Publication history
The character first appeared in the black-and-white magazine publication Marvel Preview #4 (Jan 1976).
Star-Lord continued to appear in Marvel Preview, with writer Chris Claremont revamping the character and using science fiction adventure stories like the Heinlein juveniles for inspiration.[3] Heinlein's lawyers threatened legal action over the cover to Marvel Preview #11, which featured a blurb that described the content as "a novel-length science fiction spectacular in the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein", leading to the issue being pulled and reprinted.[4] The story in #11 was the first teaming of the celebrated X-Men creative trio of writer Chris Claremont, penciller John Byrne, and inker Terry Austin. Star-Lord made sporadic appearances over the next few years in the titles Marvel Super Special,[5] Marvel Spotlight,[6][7] and Marvel Premiere.[8][9] The Marvel Spotlight installments, which were Star-Lord's first appearance in a traditional comic book format, served to consolidate the separate but complementary origin stories from his two appearances in Marvel Preview.[10] In February 1982, a color reprint of the black-and-white Star-Lord story from Marvel Preview #11 was published with a new framing sequence by Claremont and artist Michael Golden.[11][12]
The character returned in Thanos #8–12 (May–Sept. 2004) and Annihilation #1-6 (2006). The following year, he received a four issue eponymous title (Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord) leading into the "Annihilation: Conquest" crossover storyline, in which he played a central role. Spinning out of "Annihilation: Conquest", a second volume of Guardians of the Galaxy featured a team of characters from the crossover who were led by Star-Lord for the duration of the title's 25-issue run. Plot lines from that series were concluded in The Thanos Imperative mini-series.
Because of revisions to the character's origin, his early appearances have been officially designated as occurring in an alternate reality.[13]
Star-Lord returned, along with other members of the Guardians, in Avengers Assemble #4-8 (June–Oct. 2012). He stars in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch.[14]
In July 2014, Star-Lord received his own ongoing series, Legendary Star-Lord. The character was also given a new costume, matching that seen in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy
[15]
His solo series and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 ended as Marvel began its 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline.[16] Star-Lord appeared as a main character in the core Secret Wars miniseries, and in a tie-in miniseries during the event, Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde.[17]
During publication of "Secret Wars", Marvel premiered a new ongoing Star-Lord series, written by Sam Humphries, as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative, which focused on the character's revamped origins. This series also saw him leave the Guardians of the Galaxy, and replaced by his fiancée Kitty Pryde, who took over the identity of Star-Lord on the team's roster.[18] The series lasted for eight issues.[19] A subsequent Star-Lord ongoing series written by Chip Zdarsky began in December 2017 before being canceled after a six issues and one annual.[20]
In April 2019, Peter Quill was given a 12 issue miniseries set in the Old Man Logan Universe called Old Man Quill, which was written by Ethan Sacks and drawn by Robert Gill.[21]
In November 2020, Peter Quill acquires the title and powers of Master of the Sun (which he had in his early original first appearance in the Marvel Premiere series of the 1970s and later retconned to be his Earth-791 counterpart[3][13]) and it is revealed that the title was bestowed upon Peter by what and whom he believed to be a false memory from prior history, never truly lived. Being gifted entirely alien capabilities by said facsimile of his old mentor, Quill would gain incredible; albeit unexplored, new power which he can channel through his Element Gun. These as of yet unexplored faculties often manifest by the glow of his regrown left eye and the odd sun imprint tattooed to the palm of his right hand.[22]
Fictional character biography
When J'son's ship crash lands in Colorado, he is taken in by Meredith Quill. The two form a relationship while J'son makes repairs to his ship. Eventually, J'son is forced to leave to return home and fight in a war. He leaves, not knowing Meredith is pregnant with Peter Quill. Ten years later, Meredith is killed when she is attacked by two Badoon soldiers who have come to kill Peter and end J'son's blood line. Peter finds his father's gun by accident, kills them with a shotgun, and escapes his home before it is destroyed by the Badoon ship. The Badoon presume Peter has been killed and leave. Peter is placed in an orphanage and eventually joins NASA.[23] It was eventually explained that he was raised by his mother's best friend Lisa Chang who was a commander at NASA.[24]
Later, when his ship malfunctions and he is stranded in space, Peter is found by the Ravagers, a group of space pirates led by Yondu. After the Ravagers save Peter, he tries to steal their ship. He outsmarts the Ravagers and even knocks out Yondu before capturing him. After Yondu awakens, he frees himself and attacks Peter, letting Peter choose to be released to space without more trouble or be killed. Peter instead asks Yondu if he could join Yondu's crew. Yondu eventually learns that the two share something in common: growing up as "kids without homes". Yondu lets Peter stay in the ship with the Ravagers as their cleaning boy. Peter decides to stay and try to learn everything he can while among the Ravagers.[25]
Peter encounters the Fallen One, a former Herald of Galactus, and is almost killed defeating the entity. In addition, his vessel, Ship, is destroyed in the conflict. Peter and the Fallen One are subsequently imprisoned in the intergalactic prison called the Kyln.[26][27][28][29][30] Peter is freed by the hero Nova during the Annihilation War and aids in the war against villain Annihilus.[31][32][33][34][35][36] He later acts as military adviser to the Kree General Ronan the Accuser.
