Teen Titans: Starfire / Characters

Starfire

Starfire in her solo series

^{Click here to see her "Classic" design}

^{Click here to see her design in The New 52}

^{Click here to see her design in Rebirth}

^{Click here to see her design in Infinite Frontier}

Alter Ego: Koriand'r / Kory Anders

Abilities: Flight, Super-Strength, Invulnerability, Starbolts

First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980)

"My world was conquered... I'll not let that happen to this planet, too. You can't understand— I won't let this planet die!"

— Starfire

Starfire is a DC Comics superhero created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, first appearing in the October 1980 issue of DC Comics Presents.

Born a princess on the planet Tamaran, she escaped execution at the hands of her older sister Blackfire and traveled to Earth. Meeting the Teen Titans, she became a charter member and stayed with the team for most of her career. Her culture's different standards of intimacy cause her to be extremely open and sexually liberated by human standards.

Princesses Koriand'r and Komand'r of planet Tamaran were captured by the Psions, who experimented on the sisters and gave them the ability to shoot solar blasts. Koriand'r escaped her jailers and reached Earth, where she joined the Teen Titans, then formed by Robin (Dick Grayson), Changeling (Garfield Logan), Cyborg (Victor Stone), Kid Flash (Wally West), Raven, and Wonder Girl (Donna Troy).

While a member of the Teen Titans, Koriand'r was frequently romantically involved with Nightwing (Dick Grayson). She nearly married him, but their wedding was interrupted by Raven (who was evil at the time). Raven murdered the priest before he could pronounce Dick and Koriand'r husband and wife. The relationship was already on unsteady ground, with Koriand'r fearing that Dick was rushing into marriage and also concerned about the anti-alien sentiments that sprang up in response to the news of the impending nuptials.

In the New 52 reboot, she joined Red Hood and the Outlaws for a time. But as of 2015, she has a solo series that has her living in Key West.

Out of comics, her more prominent appearances include the Teen Titans series and its follow-up/spinoff Teen Titans Go!. In both shows, she is voiced by Hynden Walch.

Comic Books

New Teen Titans Vol 1 (1981-1984)
Wonder Woman (1942): Judgment In Infinity (1982)
New Teen Titans Vol 2 (1984-1988)
New Titans (1988-1996)
Titans Vol 1 (1999-2003)
Teen Titans (2003) Vol 3 (2003-2010)
Nightwing Vol 2 (2005-2007)
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011)
Starfire (2015) solo series (2015)
Teen Titans (Rebirth) (2016-2018)
Justice League Odyssey (2018-2020)
Teen Titans Academy (2021-2023)
Blue Beetle Graduation Day
Blue Beetle 2023

Film

Live-Action Television

Titans (2018)

Video Games

Teen Titans (2006)
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014)
- LEGO DC Super-Villains (2018)
LEGO Dimensions (2015; added during the second year)
DC Legends (2016)
Injustice 2 (2017) as DLC Guest Fighter

Western Animation

Starfire provides examples of:

