Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 introduced MCU fans to the comedic team of misfits, but that doesn’t mean that the franchise isn’t filled with its fair share of devastating moments. Death and loss are recurring themes in the MCU. Although the Guardians of the Galaxy are beloved by fans for their banter and comedy, they have all gone through their own grief.

The very first scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 isn’t just one of the saddest scenes of the franchise, but of the whole MCU. Experiencing loss at a young age, Guardians’ opening death would go on to haunt Peter Quill for much of his life. Whether the studio knew it or not at the time, this scene would even have consequences with a future franchise death.

Guardians Of The Galaxy’s First Scene Is Still One Of The MCU’s Saddest

The Franchise Immediately Opens With A Death

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 opens with Peter at the hospital in his mother’s final moments. Meredith Quill asks for her son’s hand, but during Peter’s moment of hesitation, his mother succumbs to her brain cancer. Peter runs out of the hospital in anguish, which eventually leads to him getting abducted by Yondu and his Ravagers.

Any death of a loved one is tragic, but what makes the opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 all the more devastating is the moment when Peter doesn’t take his mother’s hand despite his grandpa’s insistence. It’s a bold choice of scene to open the movie with, setting up Peter’s backstory and cementing the emotional stakes of the franchise.

Young Peter was still struggling to come to terms with his mother dying, and taking her hand one last time would’ve been him accepting the end and making the situation too real. Once Meredith was gone, Peter showed immediate regret at missing his last moment with his mother.

The Parallels Between Meredith’s Death & Gamora’s Make The MCU Hero’s So Much Sadder

Peter Has Regrets In Both Situations

Peter’s MCU story is defined by a lot of events, but the deaths of two of his loved ones in particular hit him especially hard. Years after the death of his mother, he makes a meaningful connection with the ᴀssᴀssin Gamora. They bond while serving in the Guardians of the Galaxy together, but it all comes to a crashing halt in the fight against Thanos.

The Mad тιтan takes his adopted daughter to Vormir where he sacrifices her to obtain the Soul Stone. Peter only finds out about Gamora’s death while fighting Thanos, as Mantis can sense the villain’s mourning. In a make-or-break moment for the heroes, Peter allows his grief and rage to overtake him, and he punches Thanos.

There’s been an argument since Avengers: Infinity War’s release that Star-Lord’s outburst cost the heroes their victory, and while that is technically true, Peter’s outburst was understandable. Remembering back to the very first scene of the Guardians franchise, Peter hesitated to take his last moments with his mother, causing immediate regret.

With Gamora’s death, Peter’s regret was likely even stronger considering the fact that he wasn’t even present. It’s debatable whether or not he would’ve been able to save her, but at least he would’ve been able to have his final moments with her. Once again, Star-Lord missed out on a loved one’s final moments and will never get that time back.

Gamora’s MCU Return Actually Makes Her Death Even Sadder Again

She’s Not The Gamora That Peter Fell In Love With

Gamora does return in Avengers: Endgame, but it’s not the version of the character that Peter was hoping for. The 2012 version of Gamora never fought with the Guardians, only agreeing to turn on her father with Nebula’s support. Although it was nice to see Gamora and Peter reunited on-screen, her return actually caused a more tragic fate.

When Gamora joins the Guardians in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, she is an outsider to the team. Peter knows that she is not the same Gamora that he’d grown to respect and love. She has her own found family in the Ravagers that she goes back to after the High Evolutionary’s defeat, but not without one last moment with Peter.

In Peter’s eyes, he finally gets his moment to say goodbye to his loved one, but it’s not the version of her that he hoped for. It’s a bittersweet moment between the two as it is, but remembering Peter’s trauma from his youth makes it even sadder. The version of Gamora that he loved was still gone forever.

Thinking back to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, Peter’s regrets regarding his mother defined his early life. He had to experience that loss and regret again with Gamora years later, and he couldn’t even say he was there for her in her final moments. Fortunately for Peter, he managed to get some sort of closure for both scenarios, learning to live with his grief.