My Favourite Characters - Starfire

Writing up that analysis of The Judas Contract yesterday has inspired me to talk about one of my favourite characters from the Teen Titans (Yes one of, several others will be featured here in the future) Starfire. And when I say Starfire, I mean the cartoon's version of Starfire. Because the comic book version...hmm, how do I put this? She's Fucking Terrible! The comic book version of Starfire is nothing more than an intergalactic slut, she's one of the most fanservice feeding characters in the DC universe and is nothing more than a walking pair of tits with no personality!..Though I will say, that is part of the reason why I love the TV version so much is because she's nothing like her comic book counterpart, if she was made even slightly like her comic book counterpart, then she would have been a complete drag with nothing interesting about her. In the TV Show, Starfire is a princess from another planet called Tamaran, she was taken prisoner by another alien race and ends up stranded on Earth where she befriends her fellow Titans and becomes one of the original 5 members.

Starfire is a very girly character, she's the most feminine of the group, she cares about beauty, fashion and cooking, she is also very pacifistic and tries to befriend as many people as she can, she is also very easily grossed out and is hopeful romantic, particularly with her teammate Robin. So from all of this she would seem quite stereotypical and not very interesting so why is she so great in my opinion? Because this is only half of her personality, the other part Kicks Ass!!

Starfire, despite being a pacifist, is not afraid to fight, only when she absolutely has to, and part of that is because she is stronger than she looks, she can shoot lasers from her eyes, energy bolts from her hands and is also capable of flight and insane strength, in fact she's the strongest member of the Teen Titans. And her people's powers come from their emotions, their joy, their passion, their fury, a combination of all of them and being able to express them is what makes them so strong. Starfire embraces her femininity and it makes her stronger, while stereotypically feminine traits are seen as weaker, it's what makes Starfire as strong as she is.

This is one of the reasons why i've always praised Teen Titans for being a great show for boys & girls, because the women are actually the strongest members of the team, but without having to betray their femininity, while at the same time not being pigeon-hold into those cliches.

Another element that i've always appreciated in characters in general is loyalty, that feeling of being dedicated to your friends and family beyond logical reason. Out of all the Titans, Starfire is the one most emotionally connected to her friends, she fights the hardest to protect them and tries the hardest to keep them happy. Nothing gets in her way and if you ever mess with her friends then you are toast, but if you're nice then she'd be more than happy to be your friend.

Starfire is one of the most underrated feminine icons there is, not just for kids shows, but in general, she embrases the traits that are supposedly seen as weak and makes them her strengths, her passion is what makes her powerful and her characterization in the show is almost unfair that a character that is so awful in the comics became someone so well realized.

-Danny