Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Who is Starhawk?

The character played by Sylvester Stallone represents both the Guardians of the Galaxy past and (possibly) future.

Starhawk, in the comics, is the dual character of Aleta Ogord and Stakar Ogord. These two are both husband and wife and adoptive siblings, which is a bit creepy. They were joined together by a Hawk God and spent a long time trying to separate their identities. The combined character of Starhawk becomes a leader of the Guardians, motivating them to continue their exploration of space when they had trouble returning to civilian life after their earliest adventures. Though Stakar and Aleta did convince the god to separate them at times, they continued to share a physical space for much of their lives.

In the comics, Starhawk has quite wide-ranging powers and is stuck in a loop of existence, consistently being reincarnated. This led to his power of precognition, as he remembered events from his past life. When Stakar is dominant he can also control light/energy and survive in a vacuum. When joined with Aleta, Starhawk can create solid forms of light and use them at will.

His powers in the movie are not so well developed, probably because he is not the central player in the story. However he may very well become more central in future (or past) movies.

Given the state of the Guardians at the end of the first movie, it seemed possible that Starhawk could become a leader, similar to his role in the comics. But he does not. The character appears first as a member of the Ravagers, a band of space pirates led by Yondu. During the movie he is at first an opponent to the Guardians before coming around and aiding them in the final act.

Next: More GotG Vol. 2: Who is Star-Lord's father?

Additionally, Starhawk and other members of the original Guardians team from the comics were featured in one of the five (!) mid- and post-credits scenes. The scene showed Starhawk bringing together the first guardians of the galaxy team for the first time on film. It sets up Starhawk for a future in the franchise, and indeed director James Gunn has said that the character will appear again. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has been announced, so theoretically that could see Starhawk playing a more central role and working with Peter Quill and the others more directly.