace Jason of the Spartoi that was headed by Prince Gareth who was the brother of the Emperor. To thwart the attempted coup, Star-Lord travelled to the Imperial throneworld of Sparta where he encountered and kill the alien that killed his mother. Afterwards, he met Emperor Jason who revealed that he was in fact Peter Quill's father. Jason would explain that he had crash landed on Earth decades ago where he was rescued by Meredith Quill. Whilst on Earth, he spent a year attempting to repair his ship where he fell in love with Meredith. However, he was ultimately forced to leave Earth and for Meredith Quill's safety he placed a mindlock on her memories causing her to remember their time together as only a dream. (Marvel Preview v1 #11)
Guardians of the Galaxy
During his travels, Quill would encounter one of the former Heralds of Galactus known as the Fallen One. This cosmic being had rebelled against his master Galactus and sought to starve him by destroying all planets he could feed on. Star-Lord was almost killed during the first battle with the Fallen One but his sentient 'Ship' discovered that the energy generated from destroying planets was in fact harmful to the Herald. As a result, Peter Quill decided to sacrifice a Kree lunar colony above Avaleen-4 which was a target of the cosmic being by using Ship to harness that energy to defeat the Herald. This act, however, all led to the destruction of 'Ship' with Star-Lord turning in himself as well as the Fallen One to the Nova Corps who arrested them pair for Galactic level genocide. Though divided over his fate, Quill and the Herald were imprisoned in the intergalactic prison known as the Kyln. (Annihilation Conquest Starlord v1 #1) With the Fallen One freed, Gladiator conscripted Peter Quill into the Imperial Guard to fight the vengeful former Herald. (Thanos v1 #11) Star-Lord was later freed by the Nova Richard Rider when the Annihilation Wave was rampaging through space in order to enlist his aid against the villainous Annihilus. (Annihilation v1 #6) When the Phalanx infected Hala, Quill was saved under the command of Supreme General Ronan and had his implants removed to reduce his susceptibility to Phalanx corruption. He was tasked with finding a more primitive tech solution to the Phalanx problem as Kree advanced technology proved helpless against this threat and thus he began assembling a strike team for this task. (Annihilation Conquest Starlord v1 #1)
With Ultron and the Phalanx defeated, Star-Lord proceeded with forming a band of defenders known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. This was because the universe had become much more vulnerable after the two Annihilation events with fissures forming in reality that began to spread. To prevent the collapse of the universe, Quill had Mantis telepathically influence Adam Warlock, Phyla-Vell, Rocket Raccoon, Drax and Gamora into joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Guardians of the Galaxy v2 #1)
Upon learning of the Secret Invasion, Quill learnt that several Skrull infiltrators were dispatched to Hala to ensure that their ancient foes in the Kree empire did not interfere in their plans. Thus, he travelled to Hala to warn them but upon arriving he discovered the spies having been caught and fed to the Phalanx spire technology that the Kree had repurposed for themselves. Whilst there, he encountered Ronan the Accuser who revealed that the Kree had used the Phalanx technology to shield their empire whilst they rebuilt their strength. He also expressed his anger at Star-Lord as the Kree blamed Quill for allowing the Phalanx to invade their empire. Star-Lord demanded a stop with the dangerous spire technology as it threatened to rip space apart with Ronan refusing. This led to a battle between the pair with Peter Quill being defeated but rather than kill him whereupon making him a martyr it was decided to banish him into the Negative Zone. (Guardians of the Galaxy v2 #8)
Thanos managed to retrieve the Cube and defeat the Revengers, but was soon opposed by Drax, Peter, and Nova. While the Mad Titan was distracted by Drax, Nova picked up the Cosmic Cube and decided to use it along with the Nova Force to open a gate to Earth-616. However, Nova could not come along as he was acting as the door between the two universes. As his last wish, Nova asked Peter not to tell Gamora about this event, as it would devastate her. Peter, Drax, and Thanos were then returned to Earth-616. (Guardians of the Galaxy v3 #20)
Legendary Star-Lord
A further origin was shown that his father J'son of Spartax was the ruler of the Spartoi people but his ship was damaged causing it to crash on Earth. There the vessel was discovered by Meredith Quill who nursed the human looking alien back to health and developed romantic feelings for him leading to the two sleeping together. Despite this development, J'son departed the planet but left behind his Element Gun for safekeeping for her but was unaware that Meredith Quill was pregnant with his child. Thus, their union led to the birth of Peter Quill who was unaware of his fathers origin and instead grew up on Earth with his mother. Ten years later, their home was visited by the Badoon who were seeking to eliminate the ruling bloodline of the Spartoi leading to them killing his mother. The young Peter Quill managed to kill the two alien invaders with a shotgun but was targeted by the alien ship. After finding the Element Gun in his mother's closet, he quickly left the house before it was destroyed with the Badoon departing the planet after believing they had succeeded in their mission. When the authorities arrived, they believed that the house suffered from a gas leak causing the explosion. As a result, Peter Quill was taken to hospital where a nurse gave him the only item that survived his home's destruction which they believed was a space toy though in fact it was his father J'son's gun. (Guardians of the Galaxy v3 #0.1)
