Who Is Star-Lord’s Father?

Guardians of the Galaxy is making its way into theaters this weekend. Those of you who have gone to see it know that there is at least one mystery hinted at in the film that remains unsolved.

Who is Peter Quill’s father?

Well, it’s unsolved in the movie anyway. Comic fans know better.

If you haven’t read Guardians of the Galaxy comics and can’t wait for the next film to dig deeper into this mystery, read on to find out who Star-Lord’s dad is.

Peter Quill’s father is J’Son of Spartoi, the emperor of the Spartoi Empire. By Star-Lord’s comic book origin, J’Son had been living in exile after being falsely accused of conspiring to assassinate his father. J’Son was eventually summoned home when the Spartoi found themselves at war without another emperor, but crash-landed on Earth, where he met Meredith Quill. J’Son and Meredith began a relationship, but J’Son needed to return to Spartax, and so left once his ship was repaired. Peter was born after his departure.

Eventually, J’Son would ascend as emperor. A would-be usurper eventually sent mercenaries to kill Peter and end J’Son’s line, inadvertently spurring Peter to head into space and become Star-Lord. It’s only then that J’Son and Peter would finally meet, though J’Son’s responsibilities as emperor keep them from seeing eye-to-eye much of the time.

Guardians of the Galaxy is now playing in theaters.