Hooked on a Feeling
For someone who enjoys blasting off into space, the term "failure to launch" is an adequate description of Petra's personality in many respects. Having been kidnapped at a terribly young age, she suffers from arrested development. Much of this stems from her relationships with her two parents, Meredith Quill and Yondu Udonta, her kidnapper, benefactor, and ultimately, the only true father she ever knew.
I Want You Back
You can't really talk about Petra without talking about her mother, Meredith. She raised Petra as a single mother and instilled in her a sense of wonder that reached out beyond the horizon of a small, Missouri town. After all, Meredith may have been one of the first Americans to make contact with alien life. From Meredith, Petra first began to believe that the universe was bigger than people said. She learned that it was filled with wonder, which left her with a surprisingly optimistic outlook. She can be naturally upbeat, even under the most dire of circumstances, and has a certain talent for seeing the bright side, even if that bright side is only 12 percent of a plan.
Petra is also surprisingly kind. It was something Meredith deeply valued and praised in her daughter and Petra, eager to please, picked up on that fact. Even as a very young girl, Petra would stand up to bullies, especially those picking on the weak and defenseless. This transferred over to her adult life, pushing her to be better than a mere thief...at least, on occasion.
Meredith also gave Petra a deep appreciation for pop culture, especially music. Unfortunately, Petra only has about eight years worth of earth's pop culture to call upon, so she has a tendency to abuse what she knows to excess. Among extraterrestrial life, her references are foreign. And among human, they're laughably dated. After all, who watches Cheers any more? And aren't there way better video games out there than Pac-Man? Seriously.
The loss of Meredith deeply affected Petra, maybe a little more than she's willing to admit. She absolutely idolized and loved her mother. And losing her mother scared her away from letting anyone close to her heart for a very long time. Although the idea of family and love is incredibly important to her (see below for more), Petra can be a little guarded with her feelings, often masking them with terrible jokes and inappropriate humor.
Of course, some of that came from her other parent...
Cherry Bomb
Much of Petra and Yondu's relationship was engineered by Yondu's (perhaps) ill-conceived notions of how to protect Petra: 1) keep her far, far away from her real father, Ego, 2) raise her as a Ravager, and 3) use inappropriate humor in all situations. Such as, say, threatening to eat her if she didn't do as she was told.
Hey, he thought he was being funny.
Yondu originally may have only kept Petra to keep her from being killed by Ego, but he grew to love her and more or less raise her as his own. Given his own checkered history with parents, he did as so many parents do, trying to be better than the last generation and learn from their mistakes. Whereas his parents sold him into a life of hardship and slavery, Yondu did his best to ensure Petra would grow up capable of surviving and taking care of herself. And it shows. Petra is a capable fighter and very good at gauging tactical situations. She avoids a fight she knows she can't win quite often. But also has enough bravado to figure out seemingly impossible situations. While she doesn't kill quite as willingly as Yondu, she's not above dirty tricks or humiliating her enemy.
Petra learned from observing Yondu how to be a natural leader. For decades, Yondu was able to capably command the respect and loyalty of his people, and Petra picked up plenty of those skills herself. She can be both charismatic and menacing, although her menace could use some work, since she often inflates her own reputation in her mind. After all, no one's actually heard of Star-Lady, even if she wants to be infamous.
In light of the genderswap AU, it should be noted that Yondu went out of his way to raise Petra as "one of the boys." In part because it was all he knew. And in larger part to prevent Petra from potentially catching the roving eyes of the rowdy Ravagers, as she would inevitably mature into a young woman.
Spirit in the Sky
Ego really doesn't qualify as a parent, but he did lend some biological material to Petra, so he's worth a brief mention. Or rather, perhaps, his absence is. Although Meredith was more than enough love for one lifetime, not having a father made Petra feel very out-of-place in her early years. All the other kids had dads to play catch with. Meanwhile, Petra had to compensate for the lack of a father with an elaborate fairy tale about her father being David Hasselhoff.
In light of this feeling of inadequacy, Petra is very much about the "found family," especially following her disastrous encounter with Ego, that taught her that family isn't about blood. Family are the people who support you and watch your back. And Petra is exceedingly loyal to the people who earn her trust. Maybe even a little bit too loyal, as she has a tendency to fly off the handle at a threat against one of her people. Or, you know, when she finds out that someone's killed a person she loves.
Similarly, she has a hard time letting go. She takes years to open her final gift from Meredith, because opening it means the last time she receives something from her mother. Which means her mother is truly gone.
And that brings us full circle back to Meredith.
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