When the Kree homeworld of Hala is conquered by the Phalanx, Star-Lord leads a band of rebels against the invaders until the war is over.[37][38][39][40] In an effort to prevent another interstellar war, Star-Lord forms a new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are "proactive" and try to end emerging galactic threats early,[41] but are unsuccessful at preventing a war between the Kree and Shi'ar. During a war with an invading universe, Star-Lord and Nova are prepared to sacrifice themselves to defeat Thanos[42] but only Nova dies and Thanos escapes.[43][44][45]
New Guardians and Kitty Pryde
Peter decides to remain inactive for a time until he discovers his father was planning to pass a law that forbade any interaction of extraterrestrial or space origin with Earth. Knowing this would be an open invitation for invasion, Peter decides to reform the Guardians with six members: Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Drax the Destroyer, and Bug, along with himself, and start protecting Earth from any attack. Soon they aid the Avengers against the returned Thanos.[46][47][48][49][50][51] After this, Star-Lord and his new team of Guardians engage in conflicts with the Badoon. He is soon captured by the army of Spartax but he escapes imprisonment and broadcasts a video showing the unfairness of his father's reign.[52][53][54][55] During the war of the builders, he infiltrated the S.W.O.R.D. facilities and rescued Abigail Brand along with Rocket and new member Angela.[56] He also declared war against the Shi'ar empire after intervening in one of their trials to rescue the kidnapped young Jean Grey along with the X-Men.
During this mission Peter meets Kitty Pryde, and the two eventually have a romantic relationship.[57][58][59] Afterwards, the Guardians are cornered and captured by the Spartax Army. Peter is sent to Spartax where he confronts his father again and escapes after exposing once again his father's tyrannical reign. A riot forms in the Empire and J'son is deposed as a consequence. Peter keeps a low profile and remains dedicated to his long-distance relationship with Kitty. Soon he discovers he is elected by the Spartax people to be their new emperor.[60] Peter ignores the announcement and focuses on Kitty and his search for a gangster named Mr. Knife who had put a bounty on his head. After being captured by Knife, he realizes Knife is J'son, his father. He escapes thanks to Kitty, and they spend some time together. Peter convinces Kitty to stay in space with him. He decides to steal an important artifact from J'son as payback.[61]
The Black Vortex
Peter and Kitty were successful in stealing the artifact called The Black Vortex, but found themselves outnumbered by J'son's killing squad so they decided to call the X-Men and the remaining Guardians for help. Knowing the artifact could give them the needed power to defeat J'son, Peter wanted everyone to submit to the Vortex to gain cosmic powers. Kitty stood against the idea but some of their friends submitted anyway. After failing to stop them, the submitted cosmic warriors attacked Hala and Peter went with a team to help the Kree in the battle. After some failed negotiations for the Vortex his team had to escape, but J'son found them and destroyed Hala in retaliation. Peter escaped on time. After finding Spartax had been completely covered in amber by Thane, including Kitty, Peter lamented not having heard her since the beginning and apologize to her. Kitty escaped thanks to her phasing powers and they had a reunion. Seeing no other way to defeat J'son and his cosmic empowered team, Peter tried to submit to the Vortex but after seeing the power would eventually make him push Kitty away, he refused. Kitty ended up submitting and saving Spartax. After the war ended, Peter had a romantic talk with Kitty where he proposes to her, a proposal which she accepts.[62]
Secret Wars
When the universe is facing its imminent end, Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy come to the world's final battle against the Children of Tomorrow. During the battle, Groot and Rocket Raccoon are killed, and Star-Lord is teleported away by Reed Richards to his ship. In the end, he is one of the few survivors of the apocalypse aboard the Fantastic Four's "life raft".[63] After the end of the universe, Doctor Doom somehow creates a new, patchwork world formed from the remains of dead universes. The life raft that Star-Lord was on remained in cryostasis for the next eight years, until they are awakened by Doctor Strange, a new Thor, and Miles Morales.[64] Doom becomes aware of their location, and ambushes them. Knowing they are the only hope of reviving the old universe, Strange casts a spell to spread the survivors across the world using the wind, with Doom vowing to find them.[65]
