Unless you reside under a piece of mineraloid matter, you have probably heard of Star-Lord. It may be from his appearances in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy movies where he's played by Chris Pratt. It could also be from the numerous Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series or his own book. No matter the medium, this science-fiction superhero is well-known.
Yet, this isn't the original version of Peter Quill. The first incarnation of Star-Lord appeared in 1975's Marvel Preview #4. Furthermore, he had a different origin than the modern version. For more, here are 10 things you didn't know about the original Star-Lord before he got rebooted.
10 The Original's Birth Was More Dramatic
Quill's conception remains the same. His mother, Meredith, has a relationship with the Emperor J'Son. Nine months later, during an unusual alignment of the planets, the young Quill is born.
On Earth-616, Meredith is a single mother. In the original version, She's married to a man named Jake. When he realizes Quill doesn't look like him, Jake grabs him from Meredith, runs outside, and prepares to kill him. However, he has a heart attack and collapses.
9 Quill Stares At The Stars
Quill's current origin reveals what happened right after his mother gave birth. She had an urge to take him outside and raise him to the stars. Perhaps as an acknowledgment of his intergalactic father.
Not the case with the original. Once her husband had a heart attack, the infant Quill remains on the ground and watches the stars with bright eyes. He remains peaceful while Meredith, traumatized by the removal of her child, painfully crawls through the forest to find him.
8 He Gained Love Of Outer Space By Watching Star Trek
Even superheroes can be influenced by mass media. For Quill, it was the third season of the original Star Trek. From there, his love of anything related to outer space expanded to real-life events.
As an aside, writer Steve Englehart mentions that an episode of Star Trek was moved to Sunday afternoon due to the live moon-landing broadcast. That took place on July 20th, 1969. The last new episode of Star Trek was June 3rd. So, Quill was probably waiting for a repeat.
7 His Mother Was Attacked By A Different Alien Race
In both origins, Meredith dies from an alien attack. While the circumstances are the same, the aliens are different.
The Earth-616 Meredith is attacked by the Badoons. The original is killed by the Ariguans. What happened after was also different. Quill didn't go after them with a weapon he found in his mother's closet. Instead, the original Quill waited for the Sherriff, a man who didn't believe the young boy's tale about aliens.
6 He Became An Astronaut Trainee
The original Star-Lord dedicated himself to reaching space, no matter the cost. So, he joined NASA as an astronaut trainee. While he excelled at all his tests, he did so with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Quill was so obsessed with locating the aliens that killed his mother that his attitude was beyond nasty. Eventually, the administration kicked him out of the program. After a drunken night where he destroyed his apartment, Quill decided the only way to get to space was to reform his ways.
5 He Doesn't Become A Space Pirate
There's a vast difference between the original and current Star-Lords. The present version stole a Kree ship and headed out to space. He was eventually captured by Yondu and his crew. After some negotiation, Quill joined them on several adventures.
The original Quill didn't have a Kree ship to steal -- they weren't part of his universe. Instead, he broke into the Earth base and stole a ship so he could be the one to meet the alien known as the Starlord.
4 He Met The Starlord On A Space Station
The Starlord was introduced as a psychic vision on the space station where Peter was originally based. When administrators met about this, Quill felt he should be the one to meet the extraterrestrial. However, he was discharged from the service after a violent outburst.
Quill was completely obsessed with this exchange between human beings and aliens. He felt it was the way he could avenge his mother's death. It took him over to the point he went mad and shot several of his former colleagues before being whisked away.
3 He Is Chosen To Be A Starlord
The current Quill inherited the Star-Lord name from his father J'son, the ruler of Spartax. The original version would meet his father at some point, but his title wouldn't be passed down.
Instead, he was granted the Starlord abilities by the Master of the Sun and Solar System. The seemingly omnipotent being provided Quill with the necessities to become an intergalactic hero.
2 He Could Fly Without A Jet Pack
Right from the start, the original Star-Lord was a different hero than the one we know today. First, he had an actual costume presented to him by the Master of the Sun. Second, he could fly without the need for a jet pack.
Other items were similar. For instance, he had an element gun like the current Quill. Plus, he could fly in outer space without the need of a spacesuit. Still, the original Star-Lord's costume gave him more of a superhero air than the modern version.
1 He Killed The Ariguans
Moments after he became the Starlord, Quill encountered the Ariguans -- the aliens that killed his mother. Using his element gun, he disabled the ship and killed everyone on board. Thus, vengeance was served.
The Master of the Sun revealed it was part of the task to free Peter of his past life and create a new one for himself. One where he could become an intergalactic hero instead of a madman.