Star-Lord (Earth-199999)

Star-Lord, born Peter Jason Quill, is an American hero and leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He is half-human and half-Celestial, the son of a human woman (Meredith Quill) and a visiting male Celestial. After spending his formative years in the Ravagers raised by Yondu Udonta, Quill broke out on his own and found himself combating Ronan the Accuser alongside a ragtag group of heroes who would come to be known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Quill is known for his rogueish, often foolhardy personality and fondness for classic pop music and dancing. Much of that fondness is owed to his undying love for his late mother, who made a series of cassette mixtapes for Peter of her favorite music from her youth in the 1970s. She is also responsible for giving him the affectionate nickname of "Star-Lord." Quill has a burgeoning romance with fellow Guardian Gamora.

Biography

In 1988, when Peter was a child, his mother Meredith died of cancer. On her deathbed, she gave him a present, and told him to open it when she was gone. She told him his grandfather would take care of him until his father returned some day. As her life faded away, she told Peter to take her hand, but he couldn't accept her death, and turned from her as she passed away. He wouldn't open the gift for decades to come. Peter ran from the hospital crying and collapsed in a field, where he was suddenly abducted by an overhead spaceship. The ship was piloted by Yondu Udonta, a Ravager who had been hired to deliver Quill to an unknown buyer, but instead took Peter under his wing and raised him as a Ravager.

Guardians of the Galaxy

By 2014, Quill was a grown man with a well-defined moral compass that ran afoul of his allegiance with the Ravagers, and Yondu in particular. He developed a reputation as Star-Lord, a notorious outlaw, or at least believed he had done so. When he learned of Yondu's plan to take the mysterious and powerful Orb from a derelict temple on Morag and sell it to the Broker on Xandar, Quill decided to take it himself. After grabbing the Orb, he was attacked by Korath and a group of other Kree who answered to someone named Ronan. Quill narrowly fought them off and escaped, piloting his ship the Milano off of Morag in the nick of time. Yondu contacted him and expressed his frustration, but Quill blew him off. Quill was also reminded that Bereet, a Krylorian with whom he had recently had relations, was still aboard his ship, and soon parted ways with her. Yondu contacted him by video call, demanding the Orb and chastising him for betraying the Ravagers. Quill blew him off and continued to Xandar to sell off the Orb.

Unfortunately, the Broker panicked and refused to take the Orb after Quill offhandedly mentioned that Ronan was seeking it. The Broker explained that Ronan was a Kree warlord bent on cultural genocide against the Xandarian people, and was circumventing a Kree-Xandarian peace treaty in the process. Upon being forced out of the Broker's establishment, Quill was attacked by a female Zehoberei, who took the Orb and ran off. Quill chased after her, and he was also attacked by a small raccoonoid creature and a Flora colossus—the three of them hindered each other's attempts to get to Quill, and he was briefly able to slip away with the Orb. Unbeknownst to Quill, Udonta had put out a bounty for his capture, and the latter two assailants were bounty hunters Rocket and Groot. As they fought in broad daylight in the streets of Xandar, the four of them were apprehended by the Nova Corps and taken into custody at the Kyln, a high-security prison space station.

Quill learned that the Zehoberei, Gamora, was associated with Ronan but claimed to have been attempting to betray him to sell the Orb to a third party. Rocket seemed to be aware of Gamora's mysterious past, while Quill was left in the dark. Quill further learned that Groot's linguistic skills consisted exclusively of the phrase "I am Groot." Not long after being incarcerated, Gamora was cornered by a group of prisoners determined to kill her for Ronan's many horrible crimes against the galaxy—Quill and Rocket fearfully observed as a hulking humanoid named Drax stopped the criminals from harming her, and demanded that he be the one to kill her instead to get revenge for Ronan killing his wife and daughter. In the confusion, Gamora gained the upper hand and explained that she was "no family to Ronan or Thanos." Quill intervened and convinced Drax that the best way to get revenge on Ronan was to wait for him to come back for Gamora and kill him then.

