STARSHINE
STARSHINE
Real Name: Anarra
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Galadorian)
Occupation: Spaceknight
Group Membership: Spaceknights of Galador (Firefall/Tarn, Hammerhand/Bron, Javelin/Darin, Liberator/Tristan, Lightningbolt/Rand, Pulsar/Lan, Scanner/Rhanla, Sentry/Val, Terminator/Balin, Vanium)
Affiliations: Anti-Annihilation Wave resistance (Blastaar, Nova/Richard Rider, Phyla-Vell, Starlord/Peter Quill, others)
Enemies: Deathwing, Dire Wraiths;
formerly Trion military
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Galador
First Appearance: Spaceknights#1 (October 2000)
Powers/Abilities: All of Starshine's powers derived from her heavily armored cybernetic armor; unlike prior Spaceknight generations, while Anarra's third-generation possessed rare genetic templates allowing them to bond with and control their armors, they were not required to be surgically implanted in same, and could remove the armor completely when repairs were required.
Starshine wielded Galador's living light, which she could project as eye beams that could stun or slay. She did not display the level of control her predecessors did, but presumably with practice she would have also been able to temporarily blind foes and burn through solid rock. Less certain, like her predecessors, she might also have been able to banish individuals to limbo, strip away Wraith disguises, access computers and teleport interstellar distances using the living light.
She had superhuman strength to an unspecified level. She also had the ability to fly via rocket pods mounted in twin nacelles on her back; her top speed was unrevealed, but presumably at least as good as the prior Starshines', matching or exceeding the velocity required to achieve solar system escape velocity (36 mile per second, out of atmosphere), or the lower maximum speed of Mach 4 (about 3000 miles per hour) inside an atmosphere before heat buildup from friction caused detrimental effects to her external sensor arrays. She could survive indefinitely in outer space, and possessed resistance to injury by conventional means thanks to her Plandanium armor. She was able to survive in space, and, though she was not shown to do so, could probably fly interstellar distances. Starshine’s armor was capable of withstanding temperatures at least matching her predecessors' limits, from 8000 degrees Fahrenheit to –350 degrees Fahrenheit. It was capable of withstanding ballistic impacts of up to large antitank weaponry, and overpressures of up to 40 pounds per square inch (the equivalent of the blast effects of 1000 pounds of TNT at the range of 100 feet) with out damage or impairment of functions. Anarra was a skilled martial artist.
Height: (Armored, not including fin)
6'2" (by approximation); (armored, including fin) 6'7" (by approximation);
(as humanoid) 5'8" (by approximation)
Weight: (Armored) 580 lbs. (by approximation); (as humanoid) 130 lbs.
(by approximation)
Eyes: (As cyborg) green visual sensors; (as humanoid) green
Hair: (As cyborg) None; (as humanoid) blonde
History: (Spaceknights#1 (fb) - BTS) - Years after the planet Galador was devastated by the rogue second generation Spaceknights, Galador had been rebuilt. A new, third generation of Spaceknights, was developed to defend Galador, again chosen from the handful of individuals who carried the correct rare genetic template that would allow them to bond with cybernetic Spaceknight armor. Unlike their predecessors, this new generation did not have to surrender their humanity totally, thanks to technological advancements that made the armor removable rather than needing to be surgically grafted to the wearer. Possessing the genetic template did not guarantee an individual the right to become a Spaceknight. Candidates first had to prove themselves, training at the Academy of Spaceknights in the city of Galadoria, spending as much as a year perfecting survival skills before they were even let near a suit of training armor. Most did not pass the course. Anarra was one of those who did...
(Spaceknights#2) - as was her boyfriend, Rand. Both were appointed
to the Spaceknights.
(Spaceknights#1 (fb) - BTS) - Anarra was given armor modelled off the first generation Spaceknight Landra, a.k.a. Starshine, though the visual design resembled the "warrior" version of Starshine worn by Landra's successor, Brandy Clark.