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A-H

'80s Hair: Her initial look. Her hairstyle has changed in later times. It's wavy more-so than curly; it's incredibly long and thick, but it looks like normal hair nowadays. Her Tiny Titans and Teen Titans (2003) depictions show her with straight hair; though they've both temporarily been shown with the original style as a Mythology Gag.
Ace Pilot: In The New 52, she's a skilled pilot that commands her own alien ship.
Action Girl: One of the most prominent female fighters in the DC universe. Even without her powers, she's still a capable hand-to-hand fighter, having received combat training at a very early age.
Adaptational Modesty: She is one of the more famous Stripperiffic comic book characters because her costumes often come down to being just strategically placed straps. Teen Titans (2003) gave her a skirt and top that only reveals her stomach. This look influenced her New 52 comic redesign and her depiction in Justice League vs. Teen Titans.
Adaptational Skimpiness: Her debut in the New 52 has her wearing even less than she already did. She only has some pieces of what appears to be latex covering her nipples and acting as a sort of underwear. They managed to make an already skimpy character even skimpier.
Adaptational Villainy: The version of her in the Flashpoint timeline is a member of the Amazonian Furies, and has no qualms over burning down an entire city.
Affectionate Nickname: Most of her friends refer to her as Kory or Star instead of using her Tamaran name Koriand'r.
Alien Princess: Her sole role before becoming Starfire. She and her sister are still royalty.
Aliens Love Human Food: She is depicted as being very fond of mustard in some continuities. Notably, she doesn't use it as a condiment but rather drinks it straight out of the bottle.
Aliens Speaking English: Justified because Tamaraneans can learn any language from physical contact, she generally enjoys doing it by kissing. She still doesn't have a perfect accent.
Amazing Technicolor Population: She and her people have bright orange skin.
Always Someone Better: She's very strong and tough compared to most of her teammates. However, her strength doesn't come close to matching a Kryptonian's. When she finds herself trying to awaken an unconscious Supergirl with a slap in the latter's own series, she notes that she's probably going to break her hand doing so.
Amusing Alien: Her naivete as a newcomer to Earth is often Played for Laughs, with her constantly getting into misunderstandings or making Fee Fi Faux Pas regarding human customs and has a few odd customs of her own.
Anime Hair: Starfire's hair goes down past her waist and merges with the stream of energy left behind when she flies.
Arch-Enemy: Her older sister Blackfire aka Komand'r, though not so much now in the New 52.
Arranged Marriage: She went through two separate ones, both with Tamaranean males who died afterwards.
- The first one was with Prince Karras, in order to secure a political alliance which caused no small amount of angst for her due to being in love with Dick at the time and Karras also being in love with someone else too. This one also went through some bumpy retcons after Koriand'r returned to earth and it was eventually "explained" that her marriage with Karras was only a glorified peace treaty, not an exchange of full matrimonial vows... probably because of increasing discontent with the fact that her continuing pursuit of a relationship with Dick Grayson was essentially adultery.
- The second one was with General Phy'zzon around the time Tamaran was destroyed and it worked a little better than the last one.
Badass Adorable: Downplayed. Even when she's written as girlish and cute, she is usually prone to becoming more serious when going into battle.
Bathing Beauty: She likes to shower, as she enjoys the feeling of water on her heated skin and has had many Shower Scenes over the years.
Batman Can Breathe in Space: She's able to survive and travel in deep space with no equipment whatsoever.
Battle Couple: With Dick Grayson, back when they were a couple on Teen Titans.
Beam Spam: She is able to shoot her starbolts extremely quickly, but they're much weaker as a result.
Beautiful Slave Girl: She was enslaved in her childhood by alien invaders as part of her backstory before fleeing and ending up on Earth. She has been used as a concubine by her owners as well, although the New 52 and the Rebirth continuity omit this aspect entirely, but preserve the slave background.
Beware the Nice Ones: She's very nice, but when she gets pissed...look out.
My Blood Runs Hot: She's able to increase her body heat to incredibly high temperatures.
Break the Cutie: In her backstory, she went through this when she was made a slave to the Gordanians. This includes being violently beaten and raped for years due to being a female prisoner.
Bridal Carry: Genderflipped in the New Teen Titans books, where she would fly around carrying her boyfriend Nightwing in this manner.
Broken Bird: Lobdell's take on Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws. She gets really snippy and hostile whenever anyone tries to talk to her about her past, and we eventually find out that her most precious memory is killing the only Citadel member who showed her sympathy in all her time as a slave. It's even lampshaded how screwed up the team must be.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: She's a hot-headed warrior princess who can brutally kill or kick the ass of almost any evildoer, but she's as gentle as a lamb with her friends and innocents. She's been toned down from this in later years.
Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a buxom figure, just like most super-heroines, but her large bust is often brought to attention or noted by other characters, either with admiration or jealousy and she's considered one of the bustier female character in the DC universe (which may come across as an Informed Attribute since most heroines have the same busty figure).
Cain and Abel: With her sister Komand'r. Their Sibling Rivalry was caused due to Komand'r being treated like a monster for something she had not done and being jealous of her younger sister being given her birthright, leading to her betraying her own people to their Citadel enemies and making Koriand'r (one of the few who actually loved her) her slave. She humiliated, tortured and tried everything in her power to destroy her sister, whose hatred became mutual and it was considered so intense that the animated version toned it down considerably.
