The Marvel Cinematic Universe has elevated plenty of Marvel superheroes from unknown to beloved characters. Before the movies, nobody outside of comic book circles had heard of characters like Shang-Chi and Rocket Raccoon, but now millions of people know their names. The MCU has skyrocketed heroes from nobodies to household notoriety. One of the biggest examples of that is Star-Lord, Peter Quill. Before the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, nobody had heard of him, but now most people who know anything about superheroes know about Star-Lord. This is an extra special time for everyone’s favorite space war hero to be popular, because today we celebrate fifty years since his comic book debut.
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Star-Lord first appeared in Marvel Preview #4, an anthology series where every issue showcased a different main character from across the Marvel Universe. Although the issue has a cover date of January 1976, cover dates are always set several months after the issue is released. It actually hit store shelves on October 14, 1975, and the Marvel Universe was forever changed.
Born to Fly Through the Stars
When he first debuted, Peter Quill was very different from how we know him. Today, he’s a snarky rapscallion with a heart of gold, even though he tries to hide it under smarm. However, he actually comes from one of the most nuanced origins of every Marvel hero. As Marvel Preview #4 goes, Peter was born to Jake and Meredith Quill, only for Jake to realize that Peter was actually the result of Meredith’s affair with the alien Jason of Sparta. Jason tried to kill Peter immediately after childbirth, only to have a heart attack and die before he could, leaving the young Peter looking up at the stars high overhead.
Peter became obsessed with aliens and wanted to meet one, but he got his wish in the worst way possible. When he was a child, aliens appeared and murdered his mom, with Peter swearing revenge no matter the cost. He became cold and callous, and above all, driven to find the aliens in the stars. He became an astronaut, and one day, his chance came. The being known as Master of the Sun appeared and offered the chance for one astronaut to become an intergalactic hero known as Star-Lord. The rest of the crew voted for another astronaut, but Peter fought his way onto the ship and stole the chance to become Star-Lord.
Master of the Sun knew what Peter did, but allowed him to become Star-Lord anyway, saying he needed to evolve. Peter was teleported to the ship where the aliens he sought were, and he murdered them. Upon his return, Master of the Sun declared he was free of his vengeance and thus free to be the hero the universe needed. Peter suspected it was all an illusion, but accepted the role and new beginning, becoming the intergalactic hero and beginning his legend.
A Nuanced Beginning and Complicated Self
Now, this version of Star-Lord’s origin was declared as happening on a different world in the Marvel Multiverse, Earth-791, though this history would eventually blend with the 616 Peter. Still, this original introduction to Star-Lord set the stage for the incredibly interesting character he is today. He started as a cold, dark man set squarely on vengeance, but evolved into a lovable doofus with a penchant for mischief as much as doing the right thing. He’s almost completely different from this original incarnation, but the outline of the character is still the same.
Star-Lord is a vastly complicated character. Even though he’s far more aligned with his jokey MCU counterpart nowadays, he started as a serious man bent on settling a bloody score. He’s still that same character, at the end of the day. Both Star-Lords conduct themselves very differently, but they each have a drive to avenge the wrongs done to them and make it so the universe is a better place, even if they have to get their hands dirty to do it. Star-Lord is an essential character to the MCU and a beloved member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, so it’s definitely a pleasure to celebrate his 50th anniversary.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