(Spaceknights#2) - Meanwhile, Rand became Lightningbolt.
(Spaceknights#1) - Anarra and some of her fellows returned to the Academy to help train the cadets. As a staff member observed and evaluated, she demonstrated unarmed combat techniques, swiftly defeating one cadet as others watched. Later that day, news arrived that the Prime Director, Artour (previously known as Rom, the first Spaceknight) was presumed dead after his flagship, the Praxis, had exploded following an unprovoked attack during a peacekeeping mission to the nearby planet Trion, part of Galador's empire. The next day, after a planetwide day of morning, Artour's widow (and prior Starshine), the Lady Brandy Clark contacted the Trion regent. Present in the throne room for the video call, Starshine and others watched as the regent denied his government and military had anything to do with the assault, and begged her to withdraw the Spaceknights now attacking his world. Brandy informed him that no Spaceknights had been sent yet to Trion, but the regent provided shadowy footage of what appeared to be armored individuals attacking Trion's cities. Shocked, Brandy proclaimed that a contingent of Spaceknights would be sent to Trion and act as peacekeepers. The arrogant Lord Baldar challenged this instruction based on Brandy's non-Galadorian status and describing her as Artour's mistress rather than spouse, so Brandy declared that her eldest son, Balin (Terminator), would take up his inheritance as the new Prime Director. Artour's neutralizer, Axadar, was readied, as the semi-sentient weapon needed to judge Balin worthy, and Anarra joined the crowd that gathered to observe this ceremony, but Anarra was shocked to witness Axadar violently rebuff Balin. Despite this, upon hearing Trion was allying itself with other worlds to stand against Galador, Balin declared a state of war, his oration in defense of the empire winning the crowd over.
(Spaceknights#2)
- Anarra and Rand were assigned to the same squad, consisting mostly of newly
christened Spaceknights like themselves, a close knit group that knew each
other well from their Academy days. Only Terminator and Sentry were experienced
hands. For everyone else, the assault on Trion was their first mission, with
Anarra serving as squadron leader. They found a mob of hostile Trions waiting
for them, but Terminator disrupted their charge with hovering blasters, then
ordered Starshine and the others to contain, disarm and restrain the enemy.
Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Galadorians' superior technology gave
them the edge, and once the battle ended with the Spaceknights victorious
and the Trion forces surrendered, Starshine agreed with Lightningbolt's
estimation that the fight had been great sport. Once the prisoners had been
placed inside containment fields, Terminator split the squad into patrols
to try to locate their true adversary, the one that had impersonated
Spaceknights to turn Trion and other worlds against Galador.
While Starshine was patrolling with her assigned partner,
Lightningbolt served as wingman to Liberator, a.k.a. Balin's brother, Tristan,
but was slain by an enemy sniper, one of the "Dark Knights." Anarra was present
at the Spaceknight's temporary HQ as Liberator brought in Rand's corpse,
and demanded to know how her lover had been killed. When he admitted the
shot had come from an area he was meant to be covering, but had failed to
scan because he had been distracted (by a vision), she angrily accused him
of letting Rand die because he had been daydreaming about Earth. Tristan
tried to explain, but, unsure of what was causing his visions and feeling
guilt-stricken, became lost for words. As Tristan departed, ordered by Balin
to report for an immediate debriefing, Anarra continued shouting after him,
demanding he explain himself, ignoring Hammerhand's attempts to calm her
down. Despite the debriefing taking place inside the building, all the squadron
could hear Balin's raised voice as he berated his brother, blaming him for
disobeying orders by searching outside his assigned patrol zone and for causing
Lightningbolt's demise, accusing him of dishonoring his family and squadron,
and informing him he would be brought up on charges once they returned to
Galador. As the chastised Tristan left, Anarra watched with undisguised
disgust.
(Spaceknights#3 (fb) - BTS) - Anarra and other Spaceknights handed their armors over to technicians for repair and maintenance.
