Star-Lord
Created By: Steve Englehart and Steve Gan
First Appearance: Marvel Preview #4 (1976)
The hero Star-Lord that we see today, leading the Guardians of the Galaxy through space-way adventures, has not always led a life of justice. In fact, Peter Quill’s station in life was earned through treachery. Only through repentance and a complete change in tactics has Quill become the hero we know and love.
Peter Quill is the son of Jason of Spartax and Meredith Quill of Earth. Peter’s father Jason had been the Star-Lord before him, but had a falling out with the people of Spartax, and left them for Earth. On Earth he met Meredith Quill, but soon left her fearing that his presence would endanger her and his soon-to-be-born son.
To get a good look at Jason of Spartax, and see why Peter has a history with the Inhumans even before his birth, read this Inhumans series by Marin, Pacheco, and Ladronn:
Peter would soon witness his mother’s death at the hands of inter-galactic assassins at the age of eleven. This, plus his abandonment at birth, led him to bury himself in study, training to become an astronaut. He was accepted into NASA’s program, but had carried with him some dangerous traits. He was selfish and intense, doing whatever needed to attain what he wanted. When NASA discovered an entity called the Master of the Sun, Peter performed a treacherous deed in order to become the next Star-Lord. See, the Master of the Sun was offering one human the chance to become Star-Lord. The Star-Lord would be a policing force in the universe. This would give Peter the opportunity to travel through space, and meet his mother’s killers. At the moment before NASA’s chosen candidate was to become Star-Lord, Peter got in the way, and replaced NASA’s candidate with himself.
The Master of the Sun, the being who grants the power of Star-Lord, absolved Peter of his sins. Peter inherited the Star-Lord suit, SHIP, and various weapons and abilities. Throughout his time as Star-Lord, he explored the cosmos and fought for justice, but eventually this would come to an end when he encountered The Fallen One. The Fallen One was Galactus’s very first herald, but was exiled for being too powerful and unruly. In order to defeat The Fallen One, Star-Lord used the life force of 350,000 beings. Peter, ridden with guilt, accepted a spot at the Kyln, a space borne jail used to hold some of the galaxy’s most powerful beings.
When the Annihilation Wave had spread through the galaxy, Peter, forgoing his Star-Lord guise, had taken a position alongside Nova in stopping Annihilus. Once the Annihilation Wave was defeated, the Shi’ar imprisoned Peter and forced him to lead a rag-tag group of other Shi’ar captives to stop Ultron and his reign of terror. These stories can be found in Annihilation (2006) and Annihilation: Conquest (2007).
Soon after the events of both Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest, Peter was willing to accept his role as Star-Lord again and formed the Guardians of the Galaxy. Here he used his knowledge of the universe and his leadership skills to bring together a group of eclectic and interesting characters.
Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net
I like these spotlights. Great job!
I really liked Quill in Annihilation. I haven’t read anything he’s been in recently, but a guy with his attitude and powers would be pretty cool.
Quill in my opinion, is a huge reason why Guardians is so good. Here you have a guy with basically no super-powers but more sheer will and determination than most could hope to have. He’s been quite a leader for that group. Great job MP!
Awesome. Star-Lord is the man! Is that Inhumans series collected in TPB?
Very cool! I had no clue who Star-Lord was. Thanks for the info Mike!
Thanks guys!
@Aron- I dont think it actually came out in trade, but its not that hard to get a hold of
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