Ego the Living Planet is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Thor #132 (September 1966) and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. The character has made limited appearances in animation and video games, while Kurt Russell portrayed the character in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), in which Ego is reimagined as a Celestial and father of Peter Quill and Mantis. Russell also voiced alternate timeline versions of Ego in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021). Publication history Ego the Living Planet was initially introduced in The Mighty Thor #132 (September 1966), and was created by Jack Kirby. Kirby created Ego when Kirby was fascinated with the expanse of the universe. Ego, the alien Kree, and The Colonizers immediately followed the creation of Galactus, thus establishing Marvel Comics' own "space age mythology". As Kirby recalled in 1969, shortly after the character's debut, Ego's genesis came when: The reader's first glimpse of Ego on the last page of Thor #132 is a full-page splash panel photo collage with Ego's human features superimposed on a bulbous, chaotic planetoid. Kirby had been using photo collages for several years; this image has been called "his most effective and freakish to date." Ego returned as a protagonist in Thor #160–161 (Jan.–Feb. 1969) and made a guest appearance in #201. His origin is explored in Thor #228. Following appearances in Fantastic Four #234–235 (Sept.–Oct. 1981) and Rom #69 (Aug. 1985), Ego had a recurring role in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #4–22 (1987–1989). The character returned in the 1991 Thor annual and issues #448–450 (June–Aug 1992). Ego played a prominent role in the company-wide crossover storyline "Maximum Security", appearing in Avengers #35 (Dec. 2000); Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet (Oct. 2000); Iron Man #34–35 (Nov.–Dec. 2000); X-Men Unlimited #29 (Dec. 2000); Gambit #23 (Dec. 2000), and Maximum Security #1–3 (Dec. 2000Jan. 2001). The character returned in Nova vol. 4 #20–30 and Astonishing Thor #1–5 (Nov 2010July 2011). Ego the Living Planet also appeared in the Oni Press Color Special. Fictional character biography 1960s Ego once told Thor that his existence was the result of a scientist merging with a planet when that planet's sun went nova. Inside the Black Galaxy, Ego's ambitions turn towards conquest. He starts absorbing space vessels and even planets to build