Thanos was the first to target Earth following his return. He managed to get a defective Cosmic Cube from the Army, with which he allied himself with the Badoon. The Guardians arrived at the Avengers' Tower and informed the Avengers about the situation. (Avengers Assemble v2 #5) They joined the Guardians to fight Thanos and the Badoon. Thanos sent the Guardians, the Avengers, and the Elders of the Universe to the Cancerverse. There, the heroes bargained with the Collector in exchange for a weapon capable of deactivating the 'Cube' and to return to Earth. With the help of other Earther heroes, Thanos was defeated and sent to the Elders for punishment. (Avengers Assemble v2 #8)
Shortly after, Iron Man joined the group, and the Guardians fought a Badoon invasion on Earth. (Guardians of the Galaxy v3 #1) They were briefly imprisoned by Spartax forces after defeating the Badoon in London. (Guardians of the Galaxy v3 #2) However, they managed to escape leading to them becoming fugitives of the Spartax Empire. (Guardians of the Galaxy v3 #3)
He would encounter his half-sister Victoria who was an elite Spartoi warrior and seeking fortunes to help stave off the damage to Spartax after the revolt against J'son. (Legendary Star-Lord v1 #2)
Infinity Wars
In the wake of the crisis, the Guardians were disbanded with only Groot accompanying Quill back in space. Peter purchased a new ship named the Ryder as they travelled through the cosmos. He was heading back to Knowhere when he found the station missing and reported to the Nova Corps. From them, he learnt that there was a gathering of cosmic groups that were hearing the last will and testament of Thanos. Through the Novas, Quill came to learn of an incident at the site and went to investigate only to find a few cosmic heroes surviving an attack. The Nova Corps were prepared to arrest the survivors as part of their investigation but Quill decided to claim that they were members of his newest incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Guardians of the Galaxy v5 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
At the Kyln, he considered his Star-Lord life dead and killed at his own hands. (Thanos v1 #8) In this time, he only considered acts of self-interest and saw heroic actions beyond that as being foolish. (Thanos v1 #10) This saw him being considered as a mass murderer with him feeling a great deal of guilt over his actions in the destruction of the Kree lunar colony to defeat the Fallen One. Such was the extent of his guilt that he could not recall when he made the decision to run from his humanity. He believed that his actions in the Annihilation War afforded him the opportunity to atone for his past actions. (Annihilation Conquest Starlord v1 #1)
Those that spent any length of time with Star-Lord get to understand that he was a driven man who felt guided by his responsibilities. He believed that if he did not guard the galaxy then no one else would do so. (Guardians of the Galaxy v2 #20)
He considered 'Ship' a friend, confidant, teacher and even as a nagging wife. (Annihilation Conquest Starlord v1 #1)
Powers and abilities
For a time, Quill had an implanted Memchip in his head that afforded him a 100% effective memory recall allowing him to remember sentences word for word. (Thanos v1 #12) Another implant included a universal translator that allowed him to communicate in alien languages and understand them. These implants were later removed when he was inducted into Kree intelligence to battle the Phalanx. (Annihilation Conquest Starlord v1 #1)
Notes
- Star-Lord was created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan where he made his first appearance in Marvel Preview v1 #4 (January 1976).
- In 2013, Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven rebooted the origin story of Star-Lord.
- On the characters creation, creator Steve Englehart commented:
- I conceived something very large. My hero would go from being an unpleasant, introverted jerk to the most cosmic being in the universe, and I would tie it into my then-new interest in astrology. After his earthbound beginning, his mind would be opened step by step, with a fast-action story on Mercury, a love story on Venus, a war story on Mars, and so on out to the edge of the solar system, and then beyond.
- But – after his earthbound beginning, where I established him as an unpleasant, introverted jerk, I left Marvel, so no one ever saw what he was to become.
Alternate Versions
- In Captain Marvel v7 #126 (2017), an alternate reality version of Peter Quill appeared in the reality designated as Earth-25271 in the Multiverse.
- In Infinity Wars v1 #6 (2018), a parallel universe was referred to where Star-Lord was killed when he remained back in the Cancerverse. Without him, Gamora fully committed to her role as Requiem as she destroyed the universe.
- In Old Man Quill v1 #1 (2019), an alternate version of the character appeared in the world designated as Earth-807128. This version was shown to had left the Guardians of the Galaxy where he married a woman on Spartax named L'ssa who had his two children one of whom was named Meredith. Quill came to be Emperor of Spartax where he was engaged in a longstanding war against the Church of Universal Church. He made numerous calls for aid from Earth but never received a response. Thus, he led his campaign to eliminate his enemies but during his strike he came to learn that his foe's dark god had attacked Spartax and wiped the planet clean of life. Thus, Peters family were all slain and he fell into guilt and depression over his life being over. He then was approached by his old comrades in the Guardians of the Galaxy for a mission to Earth. Upon arriving there, he found that the world's heroes had been slain by its villains and that it had been turned into a desolate place known as the Wastelands.
