Portrayed by Chris Pratt, Star Lord became a well-known name and a great icon within the UCM as leader and founder of The Guardians of the Galaxyand while his character is memorable, his appearance in the MCU brought significant changes from his original comic book counterpart. Peter Quill’s origin, like his grandiose lineage and iconic design, were changed to fit the MCU.
Director James Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) breathed new life into the MCU and the comic book world, revitalizing a moderately niche team, making superheroes like Star-Lord and Groot household names. Star-Lord has had several different iterations since his initial debut in Marvel #4 Preview (1976) by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, and, although still iconic, Peter Quill from the comics lived a very different story than what is seen in the MCU.
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Peter Quill left Earth much later in life
One of the most important moments in Star-Lords’ origins seen in the MCU is when he is kidnapped as a child by Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers and brought to space after his mother’s death, beginning his life as an intergalactic thief and smuggler. . Although Peter eventually makes it to space in the comics, he only does so as an adult and his reasoning for leaving Earth is very intentional, which is to avenge his mother.
After his mother’s death, Peter Quill continued to live his adolescence and young adulthood on Earth, living in several group homes and eventually becoming a NASA engineer due to his fascination with outer space. When Quill is fired by NASA, he steals a Kree ship and is subsequently trapped in space. but ends up being taken in by Yondu and his Ravager clan.
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Yondu and Peter Quill’s relationship is more turbulent
Star Lord #2 – Chip Zdarsky and Kris Anka
In the MCU, Yondu is the father figure of Star-Lord who kidnapped Peter Quill from Earth at Peter’s father’s request, but instead of handing Peter over to his father’s Ego, Yondu keeps him and raises Star-Lord as a Ravager. Star-Lord and Yondu’s bond is still present in the comics, however, it takes on a father-son relationship that is much less adoptive and more so built on a similar experience of being underestimated.
In Star Lord #2 (2016) by Chip Zdarsky, instead of kidnapping Peter as a child, Yondu and his crew of pirates attempt to steal Peter Quill’s stranded ship, however, Peter, in turn, tries to steal Yondu’s ship and the two men have a violent fight.until Quill tells Yondu he has nowhere to go and wants to join his crew. Yondu brings Peter Quill into his life of piracy and the two develop a brotherly bond and mutual understanding.
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Star-Lord’s costume in the comics is much more advanced
With Chris Pratt’s portrayal of Star-Lord, his quintessential red leather jacket, futuristic mask and Sony Walkman headset are essential parts of your character design This comes to mind when many think of MCU Peter Quill. While instantly recognizable, his casual attire is much less complex or functional compared to his initial hero attire depicted in the comics.
Peter Quill’s comic book costume resembled a more soldier-like appearance with a helmeted version of his red-eyed mask and was the main inspiration for the Guardians’ uniforms in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 film. Rocket Racoon often filled the role of technology expert in the MCU, but comic book Star-Lord was a tech-savvy engineer and his costume made that clear, being designed to allow him to survive in the low density of space and act as a shield in combat.
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Star-Lord and Gamora weren’t originally a couple
Peter Quill and Gamora’s relationship played a significant role in the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and their couple was so well received that they ended up making it into the 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 the comics after the film’s huge success.
No matter the iteration of Star-Lord, Peter Quill has always been depicted as a gambler and a charmer with a wide variety of lovers across the galaxy. One of Star-Lord’s most surprising romances happens with X-Men’s Kitty Pryde; In the “The Trial of Jean Grey” storyline, Kitty and Star-Lord fall in love and eventually Star-Lord proposes to Kitty, but it ultimately doesn’t work out for both of them. Peter and Gamore eventually begin a brief relationship in the comics, but it ends abruptly when Gamora stabs Peter while obsessed with the Infinity Stones, similar to her father Thanos.
