Starfire (Teen Titans)
Starfire is a female extraterrestrial comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Koriand'r was a female Tamaranean who was born to the House of Tykayl of the planet Tamaran. A daughter of King Myand'r, she was noted for being a Princess of her her home planet and set to rule it. (New Teen Titans v1 #3) She was said to had born at dawn where she had an older sister named Komand'r who hated Koriand'r and despised her existence. Whilst growing up, her pet Dror was found dead with Koriand'r believing that her sister had killed the animal but she claimed it was already deceased when she found it. This saw tensions between the two sisters over the years with this only magnifying as Starfire enjoyed the use of her powers whilst her sister lacked the typical abilities of a Tamaranean. The growing conflict between the sisters was not noticed as Tamaran was engaged in a war against the invading Citadel but during one celebration they found Koriand'r to have injuries inflicted on her by Komand'r. For years afterwards, the two acted as strangers to one another despite living in the same palace where during this time they gained a younger brother named Ryand'r. By this point, the threat of the Citadel meant that the royal family believed that their daughters would benefit from combat training to fight against the enemy. Thus, they were sent to study amongst the Warlords of Okaara where they travelled to the planet Okaara. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4)
Teen Titans
Starfire first appeared on Earth after escaping her Tamaranean captors. She was pursued by the alien Gordanians, who had enslaved her since her betrayal by her sister, Komand’r. Using her combat skills and her flight, she fought against the pursuing forces and unleashed powerful blasts of starbolts, burning through their weapons and ships. During this conflict, she encountered Robin (Dick Grayson), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Changeling (Garfield Logan), and Kid Flash (Wally West), fighting alongside them as they defended Earth against the alien threat. Koriand’r’s ferocity and decisiveness in combat allowed her to decimate enemy forces, making her immediately indispensable to the group. (DC Comics Presents v1 #26) Starfire fully joined the fledgling team. At the beginning of the issue, she was shown fending off Gordanians, striking them with starbolts and tearing through their ships with her bare hands. When she landed with the other young heroes, she communicated through physical contact, suddenly kissing Robin in order to absorb Earth’s language, a Tamaranean method of accelerated linguistic assimilation. With her new ability to speak English, she explained her plight and her escape from slavery. Later, in battle against the alien forces, she displayed both strength and agility, taking down waves of enemies while shielding her newfound teammates from harm. (New Teen Titans v1 #1) Starfire demonstrated her battlefield leadership and ferocity. As the team faced the demonic forces of Trigon and his minions, she fought relentlessly in the skies, blasting swarms of attackers with precise starbolt volleys. She also fought hand-to-hand with several adversaries, making use of her Tamaranean physiology to overpower physically stronger enemies. Throughout the confrontation, she acted with decisiveness, protecting civilians and her allies while striking directly at enemy leadership, demonstrating a proactive combat instinct honed during years of oppression and war. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)
She had been doing modelling work for Donny Troy where they did a shoot at the Silver Fox Advertising Agency. It was then that Kory came to meet Franklin Crandall who had become smitten with her. (New Teen Titans v1 #16)
It was then that her powers went out of control leading to her causing havoc on the streets. She would later learn that this was because of the machinations of the Gordanians who had returned to Earth to capture Koriand'r on behalf of their employer Blackfire. They came to succeed despite the intervention of the Teen Titans who then planned to retrieve Starfire. Meanwhile, Komand'r tortured her sister and had the defences of the Gordanian ship deal with the Teen Titans who were seemingly killed as they were spaced through an airlock in an effort to further torture Koriand'r. (New Teen Titans v1 #23)
At Titan’s Tower Nightwing and Starfire met in the hot tub, discussing how the Titans was their only outlet to be themselves. They also discussed the Sons of Trigon nudging them to sleep together, and Nightwing had a hope they’d resume being lovers. Starfire told him she was tired of them cycling back and forth between lovers and friends, and asked if he unconditionally loved her, and wanted to be with her. Nightwing honestly answered no, and after she kissed him, she told him they had to stay just friends. Beast Boy told the Titans that the Sons of Trigon had taken Raven, and that she’d been recruited to her father’s cause. Troia told the Titans that Raven had always planned for the worst, and given her a Ramat Stone that could locate magic-users. Beast Boy wanted to know why Troia was chosen to keep Raven’s secrets, and she replied that in addition to being the most magically adept Titan, she’d also proved that she’d never judge Raven. The Titans concentrated on the stone and Raven, and were transported to Trigon’s dimension. They met the rest of the