The story of Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Beginnings[]
| “ | Ego: I was afraid it wouldn't take to the soil, but it grew quickly, and soon it'll be everywhere. All across the universe. Meredith: I don't know what you're talking about, but I like the way you say it. Ego: My heart is yours, Meredith Quill. Meredith: I can't believe I fell in love with a spaceman. |
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| ~ Ego and Meredith expressing their love for one another. |
Young Ego with Meredith Quill as they both spends time on Earth together.
Millions of years ago, Ego was born as a member of a primordial, god-like race known as the Celestials. He dwelled in loneliness for years, until he discovered his ability to manipulate matter and constructed a protective shell around himself. Over the course of many years, he kept building layers over the shell which evolved into a planet itself. The interstellar coordinates of this planet were G52 22C848T12F+E16UC22.
After this, Ego began to wonder about the purpose of his existence. To find purpose and meaning, Ego decided to create a humanoid avatar, which was an extension of his consciousness, to explore the galaxy and dwell among other galactic civilizations as well as learn about these civilizations.
During the 1980s, Ego met Meredith Quill on Earth and fell in love with her. He takes Meredith behind a Dairy Queen and shows her a beautiful small blue flower, and pridefully claims that soon it will be grown all across the universe. Meredith states that she doesn't understand what he is saying, but loves the way he is saying it before continuing to make out with him. Unknown to her, her lover wasn't even close to being the gentleman she thought he was.
Guardians of the Galaxy[]
| “ | Kraglin Obfonteri: Yeah, Quill turned out okay. It's probably good we didn't deliver him to his dad like we was hired to do. Yondu Udonta: Yeah, that guy was a jackass. |
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| ~ Yondu and Kraglin, foreshadowing Ego's true colors. |
Ego did not appear in the film but was mentioned by Irani Rael when she tells Star-Lord that he was able to survive the Power Stone, which he used along with the Guardians of the Galaxy to defeat Ronan the Accuser and prevent him from destroying Xandar, thanks to the species of his mysterious father, allowing Peter to become aware that his father was still alive. He was also mentioned by Yondu Udonta and Kraglin Obfonteri when they brought up the Celestial's request to pick up his son for him. The duo stated that the Yondu Ravager Clan not giving him to his father was a noble choice, with Yondu referring to Ego as a "jackass", foreshadowing Ego's true colors in the sequel.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2[]
Meeting With the Guardians[]
Ego first meeting and introduces himself as Peter Quill's father.
In 2014, Ego rescues the Guardians from Ayesha by obliterating all the Sovereign drone ships chasing them, although only Rocket notices him. After the Guardians crash-land on a nearby planet, Ego and his servant Mantis descend onto the planet and Ego introduces himself as Star-Lord's father.
Star-Lord and his father then get to know each other and Ego offer to let his son and his friends come to his planet, and, while Star-Lord has doubt about his true intentions and that he may not be his true father, Gamora assures him that there is a good chance that Ego is his true father and that he shouldn't let this opportunity slide.
With that, Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax depart with Ego and Mantis, while Rocket and Groot stay behind with the captured Nebula. On the ship, Mantis uses her powers to help Ego sleep.
Taking the Guardians on his World[]
In his world, Ego shows his son, Star-Lord, and Gamora the beauty of his planet. Ego then explains his origin; Millions of years ago, he was a small, speck-like being that developed thought and learned to control matter, eventually building himself the planet. Ego then searched the cosmos for other forms of life, eventually finding life and falling in love with and impregnating Meredith Quill on Earth. After he heard about how Meredith had contracted brain cancer and was dying, he hired Yondu Udonta to retrieve his son from Earth and deliver him, although Yondu didn't follow his orders and instead kept Quill around because he could fit inside small spaces and Ego has been searching for him ever since.
Peter Quill then angrily asks to know why Ego abandoned his mother during her time of need, and he states that, if his planet isn't under his constant attention, it will dissipate. Ego then tells his son that he does truly care for him and wants to be the father that he never got to be. Ego then shows Peter how to access his Celestial powers, teaching him how to create and play catch with him, something that Peter was upset over never having done. Meanwhile, Mantis, while bonding with Drax, attempts to tell him something about Ego's planet, but decides not to when Gamora unintentionally interrupts them. While exploring the planet, Mantis states that there are no other people on the planet because "a dog doesn't let fleas onto its back".
When questioned by Gamora over what she was about to say, Mantis hesitates and claims she wasn't going to say anything. Because of this, Gamora becomes concerned over what Ego's intentions are and ends up at an impasse with Star-Lord, who completely trusts his father and wants to bond with him while also being annoyed with her for trying to turn against him.
