Blackfire
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This a comics-related article or section describes a character in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article or section to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
| Blackfire | |
 Cover of New Teen Titans vol. 1 #23 (September 1982). Art by George Perez. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Teen Titans vol. 1 #23 |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Komand'r |
| Team affiliations | Citadel |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, stamina and durability Energy Projection |
Blackfire is a supervillainess that appears in the fictional DC universe. She is the sister of the Titans member Starfire. The character first appears in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #23, and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Komand'r was born the eldest child of Tamaran's royal family. The first princess born in over a hundred years, she should have been courted and showered with honors. On the day she was born the Citadel Empire attacked and destroyed the western Tamaranean city of Kysarr and killed three thousand citizens in her name. Though she was in no way at fault for what had happened Komand'r was for all time inextricably linked with the terrible day. To make matters worse, Komand'r was crippled by a childhood illness that left her unable to absorb ultraviolet radiation to fly as most Tamaraneans did. Because of Komand'r's naturally grim disposition, a stark contrast to the royal family's generally contented outlook, the subjects of Tamaran hated her. As a result, though first in the line of succession, she was denied her birthright to be the next Princess of Tamaran to maintain respect and prestige of the royal family. Her privileges, honors, and her royal style and dignity were transferred to her younger sister, Princess Koriand'r (who would later become known as Starfire). Inwardly, Komand'r's rage grew and her resentment turned to hatred for her planet, her people, her family, and lastly her younger sister who, in Komand'r's eyes, made the fateful mistake of being born. Komand'r's rivalry continued and intensified when she and her siblings were sent, per Tamaran's warlike custom, for warrior training with the Warlords of Okaara. Komand'r's true feeling were exposed, when during a sparring exercise she attempted to kill her sister, the Princess Koriand'r. As a result, she was expelled by the Warlords. Humiliated by her own transgression Komand'r swore vengeance and joined the Citadel, quickly rising through their ranks to become a warrior fighting against the forces of her own planet and, ultimately, her own family.
Komand'r later betrayed her planet with detailed information about Tamaran's defenses to the Citadel. They conquered Tamaran with ease, and the surrender conditions included the enslavement of Koriand'r. Koriand'r was never permitted to return, since that would mean the Citadel would devastate the planet for abrogating the treaty. Komand'r was her sister's master and made the most of her younger sister's bondage with years of horrific servitude and torture. When Kory 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, largely a species of sadistic scientists, performed a deadly experiment on both of the sisters to see just 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 and while the Psions were distracted, Kory broke free with the 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. Kory escaped and stole a space ship to planet Earth, where she met a young group of heroes and helped form the new Teen Titans.
Komand'r appeared in the Rann-Thanagar War limited series, during which she killed Hawkwoman in her pursuit of a New Tamaran. She formed an uneasy alliance with the surviving players of the War, in order to deal with more pressing concerns (Infinite Crisis). She was not seen during the Crisis itself, and has recently appeared in Hawkgirl and JSA Classified, attempting to kill Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The Hawks defeated Komand'r, after which Hawkman used Psion technology to strip the villain of her starbolt powers.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Teen Titans animated series
In Teen Titans, Blackfire is an infamous galactic criminal who attempted to frame her sister Starfire for her crimes. Unfortunately, her plan was thwarted and Blackfire was arrested by Centauri police forces with the help of the Titans. She eventually escaped, seized control of Tamaran, and attempted to have Starfire married to a swamp alien in return for the Jewel of Charta. The jewel gave Blackfire unlimited power (turning her Starbolts red at the time), until Starfire took the jewel from her sister by force and crushed it during a duel for the rulership of Tamaran. Blackfire was defeated by Starfire, who then forced Blackfire into exile and turned over her newly-won position as Grand Ruler of Tamaran to her childhood caretaker, Galfore. Blackfire has not been seen since and has not joined the Brotherhood of Evil. Blackfire has similar powers to her sister, including the ability to fly (unlike Komand'r in the comics), but Blackfire's starbolts are purple. In the episode "Transformation", Starfire said that Blackfire turned purple for two days as part of her transformation (Tamaranian puberty).
Like Starfire, Blackfire was also voiced by Hynden Walch, but with a much lower vocal pitch. Blackfire herself is also a few years older than her little sister, and has black hair and blue-purple eyes, in sharp contrast to her sister and the rest of the people of Tamaran, who all have green eyes and red hair. Why she has this is unknown, but it may have been from her transformation. Her clothes in the series are quite similar to Starfire's, although the purple parts are black and most of the unclothed parts are covered with armour.
