Starfire (comics)
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Starfire is the name of three superheroes who have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics.
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[edit] Koriand'r
Starfire (a.k.a. Koriand'r) is a female superhero character who first appeared in a free preview supplement in DC Comics Presents #26 in 1980, and became a founding member of the New Teen Titans, and a member of various Titans teams thereafter.
[edit] History
Koriand'r (a play on coriander) is a princess of the planet Tamaran, and was in line to rule the planet as Queen. Komand'r ("commander"), her older sister, had a bitter rivalry with her on account of a disease in infancy that robbed her of the ability to harness solar energy to allow her to fly, and by extension, her right to the throne. This rivalry continued and intensified when the siblings were sent for warrior training with the Warlords of Okaara. Things came to a head during a sparring exercise in which Komand'r attempted to kill her sister. As a result, Komand'r was expelled and she swore vengeance.
That revenge came in a plot where Komand'r betrayed her planet with detailed information about Tamaran's defenses to their enemies, the Citadel. They conquered Tamaran with ease and the surrender conditions included the enslavement of Koriand'r who was never permitted to return since that would mean the Citadel would devastate the planet for abrogating the treaty. To Kory's horror, she learned that Komand'r was her master and her older sister made the most of her sibling's bondage with years of horrific servitude and torture. When Koriand'r killed one of her rapists, Komand'r decided to execute her as punishment, but not before the sisters were attacked and captured by the Psions.
Psions, a group of sadistic alien scientists, performed a deadly experiment on both sisters to see how much energy their Tamaranian bodies could absorb before exploding from the overload. During the procedure, Komand'r's forces attacked the Psion ship to rescue her. While the Psions were distracted, Kory broke free using her starbolts - destructive blasts of solar energy - which were a result of the experimentation. Against her better judgment, she decided to free Komand'r who was still absorbing energy. However, far from grateful, Komand'r struck her sister down with the same, but more intensified, power and had her restrained for later execution. Koriand'r was freed by Ryand'r, but the results of the experiment turned his hands white hot unlike his sisters.
Kory escaped by seducing one of the guards and stole a spacecraft to flee to the nearest planet, Earth, where she met the first Robin and his compatriots; she joined them in forming the Teen Titans. She became a charter member of this revived team and remained a member for years; during this time she was frequently romantically involved with Robin.
[edit] 52
On the seventh day of the fifth week of 52, Starfire is shown to be stranded on a paradise-like planet with Animal Man and Adam Strange.
A week and some time later, Starfire has been eating an odd narcotic native fruit. Luckily, Adam's tough love seems to snap her out of it, or at least make her stop eating the fruit. She then flies off to "clear her head."
Two days later, Devilance, a being Buddy had apparently sensed the presence of earlier, appears to Starfire.
A week, two days and two nights later, Adam and Buddy go looking for her. Unfortunately, they find her caught in a large net, hanging from above. Just as Buddy realizes it's a trap, he and Adam get caught in a similar net, with Devilance staring at them.
Three days and two nights later, Starfire awakens to find herself hanging upside down by vines beside Buddy, who's in the same position. Starfire says that the whole planet, from the fruit to the vines that are binding them, was set up by Devilance. She says she's had enough and works together with her comrades to distract Devilance. She pays Devilance back for capturing her by stealing his staff and striking him with it before catching up with Buddy and Adam. As the trio head back to ship, hoping to use the staff as a power source, Devilance broods, bound by the same vines he used to restrain his captives.
At the end of week 16, the repairs on the ship are completed and the trio take off for Earth. On week 17, day 2, the ship encounters an asteroid field and Starfire attempts to help clear a path for the ship.
Two days later, hope seems lost as they have yet to navigate the asteroids and Adam reveals that the ship doesn't have the resources to make it back to Earth. That night, Starfire talks with Buddy about him missing his family and when he "[saw] the whole universe." While Buddy professes a belief in an underlying order to things, Starfire counters that "On Tamaran, we're taught to make our own destiny..." Suddenly, Devilance attacks the ship and takes back his lance. Just as Devilance is about to destroy the ship, his is torn apart by Lobo.
