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Red Star |
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Formerly: Starfire
Alias: Leonid Kovar |
Titans Member
Joined: New Titans #77 [1991] |
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| Red Star Quick Bio: Leonid Kovar's exposure to a space ship gave him powers - enabling him to become Russia's first young hero as Starfire. Leonid later joined the Titans as Red Star and developed fiery new abilities. |
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RED STAR'S ORIGINAL COSTUME |
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RED STAR'S SECOND COSTUME |
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RED STAR: State Protector |
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The origin of Red Star is retold
in NEW TEEN TITANS #18 [1982]. |
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The Russian Starfire
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The Teen Titans meet the Russian Superhero
Starfire in TEEN TITANS #18 [1968] |
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Leonid clashes with the Titans over Maladi
in NEW TEEN TITANS #18 [1982]. |
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The tragic truth about Maladi is revealed
in NEW TEEN TITANS #18 [1982]. |
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A meteor was believed to have crashed in Russia's Yenesi River in 1908, but it wasn't until a decade ago that the truth about this incident was discovered. Young Leonid Kovar joined his archaeologist father on a trip to study the meteor, and they learned it was an alien spacecraft. Leonid touched the wrong control of the ship at the wrong time and was irradiated with incredible energies that mutated his body.
When these energies manifested themselves as superpowers, Leonid was taken by the Soviet State and subjected to studies and training which turned him into the first of a new generation of Russian meta-humans. Originally called Starfire, Leonid faithfully served the interests of the Soviet Union being carefully indoctrinated in the strident dogma of the Communist Party.
Leonid's father, Konstantin, seemingly perished under the service of the Soviet Union. Through much of his adult life, Russian scientist Pyotr Raskov looked after Leonid and became his surrogate father.
One way the Soviets ensured Leonid's loyalty was by limiting his access to the ways of the western world and their abundance of super-powered beings. Starfire did, however, eventually meet United States heroes and began an on-again/off-again relationship with America's Teen Titans. Particularly, Kid Flash (who was raised in a strict conservative family) was distrustful of the Russian hero.
Starfire Becomes Red Star
At one point, Starfire's loyalty was severely tested when his fiancee Maladi was the victim of a crazed bureaucrat who infected her with a fatal disease. He was forced to track down the girl to the United States, where she spread the plague through touch, as it slowly killed her as well. Leonid came into conflict with the Titans over the incident; Eventually, Maladi was found, but it was too late to save her. She died on the day Leonid and Maladi were to be married. Shortly after this incident, Starfire was re-christened Red Star, further tying him to his homeland.
Times changed and the Russian government sent Red Star to San Francisco's S.T.A.R. Labs as part of an exchange program to further the world's knowledge of superhuman powers. There, he was reunited with the Titans, which proved fortuitous when Hammer and Sickle of the Peoples' Heroes came looking for Leonid's blood. They were sent by a radical faction within the Russian government that did not want Red Star studied, nor did they want peace between Russia and the U.S.
When learning of this deception, Red Star rebelled and, with the Titans, subdued the Russian operatives. This left Red Star feeling like a man without a country, given the insidious infighting within his own government. On the one hand, he strongly believed in everything he was taught, but on the other, he recognized that the world was changing around him.
Titans Hunt
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| The Titans reunite with Red Star and find a brain-dead rebuilt Cyborg in Russia - it all happened in NEW TITANS #77 [1991]. |
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Shortly after this, current and former members of the Titans were hunted and captured by the Wildebeest Society. During the conflict, a rocket was launched containing Victor Stone, and it crash landed in Russia.
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Red Star's powers take a powerful turn in NEW TITANS #94-96 [1993]. |
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Cyborg's damaged body was recovered by Red Star and brought back to Science City, Russia's state-of-the-art research epicenter. A group of Russian scientists did their best to rebuild him, but were unable to restore his mind. The remaining Titans tracked down Cyborg to Science City, where the Russian scientists were unwilling to release Cyborg into the Titans' custody. Eventually, Dr. Pyotr Raskov allowed the Titans to take Cyborg after Red Star pleaded their case. Red Star accompanied the Titans to the United States and helped the team put an end to the Wildebeest Society once and for all.
Following the events of the Titans Hunt, Red Star elected to remain a member of the team - still hoping to save Cyborg's mind. Meanwhile, fellow member Pantha developed an attraction to Red Star, much to his chagrin.
