Are you a fan of The Princess of Tamaran? Well, we got One Dozen Starfire Facts!
1. Marv Wolfman and George Perez created Starfire in 1980 in "DC Comics Presents #26" and featured in their series "The New Teen Titans" later the same year, but before her there were other characters named Starfire. This included Leonid Kovar in 1968 who changed his codename to Red Star after meeting The Teen Titans years later. A crime lord appearing in "Supergirl" back in 1971 used the name Starfire. And in 1976, DC Comics published an eight-issue series about a character named Starfire who was an alien woman who escaped slavery and led an army of rebel aliens to free her planet from servitude. Due to her character and origins she was likely Marv and George's main source of inspiration behind the modern Starfire.
2. The other half of inspiration came from Red Sonja, a character created in the Marvel title "Conan The Barbarian" who spun-off into her own success.
3. Starfire's best known relationship has been with Dick Grayson/Nightwing. The two worked together on the 1980 Teen Titans and developed a romantic relationship while Dick was still Robin. In some stories she even learned English by kissing him. The two almost got married, but the wedding was interrupted by Raven (who was corrupted by Trigon). After that, the two feared they rushed into marriage. They never tried again, and held relationships multiple times since. In the alternate future of "Kingdom Come" Starfire married Dick Grayson (Red Robin in this future) and they have a daughter Mar'i Grayson, the Teen Titan known as Nightstar. And in the alternate future of "Nightwing: The New Order" Starfire had married Dick, but left to lead her people on New Tamaran. The two have a child named Jake Grayson who has his mother's powers.
4. Starfire has been married two times, both men were Tamaraneans. The first was Prince Karras who she married as part of a peace treaty and he died in battle. The second was General Phy'zzon who she married out of love, he was killed by The Sun Eater. She also had brief relationships with Captain Comet, Red Hood/Jason Todd, and Arsenal/Roy Harper.
5. During the series "52", Starfire helped Animal Man and Adam Strange investigate an alien parasite. The group ran into the Bounty Hunter Lobo. Lobo and Starfire speak privately and Lobo rips Starfire's top off. Starfire offers to pay Lobo for his help finding the source of the parasites. Adam, Starfire, and Lobo would all go on to be temporary members of the team REBELS.
6. Starfire is not only a veteran Teen Titan, she was also a mentor during the time when The Teen Titans and Young Justice teams combined, she is a reserve member of The Justice League, she was on Nightwing's Outsiders, Red Hood's Outlaws, and the aforementioned REBELS.
7. As a Tamaranean, Koriand'r has super strength, super speed, enhanced durability, immunity to most poisons, and the ability to fly. She can fly at supersonic speeds, and her strength rivals that of Wonder Woman's sidekick Donna Troy. Her strength and speed can be further pushed by intense rage, this rage boost allowed her to free herself from the restraint of both Donna Troy-who is almost as strong as Wonder Woman-and Mon-El-who is almost as strong as Superman. She can also learn any language via skin contact-preferably lip contact-and has a prehensile tongue. Her projectile powers are a different story, they are an ability only she and her sister have. These powers were granted to her by The Psions, a race of aliens who enslaved The Tamaraneans. They treated Kori like a servant, a worker, an escort, and as a test subject. Experimentation gave Starfire the ability to convert absorbed radiation into "star-bolts". These can be fired from her hands, eyes, and even as an area-wide blast which renders her weaker. This radiation-based power also allows her to melt objects on contact-even steel-and she can drain radiation from any source. She has even used this power to drain solar radiation from Superman in an attempt to weaken him.
8. Starfire's older sister Komand'r/Blackfire grew up with a defect that prevented her from flying. This defect also meant she could never take the throne as Queen of Tamaran. Out of jealousy she grew to hate her sister and use the powers given to her by the Psions to attack Starfire for most of her adult life. Her evil stems from childhood neglect and torture, and she has tangled with the likes of The Teen Titans, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, The REBELS, and The Outsiders.