Star-Lord ends up in the domain of Manhattan, where he gets a job singing in the popular club, "the Quiet Room", singing Disney songs, as Disney films never existed in Battleworld, using the alias of Steve Rogers to hide from Doom. It is here that he runs into an alternate universe version of Kitty Pryde (from the Age of Apocalypse universe), who is hunting down artifacts from before Battleworld's creation. Hoping to talk to who he believes is his fiancée, he accidentally foils a deal between Kitty and Gambit to obtain an ancient artifact. Gambit leaves, but Kitty uses a scanner to discover that Star-Lord is from before Battleworld's creation, and she plans to take him to Doom. However, they are ambushed by a group of robots connected to Gambit. The two decide to steal an artifact that Gambit has, but it is a trap, and the two are captured. Right before Gambit can kill them, a version of Drax appears. Drax hired Peter to work in the Quiet Room. Drax knocks out Gambit. The three leave with the artifact secured. When they are safe the next morning, Kitty shows it to the two, only to find out its Rocket Raccoon's tail. Star-Lord laments the death of his friend, and Kitty decides to allow him to keep it, as it is the one thing left of his old universe. Star-Lord thanks Kitty, who kisses him before heading back to her home of Doomguard. Realizing the two are out of a job for abandoning the Quiet Room in the middle of a show, Star-Lord and Drax decide to go back into Star-Lord's old career as a thief. He asks Drax if he knows a good geneticist, as he plans on using Rocket's tail to make a clone of his friend, possibly an army of them.[66]
During the final stand against God Doom, Peter not only piloted a ship to take the two Reed Richardses to the heart of Castle Doom, but also managed to keep Black Swan occupied by using the last twig of Groot, kept in his pocket ever since the Incursions to be planted at the crucial moment.[67]
All-New, All-Different Marvel
Following the restoration of reality, Peter ascends to the throne of Spartax, with Rocket taking over leadership of the Guardians while Kitty (under the alias Star-Lady) and the Thing (following the disbanding of the Fantastic Four while the Richards' family worked to restore the multiverse) joins the team.[68] After Kree accuser Hala and the ruthless Yotat the Destroyer cause mass destruction on Spartax while trying to eliminate Quill, he returns to the Guardians due to the accusations of his delegates about his responsibility for the resulting deaths.[69]
During the Civil War II storyline, Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy assist Captain Marvel as her surprise weapon in the fight against Iron Man. During the battle, the Guardians ship is destroyed which leaves them stranded on Earth. After Iron Man's faction leaves, Gamora overhears a conversation between Peter and Kitty in which she learns that Peter knew (without telling the rest of the team) that Thanos was on Earth the entire time they were there. After stopping Gamora from storming into the Triskelion and killing Thanos, Gamora and the other Guardians leave Peter due to the secrecy. Peter and Kitty then break off their engagement.
Grounded
Living alone in an apartment given to him by Abigail Brand, Peter calls Howard the Duck to try and have drinks with him, and Howard furiously hangs up. He then finds Kitty and Old Man Logan in an art gallery, where Kitty shouts at him for carrying his guns into an art gallery with children. Frustrated, Peter leaves. Logan then catches up to him and has drinks with him in a bar, where they fight hitmen, which attracts the attention of the police. Logan flees the scene and Peter is captured.
Peter is prosecuted by Matt Murdock, who argues that unlike other superheroes, Star-Lord was reckless and endangered civilians while causing substantial property damage. The trial is interrupted by Brand, who gets the judge to reduce Peter's sentence to community service, to which Peter agrees. Brand and Alpha Flight then give him a new skin-tight costume, and he is assigned to senior citizen Edmund Allen, a retired super-criminal named Silver Bandit. After a day of bonding, Star-Lord is hired as a bartender at a bar for supervillains owned by Edmund's son.