- There seems to be a general flip flop on the level of hatred between the sisters in modern stories, in some stories Starfire holds no hate for her sister, in others she only hates what Blackfire has become and holds out hope she can change. Blackfire too, can be shown to either hate her sister with all her being, or to not really hate her at all but only see her as a necessary sacrifice.
- This is averted in Red Hood and the Outlaws and the solo series. Komand'r genuinely loves her sister, has nothing to do with the Gordanian invasion that leaves Komand'r as the planet's queen, and only reluctantly signs away her sister to save the rest of the planet.
Canon Discontinuity: Her solo series does not seem to acknowledge anything from Red Hood and the Outlaws. Though it does seem to incorporate her romantic history with Dick Grayson.
The Captain: In The New 52 she is a capable strategist and starship captain, who commands her own ship named S.S. Starfire, crewed by ex-slaves she freed during her Slave Liberation.
Cartwright Curse: Most of Kory's relationships besides Dick Grayson have ended disastrously.
- Her first human boyfriend before Robin was an undercover H.I.V.E. agent ordered to spy on the Titans and was executed after genuinely falling in love with her (though she never found out the truth).
- She was widowed twice, both times with Tamaranean men, the prince of a different kingdom and a military general, who died heroically. The second only managed to be alive for a scant few months, from the Gainax Ending of New Titans to the prologue of Final Night.
Celebrity Masquerade: Became famous as a model under the name of Kory Anderson.
Colorful Contrails: Often has her Flaming Hair glowing and trailing behind her when she reaches high flight speeds, making herself look like a shooting star from a distance. One comic actually suggests this is literally her hair stretching out, as she leaves it as a trail to allow herself to be tracked.
Combo Platter Powers: Starfire has Super-Strength, Super-Toughness, Super-Senses, Flight, can absorb ultraviolet radiation and project it as energy blasts called "starbolts" from her hands and can easily assimilate languages through physical contact.
Dark and Troubled Past: She was Made a Slave when she was young her planet was conquered due to her sister's machinations. During her enslavement, she was tortured, abused, and experimented on, before she managed to flee to Earth.
Defiant Strip: Raven once asked Kory how she dealt with Wally constantly acting like The Peeping Tom, Kory responds that she just brazenly stripped naked in front of him to get it over with. She mentions it was the longest she ever seen him stand still.
Depending on the Artist:
- Whether or not she has Flaming Hair or just regular red hair.
- Also what color her starbolts are. They usually varied between orange, pink and red (colors associated with the sun) but after her appearance in the Teen Titans (2003) cartoon also started to be displayed as green too.
- Whether or not she has pupils or Monochromatic Eyes.
- Her skin tends to range from golden to orange to just a really deep but ordinary sunkissed tan.
Depending on the Writer: Some writers portray her as energetic Nice Girl filled with joie de vivre, while others portray her as a grim and even manipulative Proud Warrior Race Guy.
Divergent Character Evolution: Inverted with Blackfire, her Arch-Nemesis and Evil Twin. Originally the two were nearly identical save for Blackfire's outfit and sharper, nastier looks, but following the seminal cartoon, Blackfire's hair has darkened accordingly and the differences between them magnified.
Doomed Hometown: Her backstory involved her home planet Tamaran being conquered by a hostile alien race and she was forced to flee.
Dude Magnet: She is a real head-turner. Case in point, when she visits the Gotham City Police Department in Gotham Central, every man stares at her slack-jawed and so do a few women. Lampshaded by Blackfire in The Outsiders:
Blackfire: Ha! I should have expected one like you. My sweet sister has a talent for attracting devoted protectors... Usually males. Always foolish.
Emerald Power: Her energy powers are (Depending on the Artist) manifested as green, with her eyes also glowing green (or more green if she has Monochromatic Eyes).
Energy Absorption: She's able to absorb ultraviolet radiation into her body, which is used to fuel most of her powers. All Tamaraneans are able to do this, but hers and Blackfire's were amplified when they were experimented on by the Psions, making them much stronger than the average Tamaranean. During a battle with the Kryptonians in New Krypton, Starfire defeated a Kryptonian soldier by absorbing the UV rays around him to weaken him.
Ethical Slut: What she was supposed to come off as in Red Hood and the Outlaws (New 52), although she had sex with only one person off-panel in one issue. While the general idea behind this was consistent with her previous characterization since the 80s, in which she was portrayed as an Innocent Fanservice Girl and All-Loving Hero, the handling of it was generally considered to be botched badly and eventually resulted in her removal from the team.^note
Even the Girls Want Her: More than a few girls can be seen checking her out with the men when she enters a room.
Exposed Extraterrestrials: Her people don't put place much value into clothes as they see nothing inherently unchaste about nudity and since they are more durable and tougher than humans, they don't have problems with it being impractical either, as Armor Is Useless to them. In fact, they require exposure to ultraviolet radiation in order to fuel their powers. Starfire initially found the human mode of dress to be unnecessarily prudish and restrictive, but eventually grew to be more acceptive of it due to her work as a model, though her personal wardrobe remains Stripperiffic and she's still a Shameless Fanservice Girl who has no hang-ups about nudity.
Exposed to the Elements: Tamarians are able to survive in extremely harsh environments without protection or attire, from the harsh cold of space to the extreme heat of a star.
Expy: When Marv Wolfman created her, he conceived her as "Red Sonja in outer space", as an exotic and sexy alien princess who still was a Fiery Redhead warrior with an aggressive fighting style and a barbarian-esque aesthetic.
Fake First Kiss: The moment they met in Teen Titans, Kory kissed Robin due to being an alien whose species can learn languages through kissing. She ends up dating Dick for the rest of the 80s and is one of his two main love interests in future years.
