Over the weekend at Comic-Con James Gunn showed off some footage from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealing that Kurt Russell will be playing Ego the Living Planet and that he is Star-Lord’s father. It was quite an unexpected but pleasant surprise and something only Gunn would be able to get away with. We’re sure most of us probably have no idea who or even what Ego the Living planet is. It seems the “Guardians of the Galaxy” sequel will have a different take on the character’s humble beginnings, as we’ll see in Gunn’s facebook post later. Let’s take a closer look at Who Is Ego The Living Planet?
Check-out our Who can kill posts:
Also see more of our ‘Who is’ posts:
- Who is Darkseid?
- Who is Apocalypse?
- Who is Zemo
- Who is Ra’s al Ghul?
- Who is Ultron?
- Who is Mr. Sinister?
- Who is Jessica Jones?
- Who is Venom?
- Who is Hank Pym?
- Who is Bolivar Trask?
History
Ego and his twin brother Alter Ego were created by The Stranger, an even more powerful cosmic being of godlike power. Originally appearing in the pages of Thor #132 (though his origins would not explored for some time after that), Ego first claimed to be a scientist whose body and mind had merged with his own homeworld in the heat of an exploding sun. Later stories downplayed that origin, introducing the idea that Ego was mentally unstable (particularly after a part of his consciousness was removed in an experiment by Rigellians to use his unique biology to terraform other worlds – instead creating a rampaging giant in Ego Prime) and the possibility that he was a higher-being who willingly “merged” with a planet early in Creation – which, in Marvel apocrypha, is how Earth was given life by Gaea.
Powers
Ego is exceptionally intelligent. For a while Ego is propelled through space via the engine Galactus implanted on it and can travel at faster than light speeds. Ego has total control over its entire mass down to the molecular level; it often shapes its surface into the appearance of a gigantic face to address powerful beings, and can also shape its terrain to suit the circumstances. It is able to use its own substance to extrude tentacles, organic sensors, plant-like growth, and to create humanoid vessels for its consciousness. It can shape its surface to appear as a dead inhospitable world, or into an idyllic, lush green paradise to lure unwary space travelers to its surface, whom it promptly consumes. Ego possesses various internal features analogous to a living organism, such as gigantic tunnels that have been compared to arteries, and a gigantic brain-like organ deep below its surface. It can heat up its internal temperature to destroy beings inside it. Ego possesses both digestive organs, which it uses when absorbing living beings, and an immune system with which to create powerful antibodies to destroy beings which resist absorption.
It also possesses vast psionic abilities, and can project blasts powerful enough to destroy other worlds. He was able to read Thor’s mind during his first appearance and scan his biological structure.
For Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
We already know a few key things on how we can expect to see Ego on screen. Gunn said of the character in a lengthy Facebook post:
Yeah, his dad is a planet. Sort of. It will all be explained in the film..
But to me, this is the absolute center of Vol. 2, and one of the reasons I’ve been so excited about it. When Marvel first approached me with the first movie, I thought, “Wait a second? A talking raccoon? Isn’t that a rather ridiculous idea to base a movie around?”It was then that I took a step back and asked myself: Okay, if a raccoon could talk, and shoot a machine gun, how could that be? And answering that question ended up being the entire foundation of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. There was a sadness in the answer. Rocket was an animal experimented upon, torn apart and put back together, without compassion. He was the only being of his type, had never known any hint of kindness, and was utterly and completely alone until he met his fellow Guardians. And, one of them in particular – Groot – thought it was worth sacrificing his life for his sake. This melancholy and beautiful undercurrent helped to ground the character for me. He had far more in common with Frankenstein’s monster than he did Bugs Bunny. And I related to him, greatly, and I hoped other folks who felt like outsiders would as well.
Ego seemed, in many ways, like an even more ridiculous character. But I asked myself, if a planet was alive, how could that be? And how could it father a child?
The answers to those questions took me to a far deeper place that I expected. I don’t want to give away too many answers at this time. But what Nova Prime said about Peter’s father at the end of Vol. 1 is certainly true – he is something ancient and unknown. And, as we will discover, being a cosmic being, alone for eons, is perhaps even more lonely than being the universe’s sole talking raccoon.
I can’t wait for you guys to see Kurt Russell bring this character to life onscreen. It has been a rapturous experience creating Ego with him. We have both pushed ourselves as far as we can go in making him real, and grounded, and emotionally centered.
We also know that he will come in human form looking like this:
Directed by James Gunn, “Guardians of the Galaxy” hits theaters on May 5, 2017.
