Star-Lord is a character that many have taken issue with in recent years, with a lot of fans blaming him for allowing Thanos to succeed in his homicidal plans for the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. Even though the heroes were ultimately successful in reversing the snap that wiped out half of all life in Avengers: Endgame, that doesn’t mean that Star-Lord is off the hook.
Even the directors of the two films, Joe and Anthony Russo, are getting in on the fun. In the commentary attached to the recent digital release, the filmmakers reflected on the scene where Nebula and War Machine watch him dance his way to the hiding spot of the Power Stone on Morag back in 2014, commenting that: “Clearly, Quill is just a guy with a Walkman on, who’s singing out of tune.”
This points at the characterization of Quill on the whole, as he’s portrayed as a sympathetic buffoon who’s completely oblivious to it. He wears his heart on his sleeves and that’s not always the best thing. In fact, it was his over reaction to his strong emotions that helped ruin things for the heroes in Infinity War.
And while the Russos seem happy to tease Star-Lord, it’s clear they have a fondness for him, as Joe is quick to jump into to defend him as well, stating:
I mean, look, he’s a character who’s gone through a lot of pain. He’s lost a lot of people in his life. He was kidnapped by pirates when he was 10 years old, raised by pirates, lost his mother, had to kill his father, and in the movie, the love of his life is taken from him. So, if you can’t understand someone making a human choice like that, I don’t know if you understand humanity very well. But he is a flawed character, and that’s what’s so compelling about him.
So, while Peter Quill did let his emotions get the better of him, which led directly to Thanos achieving his deadly goal, it’s that very response that makes him so entertaining. Here’s hoping Star-Lord grows up a little by the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives, but the chances of that happening are about as good as Rocket not wanting to steal someone poor schmuck’s prosthetic appendage.