True Intentions Revealed[]
| “ | I call it "The Expansion". It is my purpose, and now it is yours as well. Over thousands of years, I implanted thousands of extensions of myself on thousands of worlds. I need to fulfill life's one true purpose: to grow and spread, covering all that exists until everything is... me! | „ |
| ~ Ego reveals his intentions to Peter. |
After Gamora leaves and tries to contact Rocket (ending up in a fight with Nebula), Ego continues to teach Peter about his abilities, stating that, as long as the Planet's core is intact, the both of them are immortal. Ego then prepares to show Star-Lord the purpose of their existence and expands on his origin, giving his son the ability to see the entire universe at once, all of which is witnessed by Mantis, who heads off to warn Drax of what Ego has planned.
Ego explains that, when he found other life in the universe, he was disappointed at what he found and decided that the purpose of all life in the universe was to become him and that the "flowers" he had planted were actually all extensions of himself that he planted in thousands of different worlds. Ego soon realized that even a single Celestial wouldn't have the power to activate all the extensions at once, however, two would, and then began breeding with thousands of different alien species in order to find the one whose genetics would line up with his own and create a new Celestial, and would then corrupt Yondu to have him retrieve the child he created for him, however, every single child conceived was a failure that Ego soon killed (the skeletal remains of which were all discovered by Gamora and Nebula).
Ego using his powers on Peter as a battery after he reveals the truth of Meredith's death.
Ego then stated that the one thing he did not expect was actually falling in love with Meredith Quill, and knowing that his love would get in the way of his goals, he decided to get rid of her once Peter was born, stating that "It broke my heart when I had to put that tumor in her head." Discovering that his father was responsible for his mother's death, Star-Lord snapped out of his trance and angrily began shooting him and blowing his form to pieces. Ego then reforms himself, briefly taking the form of Quill's role model David Hasselhoff just to mock him. Realizing that his son would never go along with his plans and being angry over being shot, Ego uses his powers to possess his son to absorb his power and starts activating the extensions.
Ego then cruelly crushes Peter's Walkman, the last sentiment to his late mother. Before his plans could go any further, Yondu and Rocket crash their ship directly on top of Ego, temporarily stunning him while the team freed Star-Lord and got away. After escaping, Yondu wished to leave the planet as soon as possible, however, Star-Lord stated that his father was too dangerous to be left alive and has Yondu fly down to the planet's core, as it is the source of all Ego's power and life.
The team tries to burn a hole in the core's protective layer, however, Ayesha and her Sovereign drones arrive and try to kill the Guardians again, at the same time, Ego manages to find them and uses his energy tentacles to try and kill them. Drax then manages to convince Mantis to use her powers to make Ego fall asleep, temporarily putting him out of the fight, although Mantis eventually ends up being knocked out during the chaos, allowing Ego to continue trying to destroy the Guardians. Ego's physical form then surfaces underground and berates Star-Lord for trying to stop him, eventually managing to have all the Guardians at his mercy, starting to crush Rocket, Gamora, Groot, Nebula, and Yondu to death, drowning Drax in the sand and possessing Star-Lord yet again and beginning to re-spread his extensions, telling his son that there is nothing worth fighting for except power.
Battle on Ego's Planet and Death[]
| “ | Ego: Stop. Listen to me! You are a God. If you kill me, you'll be just like everybody else! Peter: What's so wrong with that? Ego: No! |
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| ~ Ego's last words before he dies. |
After getting some inspirational words from Yondu and reminiscing about the happy moments with his friends and family, Star-Lord furiously tells his father that he shouldn't have killed his mother and destroyed his Walkman, before harnessing his own Celestial powers, breaking free from his father's control, much to the latter's complete surprise. Star-Lord then begins to mercilessly pummel his father into submission whilst simultaneously saving his friends and stopping the spread of the extensions. Ego however manages to free himself from his son's grip and throw him on a rock. Enraged at Quill's defiance and determined to take him down, he transforms himself into a giant of stone facing Quill and transformed into Pacman. As Star-Lord and his father fight, Groot delivers Rocket's bomb to the center of the planet and arms it, allowing the team five minutes to escape, with Rocket regretfully having to leave Star-Lord behind in order to not risk the lives of his other friends.
Ego's well-deserved death as his core explodes right in front of Peter.
Exhausted due to having fought each other at their full power, Star-Lord, too tired to use his powers, and still outraged over his mother's death, continues beating and holding down Ego in order to prevent him from ever getting to the core. Ego then shouts at Peter, telling him that if he allows the core to be destroyed, he'll be normal and lose his powers. However, Peter nonchalantly asks him what's the problem with that, implying that he's willing to give up his powers for the sake of his own friends. This causes Ego to scream in fear as the bomb goes off and destroys the core, turning him into dust and ending his threat once and for all, also avenging the deaths of Meredith Quill and his other children/Peter's half-siblings. Peter is later saved by Yondu at the cost of his life.