9. Starfire has always been portrayed as a sexual character, but in a mostly positive light. She encouraged young women to embrace their sexuality and express their pride in womanhood. She was perky, flirtatious, sympathetic, and friendly. Her sexualiy was also counterbalanced by her good nature and curiosity, often misquoting or misunderstanding the meaning of Earthly metaphors and customs. However, DC Comics received major flack when premiering her in "Red Hood & The Outlaws" during the New 52 reboot in 2011. Starfire was presented as a sex hobbyist, hooking up with both of her teammates Jason Todd/Red Hood and Roy Harper/Arsenal out of sheer pleasure and without any romantic feelings. She generally cold towards other people, acting more like a warrior woman than an actual person. Her relationship with Dick Grayson apparently fell apart and her history with The Teen Titans was erased. All these choices were made by writer and artist Rob Liefeld, a 1990's artist who was part of the 90's esthetic and sensibilities. Or lack thereof. It wasn't until her short-lived solo series in 2015 written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Amanda Conner that the character was respected once again. Jimmy and Amanda are a married couple who have worked on All-Star Western, Power Girl, and Harley Quinn and her multiple spin-off books. Currently, Starfire is on The Teen Titans and, after Damian Wayne/Robin proved himself to be ineffective leader, Starfire has taken the role of leader.
10. When Starfire wasn't living at Titans Tower or at Dick Grayson's apartment, she spent some time living with The Baker Family: Buddy/Animal Man, Ellen, and their son Cliff. After their adventure with Adam Strange, Buddy offers Starfire to stay with his family until her powers fully return. She could babysit Cliff after he gets home from school. This causes some problems in The Baker household as Ellen accuses Buddy of loving Starfire romantically, which Buddy does not confirm or deny. Cliff also comes home one to day to see Starfire laying naked in the pool trying to absorb more solar rays.
11. Just as intense rage can increase her strength, Starfire's emotions can affect her powers further. When a Tamaranean feels an emotion they feel it completely, there is no mix of emotions or sudden shift. Her positive attitude gives Starfire full use of her powers, her rage increases the lethality of her powers, and sadness can disable her powers completely until she is happy again.
12. Starfire and Blackfire have a younger brother named Ryand'r. Due to his sister's being great warriors, he did not aspire to be a warrior or a politician, instead becoming an amature scientist. His understanding of science was the factor that convinced the character Primus into recruiting Ryand'r onto his team called The Omega Men. While on this team, Ryand'r was captured and experimented by Psions, but instead of gaining the projectile powers of his sisters he gained the ability to make his hands hot enough to melt any surface and fly. While only appearing occasionally, he has gone by the name Darkfire.
Thanks for reading.
2. The other half of inspiration came from Red Sonja, a character created in the Marvel title "Conan The Barbarian" who spun-off into her own success.
3. Starfire's best known relationship has been with Dick Grayson/Nightwing. The two worked together on the 1980 Teen Titans and developed a romantic relationship while Dick was still Robin. In some stories she even learned English by kissing him. The two almost got married, but the wedding was interrupted by Raven (who was corrupted by Trigon). After that, the two feared they rushed into marriage. They never tried again, and held relationships multiple times since. In the alternate future of "Kingdom Come" Starfire married Dick Grayson (Red Robin in this future) and they have a daughter Mar'i Grayson, the Teen Titan known as Nightstar. And in the alternate future of "Nightwing: The New Order" Starfire had married Dick, but left to lead her people on New Tamaran. The two have a child named Jake Grayson who has his mother's powers.
4. Starfire has been married two times, both men were Tamaraneans. The first was Prince Karras who she married as part of a peace treaty and he died in battle. The second was General Phy'zzon who she married out of love, he was killed by The Sun Eater. She also had brief relationships with Captain Comet, Red Hood/Jason Todd, and Arsenal/Roy Harper.
5. During the series "52", Starfire helped Animal Man and Adam Strange investigate an alien parasite. The group ran into the Bounty Hunter Lobo. Lobo and Starfire speak privately and Lobo rips Starfire's top off. Starfire offers to pay Lobo for his help finding the source of the parasites. Adam, Starfire, and Lobo would all go on to be temporary members of the team REBELS.
6. Starfire is not only a veteran Teen Titan, she was also a mentor during the time when The Teen Titans and Young Justice teams combined, she is a reserve member of The Justice League, she was on Nightwing's Outsiders, Red Hood's Outlaws, and the aforementioned REBELS.
