| Red Star | |
|---|---|
 Red Star fromTeen Titans #38. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Teen Titans #18 (December 1968) |
| Created by | Len Wein (writer) Marv Wolfman (writer) Bill Draut (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans Justice League |
| Notable aliases | Starfire |
| Abilities |
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Red Star (Russian:Kрасная Звезда,romanized: Krasnaya Zvezda,Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar), formerly namedStarfire (Звездный Огонь, Zvezdnyy Ogon'), is asuperhero in theDC Universe.
A former member of theTeen Titans, Red Star first appeared under the nameStarfire inTeen Titans #18 (Dec. 1968) and was created byLen Wein,Marv Wolfman, andBill Draut.[1]
While still a young teenager, Leonid Kovar and his fatherKonstantin (an archaeologist) investigate a spaceship that has crashed into theYenisei River. During their investigation, the ship explodes, imbuing Leonid with energy and giving him superhuman strength, speed, andpyrokinesis. Being a Russian patriot who believes incommunism, he offers his services to his country and becomes a superhero, taking the name Starfire. He does not reappear untilThe New Teen Titans #18 in 1982, where he is renamed Red Star to avoid confusion with the characterStarfire (Koriand'r).[2] He is one of the heroes who assemble to fight the Villain War inCrisis on Infinite Earths, although his political views cause friction withHawk andNegative Woman, a Soviet defector.
InNew Titans (1991), Red Star joins the Teen Titans.[3] After two years, Red Star leaves the Titans withPantha andBaby Wildebeest to form a family.[4] They eventually move to the Soviet locale Science City.
Red Star is not seen again until theJLA/Titans miniseries in 1999. He makes minor appearances over the next few years and is featured inInfinite Crisis, in which he is frozen bySuperboy-Prime after witnessing Prime kill Pantha and Baby Wildebeest.[5]
He joins the Titans during theone year jump, but leaves the team for unknown reasons. He helps them in their search forRaven. Since his last appearance, he has stopped an alien invasion of Russia and been appointed State Protector.
Red Star joins the Titans during theone year jump, but leaves the team for unknown reasons. He helps them in their search forRaven. 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 overMoscow.
Red Star later greetsTim Drake, a former teammate of his during the one year jump, when he comes to Russia for a meeting with Viktor Mikalek, a business tycoon with suspected ties tothe Society. When the meeting is interrupted by the 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 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 ship and discovers a stockpile of nuclear warheads. Following an adventure in the Undernet, a supervillain communications grid, Red Robin is allowed to leave.[6][7]
During a battle between the Teen Titans and Superboy-Prime'sLegion of Doom, Red Star and a group of other former Titans arrive to help turn the tide.[8] He attacks Prime himself, blaming him for the death of his family. Red Star is quickly overpowered by Prime, but is rescued by the other Titans.[9]
InDoomsday Clock, Red Star comes out of retirement to serve Russia as a member of the "People's Heroes" alongside other Soviet-themedmetahumans, including Lady Flash ofBlue Trinity andPozhar.[10]
Red Star is empowered by unknown alien energies that altered his physical abilities and reflexes. Over time, these abilities have changed and he has developed from merely having augmented strength and speed to being equipped with an array of different powers. Red Star's abilities include superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability, and endurance. Red Star can also morph into a form that is composed of fire-like energy and enables him to form and redirect energy.
An alternate universe variant of Red Star who is a member ofH.I.V.E. appears inFlashpoint.[11]
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