Leonid was soon called back to his homeland of Russia by Dr. Pyotr Raskov. When he returned with Cyborg, he learned of a devious plot within the walls of Science City: His father, Konstantin Kovar, was still alive and had been working in secret for years to overthrow the Russian government. Using Cyborg's technology to create an army of cybernetic Meta-Men to serve him, the power-mad Konstantin plotted to assassinate the President of Russia and blame it on the American government.
Red Star uncovered the insidious plot with the help of a mysterious operative known only as Anna. As the pair attempted to stop the Meta-Men, an explosion triggered a startling new power surge for Red Star; The Russian hero learned he could burst his body into flames as well as channel and redirect fiery energy. These new abilities help put an end to Konstantin Kovar's attempt at a coup, but at a terrible price. Red Star's scheming father executed Pyotr Raskov, who had raised Leonid since childhood. And Anna was forced to kill Konstantin as Red Star watched.
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Red Star, Pantha and Baby Wildebeest leave the Titans and form a
unique family unit in NEW TITANS #114 [1994]. |
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RED STAR'S THIRD COSTUME from TEEN TITANS (third series) #23 [2005]. |
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Touched by tragedy, Red Star returned to the States. Unknown to Red Star, a handful of Russian scientists secretly salvaged the remains of Konstantin and made him a cybernetic - perhaps brain dead - Meta-Man.
Life and Death
When Red Star learned that the Titans were to be funded by the U.S. government, he also elected to leave the team. After reaching a series of dead ends concerning her origins, Pantha elected to leave the Titans as well. Having established a bond, where Pantha would go, Baby Wildebeest would follow. As a rag-tag dysfunctional family, Red Star, Pantha and Baby Wildebeest decided to travel off together, leaving the Titans behind. Red Star, Pantha and Baby Wildebeest later settled in Science City, Russia. There, they lived as a fractured family unit while serving the Russian government. The trio also continued to assist the Titans when called.
When Superboy from Earth Prime ran amok during the Infinite Crisis, Superboy called on his Titans allies to subdue his Kryptonian doppelganger. The misguided Superboy-Prime inadvertently decapitated Pantha and slaughtered Baby Wildebeest - leaving Red Star to mourn his fallen friends. Red Star returned to his homeland to discover an uprising of "The Meta-Men Militia", a terrorist group who wanted the Russian government to sanction meta-human activities. Red Star quelled their insurgence, but Science City was destroyed in the process. Now a man without a home, Red Star briefly joined the Titans again, only to quit after realizing the team was in complete disarray.
Upon returning to Russia, Red Star repelled an alien invasion in the heart of Moscow - earning the praise and accolades of his people. So much so, the president appointed Red Star "State Protector" - a title the young hero takes quite seriously. Red Star co-opted the fallen alien spacecraft for his own use: to observe and protect his nation using super-technology. Now hovering one thousand feet above the Kremlin, the lonely Russian soldier stoically guards his homeland.
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.
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Teen Titans #18 [1968]: Starfire I (Leonid Kovar; first appearance; origin revealed; a Russian super-hero; given name revealed in New Teen TItans #18). Kid Flash begins his long-standing animosity toward the Soviet hero. Interpol requests that the Teen Titans team up with a Russian super-hero, Starfire, to safeguard the Crown Jewels of Sweden from Andre Le Blanc, the self-styled "world's greatest jewel thief." Mutual antagonism spoils the joint efforts of the American and Soviet champions, until Starfire rescues the Titans from Le Blanc's death-traps. Kid Flash then returns the favor by saving Starfire from death on the subway tracks, while Robin defeats Le Blanc in hand-to-hand combat. The Titans and Starfire part amicably.
New Teen Titans #18 [1982]: Leonid "Starfire" Kovar runs into the Titans for the second time when a Soviet citizen is infected with a radiation plague and is sent to the U.S. by an embittered Soviet official; The heroes mistake Red Star for the plague carrier, battle him, and then learn that the actual carrier is Red Star's fiancee. Last Appearance of Leonid as Starfire. First Appearance of Red Star.
New Teen Titans (second series) #48-49 [1988]: The Titans' old friend, Red Star, comes to the US for what he believes to be an exchange of information between the Soviet and American Governments; People's Heroes' members Hammer and Sickle attempt to terminate Red Star, but the Titans intercede, and Red Star gains political asylum in the US.
