Hello fellow comic book lovers. While I created this account a while ago, and had planned to immediately start posting stuff, as you can see, I have yet to actually get around to it. But one topic, one I've particularly been interested in since I became enamored with comics, has inspired me to post something of relative interest. As you can see from the title, this, my very first blog post, is about Starfire, the exotic, ever-controversial, alien beauty. With the recent release of Scott Lobdell's Red Hood and the Outlaws, Starfire has been the topic on many minds, and most of it...not good. While I have not yet read the comic for myself (I actually have it waiting for me at home, as I'm in my dorm room at the moment), I already get the feeling that I will not be pleasantly surprised with Starfire's character, which I find very, very disappointing. I have always been a fan of Starfire, since I first witnessed her in the cartoon Teen Titans, and while I am very aware of the difference between her comic and cartoon counterparts, I have to say that my favorable opinion of her has not ceased to exist in my heart. Imagine my horrible sadness to realize that Starfire, at least for now, would not be portrayed in the way I've always believed she deserved, as a strong, independent, intelligent woman, who contains as much fiery spirit as she did when she was first introduced in the New Teen Titans. Over the 30 years since her creation, I believe that Starfire has received the proverbial short stick when it comes to character development. Instead of being depicted in the manner I described, she has been portrayed as a shallow, one-dimensional character, with her only redeeming quality being her relationship with our own Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing. And while I entirely loved her relationship with Richie, I had absolutely no problem with her moving on and once again becoming her own woman, while still maintaining fond memories of her love and family.

The problem in this comic, and I know it's been beautifully explained by many others, is not that Starfire is sexually liberal. By all means, her confidence in her sexuality brings all the more power to her. In that way she is parallel to Catwoman, who's comic was also praised and critiqued this week for its inherent promiscuity. And while I saw the infamous last page of the book, I felt it displayed Selina's inherent sexuality, while not in the sensual, mysterious, subtle manner I prefer to think of her. The difference between the DCnU Starfire and the DcnU Catwoman is that Catwoman, while still very sexually appealing, appealed to many other qualities as well, including her strength, cunning, and lust for danger. She was not depicted, like Starfire, as a one-dimensional character, entirely devoid of emotion and moralistic fiber. Ironic, since Kory's vivacious spirit and loving manner are exactly what she was famous for at the height of her comic career. It was said about the Titans that Dick was the head, the brain of the team if you will, and Starfire was the heart and soul. We certainly don't see those qualities here. We see her sexuality and nothing else. I know, harsh, but I do have positive, or least hopeful, perspectives on Lobdell's work. I did personally think Starfire looked gorgeous, despite her many sexified poses. I give many kudos to the artist. And I honestly wouldn't have a problem with Starfire's sexy poses, if it wasn't all we saw of her. While Jason and Roy are in the heat of battle, kicking bootie and the like, Starfire is busy being busty and bootilicious at the beach, perfectly content in her amnesiatic state.

And that's another thing . Completely erasing all important aspects of her past completely stifles any chance Starfire has for character development, something she has definitely needed for a few decades now. I admit I was disappointed to hear of this particular element of the story. Thankfully, I'm optimistic, and genuinely believe her amnesia won't last, and will become, if not the major plot for the arc, then at least a major side story; and hopefully, this exotic beauty I want to see will soon appear, not to pose, but to kick serious tail. Oh, and Jason and Roy? While I enjoyed the couple pages I saw of their banter, and enjoyed their dynamic with one another, and while I absolutely adore Jason in general, I would be very careful about not turning them into a couple of jerks, flaunting the proverbial marks on their proverbial bedposts. I've never appreciated men, or boys, boasting their sexapades, and I still don't find it very amusing. Overall, while I definitely have concerns for this comic, I also have hopes that it will soon take a turn for the better, and my Star, specifically, will finally get the chance to shine.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! If anyone has any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me. I love feedback and good conversation! Ta-ta, and have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Dreamer-of-Eden

Doesn't bother me as much as others but didn't really enjoy the rest of the book anyway, just seemed kind of shallow and boring to me, can definitely see why it irked some people though. Will probably keep up with it for a little while longer, see who the new team members are, think everyones getting ahead of themselves, plenty can change/ be explained.
 
And I thought Catwoman was awesome.

I loved this article! For your first post this was fantastic, and it perfectly sums up how I feel about the new take on Starfire! From what Lobdell said in interviews I was really expecting her to be more than a sex object for Jason and Roy to flaunt around. I hope he sticks to the things he said before the release of the book and makes Starfire her own character since there is so much possibility.

I haven't picked up the book yet myself but I have been VERY FEARFUL about how Star was gonna be portrayed given that she's being teamed up with two blacksheep like Jason and Roy....I'm partially glad she's amnesiac because that gives hope that she'll recall her past and her old morals concerning crime fighting, but on the other hand her new personality, based on what I've been told, is very different from the Kory I know. She's always been promiscuous, but supposedly she has no interest in her past at all and is basically enjoying as many non-committal flings as possible...I'll have to pick up the book before giving a final judgement, but if Roy and Jason are taking advantage of her amnesia too much then they're probably gonna come off as sleeze bags to me rather than anti-heroes, especially since either one of them could fill in the gaps for Kory.

The amnesia angle has potential, but only if Kory has a real interest in regaining her memories rather than just shrugging them off...I mean, odds are the Outlaws are gonna run into the Teen Titans or Justice League eventually, people who know and love Star and are gonna want to know what the hell she's doing hanging out with Redhood and Arsenal and killing baddies instead of locking em up. I'll give the series a chance at least before condemning it, but I hope Star will get more character development as one of the three main characters soon.

BTW, do we know why Starfire is amnesiac yet or is that still a mystery? Also, how badly are Jason and Roy taking advantage of the situation? >_<

Also, do the Outlaws have any arch enemies yet or are they just taking out random baddies? I like the idea of DC having the own answer to the Punisher from Marvel, but I hope they make it interesting.

Thank you so much! I hope so too! Like I posted, I'll keep hope. Hopefully Lobdell won't let us down. I get the feeling he won't. :)