Guardians of the Galaxy Reveals Star-Lord Has the Powers of a God

Warning: spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #9!

In true cosmic fashion, Guardians of the Galaxy #9 – written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Juann Cabal – just redefined Star-Lord in Marvel Comics, putting the hero through an almost one-hundred-and-fifty-year adventure that saw him explore his powers and place in the world, returning just in time for the King in Black event with a whole new relationship to his name, purpose, and powers.

The issue reveals that Peter Quill’s apparent death in Guardians of the Galaxy #2 wasn’t as it appeared. Instead, Star-Lord’s Element Gun absorbed the energy of the evil Gods of New Olympus, shunting him into a new dimension known as Morinus. There, Peter falls in love with two nomadic fights named Mors and Aradia, becoming a wandering freedom fighter while getting to grips with exactly what the Element Gun can do.

Peter has always had the Element Gun by his side, but recent years have seen the comics ignore this weapon to focus on him as more of a space pirate than a cosmic superhero. But Ewing’s tenure on the book has reexamined Quill’s origin, reawakening his memories of the Master of the Sun – a powerful being whose involvement in Star-Lord’s origins have been downplayed for the majority of his modern adventures. Though Peter eventually learns that his Element Gun siphoned away the evil gods’ power, and has been releasing a little more each time it is used, the comic hints that the guns may actually be just one expression of Peter’s power set – one which may not have any natural limits.

Star-Lord’s Element Gun has always been capable of manifesting the classical elements – earth, fire, water, and air – in various ways. Throughout his adventure, however, Peter is shown growing more and more precise with the weapon, creating focused tornadoes and even sculpting figures out of rare elements. Subtly, he’s also shown rebuilding the Element Gun into different forms – a rifle, twin blasters, and even a precision pistol. In one scene, he admits he doesn’t know how the weapon works; he can take it apart, fix it, and even duplicate it, but its mechanics are unclear, and it will only truly work for him.

The comic also explores the words of the Master of the Sun, a godlike being whose name is synonymous with Peter’s title of Star-Lord, but who warns he may not be what he seems. Peter’s partner Aradia reflects that the Master’s words are like something from a fairy tale, and his explanation that, “The weapon is invincible! The one weakness in working your will is you!” seems to suggest that Star-Lord’s elemental powers may be his own, channeled through the Element Gun simply because that limitation helps him cope with a far grander situation. It’s possible Peter had godlike power even before he literally stole it from the Gods of New Olympus.

It’s a huge reinvention of the character, but one which hearkens back to the very roots of Peter Quill and the idea of a lone adventurer truly making space his own. Prior stories have grappled with Quill’s sense of responsibility and his maturity in the face of often dark adventures, so Ewing’s reconfiguration of his basic components in Guardians of the Galaxy #9 takes the character to new heights while sticking religiously to what has come before. Fans should be very excited to see Star-Lord explore his new powers and responsibility, especially given he was just dropped into a conflict against the literal embodiment of the primordial void – the exact kind of enemy a Star-Lord seems perfectly placed to defeat.

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