Who is Peter Quill’s father in Guardians of the Galaxy?

First, let me say that if you’re on the fence about checking out Marvel’s seemingly light-hearted comic-book-based summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, then waiver no more! The film is a raucously joyful roller coaster that perfectly balances action, humor and heart thanks to an amazing cast of actors portraying an amazing cast of characters — all of which are handled wonderfully by director James Gunn! That being said, the film did leave a couple of burning questions — the biggest of which, of course, is who is Peter Quill’s dad?

All we know after watching the Guardians of the Galaxy movie is that Peter Quill’s (aka Star-Lord’s) mom, Meredith Quill, described Peter’s father as “an angel, composed of light” and that the Nova Corps’ analysis of Peter’s DNA shows that he is only half human, and the other half is “something ancient, that we haven’t seen before here.”

Readers of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic books over the decades, however, know a little bit more, although the details (as is often the case with comics) have varied dramatically over the years. One thing that remains constant is that Peter Quill’s dad is J’son (aka Jason of Spartax), who is the Emperor of the Spartoi Empire, which rules over hundreds of worlds. He is referred to in earlier story lines as “Master of the Sun,” which is pretty similar to being “an angel, composed of light” and would actually mean Peter was a Star-Prince, as he is erroneously referred to by John C. Reilly’s character in what had to be an obvious hint.

So what was the Emperor of the Spartoi Empire doing hooking up with an Earth woman? It seems the Spartoi Empire is not exempt from Games of Thronesian power plays as J’son was falsely accused of being part of a plot to kill his father, then-Emperor Eson. J’son was unjustly banished from the Empire.

But, when the Spartoi Empire found itself immersed in a war with the Ariguans, J’son (Eson’s only son) was summoned back. On his way back home, J’son crash landed on Earth. (Earth is like the Bermuda Triangle of intergalactic superheroes!)

Meredith Quill nursed J’son back to health, and part of the healing process was apparently hooking up because she became pregnant with his son. Spartoi’s situation was so dire, however, that J’son had no choice but to continue his journey home once he was healed and his ship repaired. Meredith later gave birth to their son, Peter Quill.

There’s a lot of drama with aliens called Badoons, who were responsible for the death of Meredith and attempted assassination of Peter in an attempt to erase the royal bloodline, but I don’t want to get into tall that here.

Peter does eventually meet his father, and despite their animosity (family drama exists no matter how great your DNA is!), Peter is offered the title of Emperor once J’son’s reign ends. Peter refuses.

Now, the only question remaining is: Who will play Peter Quill’s dad in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel? I know who I’m voting for!

Yes! Emperor Ron Swanson! Or would that be Emperor Ron Sw’nson?

Want to know more about Peter Quill’s dad J’son from the Guardians of the Galaxy comic books? Click here for all you ever wanted to know and more!

All photos: Marvel

* Except Ron Swanson’s head: NBCUniversal

UPDATE — Writer-director James Gunn has revealed that Peter Quill’s dad in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, set to hit theaters in 2017, will not be based on the comic book story. Well dang! That seems to open the door for Ron Swanson (aka Duke Silver) though!