Fallen Princess: Starfire was a member of the Tamaran royal family before the Citadel took over her planet with the aid of her jealous sister, Komand'r.
Fanservice Model: For a time, Starfire had a successful career as a model. She appears on a shoot in one of the eighties comics modelling a Writing Around Trademarks-version of Guess Jeans. It involves her wearing a pair of the aforementioned jeans and nothing else, and a lot of sexy Toplessness from the Back.
Fiery Redhead: She is fierce in combat, and not only is she a redhead, but also her hairstyle makes it look like flames, which causes a literal version of the trope.
Fiery Sensuality: Starfire is a gold/orange-skinned alien princess with the power to absorb ultraviolet radiation and release it as powerful blasts of heat. She is known for her Stripperiffic outfits and open sexuality.
Fish out of Water: Starfire is depicted as being unfamiliar with human customs and phrases many of her incarnations, leading to some misunderstandings and awkwardness. This characterization is played straight and exaggerated in Starfire (2015).
Flaming Hair: She is occasionally drawn with her long hair dissolving into fire.
Flight: She's able to fly like many Tamareneans and has even stated to have flown light-years through space in short amounts of time, although she needs to have access to ultraviolet radiation to do so.
Flight, Strength, Heart: She is a Flying Brick who can shoot energy beams. Also, in order to explain her grasp of English, she can learn any language by kissing a native speaker. More specifically it can happen through any form of touch, but she likes kissing because it's more fun.
Flying Brick: Though her Super-Strength is often downplayed in favor of her energy blasts and babe status. She's tough, but not outright Nigh-Invulnerable.
Flying Firepower: Her Flight leaves a distinctive energy contrail behind, looking as if it is coming directly from her Flaming Hair.
Foreign Fanservice: Her exotic Stripperiffic outfits, promiscuous attitude and lack of nudity taboo which cement her status as a Ms. Fanservice are Justified by her coming from a different alien culture.
Girly Bruiser: Despite her feminine appearance and girlish attires, she's a fierce fighter who can beat down villains with her bare hands.
Glowing Eyes: If she does not already have Monochromatic Eyes, you can expect them to start glowing when she starts using her powers or if she starts getting angry.
Godiva Hair: Starfire uses this every so often, particularly when Dick Grayson discovers her in the shower.
Going Native: Older versions of her have her becoming much more used to human culture, and she even starts considering Earth her true home.
Go-Go Enslavement: During her time imprisoned by the Citadel in the New 52, her outfit of dirty rags bared her midriff and legs.
Good Bad Girl: Due to the Tamaran joy-seeking culture, they don't view sex as taboo, so she has no problem having sex for purely recreation purposes and having Friends with Benefits relationships. That said, she still respects monogamy and was a devoted lover to Robin during their time as an Official Couple.
Good Is Not Soft: She is a Nice Girl with a heart of gold that is dedicated to her friends, but has a no-nonsense attitude towards evil villains and often treats them with no mercy. The Titans have had to talk her out of killing an enemy numerous times.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She's a beautiful alien princess who tends to wear purple outfits.
Gratuitous Princess: Initially, her status as a princess wasn't very important to her character, but once Blackfire was introduced it became a bigger plot point during story arcs centering around her.
Green-Skinned Space Babe: A hot alien babe with orange skin, who learns languages by kissing people. Her general lack of modesty is often used for copious Fanservice, and even her normal hero outfit leaves little to the imagination.
Hand Blast: Her main power and attack, usually called "Starbolts", which involves emitting a highly focused solar energy projectile from her hands as a concussive energy blast. This is actually not something shared with all Tamaranean, but something she gained due to the experiments performed on her by the Psions when she was their slave.
Head-Turning Beauty: Even by hero standards, Starfire is incredibly attractive and often causes people to turn their heads when she enters a room. In Gotham Central, when Starfire comes to the GCPD to help with a case regarding Robin, every man stares at her slack-jawed, eliciting a disgusted "men" from Detective Romy Chandler. However, Detective Joely Bartlett smirks and points to the two gay women in the department who are also staring with the exact same expression, just as unable to control themselves as the men. Man or woman, if somebody is that attractive and fits your orientation, it is bringing something out of you.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: She has a very close friendship with Donna Troy. It starts as a Friendly Rivalry, with Wonder Girl being unconvinced some planet hopping warlords can train anyone better than the amazons did her. Starfire's method of flight tending to turn all the air local air currents Wonder Girl needs if she wants to glide in Starfire's direction also leads to them to spending more much time together, and leads to Wonder Girl being in position to peform perform many a Diving Save when Starfire gets in trouble. They have much in common as warrior princesses overshadowed by their sisters as well, or the shared experience of conquerors forcing them to adapt to new worlds in the "Titan Seed" takes where Donna Troy has nothing to do with Diana.
Home Nudist: She had a difficult time learning Earth's concepts of modesty, as apparently her race finds clothing outside of protection to be pointless. She has since learned about modesty enough to not cause awkward moments, but she still doesn't fully understand it and tends to go naked in private when the opportunity arises, such as sunbathing in the nude in Animal Man's home when everyone else is away.
Hot Teacher: In Teen Titans Academy, she becomes a teacher at an academy meant to train the next generation of Titans.
Human Aliens: Like most Tamaraneans, she's nearly indistinguishable from a human, save for her solid green eyes, usually exceptional height, Flaming Hair and spray-tan color skin, yet are specifically stated to taxonomically be descended from something more feline than an ape. She looked enough like humans that she had a successful career as a model.

