The space-based group of adventurers the Guardians of the Galaxy, led by half-human/half-alien Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord has faced many obstacles throughout their career… even unceremonious rejection. Infamous Marvel Comics artwork featuring Star-Lord was nixed Marvel Comics, seemingly for the art’s raunchiness.Alongside writer Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil), Kris Anka (Runaways) was the artist on 2016’s short-lived Star-Lord solo series entitled “Grounded.” As the storyline implies, this six-issue comic saw the titular space cowboy returning to his native planet of Earth and having to acclimate to his new surroundings, without the support of his Guardians. During his time on Earth, Quill interacted with several superheroes, villains, and authority figures including S.W.O.R.D. director Abigail Brand and a bevy of police officers. Beyond teaming up with familiar earthbound crime fighters, Star-Lord may have even found himself romantically involved with another character, if a rejected image from the canceled series is any indication.Related: Star-Lord Destroyed Captain America with the Perfect NicknameIn remembrance of his collaboration with Zdarsky on the Star-Lord series, Kris Anka shared a collection of panels with fans via his personal Twitter platform. The black and white draft panels feature Peter finding himself out from a fresh shower, upon awakening from a powerful nightmare. Anka follows up the rejected images with the caption “the shower shot was even more lewd originally”. At first glance, the images are relatively tame in comparison to some other abandoned Marvel Comics projects. The art avoids anything overly explicit aside from Quill’s bare chest and a brief side-view of the character’s abdominal. The official published version of the shower sequence, taking place in issue #6 of the Star-Lord series, is not too much of a far cry from what was originally intended. The initial wake-up is included while the shower scene is slightly less explicit than Kris’ artwork. It’s unclear exactly why Marvel decided to reject Anka’s original proposed artwork, though the answer may lie in a more telling matter.
Kris Anka’s Star Lord Art May Have Been Too Sexy For Marvel Comics.
As hinted by Kris Anka, the rejected panels not only had implications for the continuation of Star Lord “Grounded” but for Star-Lord’s character moving forward in the Marvel Universe. If the Star-Lord series had continued in the manner in which Zdarsky and Anka intended, there was a strong likelihood that Quill would have found himself a new male love interest. Concept art for the character was previously released in the aftermath of the “Grounded” series’ cancelation. The mystery surrounding Star Lord’s sexuality seemed at a halt but ultimately came to fruition when writer Al Ewing (Venom) took over as writer on the Guardians of the Galaxy title in 2020.
2017 may just have not been Marvel’s desired moment to spotlight Quill’s sexuality for fear of what it may not only do to fan reception, but to comic sales as well. If that were the case, it’s quite ironic for a company that prides itself on putting diverse new heroes at the forefront and even having members of their “old guard” replaced by those same heroes for a time. However, Marvel has seemingly moved on from their mistakes of the past and is now open to embracing the sexual fluidity associated with Star Lord‘s character rather than covering up what the creators involved had planned all along for the Guardians of the Galaxy figurehead.