Believing he is going to attack them next, Starfire goes out to negotiate. She convinces Lobo to help the trio by offering payment, but not before he rips her top off. She returns to the ship to explain the situation to her companions while Lobo hitches the ship to his space bike. Animal Man lends Starfire his shirt to cover herself. Starfire also explains that Lobo has apparently found religion, has turned his back on violence and, apparently, needs their help.
[edit] Personal Life
Kory is regarded as extremely physically attractive even by the standards of comic books. She also displays the traits of Tamaran's joy-seeking culture, coupled with a no-nonsense warrior attitude. For a time, Koriand'r had a career as a fashion model.
She has been married twice, both times to Tamaranean men: once to the prince Karras to seal a peace treaty, and once to General Phy'zzon out of duty. Karras died in battle, while Phy'zzon died trying to defend Tamaran against the Sun Eater.
She nearly married Dick Grayson, but their wedding was interrupted by Raven (who had gone evil at the time). Raven murdered the priest before he could pronounce Dick and Kory husband and wife. The relationship was already on unsteady ground, with Kory fearing that Dick was rushing into marriage and also concerned by the anti-alien sentiments that sprang up in response to the news of the impending nuptials.
Starfire has served as mentor/teacher to the latest roster of Titans. She joined the Outsiders in Fall 2005 at the request of Jade and to be closer to Nightwing as asked by Batwoman. In the Titans of Tomorrow storyline, Batwoman said that Starfire would have a wonderful future with Nightwing.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Like all Tamaraneans, Starfire's alien physiology constantly absorbs ultraviolet radiation and converts it to energy for flight, which leaves a distinctive energy contrail behind, looking as if it is coming directly from her hair. The solar absorption experiments performed on her by the alien Psions granted her the ability to channel and project that same energy into destructive blasts called "starbolts". She is also capable of assimilating other languages through physical contact with another person. Starfire possesses superhuman strength--the uppermost level of which is not known as yet, but it is much greater than that of normal human beings.
Starfire is also an extremely proficient in armed and unarmed combat, having been trained in those arts by the Warlords of Okaara.
[edit] Other media
[edit] Teen Titans animated series
As with the other characters in Teen Titans, it was decided to render a younger, more child-like version of Starfire for the animated series version. The character's background was also revised. She has only been called by her real name once in the series, by her former nanny (K'norfka) Galfore, the current emperor of the planet Tamaran. Her parents are nowhere to be seen in either appearance of Tamaran in the series.
Starfire was the only Titan in the series who did not have a major story arc (every season had a major story arc which featured one of the Titans in a prominent fashion).
Starfire's sister, Komand'r (Blackfire), acts as her arch-foe.
[edit] Background
Starfire was born and raised on the distant planet Tamaran before arriving on Earth and joining the Teen Titans. The Tamaraneans are an emotional race who see feelings as the force that drives their very livelihood. Their emotions fuel their natural abilities of flight and superhuman strength, as well as Starfire's starbolts. Because of this, Starfire is inherently the most sensitive of the Titans.
Starfire's background also has some similarities with her comic version. In the episode "Go!", Starfire is held prisoner as a "prize" by a group of Gordanian slavers, working for an interstellar power known as the Citadel, who are only described as "not nice". She manages to escape and flees to the closest planet, which happens to be Earth. Starfire runs into Robin and the other soon-to-be Titans who help her fight off the Citadel forces pursuing her. After the battle, Starfire elects to stay on Earth with the Titans.
Presumably because English is not her first language, Starfire speaks without contractions, and misuses idioms (e.g. "Kick the butt!" as opposed to "Kick butt!" or "The mall of shopping" instead of "shopping mall"). This also may be due to her being Tamaran's princess and future queen — she cannot forget her manners that she learned in the palace. Additionally, she uses several Tamaranian nouns, such as "bumgorf" (parental term of endearment), "K'norfka" (parent or guardian), and "shlorvak" (dream). She has a pet giant moth larva named "Silkie" in the series, given to her by Beast Boy.
Tamaranians of the show are somewhat different from their original comic book counterparts. In the episode "Switched", Starfire reveals that her powers -like Raven's- are powered by emotions, and that even newborns are capable of flight. From her dialogue, it is implied that all Tamaranians can launch Starbolts, whereas in the comics only Starfire and Blackfire could do this. In addition, Tamaranians of the animated series possess long, prehensile tongues (used by Starfire in two quick scenes in the episodes "Transformation" and "Mother May-Eye") and nine stomachs (mentioned by Starfire in "Mother May-Eye").
