Yondu Udonta is a major character of the 2014 superhero film, Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's 2017 sequel film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
He is a Centaurian, leader of the Ravagers and father figure to Peter Quill as well as his own personal mentor. When Quill betrayed the Ravagers and stole an Orb for himself, Udonta led the hunt for his former ally. Eventually Udonta caught up with Quill but was convinced to help in him the war against Ronan the Accuser, who was threatening to use the Orb's power to destroy the planet Xandar.
Though it appeared he had selfish reasons to raise the young Quill as his own son instead of taking him to his biological father who sent him to retrieve the boy, Yondu is eventually revealed to have a noble agenda to do so: Horrified upon learning the true identity of Quill's biological father as a megalomaniacal cosmic entity called Ego who intended to use his son for his sinister purposes, Yondu choose to betray Ego by allying with Quill and the Guardians of the Galaxy to halt Ego's evil plan.
Yondu was portrayed by Michael Rooker.
History[]
Guardians of the Galaxy[]
In 1988, Udonta went to Earth on a delivery mission to take Peter Quill to his father, the Celestial known as Ego. Instead of doing as instructed, however, Udonta kept the boy and trained him to be a Ravager upon learning Ego's true intentions (although he had to keep some of his crew from killing and eating the boy). Over the next 26 years, Udonta developed a close fondness of Quill, despite never showing any of his affection. During this time, Udonta was exiled from the other clans of Ravagers by Stakar Ogord after he found out that Udonta had been delivering children to Ego. Udonta defended himself saying he did not know better, but Stakar knew his protege well enough to know that the former was too smart to be that ignorant and that the profitability from Ego's commissions made Udonta turn a blind eye. Because of this, Udonta became bitter towards his former mentor for leaving him, but knew deep down that he deserved the banishment due to letting his own greed overtaking his morals.
In 2014, Udonta discovered that a mysterious item called the Orb was located on Morag; he was offered a great fee if he retrieved the item for his buyer, the Broker. However, when Udonta arrived on Morag with his team of Ravagers, he discovered Quill had betrayed him and found and taken the Orb for himself with the intention of selling it to the Broker before Udonta could. Udonta was furious and phoned Quill, who did not deny he had taken the Orb but refused to give his location before hanging up.
Furious at this betrayal, Udonta issued a bounty for Quill's capture for 40,000 units; when Udonta said he wanted Quill alive, this led to an argument with Horuz, who insisted that they should have handed Quill over to Ego like they were originally hired to do, noting Udonta had always been soft on Quill and never punished him when he disobeyed orders. Udonta turned the situation around and threatened Horuz with his Yaka Arrow and assured his men that once he had Quill, he would kill him himself.
Udonta and Kraglin Obfonteri then both traveled to Xandar to meet with the Broker. Before revealing why they were really there, Udonta took some time to admire the various artifacts that Broker had for sale, commenting that he wished to buy some to decorate his M-ship. When the Broker questioned if this was a joke or not, Obfonteri noted that Udonta was being completely serious, knowing already that this was something Udonta often did on his ship.
However, he made his true intentions known quickly when he then demanded to know who Broker intended to sell the Orb to. Although Broker tried to insist that he would be unable to reveal the names of his buyers, Udonta ignored his many excuses and spoke over him with gibberish, mocking and annoying Broker the more he did it while Obfonteri laughed. As Broker still refused to give up the information, Udonta drew his Yaka Arrow and aimed it at Broker who, scared for his life, finally revealed that the Collector was the buyer.
Quill was able to briefly get away from Udonta by piloting a mining ship; however, before long Quill was forced to give his location away to save himself and Gamora from suffocating in space, as Quill had given her his helmet to try and save her. Udonta came to Quill's aid and found him floating in space beside the already dying Gamora. Udonta abducted the pair onto the Eclector, sending Obfonteri and his men to then bring them to him for questioning.