Sons of Trigon, Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth, and were defeated. Raven turned against her brothers, proclaiming herself Pride, the sin from which all others sprung. She wanted to rule the Earth, but with the Titans at her side, and began imbuing them with the powers of the Seven Deadly Sins. This activated the Ramat Stone, Raven had given it a sliver of her pure essence, and the Raven that was loyal to the Titans emerged and merged herself with her demonic counterpart and returned the team to Titan’s Tower. Raven was starting to feel more like herself, ut told the Titans that the Ramat Stone wouldn’t work twice, and that she might me evil to the core. She presented her teammates with a set of magic talismans capable of ending her life if she wet to the dark side, and demanded that they learn to master them if she was to be comfortable on the team. Titan’s Tower security was breached, and the team responded, only to find that Superboy’s clone Match had broken in. The villain revealed that he was Jericho, trapped inside Match’s body. (Titans v2 #6)
Jericho panicked and jumped into Flash’s body and vibrated out of Titan headquarters, but he couldn’t evade the Justice League. The Titans joined the League in battling Jericho as he leapt from body to body, until he ended up in Superman. Previously he would never have been able to enter Superman’s mind, but his power had grown immensely. He still wasn’t strong enough to take control of Superman, who expelled his astral form from his mind. Jericho’s astral form dissipated into the wind. The whole experience left Nightwing shaken, and he desperately wanted to find a way to help Jericho. Nightwing called a meeting with the Titans to announce his resignation from the team, saying he needed to spend more time with his family in Gotham. (Titans v2 #10) The Titans decided to take some time off from each other at Beast Boy’s suggestion. Starfire greeted the rising sun, a favorite activity of hers, and visited Cyborg, who refused to leave Titans Compound until he’d finished reviewing security files to figure out where Jericho had disappeared to. Troia went to upstate New York and talked to Starfire while indulging her love of photography, taking pictures of fireflies at sunset. Starfire admitted that she was glad Nightwing was gone after he made it clear he wasn’t in love with her. She couldn’t fault him for his feelings, but still felt betrayed. (Titans v2 #11) Cyborg recovered from the injuries Jericho caused him, and revealed to the Titans that Jericho had uploaded himself into his OS, and then proceeded to use him to rig Titans Tower and try and kill the Teen Titans before fleeing his body. Troia took charge, and told the Titans they had to find a way to help Jericho. They contacted the Teen Titans, but they had no leads on either Jericho or his sister Ravager. The Titans decided to ask for Vigilante for help, because he was after Jericho as well, even though Changeling balked at the idea of working with a killer. Cyborg knew Vigilante had surveillance equipment monitoring Titans Compound, so if he thought Jericho was inside Cyborg that could work as bait to lure him in. Cyborg staged a fight against the Titans right outside the Compound, and Vigilante soon arrived. Before Cyborg could explain the situation Vigilante blasted him in the head with one of his firearms. (Titans v2 #12)
Donny Troy would later invite Starfire to join Kimiyo Hoshi's incarnation of the Justice League. (Justice League of America v2 #41)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Koriand'r
Koriand'r and Komand'r were royalty in the House of Tamarus on the planet Tamaran. The Citadel invaded the planet, massacring the inhabitants, including the girl's parents. Komand'r, now queen, surrendered, and was put in place as a puppet ruler of Tamaran, while Kori was exiled. Kori was experimented on, and gained superpowers. She led a slave result, and made her way off-planet, ending up on Earth. (Starfire v2 #1)
Starfire arrived in Key West to start a new life, and met with sheriff Gomez, explaining her history and powers. She needed a job and a place to live, and for startup money she used some jewels she had brought with her from space. Gomez and Starfire had some drinks together, and Gomez tried to explain the human concept of sarcasm and metaphor, which flew over Starfire's head. Two guys started a fight over Starfire, hoping to hook up with her, and she put an end to their dispute by firing a starbolt at them. Gomez found a trailer to rent, operated by Boone and his grandmother. Starfire thought Boone was beautiful, and kissed him, telling him she could learn language that way. Gomez reminded her she already knew English, but Starfire said she was hoping for more English. Hurricane Betty hit Key West, and Starfire brought those caught unaware, including Tina and her grandson Boone to a shelter at the local school. Sheriff Gomez asked for Starfire's help when her coast guard brother Sol went missing trying to bring back the one still boat on Key West's waters when the hurricane hit, and Starfire hoped Sol was as pretty as his sister. They drove the SWAT tank to weather the storm, but Starfire made Gomez pull over when she saw Tina's missing parrot Bertie. Starfire saved Sol from drowning, but lost her way in the storm, ending up in the Dry Tortugas. Sol asked some rangers to call for a ship back to Key West because Starfire had temporarily exhausted her powers. Back home Starfire found her trailer destroyed, and Stella offered to move her into an apartment over her garage as thanks for saving her idiot brother. Starfire spotted a giant footprint, and wondered what animal it could have come from. (Starfire v2 #2)
