Steal an all-powerful planet-killing orb, meet a talking raccoon, flirt with the alien assassin: that’s just an average day for Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord, a self-proclaimed legendary outlaw.
Over the course of the three movies Quill has appeared in so far, his character has come along way from being a kidnapped 80’s kid. But those who saw Infinity War this weekend may have noticed something interesting: Quill continues to screw up.
Infinity War‘s Peter Quill, for lack of a better word, sucks. But this was an intentional decision, and it works.
And here’s why.
The following contains major spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Avengers: Infinity War. Read at your own risk.
1. The Rise of Star-Lord
When we first meet Peter Quill, he is a fast-talking tomb raider. He is insulted when someone hasn’t heard of Star-Lord, his supposedly “legendary” moniker. He can’t remember the name of the alien woman he slept with, still aboard his ship.
The Peter Quill of Guardians of the Galaxy is a self-centered ego-driven jerk, like most of his soon-to-be-teammates. Though he is more open to a partnership than Rocket or Drax, he is still focused on what any given action can earn him.
We see his struggle with moral action vs. reward after experiencing the destructive nature of the Power Stone.
GAMORA: We have to bring this to the Nova Corps. There’s a chance they can contain it.
ROCKET: Are you kidding me? We’re wanted by the Nova Corps! Just give it to Ronan!
QUILL: So he can destroy the galaxy?
ROCKET: What are you, some Saint all of a sudden? What has the galaxy ever done for you? Why would you wanna save it?
QUILL: Because I’m one of the idiots who lives in it!
GAMORA: Peter, listen to me. We cannot allow the stone to fall into Ronan’s hands. We have to go back to your ship and deliver it to Nova.
QUILL: Right, right, okay. I think you’re right. Or we could give it to somebody who’s not going to arrest us, who’s really nice for a whole lot of money. I think it’s a really good balance between both of your points of view.
GAMORA: You’re despicable.
Quill’s first glimmer of heroism is caused, in part, by Gamora. Outside Knowhere, he gives up his oxygen supply to save her. Rocket makes the stakes clear for the audience, telling him “You’ll die in seconds!” Quill goes anyway, risking his life for her, though he’s not able to put why into words.
His completes his transformation into a hero with his famous speech to the Guardians.
QUILL: I need your help. I look around at us, you know what I see? Losers. I mean, like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have. Man, we have. All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And, usually, life takes more than it gives, but not today. Today, it’s given us something. It has given us a chance.
DRAX: To do what?
QUILL: To give a shit. For once, not run away. I, for one, am not gonna stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives.
By the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill has finally earned the name Star-Lord. He hears it from the enemies aboard Ronan’s ship, and his mother uses his moniker in her gifted tape.
Most importantly, the film ends with this exchange:
QUILL: So, what should we do next? Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?
GAMORA: We’ll follow your lead, Star-Lord.
QUILL: Bit of both!
While he is not necessarily a purely altruistic hero, Quill is trying to do some good, and that’s primarily because Gamora has started to re-align his moral compass.
