Portrayed by Chris Pratt, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and though his character is memorable, his appearance in the MCU made significant changes from his original comic counterpart. Peter Quill’s origin such as his grandiose lineage and iconic design were altered to suit the MCU.
Director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) breathed new life into both the MCU and comic book world by revitalizing a moderately niche team, making superheroes like Star-Lord and Groot household names. Star-Lord has had several different iterations from his initial debut in Marvel Preview #4 (1976) by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, and, while still iconic, Peter Quill from the comics has lived a vastly different story from what’s seen in the MCU.
10 Peter Quill Left Earth Much Later in Life
One of the most important moments of Star-Lords origin seen within the MCU is when he’s abducted as a kid by Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers and brought into space after the death of his mother, kick-starting his life as an intergalactic thief and smuggler. While Peter eventually makes it out into space in the comics, he only does so as a full-grown adult and his reasoning for leaving Earth is very intentional, which is to avenge his mother.
After the death of his mother, Peter Quill continued to live his adolescence and young adult life on Earth, living in several group homes and eventually becoming an engineer for NASA due to his fascination with outer space. When Quill is fired by NASA, he steals a Kree ship and subsequently strands himself in space, but is eventually taken in by Yondu and his Ravager clan.
9 Yondu & Peter Quill’s Relationship Is More Turbulent
Star-Lord #2 - Chip Zdarsky and Kris Anka
In the MCU, Yondu is Star-Lord’s father figure who abducted Peter Quill from Earth per the request of Peter’s father, but instead of delivering Peter to his father Ego, Yondu keeps him and raises Star-Lord as a Ravager. Star-Lord and Yondu’s bond is still present within the comics, however, it takes on a much less adoptive father-son relationship and more so one built out of a similar experience of being underestimated.
In Star-Lord #2 (2016) by Chip Zdarsky, Instead of abducting Peter as a child, Yondu and his crew of pirates attempt to steal a stranded Peter Quill’s ship, however, Peter in turn tries to steal Yondu’s ship and the two men have a violent back and forth fight, until Quill tells Yondu he has nowhere to go, and wants to his crew. Yondu brings Peter Quill into his life of piracy and the two develop a brotherly bond and a mutual understanding.
8 Star-Lord’s Costume in Comics Is Far More Advanced
With Star-Lord’s portrayal by Chris Pratt, his quintessential red leather jacket, futuristic mask, and Sony Walkman headset are core parts of his character design that come to mind when many think of MCU Peter Quill. While instantly recognizable, his casual attire is far less intricate or functional compared to his initial hero attire depicted in comics.
Peter Quill’s comic book suit resembled a more soldier-like appearance with a helmet version of his red-eyed mask and stood as the main inspiration for The Guardians’ uniforms in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 film. Rocket Racoon often filled the role of tech expert in the MCU, but comic book Star-Lord was a tech-savvy engineer and his suit made that clear, by being designed to allow him to survive in the low density of space and act as a shield in combat.
Star-Lord's 10 Best Comic Costumes (That Are Even Better Than The Movies)
While the MCU may not have wanted to explore Start-Lord’s wardrobe, the character has featured many looks over the years that the MCU needed.
7 Star-Lord & Gamora Were Not Originally A Couple
Peter Quill and Gamora’s relationship played a significant part in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and their coupling was so well-received, it eventually trickled into comics. Despite this, Star-Lord and Gamora were never initially a couple. Instead, Gamora was often paired with Nova aka Richard Rider, and the pairing of Star-Lord and Gamora was only integrated into comics after the massive success of the film.
No matter the iteration of Star-Lord, Peter Quill has always been depicted as somewhat of a player and a charmer with a large array of lovers all over the galaxy. One of Star-Lord's most surprising romances happens with Kitty Pryde of the X-Men; in “The Trial of Jean Grey” storyline, Kitty and Star-Lord fall in love and, eventually, Star-Lord proposes to Kitty, but ultimately it doesn’t pan out for the two. Peter and Gamore eventually do kindle a brief relationship in the comics, but it abruptly ends when Gamora stabs Peter while obsessed over the Infinity Stones, similar to her father Thanos.
5 Best Star-Lord Romances in Guardians of the Galaxy History
Star-Lord may be known as a cosmic heartbreaker, but there are five relationships that totally changed the course of Peter Quill's life.
6 Star-Lords’s Father Was Not a Sentient Planet
Guardians of The Galaxy (Vol. 3) - Brian Michael Bendis, David López, & Nick Bradshaw
In the film Peter is a human-alien hybrid and the son of an intergalactic Empire.
In Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2013) by Brian Michael Bendis, Peter Quill’s Father was not a Celestial but the Emperor of an alien Empire from the planet Spartax, essentially making Star-Lord a prince and heir to the throne. Peter and J’son remain mostly estranged throughout the comics, but eventually, Peter and the Guardians overthrow his father after J’son tries to bar Earth from intergalactic relations. After his exile, J’son later became a villain known as Mister Knife and tried to forge a new empire as a crime lord.
5 The Death of Peter Quill’s Mother
Marvel NOW! Point One (Vol. 1) #1 - Nick Spencer and Luke Ross
When Star-Lord Finds out that his Planet father implanted cancer into his mother, it becomes one of the most engaging twists in the film franchise and acts as a turning point for Peter to defy his father, realizing his evil intentions to take over the universe by expanding himself. In the comics, Meredith Quill finds J’son of Spartax crash-landed, nursing him back to health and eventually falling in love.
Due to being in the midst of war, J’son quickly leaves Earth once his ship is repaired and afterward, Meredith finds herself pregnant with Peter. Meredith’s death in the comics came when Peter Quill was 10 years old and a group of aliens arrived at their house and vowed to end the Spartax bloodline, shooting and killing Peter’s mother. Peter Quill manages to defend himself by shooting the aliens, but the death of his mother propelled Quill to vow revenge and was part of his motivation for traveling to space.
4 Star-Lord’s Weapon Is More Ingrained With His Origin
In both film adaptations and comics, Star-Lord uses a variety of weapons with his duel Quad Blasters being the weapons he’s most iconically depicted with. In his comic book origins, Star-Lord also comes into ownership of another weapon called an Element Gun, a unique weapon tied to his father and his Spartax lineage.
As Star-Lord's main weapon of choice, the Elemental Gun is a powerful gun that fires and combines different elements. The Element Gun was left by Peter Quill’s father when he crash-landed on Earth and, after the death of his mother, Peter found the gun, making it the only clue he had that connected him to his alien father. In Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9 by Al Ewing, Star-Lord manages to absorb a god’s power into the gun and briefly use it as a source of power.
3 Peter Quill Has a Sister (But It’s Not Mantis)
Legendary Star-Lord #1 (2014) - Sam Humphries and Paco Medina
One interesting change the MCU made to Star-Lord’s family was in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) where it’s revealed Mantis, one of the core of the Guardians, is the daughter of Ego and half-sister to Peter Quill. Though Star-Lord does have a sister in the comics, it’s unfortunately not the Guardians of the Galaxy’s resident telepath.
Victoria of Spartex first appeared in Legendary Star-Lord #1 (2014) by Sam Humphries and Paco Medina and is revealed to be the daughter of J’son of Spartax and Star-Lord’s half-sister. Victoria was the captain of the Spartex royal guard and sought to track down Star-Lord after he ousted their father and destabilized the Spartex Empire. Victoria and Star-Lord eventually make amends when he helps her reap the funds on his bounty, and with the money, Victoria rebuilds the Empire and becomes the ruler of Spartex.
2 Star-Lord’s Powers Are Significantly Different
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9 - Al Ewing and Juan Cabal
One of the biggest alterations the MCU made to Star-Lord’s character was the inclusion of celestial powers deriving from his father Ego. In spite of this change, when Star-Lord was first introduced to Earth-616, he didn’t have special abilities save for his engineering knowledge and his enhanced half-alien physiology.
Similarly to his movie counterpart, in Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9, Star-Lord is bestowed cosmic powers and deemed Master of the Sun after a battle with the Olympians, god-like humanoids that hail from a pocket dimension similar to Asgard. These powers were a significant change to Star-Lord’s character but have yet to be expanded upon or further explored in continuity. Though lacking traditional superpowers, Peter Quill still has a long lifespan, enhanced strength, reflexes, and healing due to his Spartax DNA which makes him a formidable combatant and leader to the Guardians.
1 The Founding of the Guardians of the Galaxy
The founding of the Guardians of The Galaxy is one of the most important feats Star-Lord achieves in both the MCU and Marvel Comics, with the Guardians acting as an intergalactic team of superheroes that defend the universe. In the MCU, Star-Lord pulls together a rag-tag group of criminals consisting of Gamora, Groot, and Drax to defeat Ronan the Acc, however, in the comics, their union is much more hostile.
In the events of the “Annihilation: Conquest” storyline, Star-Lord was taken in by the Kree and convinced to lead a commando team of Kree captives, which is where he meets future teammates Rocket Racoon, Mantis, and Groot. The group was initially disted and showed disdain for each other but Star-Lord would later form a new Guardians to protect the universe after the events of Annihilation and had Mantis telepathically encourage Adam Warlock, Drax, and Gamora to . Despite their rough beginnings, Star-Lord formed The Guardians of the Galaxy which went on to inspire the iconic Guardians team of the MCU.
