DC’s Starfire: Sorry To Disappoint You, But She’s Stronger Than She Looks
Alien princess turned slave turned Teen Titan, Starfire has been through a lot. Even by galactic superhero standards.
Starfire is perhaps best known for her appearances in the various Teen Titan animated shows. But from ousted alien princess to Earth superhero, there is a lot to the Starfire story. So how did DC’s other, other, other space-alien superhero come to Earth and become one of the most well known members of the Teen Titans?
Who is Starfire?
Starfire first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26 in 1980, and since then she has been a very consistently appearing character. Primarily, she will show up as a member- and sometimes even leader- of the Teen Titans, as well as one of the more significant romantic interests of Robin (or Nightwing… The Dick Grayson one).
Aside from her comic book appearances, Starfire has appeared in animation and video games quite a few times. Her most well known and well watched appearances probably came from 2003-2006 animated series, Teen Titans. This series was eventually canceled and later replaced with Teen Titans Go.
Despite being a spin-off of the original series and featuring the same characters (well, sort of) Teen Titans Go is very unpopular and often harshly criticized amongst fans of Teen Titans for the show’s goofiness and lack of continuity while the original was heartfelt, meaningful, and smartly written. Which of course, includes its take on Starfire.
Her other appearances outside of comics include 2018 Titans, the Injustice 2 and Lego DC Super-Villains video games, and several animated movies set in the DC universe.
Character History
Starfire, also known as Koriand’r started as the princess of a planet known as Tamaran in the Vega system. she was in line to become the next ruling queen but had a fierce rivalry with her older sister, Komand’r- who is also known as Blackfire. This rivalry began when they were very young children and continued throughout their lives. Eventually, during a sparing match, Komand’r attempted to kill Koriand’r and was expelled from the kingdom for it.
She swore revenge and later took it in the form of supplying detailed defense information to Tamaran’s enemies, the Citadel. Tamaran was conquered and Koriand’r was enslaved by her own sister, but eventually escaped thanks to the timely attack of a third party and common enemy in the Psions.
Koriand’r stole a spacecraft and fled to the nearest planet, which happened to be Earth. Here, she met Robin and his partners in stopping crime and joined them to form the Teen Titans under the super pseudonym, Starfire. In her incognito time, Starfire took on the name Kory Anders.
Powers and Abilities
Like Superman, Starfire’s abilities largely come from her alien physiology. As a Tamaranean, she is constantly absorbing ultraviolet radiation and converting it into pure energy. With this nearly endless energy she can fly at supersonic speeds, has super strength and durability. She can also release energy as a powerful energy blast, and if she words to release nearly all of her stored energy at once, she can let out an omni-directional blast that is far stronger than her normal blasts.
In some versions, we see Starfire using her energy to melt metal or absorbing the knowledge of and learning a language by physically touching someone who speaks that language.
In addition to her natural Tamaranean abilities, Starfire was trained by the Warlords of Okaara from a young age to be proficient in hand-to-hand combat. This, combined with her physical strength and durability makes her more than formidable in almost any fight.
How to Bring Starfire to Your Gaming Table
To add a character a lot like Starfire to your D&D table, you’d probably want to start with an Aasimar. It will give her that not-of-this-world feeling as well as radiant damage and access to flight. Then I’d take a few levels in Barbarian. She’s a princess, sure, but she’s a warrior first and will throw an enemy through a series of walls if need be.
For her energy blasts we’ll want access to some magic. Sun Soul Monk would give her bolts of radiant fire. But if you went with Sorcerer or Wizard instead, there’s always the Firebolt. Good ol’ Firebolt. We never ask what or who is in the room, we just say, “I cast Firebolt.”
How Old is Starfire in Teen Titans?
That’s always an interesting question with alien characters. In Tamarean year she’s in her 150s. In Teen Titans she’s considered fifteen or sixteen. Tamaranean lifespans are very, very long, so 150 likely is more like a teen or tween than a 150 year old Earthling.
Why Is Starfire So Naïve?
She’s sometimes portrayed as being naive, but this is more that she is new to Earth and unfamiliar with the customs and norms. When we see older and more established versions of Starfire she doesn’t show this same naivety.
This is similar to why she’s sometimes portrayed as speaking broken English, being very literal with words, or not using any contractions. Just like Earth culture isn’t her first, neither are Earth languages and learning them takes a little time.
How Is Teen Titans Starfire Different From Comics Starfire?
While her powers and pretty similar, Starfire’s personality and mannerisms are completely different. Teen Titans was marketed towards a younger audience, so the character was written as a friendly, bubbly, and maybe even a little bit of a goofy teenager. In the comics, Starfire is much more adult. She’s more aggressive and much more sexual. And of course, those themes wouldn’t have worked for a Cartoon Network audience.
While comic readers probably see Teen Titans as a logical aged-down take on the character, fans going from Teen Titans to the comics may have been a little shocked to see how different the character is.
Happy adventuring!