Starfire cleaned up the hurricane damage to her new dwelling, and was fascinated by the garden gnomes she found, she told Sol they resembled the extraterrestrial Peregot People, some of the universe's first great explorers. Starfire asked if he was upset at the idea of her living above the garage, and he said the apartment was filled with old unfulfilled dreams, and Starfire promised not to press him on it. After her first stab at grocery shopping Sheriff Gomez called in Starfire when a cruise ship crashed into the docks. They investigated, and found nothing but dead crew members. Gomez told Starfire to wait for her at the Blue Monkey diner, if something dangerous was aboard she'd feel responsible if Starfire got hurt, despite her insistence that she could take care of herself. Starfire was quite popular at the diner, with every man there buying her drinks. She asked the waitress why, and learned that it was initiation of a human mating ritual. A Chida monster burst into the restaurant, and the waitress revealed herself as the subterranean superhero Atlee, whom the monster was after. Starfire at Atlee moved the battle outside and decided to team up to fight it. The monster grew stronger the more energy was directed at it, so Atlee tossed the Chida to Starfire, who flew him far over the ocean, and began pounding him until he was of immeasurable size. The Chida tried to grab Starfire as he sank, but Starfire blasted his hand apart, and when he reached the ocean bottom he collapsed it, sinking deep into the earth. Starfire was intrigued with Atlee, and invited her over to go in her swimming pool sometime, and said she always preferred swimming naked. Gomez started freaking out.; within days Key West had seen more metahuman activity than it ever had in the entirety of her career. Starfire's solution was to give Gomez a big hug, which the sheriff wasn't keen on. Gomez asked the heroes if they could at least try to be low-key. Starfire went out for drinks, and met Boone and his girlfriend Vita. After explaining how she kissed Boone to learn English, and apologizing because she knew humans favored monogamy, Vita stormed off. (Starfire v2 #4)
After the Omega Titan incident, the Ghost Sector was restored into the universe with Starfire looking to find Tamaran that was among those worlds within this restored region of space. She accompanied Cyborg and Azrael as they stole Brainiac's ship from the Hall of Justice where they flew into the Maelstrom where they were accompanied by Jessica Cruz. (Justice League Odyssey v1 #1)
Using Epoch's equipment, Jessica Cruz managed to pluck an incarnation of her team from prior to their arrival in the Ghost Sector. This included Starfire before her brainwashing and death where she was provided memories of recent events where she along with her comrades worked to stop Darkseid. (Justice League Odyssey v1 #24)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Starfire was presented as a tall, statuesque Tamaranean woman with long, flowing hair depicted as a fiery cascade of red or orange, often trailing dramatically in battle. Her skin tone was rendered as golden-orange, marking her extraterrestrial origin. She had green, luminescent eyes that glowed when she used her powers. Her costume at the time of her introduction consisted of a revealing, purple armored bikini-like outfit with high boots and metallic adornments. (DC Comics Presents v1 #26) On Earth, she came to operate under the name of Kory Anders. (New Teen Titans v1 #16)
Starfire was written as passionate, fierce, and direct. Her Tamaranean heritage emphasized emotional honesty and intensity, and she expressed her feelings—whether love, anger, or joy—without hesitation. She was affectionate toward her teammates, as seen in her immediate physical bond with Robin, and equally quick to unleash devastating violence on enemies. Her time in slavery gave her both a pragmatic edge and an unrelenting hatred for oppression, but her innocence about Earthly customs sometimes gave her a childlike sincerity. These qualities made her both compassionate and volatile. (New Teen Titans v1 #1)
She fondly remembered her homeworld as being a paradise and that her people had tamed a tropical wonderland where they lived in harmony side by side alongside the wild life. (New Teen Titans v1 #3)
On Tamaran, she was taught to avoid a final battle but when they fought they fought to the finish. (New Teen Titans v1 #10)
Starfire was a believer of X'Hal who was a living goddess worshipped by her people. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4)
She was born as a member of the royal family of the House of Tykayl where she was a princess of Tamaran. (New Teen Titans v1 #3) Her father was King Myand'r and his mother was Queen Luand'r where she had an older sister named Komand'r. It was said that she was the pride of her father but the attention she received caused resentment from her sister Komand'r. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4)
Komand'r was said to had hated Koriand'r since the moment she was born where she wanted to kill everything that belonged to her. As her older sister, Starfire said that she wanted Komand'r to like her but her sibling simply avoided her. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4)