7. As a Tamaranean, Koriand'r has super strength, super speed, enhanced durability, immunity to most poisons, and the ability to fly. She can fly at supersonic speeds, and her strength rivals that of Wonder Woman's sidekick Donna Troy. Her strength and speed can be further pushed by intense rage, this rage boost allowed her to free herself from the restraint of both Donna Troy-who is almost as strong as Wonder Woman-and Mon-El-who is almost as strong as Superman. She can also learn any language via skin contact-preferably lip contact-and has a prehensile tongue. Her projectile powers are a different story, they are an ability only she and her sister have. These powers were granted to her by The Psions, a race of aliens who enslaved The Tamaraneans. They treated Kori like a servant, a worker, an escort, and as a test subject. Experimentation gave Starfire the ability to convert absorbed radiation into "star-bolts". These can be fired from her hands, eyes, and even as an area-wide blast which renders her weaker. This radiation-based power also allows her to melt objects on contact-even steel-and she can drain radiation from any source. She has even used this power to drain solar radiation from Superman in an attempt to weaken him.
8. Starfire's older sister Komand'r/Blackfire grew up with a defect that prevented her from flying. This defect also meant she could never take the throne as Queen of Tamaran. Out of jealousy she grew to hate her sister and use the powers given to her by the Psions to attack Starfire for most of her adult life. Her evil stems from childhood neglect and torture, and she has tangled with the likes of The Teen Titans, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, The REBELS, and The Outsiders.
9. Starfire has always been portrayed as a sexual character, but in a mostly positive light. She encouraged young women to embrace their sexuality and express their pride in womanhood. She was perky, flirtatious, sympathetic, and friendly. Her sexualiy was also counterbalanced by her good nature and curiosity, often misquoting or misunderstanding the meaning of Earthly metaphors and customs. However, DC Comics received major flack when premiering her in "Red Hood & The Outlaws" during the New 52 reboot in 2011. Starfire was presented as a sex hobbyist, hooking up with both of her teammates Jason Todd/Red Hood and Roy Harper/Arsenal out of sheer pleasure and without any romantic feelings. She generally cold towards other people, acting more like a warrior woman than an actual person. Her relationship with Dick Grayson apparently fell apart and her history with The Teen Titans was erased. All these choices were made by writer and artist Rob Liefeld, a 1990's artist who was part of the 90's esthetic and sensibilities. Or lack thereof. It wasn't until her short-lived solo series in 2015 written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Amanda Conner that the character was respected once again. Jimmy and Amanda are a married couple who have worked on All-Star Western, Power Girl, and Harley Quinn and her multiple spin-off books. Currently, Starfire is on The Teen Titans and, after Damian Wayne/Robin proved himself to be ineffective leader, Starfire has taken the role of leader.
10. When Starfire wasn't living at Titans Tower or at Dick Grayson's apartment, she spent some time living with The Baker Family: Buddy/Animal Man, Ellen, and their son Cliff. After their adventure with Adam Strange, Buddy offers Starfire to stay with his family until her powers fully return. She could babysit Cliff after he gets home from school. This causes some problems in The Baker household as Ellen accuses Buddy of loving Starfire romantically, which Buddy does not confirm or deny. Cliff also comes home one to day to see Starfire laying naked in the pool trying to absorb more solar rays.
11. Just as intense rage can increase her strength, Starfire's emotions can affect her powers further. When a Tamaranean feels an emotion they feel it completely, there is no mix of emotions or sudden shift. Her positive attitude gives Starfire full use of her powers, her rage increases the lethality of her powers, and sadness can disable her powers completely until she is happy again.
12. Starfire and Blackfire have a younger brother named Ryand'r. Due to his sister's being great warriors, he did not aspire to be a warrior or a politician, instead becoming an amature scientist. His understanding of science was the factor that convinced the character Primus into recruiting Ryand'r onto his team called The Omega Men. While on this team, Ryand'r was captured and experimented by Psions, but instead of gaining the projectile powers of his sisters he gained the ability to make his hands hot enough to melt any surface and fly. While only appearing occasionally, he has gone by the name Darkfire.
Thanks for reading.
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