I-Z

Iconic Sequel Character: Starfire is one of the most popular Titans but didn't join the team until its third incarnation in the 1980s.
Inhuman Eye Concealers: During the time that she was living with Animal Man as a live-in babysitter for his kids, Starfire wore green-tinted sunglasses in order to hide her solid-green glowing eyes.
Informed Attractiveness: Kory tends to catch a lot of gushing over her beauty, even when standing next to a young Amazon and a half-demon in a leg-revealing evening gown. One memorable scene in Gotham Central had every male cop - and both gay women - staring at her in wordless, slack-jawed awe.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: In her earlier appearances Starfire would often appear with Censor Steam or Scenery Censor nudity, due to both her time as a slave and her society's lack of nudity hangups and didn't even seem to understand why people were uncomfortable with her nudity. Over time, she became more self-conscious about people's discomfort and evolved into a Shameless Fanservice Girl that still likes to shuck the clothing, but now she does it in (what is usually) private. But she was extremely upset when Mirage used her illusion powers to disguise herself and pose naked for a men's magazine, as she found that a violation of her privacy.
Interspecies Romance: With Dick Grayson, as well as a few other Earth men. She was the first of Dick's girlfriends that he was quite blatantly implied to have had sex with, they've been engaged at least once, and they were even almost married once — as in, the only reason they aren't husband and wife is because fellow Titan Raven attacked the ceremony and killed the minister before he could complete it. Though they are drifted apart in modern continuity, both still remember and occasionally flirt with each other over their former connection.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even though she still loves him, Starfire encourages Nightwing to propose to Barbara Gordon in Convergence Nightwing/Oracle #1.
The Mentor: As a veteran Titan, she acted as a mentor to newer members of the Teen Titan, whose roster shifted constantly. She's even picked to be the headmistress for the Teen Titans Academy.
The Leader: Depending on the Writer, Starfire exhibited a lot of leadership skills, due to her past as the leader of a slave rebellion and a Warrior Princess.
Leeroy Jenkins: She was notable among the Titans for her "Starbolt-first ask questions later" approach to fighting crime and often had to be calmed down by her teammates like Dick Grayson when she let her emotions run too high. Lampshaded by her race's nature of being run by emotions, loving strongly in times of peace but hating fiercely in times of battle to the point of recklessly attacking.
Leotard of Power: When her costume isn't a Chainmail Bikini, anyway. In 52 she's mistaken for a stripper after showing up on Animal Man's doorstep.
Light 'em Up: Her Starbolts are made of highly concentrated solar energy and are said to be incredibly hot.
Light Is Good: Starfire is a superheroine with gold/orange skin and the ability to to absorb and project ultraviolet radiation.
Literal-Minded: Often takes expressions and sayings as their literal interpretation.
Made a Slave: Part of her backstory in Teen Titans. Her evil sister betrayed their planet Tamaran, and helped hostile aliens conquer it, and as part of the terms of their defeat, the Tamaraneans were required to surrender Starfire, their princess, into slavery. After enduring years of forced labor, sexual abuse, and experimentation, she managed to escape and fled to Earth. Her The New 52 backstory is mostly the same, but has her leading a Slave Liberation on the slave ship she was on, the S. S. Starfire, which she ended up adopting the name from.
Magic Kiss: Starfire can learn any person's language with a touch, but she chooses to do it with a kiss because it's more fun that way. Humorously lampshaded way back in the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover when she kissed Colossus after hearing him say something in Russian and realizing it was a new language. Nightcrawler, upon observing this, asked "Fraulein, sprechen sie Deustsch?"(Young lady, do you speak German?)
Meaningful Appearance: The outfit worn by her Flashpoint counterpart is designed to look like flames are covering her body.
Ms. Fanservice: She is a hot alien babe with orange skin, who learned languages by kissing people. Kory is regarded as extremely physically attractive even by the standards of the superhero community. Her general lack of modesty is often used for copious Fanservice and her skimpy hero outfit leaves little to the imagination. Even in certain adaptations where Adaptational Modesty is in effect, she still provides plenty of fanservice.
Monochromatic Eyes: Her eyes are drawn green and blank, or green in the sclera, irises or pupils. She's given the irises and pupils in a few adaptations or Depending on the Artist, such as in her solo series.
Most Common Super Power: Starfire has always been drawn to be bustier than all her fellow female teammates. It was one of the reasons Terra I called her "balloon bod" to insult her. Some artists have drawn her to have the third-largest breasts in DC, behind only Wonder Woman and Power Girl.
Muscles Are Meaningless: Despite her Super-Strength, she's rarely ever drawn as muscular, although she is quite tall.
Naturalized Name: Her original is Koriand'r. When she got to Earth, she adopted the name Kory Anders. In the animated series, "Starfire" is a literal translation of her name, though it's merely her codename in the comics.
Navel-Deep Neckline: Most versions of her costume have a plunging neckline that goes down to her navel or lower.
The Needless: Downplayed. She's able to use her Energy Absorption to store enough energy that she's able to survive long periods of time without needing to eat or sleep if needed, but that ability has its limits and she usually does eat and sleep about as much as any other person, if not more.
Nice Girl: She's always been depicted as this, being very empathetic and considerate of others before herself.
No Social Skills: At least when it comes to human social skills, she's almost entirely clueless. Justified due to her being an alien, she's a Fish out of Water on Earth.