New Titans #77-78 [1991]: Nightwing, Deathstroke, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and Arella travel to Russia to locate the rocket, which they discover contained Vic Stone. Vic has been rebuilt by Russian scientists as a brain-dead robotic storm-trooper. Old Titans ally Red Star aids the Titans in reclaiming Vic and they travel back to the United States. Donna Troy returns to New York to find the destroyed Titans Tower. Nightwing is brought before Jericho, who holds the captured Titans, saying that the transference will begin. Red Star joins the Titans.
New Titans #94-96 [1993]: Red Star is called back to his homeland of Russia. He learns his father Konstantin is alive and building an army of Meta-Men as part of a plot to assassinate President Yeltsin and blame it on the American government. Red Star is aided by a mysterious agent named Anna, who is foiling Konstantin's plot for reasons she keeps to herself. Their ensuing battle triggers and explosion, which triggers a startling change in Leonid. His body burst into flames – he becomes an energy entity which can channel and redirect energy. He eventually reverts back to human form. Anna and Leonid disrupt Konstantin's plans, but Pyotr Raskov is killed in the battle for refusing to comply with Konstantin. Also, Anna is forced to kill Leonid's father, Konstantin. Order is restored and Red Star returns to the United States. Anna is secretly revealed to be the descendent of the legendary Grand Duchess Anastasia – making her heir to Russia. Russian scientists have secretly salvaged the remains of Konstantin and made him a cybernetic (perhaps brain dead) Meta-Man.
New Titans #114 [1994]: Arsenal agrees to the Titans under government jurisdiction. Minion's home planet is destroyed by an unseen force. Nightwing, Starfire, Pantha, Red Star, Baby Wildebeest and Flash decline membership for the time being. Only Changeling, who has been secretly corrupted by Raven, accepts membership. Continued in Damage #6, the team's last mission. First appearance of Jarras Minion. Red Star, Pantha and Baby Wildebeest leave the Titans.
Titans #20 [2000]: The Titans travel to Science City in hopes of giving Vic Stone a new cloned body.
Teen Titans (third series) #22-23 [2005]: Doctor Light has forced the Titans' hand and staged a publicized battle with the young heroes to take back his reputation. Red Star appears in a new costume.
Infinite Crisis #4 [2005] & Teen Titans (third series) #32 [2005]: Superboy-Prime attacks Superboy. Superboy calls on his Titans allies to subdue his Kryptonian doppelganger. The misguided Superboy-Prime inadvertently decapitates Pantha and slaughters Baby Wildebeest and Bushido; He then freezes Red Star into crystal ice and rips off Risk's right arm before being pulled into the Speed Force by the combined might of the super-speedsters. Death of Pantha, Baby Wildebeest and Bushido.
Teen Titans (third series) #38 [2006]: The new story arc "Titans Around the World" begins as the Teen Titans journey into the heart of Russia to meet its greatest super-hero: Red Star! On a quest to locate a former member, the Titans head to Moscow to learn how Red Star has rebuilt his life following Superboy-Prime's rampage and where they can find their lost friend and ally Raven! First appearance of the "Meta-Men Militia." Science City revealed to have been destroyed.
Red Star Timeline: Closing the “One Year Later” Gap
DC's "One Year Later" event occurred March of 2006. In Teen Titans #33, Superboy and Nightwing are in the thick of the Infinite Crisis world-shattering event. With Teen Titans #34, a full year has passed since the Crisis. The events of that "missing year" were revealed in various DC books throughout 2006-2007. Here’s a list of major events revealed during the “Missing Year:”
 The Titans aid the heroes during the Infinite Crisis. Their battle with the rampaging Superboy-Prime leads to the deaths of Pantha, Baby Wildebeest and Bushido, while Risk loses his right arm. Wally West and the speedsters contain Superboy-Prime and Wally completely disappears. [IC #1-7]
The Titans aid the heroes during the Infinite Crisis. While saving the universe from Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Superboy is killed in battle. [IC #6-7] With Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin, Kid Flash, Starfire and Cyborg gone, Raven and Beast Boy try to keep the Teen Titans together. [TT #34]
Raven and Beast Boy hold a membership drive for the Teen Titans after their ranks have been depleted. Outside Titans Tower, many would-be Titans and current-Titans gather for the team, including Argent, Flamebird, Mirage, Red Star, Joker's Daughter, Captain Marvel Jr., Aquagirl II, Kid Devil, Talon, Miss Martian, Bombshell, Offspring, Young Frankenstein, Mas Y Menos, and Molecule. Osiris arrives to join, only to have Captain Marvel Jr. doubt his intentions. After pleading his case, Osiris is granted probationary membership. [52w32]
Red Star quits the Titans after getting fed up with their disorganization. [TT #38]
Red Star repels an alien invasion in the heart of Moscow - earning the praise and accolades of his people. So much so, the president appoints Red Star "State Protector" - a title the young hero takes quite seriously. Red Star co-opts the fallen alien spacecraft for his own use: to observe and protect his nation using super-technology. [TT #38]
For a complete timeline of the "one year gap," click here.
DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com
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Titans West: Aborted Plans
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WOULD-BE TITANS WEST MEMBERSHIP:
Cyborg, Red Star, Chris King, and Thunder & Lightning |
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[from Amazing Heroes #135, 1988 Ð A Marv Wolfman Interview]
In 1988, Marv Wolfman set the stage for a new Titans West. The New Teen Titans had an adventure with Chris [Dial 'H'] King and Red Star. At the same time, Sarah Charles relocated to the West Coast, and Vic Stone thought about moving with her. Those three would have comprised the core of the Titans West team.
Marv Wolfman notes, "I was talking about the West Coast version of the book, that would be in San Francisco. [...] DC wants to do a West Coast Teen Titans. In the last run of the book, before I did it, it was Titans East and Titans West. It was a regular feature that pre-dated West Coast Avengers by about ten years. They want to revive that. They asked me if I wanted to write it, or would let someone else write it. Well, I want to control the Titans; I think one of the problems with Spotlight was that I really didn't do any. I think that's the reason that led to it eventually being cancelled. There was no sense of urgency to the stories, as good as some of them were. There was no sense of the stories having any effect on the characters. The fact that it lasted 25 issues, I think, is a testimony to the characters themselves- that people still cared about them.
"I will handle all the Titan work. That way there's a continuity between what I write in one place and another. So the stuff will have some meaning as a whole to the book. All of it will feed in on itself, which is the way it should be. It's for that same reason I decided to do the West Coast version."
"Cyborg will be moving to the West Coast. Red Star, who is a re-named Starfire from Russia, will be a member of it. Chris King, who is one of the Dial "H"for Hero character that I had done, and I just reintroduced him to the regular Titans book, he'll be a member. So we actually have a character who, every time you see him, will be different. "
Try, Try Again
[from Comics Scene Magazine #8, 1989 - an article with George Pérez and Marv Wolfman]
One detail that has yet to be worked out is just which of the two will ultimately handle the Titans' twin title, Titans West.
"We'll probably do the first issue together whenever that finally comes about. Then, depending on George's schedule, he may take over the book.
"I didn't want another young superhero book," Wolfman notes. "The concept that I had come up with was more of a rescue group-not another bunch of policemen running out and stopping crime-working out of San Francisco. Just before George returned, I set up the San Francisco branch of STAR. Labs as a place where they're testing super-people. We had Red Star and Thunder and Lightning out there, and some other characters that we were going to introduce. When the Titans West, or whatever it's finally called, is formed, they'll operate out of that, and there will be positive charter in the helping in disastrous situations.
"Now that I'm coming back as a writer in my mind after a couple of years where I wasn't too pleased with everything, I don't want to overdose on Titans. I want to really enjoy what I'm writing so that each issue, when I sit down, I can approach it at the strongest, as opposed to saying, 'Oh, no. Another Titans story.' So, if George decides at some point not to write Titans West, at least it'll be so completely different from Titans that I wouldn't be bored."
Last Gasps
[from Comics Scene Magazine #11, 1990 - an article with George Pérez]
Another Titans project is the often-mentioned Titans West series. Pérez says it's still planned. "One of the stories that Marv discussed was a mystery story in which the Titans are missing. That could lead to the introduction or reintroduction of the Titans West set of characters. Then, I would be the writer of the second Titans book if reader interest warrants a second title. It also depends on whether I have the time to write it, or if I would be better off on another title I could write and draw.
"I'm not interested in doing a monthly series anymore," Pérez sighs. "I can't do one and do my best work. I used to be able to be satisfied with the work I did on a monthly basis. Now, I look at it and say, "Ahh, it's not really the best I can do,' and I don't want people to think it's my best, either. I hope to do mini-series, maxi-series, graphic novels. I really enjoy inking other people. I just finished inking a Carmine Infantino story for Secret Origins, 'Space Museum.' I'm slated to be the regular inker on Titans over Tom Grummett. It's not all Pérez anymore, but at least Pérez has the last word, as every inker does. But, that means finding a penciller who doesn't mind my having the last word. I'm very faithful to pencillers, but I'm extravagant when it comes to extra detail I toss in."