Later, Quill and the others agreed to retrieve the Orb, escape the Kyln (using Rocket's expertise in the subject, having escaped 22 prior prisons), and sell it to Gamora's buyer and split the profits for one billion units each. Quill also made a deal with Drax to assist in their escape as a means of getting closer to Ronan. As Rocket concocted an escape plan, Groot unwittingly jumpstarted the process, forcing the five of them to fight their way out. They retrieved their belongings, but Quill noticed that his treasured Walkman and cassette tape belonging to his mother were nowhere to be found. He insisted the rest keep going and wait for him. He feigned giving the Orb to Gamora, but kept it himself in case they left without him. He was able to retrieve the Walkman from a guard enjoying his music, and joined the others in the Milano for a safe escape. The militant, literally minded Drax was impressed by Quill's spirit. With that, the five made their way toward Gamora's buyer—Drax had no interest in money, and agreed to let the other four split the prize.

They arrived at Knowhere, the colossal severed head of a Celestial that had become a makeshift world and mining colony. They were to meet with a representative of her buyer, who was taking their time arriving. To pass the time, the five waited at a drinking and gambling establishment, where Drax, Rocket, and Groot entertained themselves and Quill spoke with Gamora privately. They told each other about their respective pasts: Gamora revealed that Thanos had slaughtered her people when she was a child, taken her as his daughter, and trained her to be an assassin. Thanos was now working with Ronan and had agreed to help him destroy Xandar in exchange for the Orb, prompting Gamora to betray them. Quill shared his music with her and attempted to get close to her, but she violently rebuffed his advances. Meanwhile, Rocket and Drax were both intoxicated and Rocket threatened to blast him in the face with a large gun, fed up with being treated like a "rodent" or "vermin." Quill convinced him to hold off for one more night for the sake of a billion units, and Rocket begrudgingly agreed. For his part, Drax stomped away, annoyed at not getting his hands on Ronan yet. Moments later, they were approached by a Krylorian named Carina, who invited Gamora to meet with her master, the Collector.

The four arrived at the Collector's chambers, filled with an array of exhibits and displays of rare and fantastic items and creatures. Quill handed him the Orb, and the Collector explained to them at last what it was. He told them the history of the Infinity Stones: six small "ingots" formed out of the six singularities that created the universe. They wield immense power, capable of destroying civilizations in moments—but this power is also an extreme danger to its wielder, demanding one of great strength to avoid getting destroyed themselves. The Orb was simply a container to one of the Infinity Stones, the purple Power Stone. As the Collector arranged payment, Carina saw an opportunity to escape his enslavement and grabbed hold of the Power Stone. As the others fled, she set off a huge explosion, killing herself in the process. Gamora managed to get around the wreckage and reenclose the Stone in the Orb and take it back. She argued that they should give the Orb to the Nova Corps, who would be able to store it safely. Quill was reluctant to acquiesce to this plan, given that they were fugitives from the Nova Corps. He instead suggested selling it to a benevolent third party, disgusting Gamora with his lack of honor.

While the others were with the Collector, Drax forcefully took hold of a radio dispatch nearby and remotely challenged Ronan to battle him. As Quill and Gamora argued, Ronan’s fleet (including Nebula) arrived on Knowhere, as did a group of Ravagers led by Yondu. Quill, Gamora, and Rocket commandeered and escaped in one-person flying pods—Groot was too big to fit, and Rocket said he’d come back for him. Nebula noticed Gamora flying away with the Orb and gave chase in Ronan’s flagship along with several smaller crafts. Gamora tried to fly her way back to the Milano, but the fleet’s coverage was too tight, and she was forced to fly into space. The pods were not built for space flight, and Nebula caught up to her and blew the pod apart, sending Gamora and the Orb floating through space. Nebula’s ship retrieved the Orb, leaving Gamora to die as Quill and Rocket’s pods arrived. Rocket assured him that she was doomed, and that they would be too if they didn’t return soon. Cursing himself, Quill instead contacted Yondu, offering himself up for capture and flying out to Gamora and equipping her with his helmet, allowing her to breathe. The Ravager fleet arrived as Quill suffocated, narrowly pulling them both in by tractor beam with seconds to spare.