Oh, My Gods!: She frequently swears by "X'hal!", a Tamaranean goddess, when surprised, and says something to the effect of "Thank X'hal you're all right!" at least once. This becomes slightly odd when it turns out X'hal is at best very destructive and probably a little bit crazy. Fridge Brilliance when you realize the Tamaraneans swing wildly between passionate lovers and Proud Warrior Race without a whole lot of moods in between.
Omniglot: She's able to instantly learn any language by having physical contact with the person proficient in it, which she usually does via kissing. She learned English via kissing Dick and Russian via kissing Colossus in an X-Men Intercontinuity Crossover and her solo series reveals this even applies animals.
Only One Name: She's just Koriand'r. It's a pattern in her homeworld, Tamaran. Averted when she uses her civilian alias, Kory Anders.
Opposites Attract: When their relationship first began, Kory and Dick had a Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl dynamic: Dick was reserved and methodical to Kory's passionate impulsiveness. As the trope often works in real life, they began to influence each other so that each acquired a level of the other's personality, to the point that their breakup ultimately had Dick making an impassioned plea for Kory to stay and Kory making the reasoned, logical choice to leave.
Parental Favoritism: Despite being the middle sibling, she was favored by her parents as a Tamaranean princess due to Blackfire's inability to fly making her the Un Favorite, which is what triggered Blackfire's jealousy and inferiority complex and she grew to resent her sister.
Person of Mass Destruction: She is able to release all of her stored solar radiation at once, generating an explosion so powerful it was comparable to a small supernova.
Phlebotinum Overload: Starfire and her sister got most of their powers while under a painful experiment by the Psions to see how much the Tamaranean Energy Absorption powers could withstand before they overloaded. This ended up biting them in the ass when it ended up powering them enough for Starfire to fight back and make her escape.
Ping Pong Naïveté: Depending on the Writer, her status as a naive Fish out of Water on Earth can remain even after she's been there for many years.
Please Put Some Clothes On:
- Dick Grayson and the other Titans (minus Beast Boy) were saying this to Starfire a LOT during the Wolfman-Perez run in Teen Titans.
- In her solo series, she comes out of the shower with just a towel on the head right in front of Boone, who shoves a Modesty Towel at her, begging her to cover herself, which confuses her.
Starfire: Oh, thank you! But I do not need another towel. The sun and the wind dried my skin! It is only my hair that is wet.
Polyamory: Only in the New 52 though.
Power Floats: Absorbing sunlight is what allows her to levitate and fly.
Power of the Sun: Starfire's alien physiology constantly absorbs ultraviolet radiation through her skin and converts it to energy, which is used to fuel most of her powers.
Power Perversion Potential: She can learn any language by physical touch, but she prefers to do so by kissing, since she has more fun doing so.
Power-Strain Blackout: She faints after using her powers in her very first appearance in the Teen Titans.
Pretty Princess Powerhouse: She is the warrior princess of the planet Tamaran. She is both beautiful and a skilled, powerful fighter.
Princess Protagonist: Starfire is originally known as Koriand'r, a princess of the fictional planet Tamaran in Vega system. After some attempts to be murdered by her older sister, she escaped to Earth and eventually met and joined the Teen Titans being one of their most famous and powerful historical members, and having enough charisma to get her own titles.
Precocious Crush: Cliff Baker, son of Buddy Baker alias Animal Man grew a really big crush on her during the brief time she lived with their family. He even gets a photo of her sleeping in their bed to make his friends jealous because he has a "totally hot alien princess" in his home.
Cliff: [upon finding Starfire unconscious on his doorstep] Wow, she's like ET — but with double DD's! Can we keep her?
Proud Warrior Race Girl: As part of a coming-of-age ritual, Koriand'r was trained in combat by the revered Warriors of Okaara when she was a child.
Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Being the affectionate type most of her female friendships are like this, but special mention goes to Raven. The two are constantly shown to have an incredibly deep friendship, having even had a rather infamous kiss, and Starfire for a time housed what would be considered Raven's "good" soul. In her solo series Starfire and her new friend Stella Gomez have this type of relationship. Starfire's relationship with Donna Troy also qualifies, especially when they were written by Marv Wolfman.
Punny Name: Koriand'r is a homonym for Coriander, a spice. Meanwhile, her sister's name is a little more martial (Commander).
Purple Is Powerful: Purple is one of the colors artist use to illustrate her powers. Purple is also a common color scheme in her outfits.
Rape as Backstory: Though none of the adaptations nor the New 52 reboot mention this, it was confirmed in the original continuity that Koriand'r was raped by Citadel members. In fact, she was nearly executed by Komand'r for killing one of her own abusers before they were kidnapped by the Psions. While she doesn't angst it about it, preferring to move on and leave these horrible memories behind, reminding her of it is a trigger for her.
Relationship Upgrade: With Nightwing, for a time. In Convergence, they're finally married.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: She is a princess, though whether or not she counts as "acting" monarchy is debatable since she's in willing exile.
Rubber-Forehead Aliens: Tamaraneans like her are nearly indistinguishable from humans, save the solid green eyes and gold/orange colored skin, yet are specifically stated to taxonomically be felines rather than apes.
Screw Learning, I Have Phlebotinum!: She has the innate ability to be able to become instantly fluent in any language by getting into physical contact with a native speaker, usually via a kiss.