Udonta initially planned to execute Quill because of his many betrayals, first beating him half to death and explaining everything Quill had done to let him down. When Udonta began ranting about how he had saved Quill from being eaten by the Ravagers the day he had been taken away by him, Quill argued that this was not a good enough reason for him to feel grateful to Udonta before insisting that they needed to find the Orb, which was one of the Infinity Stones.
Despite Quill's attempts to explain everything and insist that the Orb could destroy all of Xandar if it was not recovered, Udonta aimed his Yaka Arrow at Quill's throat and prepared to execute him, but when Quill convinced him that it was possible to steal the Orb from Ronan with insider knowledge provided by Gamora. Thinking for a moment, Udonta withdrew his arrow and they decided to work together, celebrating with laughs and cheers all round.
Before they could complete their arrangement, Udonta and Quill's reunion was interrupted by an explosion outside the ship. When Udonta went to investigate he discovered Rocket Raccoon had taken control of Quill's ship, the Milano, and was threatening to destroy Udonta's ship with Drax the Destroyer using the Hadron Enforcer if Udonta did not free Quill and Gamora. Udonta called Rocket's bluff, but Quill quickly appeared and assured Rocket that everything had been worked out and they were now fine.
Udonta allowed Quill to return to his ship to work out a plan with Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora. Eventually Quill returned with his team and they discussed a plan which involved Quill and Udonta's ship boarding Ronan's ship, the Dark Aster, and killing the Kree warrior once inside. While they prepared for battle, Udonta pulled Quill aside to remind him that once the battle was over, he would get the Orb, threatening to kill him if he failed to obey.
With their plan going into motion, Udonta and Star-Lord led their squad of ships into the Battle of Xandar; Udonta commanded his Ravagers to attack Ronan's army of Sakaarans when Ronan sent in his soldiers as defense. While Kraglin and Rocket shot a hole in the side of the Dark Aster, Udonta and Quill planned to enter the ship together. However Ronan's army soon overwhelmed them and Udonta's M-ship was quickly shot down in the chaos. As he fell, Udonta vowed to survive and promised to see Quill at the end of the battle while Quill continued to battle Ronan's army.
Udonta survived the crash and got out of his wrecked ship, picking up some of the items he had bought from Broker's shop. When he turned around Udonta discovered that he had been surrounded by several Sakaarans who aimed their Necroblasters at him and ordered that Udonta surrender himself before commanding his men to attack the various Nova Corps ships that were currently assisting Quill and the others in the aerial battle against Ronan's forces.
Instead of obeying, Udonta calmly opened his jacket without a word and whistled. As the Sakaarans stood momentarily confused at his actions, Udonta used his Yaka Arrow to single-handedly kill every Sakaaran in front of him as his arrow darted through all their bodies, even causing one of their Necrocraft to crash and explode. With all his would be captors dead, Udonta collected his arrow and made his way back towards Xandar where the battle was still raging on with his Ravagers protecting the innocent people from harm.
By the time Udonta made it back to the city, he arrived just in time to witness Ronan's death. Udonta teased Quill and Gamora as they shared an intimate moment and demanded Quill to hand over the Orb as agreed. Although Quill tried to argue, he eventually agreed, before reminding Udonta not to open the Orb for his own safety.
Youndu agreed and left Quill, unaware that he took wrong Orb. As he prepared to leave Xandar with Kraglin, they both discussed how Quill had turned out better than either of them had expected, with Obfonteri noting that the result of not delivering Quill to his father like they were originally hired to do worked out for the best. Udonta noted that he thought Ego was a jackass as they flew an M-ship back to the Eclector to make their escape before the Nova Corps could question them.
As the Ravagers traveled through space, they drank and celebrated the victory in the Battle of Xandar and how they had defeated the Kree warmonger Ronan. Udonta sat alone and decided to open the Orb given to him by Quill out of curiosity only to find a Troll doll. Yondu realized Quill had used a classic Ravager move and that the Infinity Stone was left with Irani Rael of the Nova Corps for safe-keeping. Instead of being angered however, Yondu simply bursted in laughter and kept the doll as a souvenir, apparently forgiving this deception.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2[]
A few months following the Battle of Xandar, Udonta, along with his clan went to the Iron Lotus on Contraxia to relax. Udonta got dressed from his room as he watched all of the other Ravagers outside have fun. As Udonta went outside, he quickly approached Stakar Ogord who walked away from him in utter disgust at seeing Udonta again, in spite of him showing Ogord a respectful gesture.
