Red Star (comics)

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caption=Red Star from "Teen Titans" #38
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Red Star
real_name=Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar
publisher=DC Comics
debut="Teen Titans" #18 (1968)
creators=Len Wein
Marv Wolfman
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=Teen Titans
aliases=Starfire
powers=Superhuman strength, speed and stamina, Pyrokinesis

Red Star (a.k.a. Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar) is a fictional Russian comic book superhero in the DC universe. A former member of the Teen Titans, he first appeared under the name Starfire in "Teen Titans" , #18 (Dec. 1968). He is not to be confused with the female DC character Starfire.

Fictional character biography

Leonid's father, Konstantin, was an archaeologist, and when the two investigated a spaceship that had crashed into the Yenesi River, the ship exploded. It imbued Leonid with energy, and gave him powers of super-strength, speed, and pyrokinesis. Being a Russian patriot who believed in socialism, he offered his services to his country and became the first official Russian superhero in the DC universe, taking the name Starfire. He would not reappear until "New Teen Titans" #18 in 1982. A new character named Starfire was on the team at this point, and so Leonid changed his codename to Red Star.

In "New Titans" #76 (1991), Red Star joined the Teen Titans. After two years, Red Star left the Titans with Pantha and Baby Wildebeest, forming a unique and somewhat dysfunctional family unit ("New Titans" #114, 1994). He was not seen again until the "JLA/Titans" miniseries in 1999. He made a few minor appearances over the next few years and was most recently seen in "Infinite Crisis" #4, in which he was frozen solid by Superboy-Prime after witnessing the brutal murder of Pantha and Baby Wildebeest. In the "Infinite Crisis" hardback collection he is is seen, in story terms, several hours later at a mass for fallen heroes. Dozens of other heroes are there as well, including Beast Boy, who is comforting Red Star.

He had, apparently, joined the Titans during the one year jump, but left the team for unknown reasons. He recently helped them in their search for Raven. Since his last appearance he had stopped an invasion of Russia by the aliens from his origin, and been appointed State Protector. He is now based in a ship similar to the one that exploded, hovering over Moscow.

Known Powers

Red Star was empowered by unknown alien energies that have caused chain reactions within his molecular structure, altering his physical abilities and reflexes. Over time, these abilities have changed and he has gone from being an incredibly fast and strong being into one with an array of powers.

Red Star's abilities include superhuman strength, speed and endurance. Red Star can also morph into a form that is composed of fire-like energy, in which he can form and redirect energy. It seems his powers have the same effect on Kryptonians as his namesake, as he used them against Superboy-Prime during the Sinestro Corps War.

Other media

Red Star appeared in the "Teen Titans" animated series episode "Snowblind". He assisted Starfire during a mission in Russia and quickly became a friend and ally to her and the Titans; he is also one of the few superheroes in the series to be addressed by his real name. Red Star was voiced by Jason Marsden.

Red Star's powers are similar to Starfire's, since he has super strength, speed, stamina and can fire energy beams. However, his powers were bestowed to him in a government experiment for creating super-soldiers, and they are fueled by intense and dangerous radiation, which would sometimes go berserk; for this reason Red Star has been living in voluntary exile in an abandoned Siberian nuclear power plant, where he uses the facilities to funnel his excess radiation into water capsules whenever the energy would build up too much. A leakage in the containment unit made the radiation melt up the snow outside, which would seep into a pond where it eventually created a plasma creature which wreakes havoc on the surrounding settlements in search for radioactive material to feed on.

Encouraged by Starfire, Red Star fights the creature and destroys it by pumping it full with an overdose of radioactive energy. However, the energy within his body thus rises to uncontrollable levels, and he asks Starfire to take him into space, where his power is released in a gigantic explosion. Before his departure, however, the Titans have made Red Star an honorary member, and his fellow people, who have previously shunned and feared him, now view him as a hero.

Red Star inexplicably reappears in "Titans Together" along with Starfire and Bumblebee in the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Evil to help the Titans fight the assembled supervillains. His reappearance remains unexplained, although Starfire's last remark in "Snowblind" hints that he may have survived the explosion after all.

ee also

*List of Russian superheroes

External links

* [http://www.titanstower.com/source/whoswho/redstar.html "Titans Tower" Biography]
* [http://www.dcuguide.com/chronology.php?name=redstar List of all of Red Star's appearances]