MCU: Here’s Why Peter Quill Never Returned to Earth

When we met Peter Quill during the events of Guardians of the Galaxy, we learned that he was abducted by Yondu and his space pirates. Peter was still just a boy then but got raised in space by Yondu and his pirates. Eventually, he became a ravager and ended up working with Yondu before becoming a galactic hero working together with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

But we also know that Quill and the other Guardians of the Galaxy have access to space technology that allows them to easily travel from one planet to another through the use of hyperspace tech. Meanwhile, Quill has had his own spaceship ever since he became an adult and started working with Yondu. If so, why did he never return to Earth after being abducted? Well, that’s something that we’ll try to answer in this article.

Could Peter Quill Return to Earth?

When it comes to characters abducted from their homes, they often have no means to return to where they came from. Of course, we know that Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, was abducted by Yondu when he was just a boy because Ego asked the space pirate to locate Peter and bring him to him. But instead of bringing Peter to Ego, Yondu had a change of heart because he understood that Ego would only kill his children. As such, Yondu raised Quill to become a ravager as well.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie started with Peter Quill working on a mission alone. That means he had his ship and could travel from one planet to another regardless of how far the planets may be. So, in that regard, he did have the ability to return to Earth whenever he wanted to.

Peter Quill’s ship, called the Milano, was well-equipped for space travel. We saw it traveling from one planet to another without difficulties at all. Most of the spaceships in the MCU are capable of easily traveling from one planet to another. That means it was more than possible for Peter Quill to return to Earth whenever he wanted.

The only thing is that he never did return to Earth willingly. In fact, he only returned to Earth during the events of Avengers: Endgame, when he used a Doctor Strange portal to return to Earth from the ruined planet of Titan. But he didn’t even stay too long on Earth because he left it right after the Avengers defeated Thanos.

Why Didn’t Peter Ever Return to Earth?

At this point, it is clear that Peter never returned to Earth, not because he couldn’t but because he just didn’t want to. This might sound strange because he was born on Earth and had fond memories of his time there, and most of his references were from popular music and movies during his childhood on Earth. So, why didn’t Peter Quill ever return to Earth willingly?

He Has No One Left on Earth

Peter Quill was raised by his mother alone, and he didn’t have any other person on that planet when he was just a young boy. Of course, we know that Peter lost his mother due to cancer that Ego gave her. As such, when Peter’s mother died when he was still just a child, his entire world crumbled before him because his mother was the only person he had throughout his life.

The fact that Peter quickly ran away after his mother died clearly indicates that he thought his world had ended because the only person he ever had was gone. He loved and respected his mother so much that he quickly broke out of Ego’s mind control after he learned that his father was the one that gave his mother cancer. So, because his mother was no longer on Earth, Peter had no reason to return to the planet.

If Peter Quill returned to Earth at one point after obtaining the Milano, which was the name of his first spaceship, he wouldn’t know what to do on that planet because he didn’t have anyone he knew back home.

He Is Happier in Space

There is also no doubt that Peter Quill was much happier in space because he could travel from one planet to another to do many things that he couldn’t do on Earth. While he spent a good part of his childhood on Earth, it was in space where he was raised as Yondu, and the other ravagers acted as the family he never had when he was living on his home planet.

Of course, we also saw Peter enjoying his different adventures in space because he could go on different missions both as a ravager and as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. So, if he had gotten used to life in space and on different planets, he had no reason to return to Earth as he wouldn’t have been happy on his home planet.

In the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, it was hinted that Peter missed home and Christmas. But the truth was that he didn’t miss Christmas back home but simply missed being able to celebrate Christmas with a family. And because his true family was the one he made in the form of the Guardians, he never really needed to return to Earth.

He Probably Didn’t Want to Ruin His Childhood Memories

As mentioned, some of Peter Quill’s character revolved around his pop culture references. He often referenced popular music, television shows, and movies during his time on Earth. Decades after Yondu abducted him from his own, he still often talked about the music and movies that he enjoyed back when he was still just a child, as these were some of the fondest memories he had of Earth.

This implies that Peter loved the version of Earth he lived on when he was still just a child. For him, this was the Earth that he loved and enjoyed living on, especially because he had his mother back then. As such, returning to Earth decades after he left would have simply changed how he viewed his home planet, and he didn’t want his childhood memories ruined by a planet he no longer recognized.

One instance we can allude to was when he talked about Footloose to Peter Parker during their meeting in Avengers: Infinity War. He asked Spider-Man if Footloose was still the greatest movie ever, only for Parker to reply that it never was. Quill’s reaction was visible on his face as it was apparent that Spider-Man ruined a part of his childhood by minimizing Footloose’s effect on Star-Lord’s upbringing.

So, if Peter Quill were to return to Earth and discover that the things he loved back when he was still just a child were not entirely great and have been replaced by newer things, his childhood memories would have been ruined. And his childhood memories were incredibly precious to him because those were the only memories he had involving his mother.