Master of the Sun
When the reborn Olympians began wreaking havoc throughout the universe Richard Rider interrupted the Guardians' party and asked them for help to deal with the mad gods. However, Gamora refused wanting their family to live a normal happy life. Despite this Peter was unable to rest while innocent people were being killed, that and he had been having recurring visions of the Master of the Sun asking him if his life felt lacking as of late. Burdened with need of activity, he and Rocket joined Nova and other members of the Guardians to fight the Olympians. While Nova and Captain Marvel distracted some of the gods, Star Lord, Rocket, Marvel Boy, and Moondragon sneaked inside the Olympians' interdimensional ship intending to explode it. Unfortunately, they were discovered. After Star Lord was captured by Hephaestus, he killed the Olympian, and remained behind to detonate the bomb and defeat the Olympians, while the Guardians evacuated. The bomb successfully detonated destroying New Olympus, with Star Lord perishing as well.[70]
It was later revealed that Quill had in fact not died and was transported to an entirely different universe after the Alt. continuum Kree Tech bomb exploded. He was taken in by a pair of travelers on this new world, Mors and Aradia, whom he eventually acquitted himself to both as friends as well as family and eventually lovers while spending more than one-hundred and eighty seven years running a gauntlet of escapades with them. He came to see that his Element Gun had changed significantly since when last he used it, initially the blaster had a finite charge on which elements he could churn out at which succession. But because he'd used it to siphon the divine energies of Olympus's pantheon. He found that use of the gun didn't seem to diminish its power supply. Whilst out camping with his new companions, Quill's fears, including an underlying suspicion as to why his personal keepsake never lost its juice were confirmed by the reappearance of the mad Olympians. Whom revealed the constant use of Peter's signature weapon that bound and drained their powers freed the petty gods from captivity with each usage of which and now they seek to reacquire their stolen might from him by any means necessary. Feeling responsible for bringing their wrath down upon their world, Quill opts to take a portal back to his universe to lead them away from his new home. In doing so he is met by the Master who states; having passed the test of his new life, he will make Quill into the one true Star Lord: The Master of the Sun.[22] Arriving on Spartax in time to witness a symbiote dragon laying waste to his homeworld, Star Lord was caught up on all the events he'd missed and - with Nova's help - dove into the dragon and confronted the dark god of the symbiotes, Knull. Knull attempted to infect Star Lord and the other Guardians with living abyss to turn them into his soldiers, but Star Lord used the power he had obtained from the Olympians to kill the dragon and render its living abyss inert. Despite his new powers making him a powerful contender against Knull, Quill refused to return to Earth and face him - instead opting to prepare for the return of the Olympians.
Powers and abilities
Star-Lord is a master strategist and problem solver who is an expert in close-quarter combat, various human and alien firearms, and battle techniques. He has extensive knowledge of various alien customs, societies, and cultures, and considerable knowledge about cosmic abstracts, such as Oblivion.
As Star-Lord, Peter Quill wears a suit that grants augmented strength and durability and the ability to travel through space. He uses an "Element Gun", a special meta-pistol capable of projecting one of the four elements (air, earth, fire and water). Star-Lord shares a psychic link with his sentient space vessel, Ship.
Ship is a sentient energy form. She most often exists in the form of a starship but can alter her structure at will. She can travel through air, space and water. She possesses many of the conventional starship accessories, including shields, energy blasters, advanced sensors, replicators (able to form any kind of food, drink, etc.), and hologram projectors. She has proven capable of creating a human form, which she can then animate and use as a host. Even if completely destroyed, she is capable of restoring herself, since her true form is her consciousness. In addition, she takes on a number of feminine characteristics, such as a mothering instinct for those she is partnered with. She has felt deeper attachments, including love for her partners.
Ship can create Widgets—small, mobile droids able to scout out situations, gather information, and then return to her. The full extent of Ship's abilities are unknown. During Star-Lord's battle with The Fallen One, his element gun, suit and Ship were destroyed. Due to severe injury, he was grafted with cybernetic implants by doctors on the Kyln, where he was sentenced. The eye implant allows him to see all energy spectra and the memory chip in his brain gives him 100% total recall.
On the Kree world of Aladon Prime, Star-Lord's cybernetic implants were removed. Star-Lord was outfitted with a Kree-issued heat-dampening espionage battle-suit, which became the hallmark look for the Guardians of the Galaxy, a battle helmet, and a universal translator, all of which he still uses. His battle helmet can analyze strategy data, improve vision, and regulate oxygen in space. Star-Lord's chosen weapons are two Kree sub-machine guns with various types of ammunition, including explosives. After escaping the Cancerverse, Peter acquires a new element gun(s), but he discards his armor.