(Spaceknights#3) - Later, after the armors had been returned, the Galadorian encampment was attacked by Dark Knights and Trion Destroyers. Starshine joined the other Spaceknights in fighting back, but Terminator ordered too tight a formation, making them an easy target. Starshine witnessed one of their number being gunned down, and the enemy encircled the squadron until Sentry and Liberator came to their aid. Firefall noted that his blasts were unable to breach their opponents' personal force fields, so she advised him to keep switching blast frequencies, but that also proved ineffective. Now acknowledging their foes to be Wraithknights, products of Galador's old foes, the battle looked lost until Sentry discovered that the Spaceknights' weapons could penetrate the force fields at close range. After a few of their number fell, the Wraithknights swiftly withdrew and unleashed a Deathwing. Sentry ordered the Spaceknights to land immediately and take shelter behind the Spaceknight Pulsar's force shield until another of their number, Vanium, could open a teleportational portal to evacuate them.
(Spaceknights#4) - The team exited the portal high above the planet and boarded their orbiting spaceship. As their ship raced back to Galador, Starshine expressed her anger that they were turning tail and fleeing. Sentry pointed out that their duty to warn Galador High Command of the Wraiths' return superceded all other considerations, even the squadron's honor, but this merely enraged Anarra further, prompting her to tell him he was speaking like a cowardly old lady. Being called a coward riled Sentry, and he lunged at her, forcing Hammerhand and Javelin to restrain them before a fight broke out. Terminator angrily ordered them all to stand down, then berated Starshine for questioning Sentry's orders and letting her ego blind her to her duty.
With their long-range communications down, the ship switched destinations, making for the nearest Galadorian outpost. Reaching Hammer Outpost Delta 7, a Vanguard station, Anarra and the others disembarked to be informed by the station personnel that the enemy had violated Galadorian territory and apparently destroyed Axadar, the only weapon they possessed capable of stopping the Deathwing. Since the station's Colonial Vanguard crew was largely made up of Academy drop-outs who resented Spaceknights, Terminator ordered the squadron to wait in the station's ready room while he contacted Galador and their armor was repaired. While they waited, Anarra admitted that she was wound up a little too tightly, and when Tristan suggested it had to be a Dire Wraith that had breached Galador's security to reach Axadar, Anarra conceded that they would not have realized this if it had not been for his visions. She apologized to him, saying she had thought him a coward suffering from delusions, but their encounter with the Deathwing had dispelled that misconception.
Moments later, alarms went off as an Alliance invasion force, secretly manipulated by the Wraiths, warped into space around the Galadorian world of Angelica Prime. Anarra noted that the alarms meant the Colonial Vanguard was being mobilized to intercept. As Balin arrived with the base commander following an unsuccessful attempt to convince the council bureaucrats that they were truly facing Dire Wraiths again, Tristan suggested they should lend the Vanguard a hand in case Wraithknights were present. However, Balin informed the squadron that they had been declared unfit for duty until their armors were repaired, and had been ordered to return to Galador. When the base commander arrogantly called them "pups" and told them to watch as the Vanguard showed them how fighting should be done, the frustrated Balin became enraged and pinned him against a wall. A Vanguard Lieutenant pointed her blaster pistol at the unarmored Balin and threatened to kill him if he didn't release the commander, prompting Anarra to respond that pulling the trigger would be the Lieutenant's last living act, but Tristan intervened, pointing out that fighting amongst themselves was crazy while their was a real enemy to face.