Yondu was inclined to kill Quill straight away, but he and Gamora convinced him to help them steal the Power Stone from Ronan, using Gamora’s inside knowledge to make an otherwise impossible task feasible. Yondu was impressed with Quill’s guts and agreed. Rocket, Groot, and Drax arrived in the Milano to violently rescue Quill and Gamora, but calmed down when Quill explained the situation. Upon hearing the plan, Rocket was concerned at the idea of giving the Power Stone to Yondu, who was liable to sell it to someone "even worse" than Ronan—Quill said they would figure it out when the time came. Quill and the others realized that assaulting Ronan and his forces amounted to a suicide mission, but with a rousing speech he galvanized their loyalty and will. Together they came up with a thorough plan to storm Ronan's Dark Aster mothership alongside the Ravagers, defeat him and retrieve the Power Stone, preventing him from reaching the surface of Xandar and using the Stone to destroy all life on the planet. Quill also sent a message to a Nova Corps officer who arrested him previously and asked for help from the people of Xandar in the coming battle. Quill's request was a success, as the leaders of Xandar rallied their forces for war and evacuated the people below.

Before long, the assembled forces arrived in the Xandarian atmosphere to counter Ronan's Kree forces, initiating a vast battle in the air. Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Groot boarded the Dark Aster via the Milano while Rocket continued to fight in the sky. Gamora ran into and battled her sister Nebula while the others fought through Ronan's forces at large. Gamora knocked Nebula through a hole in the ship—as she hung by her cybernetic hand, Gamora implored her to help them defeat Ronan, but Nebula refused, breaking off her hand and escaping in a smaller ship below. The four soon arrived at Ronan's throne room, where he stood with the Power Stone installed in his Cosmi-Rod. Quill fired at him with Rocket's powerful, self-made Hadron Enforcer, but the might of the Power Stone protected him. Moments later, Rocket crashed into the hall in the Milano, plowing directly into Ronan and causing the Dark Aster to begin plummeting to the surface. Amidst the rubble, Groot enveloped his friends in a thick ball of roots and branches, sacrificing himself to protect them in the crash. Rocket pleaded with him not to do it, but Groot simply responded, "We are Groot."

After the Aster crashed, Ronan emerged from the wreckage effectively unscathed. Rocket angrily charged at him, but Ronan and the Stone effortlessly zapped him away as the others lay recovering in the rubble. As a frightened crowd gathered, Ronan sarcastically referred to Quill and the others as the "Guardians of the Galaxy." As Ronan prepared to at last unleash the Power Stone and achieve his quest, Quill distracted him by singing and dancing. Utterly confused and annoyed, Ronan was indeed distracted long enough for Drax to fire the Hadron Enforcer at the Cosmi-Rod, causing the Power Stone to fly out. Quill made a desperate leap for it and successfully grabbed it inches before Ronan could, cognizant of the fact that it would certainly kill him. A torrent of purple energy swirled around the vicinity, and Quill's body began to crack under the immense power. Gamora grabbed his hand to spread out the energy, and Drax and Rocket connected themselves as well. A distraught Ronan asked them how they could survive the Power Stone's energy, and Quill responded, "You said it yourself, bitch: we're the Guardians of the Galaxy." He then harnessed the Power Stone's energy to vaporize Ronan in seconds, and Gamora used a substitute Orb to safely contain the Stone.

With the smoke having cleared, Yondu and the Ravagers approached the newly christened Guardians, reminding them of their side of the deal. Quill pleaded with Yondu to let them give the Power Stone to the Nova Corps instead, but Yondu was having none of it. With a begrudging look on his face, Quill handed him a decoy Orb and urged him not to open it. Satisfied, the Ravagers left Xandar. As Rocket mourned his friend Groot, now reduced to a pile of sticks, Drax sat beside him and gently pet him on the head in a rare moment of vulnerability for both. Rocket retrieved a stick from the crash site and plant it in a flower pot—before long, this stick would blossom into a newborn Groot. Later, the Guardians spoke with Nova Prime Irani Rael, who explained to Quill that, when he was initially imprisoned, they found that he was human on his mother's side but that his father possessed an ancient blood they couldn't identify—Gamora reasoned that this was likely why he was able to hold the Power Stone for as long as he did. The Guardians handed off the Power Stone to the Nova Corps, who securely stored it for safe keeping. Realizing that Ronan was "merely a puppet," Drax turned the attention of his vengeance to Thanos. With the Milano having been nearly destroyed in the Aster crash, the Nova Corps showed their gratitude to the Guardians by repairing it to a like-new condition. After over 25 years, Quill opened his mother's dying gift: a second cassette tape of her favorite songs. With the threat of Ronan and the Power Stone stopped, the Guardians of the Galaxy looked ahead to their next adventure.