Secret Public Identity: Starfire's identity is public knowledge, although she has taken on "Kory Anders" as a legal name.
Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains:
- Inverted; Starfire's costume is a skimpy swimsuit and she is a genuinely heroic character, while her evil sister Blackfire wears a full bodysuit.
- Played With in the New 52. The re-appearance of Blackfire also has her wearing less clothes compare to her pre-52 days. Funny enough, Starfire was wearing a bodysuit that covers her entire body sans her face when they face off.
Sex Goddess: She's often depicted as an extremely satisfying lover. Nightwing once joked he wouldn't be able to walk for a few hours after they slept together and Captain Comet describes having sex with her as "Earthshaking" even though they were on space at the time.
Sex Slave: Was made into this after her sister, Blackfire gave her to the Citadel as part of their agreement for helping Blackfire conquer their home planet. Luckily Starfire doesn't dwell on this and is incredibly well-adjusted despite it. In fact, she really enjoys sex now that she can choose her partners.
Sexy Cat Person: Downplayed - she is a very beautiful woman whose species evolved from cat-like creatures, but she shows little in the way of feline characteristics in appearance or personality and the "evolved from cats" thing isn't mentioned very often. It's shown in an issue of New Teen Titans, where the Brotherhood of Evil uses a device to revert the captured Titans to their species' previous evolutionary state, that cats are to Tamaraneans what monkeys are to humans.
Sex with the Ex: She had a few sexual encounters with Nightwing over the years, but the two never really got back together after they broke up.
Shadow Archetype: To Superman in Red Hood and the Outlaws. She's basically the flip side of Clark's coin, both being nearly all-powerful aliens that are powered by the yellow sun. Both came from being traumatically removed from home into unfamiliar surroundings, with two very different upbringings. Starfire's perceptions of humanity, along with her tendency to attempt to kill whatever she doesn't like, directly contrast Clark's. Kory wishes to remain very private, only presenting herself willingly to the public eye when it's unavoidable. She doesn't wish to come off as friendly or there for others' protection, she just wants to do what she wishes. if Clark and she were to ever meet it'd be a lot of friction between the two. In issue 14, they do meet... and it nearly breaks out into an all-out brawl involving the "team" and Supes, mostly due to her and Jason's character traits. It takes Jason's date, Isabel, from keeping things from getting out of hand while getting them all to sit down and talk.
Shameless Fanservice Girl: She starts as an Innocent Fanservice Girl who doesn't understand Earth's concepts of modesty, but evolves into being this once she spends more time there. She understands the concept of modesty and avoids scandalous situations, but she still doesn't really care if she's seen in a state of undress.
Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Was specifically designed with the red hair / green eyes contrast in mind, which is even more noticeable due to Monochromatic Eyes shining green.
Skilled, but Naive: She's a competent hero and not stupid, but because she is so naive, it is easy for several people to take advantage of or betray her.
Sleeps in the Nude: She was shown to do this often during her early Teen Titan years, likely due to her own overall preference for being unclothed. It's Played for Laughs in Countdown to Adventure when she was unconscious at Animal Man's family home and slept for weeks to recharge from a long space trip, and when she woke up she complained to him, not about the fact they were Undressing the Unconscious, but that they put pajamas on her instead of just leaving her sleeping in the nude.
Speaks Fluent Animal: In Starfire (2015), she uses her language assimilation powers to communicate with a dolphin at an aquarium. She literally presses her lips against its beak.
Spell My Name With An S: Ever since her debut in the 80s, her civilian nickname was spelled "Kory"; the New 52 reboot spelled it "Kori", continuing into her solo series. It didn't stick; from DC Rebirth on, it's back to Kory again.
Starcrossed Lovers: Nightwing will always be the love of her life, but the ever cruel fate always keeps them from being together. Even after he had moved on with many other women, there will always be a place for him in her heart.
Statuesque Stunner: Kory is drawn as especially tall at 1,93 m (6'4"). With '80s Hair and heels often adding even more inches to that, causing her to have a Tiny Guy, Huge Girl dynamic with Dick, despite him not being particularly short.
Stellar Name: Koriand'r is pronounced similar to the word coriander, giving her Floral Theme Naming as well (coriander is another name for cilantro and often used to refer to cilantro seeds specifically).
Stripperiffic: Most versions of her costume are sling swimsuits with boots, showing her cleavage, midriff, and legs. Justified, as she is superhumanly tough, her powers are fueled by absorbing UV radiation through her skin, and she is comfortable showing off her body due to Tamaranean culture having no moral taboos about nudity and she's had a career on Earth as a model. In Red Hood and the Outlaws, she effectively has only a pair of pasties covering her nipples, and the bikini she wears late in the first issue actually manages to be more modest than her default costume. This has since been toned down, however; in her solo series she wears a long-sleeved crop top and hot pants, her DC Rebirth costume is a leotard with thigh high boots, and in the Justice League Odyssey series she was given her current look—a light purple leotard with a gold collar and pauldrons, and thigh-high boots with gold trim. Her original New Teen Titans costume does appear on occasion in flashbacks and Elseworlds stories, but the more modest redesigns seem to be her new status quo.
Sue Donym: The name she uses as a civilian on Earth is Kory Anders, which is very similar to her real Tamaranean name, Koriand'r.