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Star-Lords’ Father Wasn’t a Sentient Planet
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 3) – Brian Michael Bendis, David López and Nick Bradshaw
In the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2Star-Lord discovers that his father is Ego, a living, celestial planet, making Peter Quill part Celestial and granting him cosmic powers similar to his father’s. Ego The Living Planet appears in the comics, but shares no relationship with Peter Quill; instead, 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 estranged throughout the comics, but eventually Peter and the Guardians overthrow his father after J’son tries to stop Earth from intergalactic relations. After his exile, J’son later became a villain known as Mister Knife and attempted to forge a new empire as a crime lord.
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The death of Peter Quill’s mother
Wonder NOW! Point One (Vol. 1) #1 – Nick Spencer and Luke Ross
When Star-Lord discovers that his father Planet implanted cancer in his mother, it becomes one of the most gripping twists in the film franchise. and acts as a turning point for Peter to defy his father, realizing his evil intentions to dominate the expanding universe. In the comics, Meredith Quill finds J’son from Spartax crash-landing, nursing him back to health and eventually falling in love.
Being in the middle of the war, J’son quickly leaves Earth as soon as his ship is repaired and later, Meredith becomes pregnant with Peter. Meredith’s death in the comics occurred when Peter Quill was 10 years old and a group of aliens arrived at his home and vowed to end the Spartax bloodline.shooting and killing Peter’s mother. Peter Quill manages to defend himself by shooting the aliens, but his mother’s death propelled Quill to swear revenge and was part of his motivation for traveling to space.
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Star-Lord’s weapon is more rooted in its origins
In both the film adaptations and comics, Star-Lord uses a variety of weapons, with his dueling Quad Blasters being the weapons he is most iconically portrayed with. In the origins of the comics, Star-Lord also comes to possess another weapon called the Element Gun.a unique weapon tied to his father and his Spartax lineage.
As Star-Lord’s primary weapon of choice, the Elemental Weapon is a powerful weapon that fires and combines different elements. The Element Gun was left by Peter Quill’s father when he crash-landed on Earth and after his mother’s death Peter found the gun, making it the only clue linking him to his alien father.. In Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9 by Al Ewing, Star-Lord is able to absorb the power of a god into the weapon and briefly use it as a source of power.
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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 Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (2022) where it is revealed that Mantis, one of the main members of the Guardians, is the daughter of Ego and half-sister of Peter Quill. While Star-Lord has a sister in the comics, she’s unfortunately not the Guardians of the Galaxy’s resident telepath.
Victoria from 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 half-sister of Star-Lord. Victoria was the captain of the Spartex royal guard and sought to track down Star-Lord after he overthrew her father and destabilized the Spartex Empire.. Victoria and Star-Lord eventually make peace when he helps her collect the funds for her reward, and with the money, Victoria rebuilds the Empire and becomes the ruler of Spartex.
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Star-Lord’s powers are significantly different
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9 – Al Ewing and Juan Cabal
One of the biggest changes the MCU made to the character of Star-Lord was the inclusion of celestial powers derived from his father, Ego. Despite this change, when Star-Lord was first introduced to Earth-616, he had no special abilities save for his engineering knowledge and his enhanced semi-alien physiology.
Just like its film counterpart, in Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 6) #9, Star-Lord is granted cosmic powers and deemed Master of the Sun after a battle with the Olympians, god-like humanoids who hail from an Asgard-like pocket dimension. These powers were a significant change to Star-Lord’s character, but have not yet been expanded or explored in continuity. Although he doesn’t have 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 of the Guardians.
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The Foundation of the Guardians of the Galaxy
The founding of the Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most important feats that Star-Lord achieves in both the MCU and Marvel Comicswith the Guardians acting as an intergalactic team of superheroes who defend the universe. In the MCU, Star-Lord brings together a ragtag group of criminals consisting of Gamora, Groot, and Drax to defeat Ronan the Accuser, 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 prisoners, where he meets future teammates Rocket Racoon, Mantis, and Groot. The group was initially disjointed and showed disdain for each other, but Star-Lord would later form a new Guardian to protect the universe after the events of Annihilation and had Mantis telepathically encourage Adam Warlock, Drax, and Gamora to join together. Despite its difficult start, Star Lord formed The Guardians of the Galaxy that inspired the iconic Guardians of the UCM.