In other media
Television
- In Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the character made a guest appearance in the episode "Michael Korvac" where he was voiced by Steve Downes. He was shown as a half-alien/half-human leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy that protected space from great threats as detected by Adam Warlock. The Guardian pursued the transformed Michael Korvac to Earth where they sought to stop him from destroying the planet with his new Kree derived abilities. Upon arriving at Earth, Star-Lord and the Guardians came into conflict with the Avengers who believed Korvac was an innocent. Peter Quill would be knock unconscious by a stun arrow from Hawkeye but would later regroup with the Guardians and Avengers when the true nature of Korvac was revealed. This allowed Star-Lord to introduce himself and his comrades in the Guardians of the Galaxy that included Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Phya-Vell and Adam Warlock.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, the character made an appearance in the episode "Guardians of the Galaxy" where he was voiced by Chris Cox. He was described as being half human and half alien royalty who was armed with his Element Gun. Star-Lord was the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy that had Drax, Gamora, Groot and Rocket Raccoon. They sought to protect the universe from dangerous threats leading to a conflict with Korvac who led the Chitauri. During this encounter, the majority of the Guardians were captured with Rocket Raccoon being the only one free where he escaped to Earth to get the help of Nova Sam Alexander who he trained to be a superhero. They were joined by Spider-Man where they infiltrated the Chitauri vessel, freed the Guardians and defeated Korvac.
Films
- In Planet Hulk, Star-Lord made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the direct-to video film. He was shown as being one of the people within the arenas of Sakaar witnessing the gladiatorial fights held there.
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star-Lord made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, the character was one of the primary protagonists in the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was portrayed by actor Chris Pratt. He was the son of Meredith Quill and raised by her as a single mother though unknown to him his father was a mysterious unknown alien. During the 80's, his mother used to listen to pop music which was a trait passed to her son who had a Walkman that he used to listen to music. However, Meredith would suffer from cancer and confined to a hospital where it was expected that she would die. During her last moments, she gifted something to her son and stated that his father would come to collect him whilst asking him to hold her hand. With tears in his eyes, Peter refused as he did not want to say goodbye to his mother only for her to die at that moment. Distraught, he left the hospital where he was abducted by the alien pirate Yondu who took the boy into space where he became part of the pirate crew known as the Ravagers. Quill would engage in this life for the next 26 years where he reached adulthood and engaged in numerous criminal acts such as theft whilst operating his starship called the Milano. He betrayed Yondu by going to the planet Morag and stealing an artifact that was valued leading to his encounter with Korath. This item was in fact one of the Infinity Stones which Quill took to Xandar but in a fight with Gamora, Rocket Raccoon and Groot he was captured by the Nova Corps. There, he would meet Drax and form a group that sought to escape the Kyln prison station whereupon they sought to sell the stone. It was only then that they discovered the threat of the Infinity Stone as the renegade Kree Ronan sought to use it to kill all life on Xandar as part of his revenge. It was only through cunning and newfound leadership skills did Quill defeat Ronan where they saved Xandar from his wrath leading to him being declared a hero.
Video games
- In Marvel Heroes, Star-Lord was a playable character in the game where he was voiced by actor Anthony Ruivivar. Peter Jason Quill was the child of a Human woman and the Spartax Prince J'Son, which lead to the death of his mother when his home was attacked by aliens. Taking the Element Gun left behind by his father, Peter dedicated his time on Earth to becoming an astronaut, and eventually became the hero Star-Lord, traveling the stars and fighting crime. After a conflict with The Fallen One lead to thousands of innocent lives lost, a traumatized Peter Quill had himself enrolled in The Kylnn, intending to stay imprisoned and content for The Star-Lord to die. When the Annihilation Wave struck the galaxy, however, Quill was called back into action by Nova, and the two helped turn the tide of the war.
- In Marvel: War of Heroes, Star-Lord appeared on multiple playable cards in the video game.
- In Marvel Contest of Champions, Star-Lord appeared as an unlockable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Star-Lord appeared as an unlockable character in the mobile video game.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Star-Lord appeared as the protagonist in the video game where the adult was voiced by actor Scott Porter whilst actor Jeremy Shada voiced him as a kid.
Appearances
- Marvel Preview v1 #4: "Starlord First House: Earth!" (January 1976)
- Thanos v1: #8-#12
- Guardians of the Galaxy:
- Guardians of the Galaxy v3: #0.1 (April 2013)
- Legendary Star-Lord v1:
- Guardians of the Galaxy v5:
External Links
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