Ego

Living Planet

The specifics of Ego’s origins remain unclear to Ego even to him; he eventually came to understand himself floating through the void of space alone. Eventually, he developed the ability to manipulate matter and molecules which allowed him to travel the cosmos in search of other life and dwell with other species with his humanoid avatar that was an extension of his consciousness. Disappointed and unimpressed with what he found, he decided to implant seedlings in thousands of planets, capable of terraforming into extensions of himself, and mated with numerous sentient beings in hopes of children that would carry his genetic makeup needed to carry out the Expansion.

Such A Fine Celestial

Celestials like Ego are categorized as a highly-intelligent ancient race of entities with god-like power. Ego figured out how to manipulate matter and energy around him, which he used to create his own planet as well as a humanoid form that would explore the cosmos. However, he needs to return to the home planet to recharge, and cannot be away for too long. With the help of another Celestial, he could use the seedlings he left across the galaxies to terraform into extensions of himself. The only thing that mattered in the universe was that he would become the sole life-form in existence.

All Loved Out

Though Ego had relationships with many females across the life-sustaining planets, he left them all believing he was not meant to walk among that life, for he was the only being that mattered in the universe. He would bring the offspring to his planet with the aid of Yondu Udonta, though Yondu’s betrayal when he failed to bring Peter Quill to him made them enemies.

During his pursuit of his long-lost son, Ego would come into conflict with Ayesha and the Sovereign, who were hunting the Guardians. His reunion with Peter was short-lived upon revealing his true nature and history - and an enemy of Star-Lord makes enemies with all the Guardians of the Galaxy. Nebula too would join the fight against Ego.

Daddy’s Alright

During his travels, Ego wooed females from many alien species and had thousands of children across the cosmos. However, he only ever shared a special connection with one woman, the Earthling Meredith Quill, who gave birth to their son, Peter. Ego truly loved Meredith, though he would also cause her death, lest that love threaten to sway him from his larger mission.

Ego raised the empath Mantis since she was young as his protégé—the only other being to reside on Ego’s planet. Mantis would use her pathokinetic abilities to help her mentor to sleep; though she switched sides and teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ego eventually revealed himself to his son, Peter Quill, the man known as Star-Lord and played off of Peter’s desire for a father figure. Their relationship fell apart, though, when Ego tried to harness his inborn Celestial powers.

Fox on the Run

The Celestial known as Ego doesn't know where he came from, but first gained consciousness while flickering through space. Ego not only gained intelligence and strength, but also figured out how to manipulate the molecules around him. At that point, he built his own planet, based around a core that was truly Ego as well.

However, he wanted more out of life and the galaxy, so he created a biological form for himself, complete with reproductive and neurological systems, and set out to find other life among the stars. He succeeded in his mission, but then expanded his mission by leaving seeds behind in the ground and also impregnating females on various planets. He'd found other life disappointing and he decided to use the seeds to take over whole planets that would then become a part of him.

In 1980, Ego spent time on Earth in Missouri with a woman named Meredith Quill, who knew that he came from the stars. He returned to Earth several times, truly in love with his ‘River Lily.’ He knew if he returned for a fourth time, he would never leave Earth, derailing his mission to take over all life in the cosmos. To move on, he gave her a brain tumor. Meredith died in 1988, leaving her son Peter Quill without any parents on Earth.

Ego hired Yondu Udonta to travel around space collecting his progeny. After successfully delivering many such children, Yondu broke his contract and decided to keep Peter Quill, raising him among the Ravagers.

Years later, when Ego heard about a Terran who managed to hold the Power Stone without dying, he knew Peter, now calling himself Star-Lord, must be his son. Ego thwarted the Sovereign’s attack on the Guardians of the Galaxy in hopes of building their father-son relationship back on his own planet.

Ego revealed himself as the Guardians’ savior and Peter’s biological father. Skeptical, Star-Lord accompanied his father to Ego’s planet. Leaving out key details, Ego told Peter about his origins and falling in love with Meredith. Ego managed to get Quill to believe that he wanted to be the father that Peter always sought and began teaching him how to manipulate the Celestial power they could both channel.

Soon after, Nebula crash landed on Ego, seeking revenge against Gamora. Their ensuing battle led them both below Ego's surface where they discovered a secret burial ground filled with bones. Up on the surface, Mantis told Drax that Ego had killed his other children after testing them for the ability to wield Celestial power had resulted in failure.

In Ego's thrall, Quill learned his father’s true mission, the Expansion, which would use he and his offspring’s Celestial powers to take over whole planets and make them part of Ego. However, Ego made the mistake of telling Peter that he put the fatal tumor in his mother's brain.

This admission of truth broke Star-Lord free, giving him the opportunity to grab his blasters and shoot Ego repeatedly. Ego reconstituted himself and warned that Quill would spend the next thousand years as a battery if he wouldn’t willingly help him. Meanwhile, Ego’s seeds flourished on various planets and began terraforming. That would have been all she wrote, had Yondu, Rocket and Groot not busted in with a mining ship, breaking Ego's hold on Quill in the process.

With the Guardians reunited, they flew below the planet's surface. They aimed the full force of the ship's lasers at Ego’s core, though the arrival of the Sovereign, seeking their own revenge on the Guardians, paused their attack.

Ego attacked the intruders with everything he had, taking control of various aspects of the planet to nearly destroy Peter's friends. However, some inspiring words from Yondu guided Peter into tapping into the Celestial power by using his heart instead of his head, which put him on equal footing with his biological father for an epic battle between the two, which stopped the terraformed seeds on a myriad of planets, including Earth.

With Rocket’s help, Groot set the charge next to Ego's core. Ego tried convincing Peter not to kill him, saying that, when he died, so too would the Celestial power he’d passed on to this son. Star-Lord didn't even consider it and held his father as the bomb exploded, turning the opponent in his hands into so many loose particles.

With that, the planet formerly known as Ego started falling apart. Yondu flew in to save Quill, sacrificing himself in the process, while proving that Quill's real father figure had been by his side for most of his life.