Supermodel Strut: She apparently walks with a seductive gait unconsciously and once got an entire police station getting Distracted by the Sexy just by strutting around the place.
Super-Senses: Due to her Tamaranean physiology, she has better reflexes and eyesight than most humans.
Super-Strength: Due to her Tamaranean physiology, she's stronger than a regular human. She's shown to be slightly stronger than Wonder Girl (Donna Troy). She can lift 100 tonnes without struggling.
Super-Toughness: Like most Tamaraneans, she is incredibly durable, having incredible stamina and being able to withstand all sorts of attacks. She's even able to withstand the cold of deep space or the intense heat of a star.
Strong and Skilled: She's a Flying Brick alien who has received warrior training since she was a child. Combine this with her solar radiation powers and she is one of the most dangerous Titans in existence.
Strong as They Need to Be: Her Super-Strength and Super-Toughness can vary a lot Depending on the Writer, with her starbolts usually being her primary form of attack.
Superheroes Stay Single: She never had a long-standing Love Interest outside of Nightwing, and their relationship dissolved soon after their wedding was ruined. Their relationship never really recovered from that, with Dick even taking it as a sign that they were too young and weren't ready to take the next big step to marriage (Kory herself thought they were rushing to begin with), and that eventually led to them drifting apart and breaking up for good. Even so, they still slept together occasionally.
Tamer and Chaster: Starfire has always been a Stripperiffic Ms. Fanservice, but the New 52 reboot made her more-so than before. This was met with heavy criticism, resulting in her eventual redesign to be more like her cartoon counterpart. Her costume still shows skin but she is portrayed in a tamer manner.
Team Mom: Is by far the most reasonable, level-headed, and experienced member of the Titans in the Teen Titans (Rebirth) continuity, providing heartfelt support whenever necessary and taking charge when Damian's emotions and prejudices are getting the best of him. She is also very affectionate to the younger members of the Titans.
Technicolor Eyes: When Kory's eyes aren't drawn as monochromatic green, they're drawn as green eyes with lighter green sclerae.
Telepathic Spacemen: Tamaraneans like her possess a mild form of Touch Telepathy that allows them to learn the languages of the people they touched.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: Starfire does not adhere to this, since she not only isn't an earthling, but because she was born in a warrior culture and trained as one. This has led to conflict with Nightwing and Donna Troy. She does her best to respect Earth rules, but when she's off-Earth, she is more willing to go by her own opinions.
Touch Telepathy: She can instantly learn any language a person knows by physically touching them. She prefers doing it via a kiss, but it is stated that any kind will do.
Translator Microbes: Tamaraneans can learn any language from physical contact, she generally enjoys doing it by kissing.
Trauma Button:
- Reminding her of her history as a Sex Slave will send her into a violent rage.
- She doesn't take too kindly to the act of murdering people despite being all too willing to and having had committed murder herself. She tries to put those times behind her, with varying success.
Traumatic Superpower Awakening: In several of her incarnations, her energy powers were unlocked as a result of the harsh conditions during her enslavement, and remain more powerful than the abilities of any other Tamaranean.
Unusual Eyebrows: Starfire and her people are sometimes drawn with the distal ends of their eyebrows connecting to their hair.
Vengeance Denied: Donna Troy prevents Kory from executing the man who killed her fiancé, saying they would turn him over to the proper authorities. The killer escaped and was murdered by other villains.
Vibrant Orange: Starfire has orange skin and is known for being a cheerful extrovert.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: She is very protective of the people she cares about, but especially so for her significant others. When her first human boyfriend Franklin Candrall was murdered by a H.I.V.E. agent, she flew into such Unstoppable Rage she would have killed him if Donna Troy had not stepped in the way. To say nothing how she feels about Dick Grayson being in danger. On learning that he was shot in the head by KGBeast, her eyes immediately blaze as she demands "Where is he?"
Waif-Fu: Despite her svelte built, she's much stronger and tougher than her appearance would suggest.
Warrior Princess: Starfire is a princess of the planet Tamaran, a warrior people known for their conflict with the Gordanians, to whom Starfire was sold into slavery. The experimentation she was subjected to while captive turned out to be a bad idea, as it only made her stronger, which allowed her to escape to Earth and eventually join the Teen Titans.
Weird World, Weird Food: She occasionally talks about the delicacies from her alien homeworld that sound utterly disgusting to all the Earth characters, highlighting her quirkiness.
Woman Scorned: She was upset with Dick when Mirage tricked him into sleeping with him by taking Starfire's form, as she thought he would have been able to tell her it wasn't her after being intimate.
Working with the Ex: Has fought alongside Dick many times after they broke up, though she doesn't like it as she still carries a torch for him.

Characters / Teen Titans: Starfire

Starfire

Alter Ego: Koriand'r / Kory Anders

Abilities: Flight, Super-Strength, Invulnerability, Starbolts

First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980)

Starfire provides examples of:

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Characters / Teen Titans: Starfire

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Starfire

Alter Ego: Koriand'r / Kory Anders

Abilities: Flight, Super-Strength, Invulnerability, Starbolts

First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980)

Starfire provides examples of:

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