As Master of the Sun - while meditating on his new lease on life, Quill showed he could antigravitate off the ground in a sitting position while trying to focus his powers for the upcoming battle. Often when Quill finds his center of being and/or is utilizing his power through the magitek sidearm. Quill's body glows a bright voluminous radiance that causes Star-Lord's entire bodily coloration to glow bright golden, the light emitted is so powerful he can blow apart a Symbiote Dragon by channeling said force through the blaster. Star-Lord's transformation has seemingly rendered him immune to psionic intrusion. as Moondragon could not penetrate the luminal defenses his mind seemed to subconsciously throw up whenever she drifted towards him. The Element Blaster initially held a finite charge limit to its ability to channel and redistribute energy towards manipulating natural materials, but after having gained total control over various metaphysical dynamics pertaining to the universe, Quill now acts as his own dynamo to power said weapon of choice. Quill has recently picked up new tricks, such as having a recall ability which guides his pistol back to his hand once he calls for it.
Other versions
Classic
Star-Lord's adventures in Marvel Preview #4 and #11 have been officially designated as occurring in an alternate past. In these issues, Peter Quill is born during an unusual astronomical phenomenon when many of the planets align. Seeing no resemblance, the man who believed he was Quill's father accuses his wife Meredith of infidelity and attempts to kill the infant, but dies of a sudden heart attack. Peter is raised by his single mother until she is killed by Ariguans when he is eleven.[78] Quill is placed in an orphanage but escapes and eventually becomes a trainee NASA astronaut.
An alien entity called the Master of the Sun later visits the space station that Quill and other astronauts are inhabiting and offers the mantle of Star-Lord (an interplanetary policeman) to a worthy candidate. Quill volunteers, but he is rejected in favor of a colleague he once treated badly. Quill is outraged, and NASA orders his return to Earth and discharge for his conduct. Instead, he steals a scout ship, returns to the space station, and takes his colleague's place. Quill becomes Star-Lord, with the Master of the Sun first creating an illusion in which the character is able to find and kill the aliens that murdered his mother to free him of his past. Equipped with a sentient vessel called "Ship", Quill commences his role as Star-Lord.[78][79]
Years later, Star-Lord becomes involved in stopping a group of slavers who are destroying worlds. His efforts led him to discover a conspiracy to replace the emperor of the Spartoi Empire. To thwart the takeover, Star-Lord travels to the imperial throneworld Sparta where he encounters and kills the alien who killed his mother. Star-Lord then meets Emperor Jason who reveals that he is Peter's father. Jason explains that he had crashed on Earth decades earlier and been rescued by Meredith Quill. During the year that he had spent repairing his ship, Jason and Meredith fell in love. When it came time to leave, Jason, for Meredith's safety, had placed a mindlock on her memories of him, causing her to remember their year together as only a dream.[3][79]
Age of Ultron
During the 2013 "Age of Ultron" storyline, Wolverine and Susan Storm accidentally create an alternate timeline after traveling back in time and assassinating Hank Pym before he can create Ultron. In the new reality, Star-Lord is seen as a member of the Defenders, who have replaced the defunct Avengers as the world's premier superhero team.[80]
Starkill
Lord Starkill debuted in Captain Marvel #126 in 2018. He is an evil version of Star-Lord from an alternate universe. He possesses the Reality Stone and is allied with Thanos.[81]
Old Man Quill
Based in the Old Man Logan universe, Peter Quill eventually becomes the emperor of Spartax. He leaves the Guardians of the Galaxy and Gamora to marry L'ssa and fathers two kids; however, the Universal Church of Truth draws him out in a firefight, which leaves his homeworld vulnerable to attack the Church destroys everything and everyone he loves.
A devastated Quill is found by an aged version of the Guardians recruiting him for one more adventure back on Earth that will give him revenge on the Church, which is now led by Galactus. However, after discovering what happened to the other heroes of Earth, it is eventually revealed that Quill has been hallucinating all of the other Guardians for the duration of his quest, the real Guardians having been killed by Galactus. With the Ultimate Nullifier having been destroyed, Quill eventually defeats Galactus by shooting him in the head with the Time Stone, displacing part of Galactus's brain. With the death of Galactus, most of the Church are revealed to have been brainwashed thralls who break away. Peter subsequently forms a new group of Guardians, including Beta Ray Bill, Moondragon, Phyla-Vell, Nebula, and Baby Groot to deal with the rest of the Church.[21]