Udonta got angry with Ogord and chased after him and the two started to argue. Udonta demanded that Ogord to listen to him, but Ogord refused, citing that he had been exiled for the child trafficking that led to the children's deaths, claiming that Udonta did not care about their fate as long as it had made him wealthy. Right as Ogord left, Sovereign High Priestess Ayesha arrived to hire Udonta and his clan to hunt down the Guardians of the Galaxy who had stolen some Anulax batteries from them. Udonta took the job and left to find the Guardians unaware that part of his faction was planning to start a mutiny against him as they believed he had gone soft.
The Ravagers easily tracked the Guardians of the Galaxy on Berhert as Udonta had placed a tracker on the Milano after the Battle of Xandar. After Rocket Raccoon took down some of the Ravagers, Udonta got the upper hand on him with his Yaka Arrow. Udonta told Rocket about the job they were given by Ayesha and that she wants him to return the Guardians to her so she can kill them. Rocket pleaded that they don't hurt Groot if he told them the location of the batteries but Udonta said that he wasn't going to hand him over which angered some of the Ravagers.
Udonta decided to keep the batteries and sell them for a quarter of what Ayesha was going to pay them causing a conflict between the Ravagers. Taserface along with some of the clan, including Kraglin, turned against Udonta saying he had gone soft. The Ravagers then turned on each other and were about to engage in a fight when Nebula shot Udonta's Yaka Arrow Controller off the top of his head, consequently causing him to go unconscious from the impact.
Udonta, Rocket and Groot were taken to the Eclector where all Ravagers who sided with Udonta were ejected into space. Udonta, being subdued, watched as Taserface took control of his clan and beat him. Udonta was then put in a cell with Rocket and would be delivered to the Kree the next day where they would be executed.
Udonta told Rocket about his history as a Ravager including his time with his team that showed similarities to the Guardians of the Galaxy as they had a familial bond. Udonta also mentioned his exile by Stakar Ogord and that he deserves everything that is happening to him as he broke the Ravager code. Rocket told Udonta that Quill was with Ego, worrying him. Rocket then told Udonta that they needed to escape right as Groot, who had just been terrorized by the rest of the crew, walked by their cell. Udonta asked Groot to retrieve his spare Yaka Arrow Controller so that he could use his Yaka Arrow to help them all escape. Groot failed to understand Udonta's orders, delivering several incorrect items. After a few failed attempts, Kraglin eventually retrieved the controller and decided to help them as he was not aware that they were going to start a mutiny and kill all of his friends. Udonta told Kraglin to get the third Quadrant ready for release.
Kraglin was instructed by Rocket to play some of Quill's music to warn the Ravagers that Udonta was escaping, but what they didn't know is that he was already prepared for them with his newly attached controller. As Yondu made his way to the control room, he used his Yaka Arrow to kill every Ravager that got in his way. Udonta, Rocket, and Groot made their way to the control room where they used the advantage of the display screens to kill any remaining Ravagers. While having fun with their attacks, Udonta then noticed Taserface walking through a hallway and called his arrow and flew it straight at him while igniting it. Udonta destroyed the Eclector due to the arrow hitting the fuel tank, killing Taserface. Udonta then met up with Obfonteri and the four escaped into the Quadrant and headed for Ego's Planet.
Having escaped with the others, the four-headed straight for Ego to rescue the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy as Udonta knew Ego's true intentions for Quill. As they prepared to leave Rocket Raccoon mistakenly set the ship to seven-hundred jumps causing all of their faces, including Groot and Kraglin, to temporarily disfigure as they traveled.