Tamaraneans appear to have an aggressive warrior culture to the point that Starfire states at one point they have no word for "nice" in the sense of demonstrating kindness or compassion. The nearest lingustic equivalent they have literally means weak.
A significant difference between the animated series Starfire and the comic book is that in the series her names appears to be "Starfire". Its arguable that this is the translation of her name but in the episode "Betrothed" even native Tamaraneans refer to her "Starfire" even when addressing her by title (although the character Galfore has a short conversation with her in Tamaranean at the beginning of the episode, in which he can be clearly heard saying her 'real' name, "Koriand'r"; perhaps they merely use Starfire in other scenes because it is her name in English.)
[edit] Costume
Starfire's small top and short skirt in the animated series are far more modest than her comic-book incarnation's risque outfit. Her figure is also less developed, in keeping with her younger appearance and demeanor. Starfire's top and gloves also feature onyx-colored gems. When the Titans first met in a flashback episode, Starfire was wearing Tamaranian armor with her princess tiara. Her armor and appearance in the flashback episode, in fact, are almost identical to the attire worn by Blackfire in her two appearances in the series.
[edit] Personality
Starfire is naive and somewhat insecure, but her naivete is not to be mistaken for stupidity. It is this naivete that endears her to others, especially to Robin, who occasionally shows signs of caring for Starfire. She and Robin are the closest out of all the Titans, and he takes time out to explain the ways of Earth to her. An alien and an outsider, she is still rather new to Earth and its customs. This leads to much confusion for her and others, such as the awkwardness in casually drinking mustard, or sleeping with her head hanging off the foot of the bed and her feet on the pillow, a la Pippi Longstocking.
She takes friendship very seriously, and is easily distressed when others, especially her friends, argue or fight. Above all, she wishes to be friends with everyone she meets, and for everyone to get along. Starfire will not, however, hold back on someone who threatens innocent bystanders or her teammates.
As homage to the comic books, the series hints at the potential relationship between Starfire and Robin, in some episodes more heavily than others. Episodes in the fourth season, such as "Stranded", have shown Starfire obviously having feelings for him, as when she is offended when he says that "she's not [his] girlfriend." Many other episodes outlining the relationship of Robin and Starfire are: "Sisters", "Go!", "Date With Destiny", and "Betrothed". Although nothing overly romantic has taken place, fans of the comic books are optimistic. At the Teen Titans panel at Comicon 2005 in San Diego, Sam Register asked Story Editor Rob Hoegee if Robin and Starfire would ever kiss. "Pretty safe bet. But we're not saying for sure," Rob replied. In the season 5 episode "Go!" (a flashback episode showing how the Teen Titans became a team) Robin and Starfire's first kiss is shown. However, since she started speaking English immediately afterward, this was most likely just her way of assimilating the English language. She did the same in The New Teen Titans vol. i #2. She did admit that she didn't have to kiss Robin to assimilate English, but said it was "more enjoyable" that way. She finally gives Robin an "actual" kiss in Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo after the Ink Monster is defeated. As quoted by Cyborg, "It's about time."
[edit] Powers
Starfire has the power of flight (although she does not leave the distinctive contrail of the original) and super-strength, greater than that of her teammate Cyborg (as proven in the episodes "Overdrive" and "Bethrothed"). She is also immune to radiation and low temperatures, is capable of surviving the harsh conditions of outer space without protective gear, and can apparently travel through space faster than light (mentioned in "Final Exam", used in "Transformation"). Most notably, she has the power to throw Starbolts, extremely powerful bursts of energy. It is unknown whether all Tamaraneans possess this ability (much like in the comic, only Starfire and Blackfire have been seen to use starbolts in the series), but in the episode "Switched", Starfire reveals that her powers are tied to her emotions, and speaks as if this were true for all Tamaraneans (with flight being linked to "Unbridled joy", and her starbolts to "righteous fury", and her alien strength being "boundless confidence"), stating that where she comes from, even newborns can fly.