As a child, she had pet Dror named Snar until the creature was killed by Komand'r who claimed she found it dead. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4) Koriand'r came to gain a Khee as a companion who was named Syl'khee. The highly evolved beings chose companions with this being a rare experience. (Starfire v2 #9)
Whilst on Earth, she believed that Dick Grayson liked her and that she shared a similar attraction to him. (New Teen Titans v1 #16)
Powers and abilities
In powers, Starfire was identified as a Tamaranean, a race of aliens whose physiology allowed them to convert ultraviolet radiation into energy. This energy manifested in multiple ways: she could project devastating green starbolts of pure solar energy from her hands, enabling ranged destruction; she could channel that energy internally to give herself superhuman strength and speed, making her formidable in close combat; and she could propel herself through the air at high velocities, giving her flight. Her physiology also made her durable enough to withstand heavy weapons fire and physical punishment. Furthermore, Tamaraneans had the innate ability to learn languages through physical contact, explaining her kiss with Robin to assimilate Earth’s speech. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)
The sun was said to be the source of her powers and gave her strength. She was able to harness solar winds and could soar through the air. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4)
She could draw power from ultraviolet light from her surroundings that could weaken solar-powered beings such as yellow sun empowered Kryptonians thus weakening them in the process. (Superman v1 #683)
She had such fine control over her starbolts that she could spread the beam wide in a flak pattern where it could serve as a shield against dozens of projectiles shot at her. This could cause explosive pellets to detonate long before they could reach her. At one point, she experimented in projecting her starbolt powers into a wide field that could incinerate any debris struck against it and reduce it to ash. (New Teen Titans v1 #10)
Koriand'r was able to release all the stored energy within her as a powerful Nova Blast. This was an omni-directional blast around her that was was many times stronger than her standard strikes. However, spending all that released energy was draining on her with Starfire being left in a weakened state. (Outsiders v3 #32)
When she was young, she was sent to the Warlords of Okaara to learn the art of war. This saw every manner of fighting being taught to her. (Tales of the New Teen Titans v1 #4) She had to maintain the rituals taught to her by the Okaaran Warlords in order to remain in fighting form. (New Teen Titans v1 #10)
After freeing herself the Citadel, she and the other slaves commandeered a spaceship that they named the Starfire where she served as its captain for a time. (Red Hood and the Outlaws v1 #10)
Notes
- Starfire was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez where she made her first appearance in DC Comics Presents v1 #26 (October, 1980).
- In Modern Masters, Volume 2: George Pérez (2003), artist George Pérez noted on the characters creation, "...I figured based on the description, was Red Sonja in outer space, so she ended up having a visual cue from that. When Joe Orlando passed by and saw the character sketches he suggested that maybe her hair should be longer. That I took to the ninth degree and gave her the Mighty Mouse contrail."
Alternate Versions
- In The Kingdom: Nightstar v1 #1 (1999), an alternate version of Starfire appeared in the Kingdom Come reality set on Earth-22 in the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Teen Titans, Starfire appeared in the setting of the animated television series where she was voiced by actress Hynden Walch.
- In Titans, Starfire appeared in the setting of the DC Universe live-action television series where she was portrayed by actress Anna Diop.
Films
- In Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, Starfire appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the Teen Titans animated series universe where she was voiced once again by actress Hynden Walch.
- In Justice League Vs. Teen Titans, Starfire appeared in the setting of the shared animated film where she was voiced by actress Kari Wahlgren.
- In Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Starfire appeared in the setting of the shared animated film where she was voiced once again by actress Kari Wahlgren.
- In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Starfire appeared in a non-speaking role in the setting of the animated film.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Starfire appeared in the setting of the MMORPG where she was voiced by actor Adrienne Mishler.
- In Injustice 2, Starfire was introduced as a playable fighter through downloadable content in the fighting video game where she was voiced by actor Kari Wahlgren.
- In DC: Unchained, Starfire appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
Appearances
- DC Comics Presents v1: (1980)
- New Teen Titans v1:
- Tales of the New Teen Titans v1:
- New Titans v1:
- Teen Titans v2:
- Outsiders v3:
- Superman v1:
- 52 v1:
- Red Hood and the Outlaws v1:
- Starfire v2: (2016)
- Teen Titans:
- Justice League: No Surrender v1:
- Justice League Odyssey v1:
External Links
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