Legacy[]
Avengers: Infinity War[]
In 2018, the Guardians rescued Thor following the deaths of Loki Laufeyson, Heimdall and half of the Asgardian refugees at the hands of Thanos and the Black Order. Ego was mentioned by Star-Lord when Thor explained his recent battle against his evil half-sister Hela, relating his battle against Ego implying that he went through worse since he had to go through with killing his father.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special[]
In 2025, through a conversation between Mantis and Drax the Destroyer, it's revealed that Mantis was also Ego's daughter, but she has refrained from telling Star-Lord the truth as she doesn't wish for him to see her as an extension of their despicable father. In order to cheer her half-brother up due to Gamora's death and her alternate timeline counterpart's disappearance, Mantis and Drax decide to kidnap Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon and bring him to Peter as a Christmas gift.
Towards the end of the special, after Kevin Bacon sings a musical number for all of Knowhere's population, Mantis gets the courage up and finally confesses to Peter the truth of both sharing the same father; to Mantis' surprise, Peter doesn't mind she is Ego's daughter: instead, Peter says that knowing he has a half-sister is the best Christmas present he could ever have, wishing Mantis a Merry Christmas as well. The two half-siblings then embrace, happy for discovering their familiar bond and finally putting Ego's influence behind them for good.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3[]
Due to already being dead and his children mostly putting his influence behind them by this point, Ego doesn't appear or is significantly referenced throughout the film, but is mentioned by Mantis at the end. Following Orgocorp's destruction and the High Evolutionary's arrest and defeat, as the original Guardians of the Galaxy disband at their headquarters in Knowhere, Mantis announces her intentions to quit being motivated by her interest in exploring the galaxy and choosing her own path due to having been ordered around by several individuals throughout her life, such as Ego or even her own teammates, to do what they want instead of what she wants, a decision that her fellow Guardians respect and accept, while Peter decides to return to Earth so he can visit his grandfather Jason, whom he hadn't seen for so long ever since he was taken away from him by the Ravagers years ago under Ego's orders when he was a child, finally allowing him to reunite with his true biological family and leaving Ego's legacy in vain.
Ego also makes a quick non-physical cameo during the credits, with a photo of himself being shown to recap all of the adventures the original Guardians of the Galaxy had prior to disbanding, allowing Rocket to become the team's new leader and form a new team of Guardians as shown in the mid-credits scene.
Alternate Universe versions[]
What If...?[]
Season 1[]
In the second episode What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?, a variant of Ego plays a similar role to the one his original counterpart had in an alternate universe where Prince T'Challa from Wakanda became Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill, as Yondu Udonta asked his fellow Ravagers to retrieve Peter instead of doing it himself. However, as Yondu decides to take T'Challa as his surrogate son, he decides to not inform Ego about his failure to retrieve Peter, likely for the same reasons he didn't deliver Peter in the original universe.
Years later, in 2008, after defeating The Collector and freeing his slaves, T'Challa returns alongside Yondu and all his friends to Wakanda, and during a party, Yondu decides to tell T'Chaka, Ramonda and Shuri how did he end up taking T'Challa. At the end of the episode, Ego makes an appearance by visiting Peter, now working as a janitor at a Dairy Queen, on Earth, saying that he wants to meet him, leading the Watcher, who has seen the episode's events, to speculate if Ego's relationship with Peter will cause the end of the world, but says that such story will have to wait.
In the eighth episode What If... Ultron Won?, a variant of Ego's planet is seen in an alternate universe where Ultron defeated the Avengers and brought about humanity's extinction before killing Thanos and destroying all life in his universe, becoming Infinity Ultron. During his intergalactic genocidal quest, after killing the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Sovereign, before attacking Xandar, Infinity Ultron's sentries attacked by Ego's planet, swarming a surprised Ego until his planet was blown up, killing him.
In the ninth episode What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?, the Ego variant of the universe where T'Challa became Star-Lord appears again. After meeting up with Peter, Ego starts the Expansion by incapacitating his son and using him as a living battery, promising that his suffering would approximately end a millennium later. However, the Ravager fleet attacks the expanding mass from the Dairy Queen before T'Challa arrives to rescue Peter and straps an explosive to Ego, incapacitating him for a while. At the end of the episode, T'Challa is shown to have apparently recruited Peter Quill to become one of the Ravagers, which likely means that just like his original counterpart, Ego will not be able to perform the Expansion and will fight the Ravagers from now on.
Season 2[]
In the second episode of Season 2 What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes? (set in a timeline where Yondu never had his change of heart, and delivered a young Peter Quill to his father Ego), Ego begins his plans for the expansion, manipulating his son (who manifested his Celestial powers) into serving him. Six months after ravaging a number of planets (including Jotunheim and Asgard), Ego sends Peter to Earth, where Peter is met with the resistance of a team of superheroes who were summoned by Peggy Carter and Howard Stark to stop him. After Peter is detained by the heroes with help from Thor, and eventually breaks off from his objective to visit his mother's grave in Missouri, Ego decides to go to Earth by himself to finish what he started, unknowingly alerting other heroes when his seedling (which Thor recovered from Missouri) begins to glow.