After going through the Tamaranean version of puberty, referred to as the "Transformation" (also the name of the episode in which it took place), Starfire has appeared to have gained new powers. She can now channel her starbolt energy from her eyes, which is largely reserved as a surprise attack or when her limbs are restrained. Starfire also shares the comic book version's ability to learn languages through physical contact.
In "Apprentice (Part 1)" we learn that Starfire, like many Tamaraneans, is allergic to metallic chromium. When she sneezes, she unleashes Star-Bolt energy out her nose and mouth, causing comically destructive explosions.
Starfire also doesn't need to breathe air to live. In the episode, Transformation, she is shown flying through space without any source of air near her. In the episode, TROQ, Val-yor says that Tamaraneans are built for the harsh conditions of space.
[edit] Red Star
- Main article: Red Star
Starfire was the original name of the character Red Star, a male Russian superhero with energy-based abilities.
He debuted in Teen Titans #18 (1968) and was created by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman.
In his second appearance in New Teen Titans #18 (1982) he changed his name to "Red Star" in acknowledgement of Starfire III's appropriation of the title.
He also appears in the animated series in the episode, Snowblind.
[edit] Starfire
Starfire was a female character who debuted in Starfire #1 (September 1976). The character is an extra-terrestrial and her series took place on a strange alien world.
She was created by David Michelinie and artist Mike Vosburg. She was reportedly the first DC heroine to receive her own title since Supergirl in 1972. Her series ran for 8 issues.
According to this original series, her world was long ago involved in a civil war between two castes: the warrior-priests and the Lightning Lords (scientists). Unable to prevail upon each other alone, each caste summoned an alien race to serve their cause. The warrior-priests summoned the Mygorg and the Lightning Lords the Yorgs. The two alien races were hereditary enemies and indeed resumed their war in their new planet. But both turned the tables on their summoners and intended masters by enslaving them. The world was divided among the two Mygorg and Yorg which continued to war against each other.
The original human-like inhabitants continued to survive in slavery. Starfire was born as the daughter of two slaves of different skin color. Her father was "yellow" and her mother "white". Both slaves belonged to the Mygorg. Sookarooth, King of the Mygorg took notice of the young girl of mixed heritage and beautiful appearance. He arranged for her to be raised free and educated in his own palace, Castle Mollachon.
When Starfire reached her eighteenth birthday, Sookarooth announced her to be his future mate. She fled in disgust but was pursued by the royal forces. She was saved by Dagan, a warrior-priest. The two became lovers and Dagan trained her as a warrior. Starfire became skilled in swordsmanship, archery, tracking and other skills typical to a warrior-priest.
Their shared life ended when Dagan was captured by Sookarooth. He was at first tortured and then executed. A vengeful Starfire returned to Castle Mollachon and raised its slaves in revolt. She slew Sookareth herself and then vowed to free her people from slavery. The following issues had Starfire recruiting additional followers to her side and seeking more effective weapons against the Mygorg, the Yorg, and a number of hostile local factions. The series ended before a resolution could be reached.
In Star Hunters #7, Starfire and Claw the Unconquered were revealed as two of the "eternal champions of the Sornaii" on the world of Pytharia (pseudo Earth). The implications of this revelation were never explored as the series ended in a cliffhanger. Presumably writer Gerry Conway was inspired by the Eternal Champion concept of Michael Moorcock.
In Swamp Thing vol. 2 #163 (February, 1996), Starfire and Claw were among several sword and sorcery characters attempting to escape an increasingly unstable Nightmaster. That storyline apparently revealed that they were all creations of the subconcious mind of Nightmaster himself. According to Swamp Thing: "nothing more than your retreat from the real world … brought to life by the scale of your misery". Later appearances by both Nightmaster and the other sword and sorcery characters have chosen to ignore this storyline and its implications.
In Starman #55 (July, 1999), Jack Knight and Mikaal Tomas are reported to have saved Starfire from Jarko the space pirate. However the issue featured the incident retold in three different flashback versions by Space Cabby, Space Ranger and Ultra the Multi-Alien. Each version involved different Starfires. One version featured this Starfire while the other two featured Leonid Kovar and Koriand'r respectively.
[edit] External links
- DCDP: Starfire (Koriand'r) - DC Database Project
- Titans Tower biography
- Starfire's description on the animated series
