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Guardians 3 was a special movie for Rocket Raccoon as it finally brought his tragic origin to light. But the other characters also got to shine by bringing their best versions to the party. Most importantly, Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord still led the team from the front one last time.
The final outing of the OG Guardians roster has become a major success story at the box office. But despite its strong narrative, fans were left with many unanswered questions. One of those was regarding Peter Quill’s trademark Star-Lord helmet and rocket boots.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
James Gunn reveals why we didn’t see Star-Lord’s helmet in Guardians 3
Towards the final act of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we saw Star-Lord risk his life to get his Zune back, which he later gifted to Rocket. His heroic jump from the High Evolutionary’s rig to Knowhere looked “cool” and was almost successful. But he could have died if Adam hadn’t retrieved his icing body.
So, after seeing Peter Quill improvise his space jump, many fans asked why he didn’t just use his trademark equipment – the helmet and rocket boots. After all, he has used them to fly through space multiple times.
Back in the original Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill went to retrieve his Walkman at the Kyln, and he escaped with his helmet and jetpack boots. So, his job to retrieve his Zune would have been fairly easy if he had his helmet and boots on.
When asked by a fan on Twitter, James Gunn revealed where his helmet was throughout the film:
After Adam attacked Rocket, saving him became the highest priority for Peter Quill. So, in a rush to get the passkey for his best friend, Peter Quill just forgot his regular equipment in his drawer at Knowhere. It is a possible and believable explanation, but fans could argue that James Gunn could have easily avoided it as well.
Why James Gunn chose to keep the helmet out
Most fans complained that in his final outing as the leader of Guardians, Peter Quill didn’t get to wear his helmet even once. Those are his staple weapons and a part of his iconic identity. So, he shouldn’t have just left them behind. But he did, and there are two reasons for that.
By the time we saw Peter Quill in Guardians 3, he wasn’t in his best shape. In these peaceful times, he wasn’t leading the team anymore as he was drowned in sorrow after losing Gamora. He hadn’t been the “Legendary Star-Lord” for a while. So, it’s understandable that he wasn’t as used to picking up his equipment, especially while rushing out.
While this was the story's reason, there was another external reason for not using the helmet. Without the helmet, Gunn was able to give Star-Lord a major sacrificial moment, which wouldn’t have felt special if he had his helmet and boots.
Furthermore, Gunn was also able to continue the pattern of icing Star-Lord or someone close to him in space. In Guardians Vol. 1, Gamora got iced, but then Quill saved her and almost froze to death himself. In Vol. 2, once again, Quill could have frozen to death, but Yondu sacrificed himself. In Guardians 3, Quill literally turned into the ice-man until Adam saved him.
So, Gunn was able to do all this and raise the stakes by simply choosing to leave the helmet out of the picture. However, we’ll see this equipment return along with the Legendary Star-Lord in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