The commander departed after ordering the squadron to leave his station, and Anarra observed Tristan suggest they should disobey their orders and go after the Wraiths, as he seemed to be able to track them via his visions. Balin informed the squadron that joining them in this course of action could put their military careers at risk, but Anarra swiftly followed Sentry in insisting they intended to go on this new mission. As the others echoed this sentiment, Anarra announced that professional ruination was a small price to pay for a chance to have another crack at the Wraiths, and made it clear she considered they were all doing this for Lightningbolt. She and the others donned their only partially repaired armors while Liberator located the enemy, Vanium prepared a new portal, and Scanner telepathically linked their minds so they could all utilize Liberator's ability to see the enemy even when cloaked. The squadron exited in space above Angelica Prime and near the Wraith command ship, only to be were swiftly confronted by Wraithknights.
(Spaceknights#5) - Battle swiftly commenced. After he saved her from an attack from behind, Starshine watched Terminator fight, and silently wished to herself that she could be as brutally efficient in warfare as Balin. The Spaceknights gradually gained the upper hand, and the Wraithknights retreated, sensing Deathwing approaching. Meanwhile Starshine and the others witnessed the Allied Armada warping into the system. Sentry slew the lead Wraithknight, while one of the Squadron, Firefall, managed to drive the Deathwing away, though not without cost. Reaching him, Starshine announced he would be okay, though she would need to aid him with life support. Moments later, to everyone's surprise, Axadar materialized in Liberator's hand, having chosen him as its new master. He swiftly used it to deactivate the Wraithknights' force fields, then left Starshine and her fellows to destroy them while he dealt with the Deathwing, which was now attacking the Alliance vessels. The threat ended, the Alliance commanders recognized that they had been manipulated and called a ceasefire. Liberator explained that Axadar had survived the attempt to destroy it by slipping into subspace, though Starshine was more focussed on the revelation that a Wraith had been able to fool Galador's security measures and replace someone to gain access to Axadar. Moments later the Colonial Vanguard finally arrived,...
(Spaceknights#5) - and arrested the Spaceknights for disobeying orders, then reluctantly freed them once things were cleared up.
(Annihilation#5 (fb) - BTS) - During the Annihilation Wave invasion of the positive universe, the Spaceknights, including Starshine, joined the resistance fighting back against the invaders, working alongside Blastaar committing hit and run acts of sabotage against the enemy.
(Annihilation #5) - After teleporting to Canticus Prime, a Kree fringe system conquered by the enemy, the Spaceknights and Blastaar joined fellow resistance fighters Nova, Phyla-Vell and Starlord. While most of the Spaceknights, including Starshine, stood guard, some assisted their allies in setting explosive charges. Once this was done, they teleported away.
Comments: Created by Jim Starlin (writer/plotter), Chris Batista (penciller/plotter) and Chip Wallace (inker), inspired by a character created by Bill Mantlo (writer), Steven Grant (story suggestion) and Sal Buscema (artist).
Starshine is seen again in Infinity #1 and Avengers (2013) #16 and #21 - however, I strongly believe that to be Brandy Clark, back in the armor. I'll go into the why in detail in her Appendix profile. What happened to Anarra? Perhaps she died or was incapacitated during Annihilation, or when the Phalanx subsequently took over the Spaceknights.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Starshine is connected to, but should not be confused with
images: (without ads)
Spaceknights#5, cover (main image)
Spaceknights#2, p22, panel 8 (head shot)
Spaceknights#1, p7, panel 1 (in uniform, fight training)
Spaceknights#2, cover (full body shot, out of armor and in uniform)
Spaceknights#2, p7 (in armor, flying into battle)
Spaceknights#2, p20, panel 4 (in armor, minus helmet)
Spaceknights#3, p11, panel 3 (firing eye beams)
Spaceknights#2, p8, panel 1 (rear view, clear display of rocket pods)
Spaceknights#5, p9, panel 4 (battle-damaged)
Appearances:
Spaceknights#1-5 (October 2000-February 2001) - Jim Starlin, Chris Batista,
Mike Marts, Mike Raicht (#4-5 only)
Annihilation#5 (January 2007) - Keith Giffen, Andrea DeVito, Andy
Schmidt
Last updated: 07/03/17
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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Master List, etc.!
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