WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #9 by Al Ewing, Juann Cabal, Federico Blee & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now
Peter Quill has had a somewhat complex romantic history in recent years, with his longstanding love for Gamora being interrupted by various galactic conflicts, as well as his brief relationship with Shadowcat of the X-Men. But his newest adventure just added a major new wrinkle to that aspect of his life.
Peter Quill's extended life on the world of Morinus is hinted to end with Star-Lord having fathered a child, one that he named after a fellow Guardian of the Galaxy.
The current Guardians of the Galaxy series began with Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, teaming up with Rocket Raccoon and a band of unexpected heroes to protect the galaxy from the rise of a new, demented version of the Greek Pantheon. In Guardians of the Galaxy #2, Quill was forced to remain behind to ensure that the new Olympus was destroyed, seemingly leading to his demise. But in reality, by using the element gun to absorb the full power of the Greek Pantheon, Quill was instead able to contain them and was transported to the mysterious alien planet of Morinus. He's quickly found by two natives of this realm, Aradia and Mors. The pair quickly accept Peter and convince him to travel with him, even offering to open up their own romance to him as well.
Initially, Quill remains loyal to Gamora. But after 12 years from his perspective -- during which neither Peter nor Aradia and Mors appear to age -- Peter gives in and begins a relationship with them. He spends over a century together with them, with one sequence in particular hinting at how this relationship progressed. One hundred and forty-three years after coming to this world, Quill spends a night in the wilderness with the two. Aradia speaks with Peter as he ruminates on his own memories and their philosophies and she's noticeably pregnant. The next time she appears -- during the chaos unleashed by the return of the Greek Pantheon -- is a year later. At this point, she isn't pregnant anymore as she helps Peter finally figure out how to return to Earth and she mentions both Mors and Rocky are safe.
No Rocky had been previously introduced in the story, suggesting this was the baby born during that year in the time-skip. The baby being named Rocky also seems to be in-reference to Rocket Raccoon, Peter's longtime friend and teammate. This suggests that Peter may actually have a child with Aradia in the world of Morinus, setting up a desire for the character to return to that world to find them. But that also adds to the tragedy of Peter being forced to leave Morinus, so that the Pantheon will follow him and leave the world alone, saving his newfound family and his child at the cost of potentially never being able to make his way back to that world.
Now, Star-Lord is back on Earth and away from the family, he had discovered. He's even reunited with the Guardians, albeit right as the chaos of "King In Black" takes effect across the Earth. It'll be interesting to see if Peter is able to find a way to make it back to Morinus and how the rest of his teammates will respond to the news that he became a father.