| Laynia Petrovna Krylova Darkstar | |
|---|---|
 The Laynia Petrovna version of Darkstar | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Champions #7 (August 1976) |
| Created by | Jenny Blake Isabella (writer) George Tuska (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Laynia Petrovna Krylova |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Corporation Soviet Super-Soldiers Winter Guard Siberforce Champions of Los Angeles Exiles (Earth-616) KGB |
| Partnerships | Vanguard Titanium Man Crimson Dynamo Griffin |
| Notable aliases | Tyomnaya Zvyezda (Russian translation of codename) Formerly "Great Beast" |
| Abilities |
|
Darkstar is the name of three fictional characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byJenny Blake Isabella andGeorge Tuska, theLaynia Petrovna Krylova version of Darkstarfirst appeared inThe Champions #7 (August 1976).[1] Darkstar belongs to the subspecies of humans calledmutants, who are born with superhuman abilities.[2] She has been depicted as a member of various super-teams in her career, includingX-Corporation andChampions of Los Angeles.
Darkstar first appeared inThe Champions #7 (Aug. 1976), and was created byJenny Blake Isabella andGeorge Tuska.[3]
She became a regular character inChampions for the remainder of the series' brief run, though she never joined the titular supergroup. A memo from series writerBill Mantlo revealed that he intended for her to be a "floating" member who would come and go from the book as the occasion called for.[4]
Laynia Petrovna and her twin brotherNikolai Krylenko are born inMinsk. After growing up, she becomes a special operative, working for theSoviet government.
Darkstar is a member of a Soviet super-team recruited to bringBlack Widow back to the USSR.[5][6] However, she decides to switch sides and then fights alongside the Champions.[7][8] She helps the Champions on a few more missions before returning to Russia.[9]
Darkstar becomes a member of theSoviet Super-Soldiers with her brotherVanguard (Nikolai Krylenko) and theCrimson Dynamo (Dmitri Bukharin). The Soviet Super-Soldiers battleIron Man andJack of Hearts on the moon but wind up helping them against renegadeRigellians led by Commander Arcturus.[10]
Later, Darkstar and Vanguard are sent along with new Soviet Super-SoldierUrsa Major by theKGB to defeatPresence. They learned that Sergei is their father and thatProfessor Phobos has exploited the Super-Soldiers. Darkstar helps free Sergei and Tania Belinsky's Red Guardian, and defeats Phobos.[11]
The Soviet Super-Soldiers are then sent by the Soviet government to Khystym to battle theGremlin. They fight the Space KnightsRom andStarshine, but later, ally with them against theDire Wraiths. The Super-Soldiers befriend the Gremlin instead of fighting him.[12]
Afterward, the Soviet Super-Soldiers agree to help bringMagneto to justice. They fight theAvengers but turned against the Crimson Dynamo when it is revealed that he had been manipulating events.[13]
Darkstar, Vanguard, and Ursa Major defect to the United States seeking political asylum. They arrive atAvengers Island to ask forCaptain America's help. They are beaten nearly to death by theSupreme Soviets, who had disguised themselves as members of the Avengers. The comatose subconscious minds of the Super-Soldiers form a "Great Beast" that follows the Supreme Soviets back to the USSR and tries to kill them. Captain America's negotiation skills were successful in convincing the Great Beast to back off, leading to the recovery of the three Super-Soldiers who had previously been injured and unconscious.[14]
The Soviet Super-Soldiers are captured and returned to theSoviet Union. They are rescued byBlind Faith and the Exiles (not to be confused with the reality-hopping team theExiles), whom Darkstar joins.[15]
When the Supreme Soviets (who changed their name to People's Protectorate) are rechristened theWinter Guard, Darkstar was recruited back into the team.[16] When the team disbanded, Darkstar and Vanguard joined the Russian mutant teamSiberforce,[15] and later joined forces with their father, the Presence.[volume & issue needed]
When Vanguard dies on the Starbrand mission led byQuasar, Darkstar and the Presence decide to kill Quasar, who allows them to believe that they have succeeded while he had left Earth.[17]
Darkstar joins theParis branch ofX-Corporation in France, in which she is possessed byWeapon XII, a creation of theWeapon Plus Project, and subsequently killed byFantomex.[18] A funeral is held atPère Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where she was buried.[19] She is temporarily resurrected through theTransmode Virus to serve inSelene's army of deceased mutants during their assault onUtopia.[20]
The Dire Wraith who assumes Reena's form is eventually overwhelmed and taken over by Darkforce energy. Petrovna seizes control of the creature and resurrects herself.[21] She reunites with her brother Vanguard and returns to active duty alongside her brother and Ursa Major.[volume & issue needed] She fightsHyperion.[22] She is later blasted into space with other members of the Winter Guard by the Intelligencia, but manages to survive.[23]
Darkstar is present when the Winter Guard is reassembled.[24]
In the 2017Iceman series, Darkstar joins the other Champions at a reunion to remember Black Widow after her death during theSecret Empire series.[25]
During the "Blood Hunt" storyline, Darkstar is among the Darkforce users who lose control of their powers, which blocks the sun and facilitates a vampire invasion.[26]
A new, red-haired Darkstar namedSasha Roerich who is genetically modeled to resemble Petrovna first appears as a member of the Winter Guard.[27] After being altered again by The Presence, she is transformed into a tentacledDarkforce beast before being killed byRed Guardian.[27]
With Sasha's death,Reena Stanicoff takes over the role.[27] She is killed during an attack on Winter Guard headquarters by a Dire Wraith who assumes her form.[21] Although the Winter Guard fends off the attack, her death is covered up by the government.
The Laynia Petrovna version of Darkstar is amutant who has the psionic power to access the extradimensional energy of the Darkforce dimension, which grants her several superhuman abilities.[28] She is connected to the dimension by splitting her consciousness between her physical body and its Darkforce representation, both symbiotically linked. She can utilize the Darkforce for various purposes, such as causing Darkforce to behave like either matter or energy. Furthermore, she can project Darkforce as simple, mentally-controlled solid objects, possessing the density of steel, such as pincers, rings, columns, and spheres, or as a beam of concussive force. If Darkstar is rendered unconscious, any Darkforce constructs of her making immediately dissipate. Darkstar canteleport herself and up to three others by opening a portal into the Darkforce dimension and traveling through it; the maximum distance she can teleport has never been revealed. Because crossing the Darkforce dimension disorients her sense of direction, and the light of Earth blinds her for several seconds upon reemergence, traveling in this manner is risky. Darkstar can levitate herself and fly at subsonic speeds by generating a virtually invisible portal into the Darkforce dimension along the contours of her body without passing through it, then balancing the attractive force of the dimension against that of the Earth's gravity. Darkstar is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained by the KGB andBlack Widow. She is fluent in bothRussian andEnglish.
While the original Darkstar's costume was designed by the Soviet government and was made of a synthetic stretch fabric insulated against the cold, the other two Darkstar costumes are composed of Darkforce material.[27]
Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Darkstar a "role model" and "truly heroic."[29] Bradley Prom ofScreen Rant included Darkstar in their "10 Best Black Widow Comics Characters Not Yet In The MCU" list.[30] Kara Hedash ofThe Mary Sue ranked Darkstar 5th in their "7 Female Superheroes Who Should Join Marvel’s Cinematic Universe" list.[31] Sage Kortenber ofCBR.com ranked Darkstar 5th in their "Black Widow: 10 Most Powerful Russians In Comics" list.[32]
Darkstar appears as a playable character inLego Marvel Super Heroes 2.[39][40]