When they arrived, the four were thrown to the ground after the number of jumps they just took at once. Rocket told Udonta that he wanted to save Quill from Ego so he could prove he's better than him, but Udonta confronted Rocket about who he really was. Rocket rejected Udonta but he continued on by telling him how much they are the same. After their dispute, Udonta told them that they're going to fight a planet which Rocket hesitated as he was not aware of Ego's true form.
Udonta and Rocket saved Star-Lord by crashing straight into Ego. The Guardians of the Galaxy got into the Laser Drill which surprised Quill to see Udonta helping them. Quill sarcastically thanked Udonta for not delivering him to Ego still under the impression that the only reason he kept him was that he was skinny. Udonta told Quill that he knew about what happened to Ego's other children so that was why he didn't deliver him.
As they broke free of Ego's palace, Quill directed the ship towards the ground. Udonta insisted they flee the planet, only to be told that Ego was going to destroy the universe as they know it, so they had to drill into his core to destroy it. As they drilled down, Udonta asked Quill about what Ego wanted him for. Quill told him that he wanted to use his power, which he used to create a ball which was all he could think of, which Udonta tried to tell him that he doesn't use his head to control the Yaka Arrow, but rather his heart.
As they were destroying the core, Kraglin informed them that the Sovereign were coming right as they came under fire by a swarm of Sovereign drones, who were given Udonta's coordinates by Taserface in his final moments. The Guardians fell out of the ship and Rocket and Quill went to blow up Ego's core with a bomb he just built leaving Udonta and Nebula on the Laser Drill. Quill flew back to the ship to ask Udonta if he had any tape for the bomb but he didn't. The Sovereign started firing at the ship causing their thrusters to go out.
Nebula hooked herself up to the ship causing her to be electrocuted as the ship's lasers destroyed the entire Sovereign fleet. The ship then blew up from the attack so Udonta quickly summoned his Yaka Arrow to escape, using it to float down. Udonta and Quill landed and regrouped with the others. All the Guardians came together, but Mantis was knocked out by Ego causing the planet to be under his control again. Udonta called Kraglin Obfonteri to bring the Quadrant down so the Guardians could evacuate. They were soon separated by Ego leaving him, Quill and Rocket to fight off Ego's attacks. After a while of fighting, Udonta and Rocket become trapped by some rubble by Ego and his Yaka Arrow broke. Before Udonta could be completely covered by the rubble, he inspired Quill to fight Ego. Udonta was freed along with the other Guardians who were trapped by Ego.
When the Guardians were evacuating due to the bomb being set off by Groot, Udonta decided to stay so he could save Quill as he has done nothing else right in his life. Rocket gave him the last space suit and flight suit. Groot then welcomed Udonta onto the Guardians of the Galaxy, to which Rocket proudly translated. As Ego exploded, Udonta, wearing a flight suit, rescued Star-Lord from the destruction and flew him to safety. Unfortunately, there was only one space suit left so Udonta gave it to Quill and saved his life, sacrificing his own. Udonta told Quill that Ego may have been his biological father, but he wasn't his daddy, as they flew into space. Quill watched as Udonta began to suffocate and freeze right in front of him, not being able to do anything about it. Before Udonta fully succumbed, he patted Quill's face to calm him. Quill held onto Udonta as he mourned his loss and waited for the other Guardians to retrieve them.
Udonta's body was retrieved from space and he was given a funeral by the Guardians and Kraglin. Quill gave a eulogy and talked about how he used to tell kids that David Hasselhoff was his dad when in fact Udonta was kind of like Hasselhoff and that he was Quill's dad. They then cremated the body as Rocket Raccoon called the rest of the Ravagers who gave Udonta a Ravager farewell. After Udonta's funeral, Obfonteri was given a Yaka Arrow Controller while he gave Quill a Zune that Udonta had found in a shop and was going to give to Quill. Obfonteri took up Udonta's trademark weapon and began to practice using the weapon only to end up accidentally stabbing Drax in the chest. Udonta's actions went on to inspire Stakar Ogord to assemble his previous team which Udonta was previously a part of as he believed that Udonta would be proud to know that they're together again.