Red Star (, Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar), formerly named Starfire (Звездный Огонь, Zvezdnyy Ogon'), is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

in the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

Publication history

A former member of the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

, Red Star first appeared under the name Starfire in ''Teen Titans'' #18 (Dec. 1968) and was created by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

, and

Bill Draut Bill Draut (August 14, 1921–March 3, 1993) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Harvey Comics and DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1970s. Biography Bill Draut began his career as an artist in the 1940s by drawing the " ...

Fictional character biography

While still a young teenager, Leonid Kovar and his father

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

(an archaeologist) investigate a spaceship that has crashed into the

Yenisei River The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the list of rivers by length, fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal a ...

; during their investigation the ship explodes. It imbues Leonid with energy and gives him super-strength, speed, and pyrokinesis. Being a Russian patriot who believes in

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, he offers his services to his country and becomes the first official Russian superhero in the DC Universe, taking the name Starfire. He does not reappear until ''The New Teen Titans'' #18 in 1982. A new character named

Starfire Starfire or Starfires may refer to: Military * F-94 Starfire, an American fighter aircraft * Starfire Optical Range, a United States Air Force research laboratory Comics * Starfire (Teen Titans) (1980), alien superheroine and member of the Teen T ...

is on the team at this point, and Leonid subsequently changes his codename to "Red Star". He is one of the heroes that assemble to fight the Villain War in ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'', although his politics cause friction with Hawk and

Negative Woman Valentina Vostok is a fictional character by DC Comics. She first appeared in '' Showcase'' #94 (August 1977), and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton. In live-action, Valentina Vostok made her debut in the first season of the CW Arrowv ...

. In ''The New Titans'' (vol. 2) #76 (1991), Red Star joins the Teen Titans. After two years, Red Star leaves the Titans with

Pantha Pantha (Rosabelle Mendez) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a member of the Teen Titans who gained cat-like abilities from experimentation by the Wildebeest Society. Pantha was killed by Supe ...

and Baby Wildebeest to form a family.''The New Titans'' (vol. 2) #114 (September 1994) They eventually move to the Soviet locale 'Science City'. He is not seen again until the ''

JLA JLA may refer to: * '' JLA'', a comic book series 1997–2006 * The Justice League of America, a fictional DC Comics superhero team * JLA (company), a laundry equipment provider * Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Mac ...

/Titans'' miniseries in 1999. He makes a few minor appearances over the next few years and is featured in ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' #4, in which he is frozen by

Superboy-Prime Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent; colloquial: "Prime") is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A boy from the Reality, real world Isekai, transported to the DC Universe, as an Alternative vers ...

after witnessing the murder of Pantha and Baby Wildebeest. He joins the Titans during the one year jump, but leaves the team for unknown reasons. He helps them in their search for

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

. Since his last appearance he has 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. Red Star later greets

Tim Drake Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in ''Batman'' #436 (August 19 ...

, a former teammate of his during the one year jump, when he comes to Russia for a meeting with Viktor Mikalek, a powerful business tycoon with suspected ties to the Society. When the meeting is interrupted by the vengeful vigilante Promise, Red Star intervenes and rescues Mikalek. After finding Tim in the midst of a discussion with Promise, Red Star mistakenly believes that they are working together, only for Tim to reveal Mikalek's dealings with the Society. Red Star claims that he is well aware of Mikalek's criminal activities, and states that they are a necessary evil needed to rescue Russia's failing economy from total collapse. He attacks Tim, who breaks into Red Star's alien ship and discovers a stockpile of nuclear warheads. Following an adventure in the Undernet, Red Robin is allowed to leave. In ''

'', Red Star attempts to battle

, but is overwhelmed before being rescued by the other Titans. In '' Doomsday Clock'', Red Star comes out of retirement to serve Russia as a member of the "People's Heroes" alongside other Soviet-themed metahumans like Lady Flash of

Blue Trinity The Blue Trinity () are a series of Soviet supervillains, created by DC Comics, that debuted in The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and ...

, and

Pozhar Violet Paige Paintball Paintball (Paul Deisinger) is a DC Comics supervillain. He first appeared in ''Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.'' #2 (September 1999), and was created by Geoff Johns and Leo Moder. Paintball is an art teacher who was transformed in ...

Powers and abilities

Red Star is empowered by unknown alien energies that have caused chain reactions within his molecular structure, altering his physical abilities and reflexes. He possesses superhuman physical abilities and can generate and manipulate energy.

Other versions

An alternate universe incarnation of Red Star who is a member of H.I.V.E. appears in '' Flashpoint''.

In other media

* Red Star appears in ''

'', voiced by

Jason Marsden Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is an honorary member of the Teen Titans who gained his powers from a secret government project and chose to live in an abandoned nuclear power plant due to lacking control over them. *

Konstantin Kovar Kal-El Kaldur'ahm Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope is a supervillain with photokinetic powers created by Robby Reed's villain personality, "The Master". She was originally created by two fans, Chris Lawton and Nancy Mae Lawton in 1982. Kaleidoscop ...

appears in the fifth season of ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', portrayed by

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

. This version is a Russian criminal and dictator of a Russian village who seeks to overthrow the Russian government and return Russia to its former glory. In pursuit of this goal, he purchases

sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic organophosphorus compound.Malcolm Merlyn Merlyn (Arthur King) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a deadly bow-wielding assassin and contract killer and the archnemesis of Green Arrow, though writers have developed him over the years as an adversary ...

and uses it to kill several members of the Russian government and military, but is thwarted by

Oliver Queen Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

Anatoly Knyazev KGBeast (Anatoli Knyazev) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo, the character first appeared as an adversary of Batman. KGBeast has appeared in numerous series and films. Anatoli ...

, and members of the

Bratva The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

. In retaliation, Kovar captures Queen and injects him with the "Red Star" drug to make him relieve his worst memories, though Queen eventually kills him. * Konstantin Kovar appears in the ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' episode "Titans", portrayed by Mark Krupa. This version is a gangster based in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

who is later killed by Starfire. * Red Star appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Red Star appears in ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

''.

References

External links

List of all of Red Star's appearances
{{Teen Titans Characters created by Len Wein Characters created by Marv Wolfman Comics characters introduced in 1968 DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics metahumans DC Comics shapeshifters DC Comics superheroes Fictional military captains Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Russian superheroes Soviet Union-themed superheroes