Is Peter Quill (Star-Lord) Immortal? MCU & Comics

Peter Quill, better known as Star-Lord, became one of the most popular superheroes, largely thanks to the popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy movies. But as fans know, Peter’s story goes beyond the movies, and there are many questions left unanswered about the character’s past and future as well as his powers. Star-Lord’s parentage differs in the MCU and comics, and so do his powers and abilities. One other aspect that differs significantly is his immortality or lack thereof. Having said that, let’s see, is Peter Quill immortal in the comics & MCU? 

Peter Quill is semi-immortal in the comics thanks to his hybrid Human/Spartax physiology and the fact that he stole the source of power from the gods. This means that he ages much more slowly than a regular human being. In the MCU, however, Star-Lord is not immortal. Even though he possesses hybrid Celestial/Human physiology, he lost his immortality when he killed his father, Ego. It is unknown whether he will regain his immortality and the rest of his powers. 

Now that we’ve covered that Peter Quill is not fully immortal in the comics and he lost his immortality in the MCU, it’s time to analyze what exactly that entails. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Star-Lord is semi-immortal in the comics due to his mixed DNA 

First, we’re going to analyze Star-Lord’s comic physiology and ancestry. As you know, Peter Quill, in the comics, is the son of a human woman and a Spartax male. The character’s cinematic and comic versions grew up without the father.

In the comics, Spartaxians had somewhat enhanced physiology when compared to regular humans. They have longer life spans and a larger modicum of resistance to damage, diseases, and other calamities than humans. So in part. Peter Quill’s semi-immortality and the fact that he barely ages come from his unique physiology.  

The other part of Quill’s semi-immortality is related to the fact that he managed to steal the fire from the Olympian gods. The fire served as a source of power from the gods as well as their incredible longevity. While the fire is locked away, some portion of it rubs off on Peter Quill and provides him with incredible endurance and regenerative factor. 

Star-Lord managed to tank the full destructive powers of the gods and leave seemingly unharmed. He likewise lost an eye in the same issue and regrew it sometime after losing it. 

He ages much more slowly than an average human, as we can see hundreds of years passing with Peter Quill remaining pretty much the same. However, he is not immortal in the comics, and it is possible to kill him and injure him severely. His exact lifespan is not known, but it’s certainly longer than average humans. 

In the MCU, Star-Lord has much more powerful parentage, but he is not immortal 

In the movies, Star-Lord’s father is Ego, and Ego is Celestial. Celestials are pretty much near the top of the ladder in terms of their powers, and since Star-Lord is 50 % Celestial, he shares some of that power. 

Star-Lord was not aware of his powers and parentage during the bigger part of his adventures. But the first clue that he must be something powerful was the fact that he held the Power Stone and managed to walk away alive. Sure, he was extensively scared, but his Celestial hybrid physiology healed him without leaving so much as a scar within a matter of days. 

Next, his Celestial powers afforded him some limited capacity to manipulate molecules, meaning he could technically “manipulate” his way out of injuries, even lost limbs. 

Star-Lord was immortal in the MCU; the keyword being WAS. Let’s analyze why. 

With the death of his father, Star-Lord lost his Celestial powers and his immortality 

After Star-Lord figured out that Ego was the one responsible for his mother’s death, he had a target locked on him. Before dying, Ego revealed to Peter that as long as he lived, he would have a connection to the light, and in turn, he would have his powers, which included immortality as well. The only catch was that he could still be killed by external forces that clearly overpowered Celestials, which was proven when Star-Lord was snapped away by Thanos. 

Still, by killing Ego, Star-Lord lost access to both his powers, regenerative healing factor, and immortality. So currently, Star-Lord is not immortal in the MCU, and in his current state, he would not be able to survive holding the Power Stone unharmed. 

Star-Lord will most likely never regain his immortality in the movies 

In a now-deleted tweet, Jame Gunn explained what exactly powered Star-Lords powers and that he likely won’t be getting them back. Since Ego was the source of Peter Quill’s light and his powers, by killing him, Star-Lord cut his connection to his own powers. It is unlikely that he will ever again wield the Celestial power, but maybe he will get a different kind of power or discover some kind of latent and unknown connection to those powers. However, we are sure that he won’t be getting the powers he had before. 

To sum everything up, Star-Lord is semi-immortal in the comics due to his hybrid physiology and the fact that he has stolen the power source from gods. He is semi-immortal because he is capable of natural death. He only ages much more slowly than a regular human. 

In the MCU, Star-Lord was immortal until he killed his own Celestial father and cut himself off from Celestial power. He still has hybrid DNA but doesn’t have all the extra things that go with it. He likely won’t be getting that immortality back.