Marvel Just Made Star-Lord’s Infinity War Mistake Even Worse

Warning: contains spoilers for Reptil #3!

Star-Lord losing control of his emotions at a crucial moment was easily the most controversial scene in Avengers: Infinity War. Many MCU fans were outraged that Peter Quill’s thoughtless actions inadvertently allowed Thanos to escape and eventually kill half of all life in the universe. Still others have put forth reasons why Peter acted the way he did – but after the events in Reptil #3 written by Terry Blas with art by Enio Balám and colors by Carlos Lopez, Peter has absolutely no excuse.

Three years after the film’s release, the events on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War are seared into every Marvel fan’s memory. Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy all face Thanos together – a hopeless fight if Thanos didn’t already have a gauntlet full of Infinity Stones. A fierce battle ensues but eventually Thanos is cornered, immobilized and pacified by Mantis. When Star-Lord realizes that Thanos killed Gamora – the woman he loves – he flies into a rage, hitting him with his gun and snapping Thanos out of Mantis’ trance; Thanos quickly wins the fight, takes the Time Stone and escapes. An eerily similar situation happens in Reptil #3 that firmly puts Star-Lord in the wrong.

In Reptil, Humberto Lopez is a sixteen year-old superhero with the alias Reptil; with the power to transform into any dinosaur (and even turn his individual limbs into dinosaur appendages), he searches for his missing parents. Eventually Reptil and his friends Julian and Eva find the mysterious villain Sarsen, and Eva holds him in the air via a magic spell while Reptil questions him. It turns out Sarsen knows exactly where Humberto’s parents are: their souls are trapped inside an amulet. A furious Reptil lashes out and strikes Sarsen, breaking Eva’s already-weakening immobilization spell.

When one compares Reptil #3 and Avengers: Infinity War, the scenes serve the same purpose: they demonstrate the immaturity of the main character. But Reptil has an excuse for botching his interrogation: he’s a teenager. Humberto is naturally impulsive and reckless…but Peter Quill is approximately 30 years old at the beginning of the film. While other teenage heroes exist in the Marvel Universe – Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel, to name a few – a vast majority of their problems stem from their hot-headedness, indecisiveness, and all-around immaturity. Although Star-Lord was taken from his family at an early age and is very much a child in his mind, he nevertheless should be old enough to know better.

Gamora’s death and Star-Lord’s subsequent outburst directly led to Thanos‘ victory in the MCU. Although Peter’s actions were understandable, they were still the result of immaturity. Peter Quill and Reptil are now firmly placed in the same category, which is quite embarrassing for the leader of the Guardians. Hopefully the events of Avengers: Infinity Warresulted in Star-Lord becoming a more mature hero in the future.