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Titans Hunt & New Members |
The New Team
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| A 2006 commission of Red Star by Andy MacDonald. |
Along with the deaths, Wolfman has introduced new team members Phantasm and Pantha in the last storyline. 'When the dust has settled, there will he a slightly different group of Titans." I don't want to pinpoint the competition, but unlike other books, those characters are not going to come back, with the status quo maintained and the exact same group they began with. Some of these characters are gone for good because they're dead! We've been very careful in The New Titans-when we say they're dead, they're dead!"
There still won't be a solid Titans membership roster. Instead, the team will vary.
"That's one thing I like about the current set-up," says Wolfman. "Not all of the characters are going to be there. Cyborg is currently brain-dead. How long that will last hasn't been worked out. There's going to be a two-part Cyborg story appearing in DC Showcase at some point that puts the final kibosh on his easily getting back his brains. We don't have that resolution timed out-it's a long-range story, but right now, he's little more than a robot. Troia will be out of the group. Raven and a couple of the others are pretty much out. The only ones we know for sure are Nightwing, Starfire, Changeling, Phantasm and Pantha - but I may he wrong at this moment. Those are the characters who are technically supposed to stay.
"[Readers] first reaction was, 'How dare you do this? How dare you get rid of the characters that we've grown to love for 11 years?' Slowly, everybody saw that this was a major change, and they started to become interested in the book. Now, the reader reaction is 98 percent positive. incredibly so. People don't know where we're going, and they want to read it. We've done exactly what we wanted to do, and now we have to maintain that by continually shaking up the status quo."
New Faces
Jonathan Peterson: "I thought we could always "bring people back" one way or another...but first I thought we should try the whole "new blood" approach. I mean, that only made sense to me. Any way you look at it, in a revamp, you've ALREADY seen the other character. So would you rather see an upteenth revamp...or something new? Me...I vote for new."
The Titans were joined by new members: the violent Pantha, former ally Red Star, the mysteriously re-formed Phantasm (now an amalgam of Danny Chase, Arella and the souls of Azarath), and Baby Wildebeest (a leftover genetic experiment from the Wildebeest Society).
Red Star as a Titan
Titans Membership:
New Titans #77-114
In New Titans #77-78 [smack dab in the middle of the Titans Hunt storyline - New Titans #71-85], Nightwing, Deathstroke, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and Arella travel to Russia to locate the rocket, which they discover contained Vic Stone. Vic has been rebuilt by Russian scientists as a brain-dead robotic storm-trooper. Old Titans ally Red Star aids the Titans in reclaiming Vic and they travel back to the United States. Red Star accompanied them, hoping to form an ideology of his own.
After the dust settled in New Titans #85, Red Star decided to remain a member of the team. Unfortunately, Leonid had a very reactionary role - either as a stoic observer or quick-to-anger fighter. The little characterization he received was fending off the flirtatious advances of Pantha.
New Titans #94-96 finally gave Leonid the spotlight. Red Star is called back to his homeland of Russia. He learns his father Konstantin is alive and building an army of Meta-Men as part of a plot to assassinate President Yeltsin and blame it on the American government. Red Star is aided by a mysterious agent named Anna, who is foiling Konstantin's plot for reasons she keeps to herself. Their ensuing battle triggers and explosion, which triggers a startling change in Leonid. His body burst into flames – he becomes an energy entity which can channel and redirect energy. He eventually reverts back to human form.
Anna is secretly revealed to be the descendent of the legendary Grand Duchess Anastasia – making her heir to Russia. Russian scientists have secretly salvaged the remains of Leonid's father and made him a cybernetic (perhaps brain dead) Meta-Man.
After that storyline, Red Star again took a back seat to other plots, such as the evil Raven, psycho Starfire, Cyborg's merging with Technis and Pantha's search for her origins. By New Titans #113, Nightwing and Starfire were gone and DC began Zero Hour.
With the advent of Zero Hour, Titans has a new editor [Pat Garrahy], a new artist [JR. Jones], and from the sound of it, a new Teen Titans. "I think we disappointed a lot or readers in the last year," Wolfman admits. "I know I had problems with some of the material we did, but ... I can only argue so long. So rather than fixing up something that people are already disappointed with, we felt strongly 'Let's create a new Titans, let's go back to the basics."'
As a rag-tag dysfunctional family, Red Star, Pantha and Baby Wildebeest decided to travel off together, leaving the Titans behind in New Titans #114.
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