WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #2, by Al Ewing, Juann Cabal, Federico Blee and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
When Marvel brought together a new Guardians of the Galaxy team in 2008 following Annihilation: Conquest, the roster consisted of Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Phyla-Vell/Quasar, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Mantis. Over the years, the cosmic group's lineup has changed dramatically, with members coming and going. Regardless of those changes, Star-Lord has generally been the leader. However, Guardians of the Galaxy #2 introduces the biggest shakeup yet, as Star-Lord sacrifices himself to destroy Olympus.
At the start of the current series, Quill joined Richard Rider/Nova, Rocket Raccoon, Phyla-Vell, Moondragon and Marvel Boy on a mission to Olympus after its gods began wreaking havoc on the universe. In Guardians of the Galaxy #2, Star-Lord goes alone to blow up the planet's Dimension Rotor, which allows Olympus to move in and out of reality, using a black-hole bomb. As his team distracts the other gods, Star-Lord faces off against Artemis. He takes her down by freezing her in solid carbon, though she manages to hit him in the leg with an arrow during the battle.
He next encounters Hephaestus. Quill is out of ammo, so the dark god easily captures the Guardians of the Galaxy's leader and interrogates him about how the black-hole bomb works. This is also when Quill learns the automatons his team has been fighting are people who were lobotomized and turned into weapons. After realizing what's going on, Quill turns the tables on Hephaestus and stabs him in the throat with the arrow Artemis shot into his leg.
As he readies the bomb, Quill tells the rest of the team he'll meet them back at the Bowie in 60 seconds. They all regroup, but Star-Lord is nowhere to be found. Using the controls in his helmet, Quill forces the Bowie to take off. Then, it's revealed that there was a timer malfunction so the only way to stop these evil gods and their automatons is to detonate the bomb manually.
Quill tries to deliver a message to his team for Gamora -- who didn't want him to leave in the first place -- and his other friends. However, Zeus interrupts, promising to make Quill pay for spilling the blood of gods. Star-Lord detonates the bomb, and Olympus both explodes and gets sucked into a black hole as his team looks on in shock. Although Rocket wants to go back, Hercules -- whom they rescued from captivity on the planet -- tells him "there's nothing to go back to." And he's right: Olympus is entirely gone.
As to whether Quill will stay dead, there's no real indication in Guardians of the Galaxy #2 that he might have survived the black hole bomb. There's some hope he may still be alive. Zeus asks Quill, "Do you think you can live through what follows?" The hero replies, "Yes." However, Zeus' statement is laid out side-by-side with the Master of the Sun asking, "Do you feel the basis for your life is wrong?" As such, Peter could be responding to either statement. It's also not entirely clear how the black hole bomb works, so it's possible Star-Lord is trapped on Olympus in a different dimension, which could be just as bad as death for the hero if the world's gods are still around and looking for revenge.
Considering how important Peter Quill has been to the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Marvel Universe as a whole, his death is sure to hit a lot of people hard -- although some will take it worse than others. Gamora didn't want the Guardians of the Galaxy to go on the mission, so she's especially likely to be angry and frustrated that her lover is gone. There's also a question as to just who will lead the team now that Quill is missing and presumed dead. Regardless of what happens, Quill's final act is perhaps his most valiant and shows his true dedication to protecting the universe and its inhabitants.
Guardians of the Galaxy #3 is on sale March 18 from Marvel Comics.