Red Star (Russian: Kрасная Звезда, romanized: Krasnaya Zvezda, Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar), formerly named Starfire (Звездный Огонь, Zvezdnyy Ogon'), is a superhero in the DC Universe.
While still a young teenager, Leonid Kovar and his father Konstantin (an archaeologist) investigate a spaceship that has crashed into the Yenisei River; during their investigation the ship explodes. It imbues Leonid with energy and gives him super-strength, speed, and pyrokinesis. Being a Russian patriot who believes in communism, he offers his services to his country and becomes the first official Russian superhero in the DC Universe, taking the name Starfire. He does not reappear until The New Teen Titans #18 in 1982. A new character named Starfire is on the team at this point, and Leonid subsequently changes his codename to "Red Star".[2] He is one of the heroes that assemble to fight the Villain War in Crisis on Infinite Earths, although his politics cause friction with both Hawk and Negative Woman, a Soviet defector.
In The New Titans (vol. 2) #76 (1991), Red Star joins the Teen Titans. After two years, Red Star leaves the Titans with Pantha and Baby Wildebeest to form a family.[3] They eventually move to the Soviet locale called 'Science City'.
He is not seen again until the JLA/Titans miniseries in 1999. He makes a few minor appearances over the next few years and is featured in Infinite Crisis #4, in which he is frozen solid by Superboy-Prime after witnessing the brutal murder of Pantha and Baby Wildebeest. In the Infinite Crisis hardback collection, he is seen several hours later at a mass for fallen heroes.
He joins the Titans during the one year jump, but leaves the team for unknown reasons. He helps them in their search for Raven. 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 over Moscow.
Red Star later greets Tim Drake, a former teammate of his during the one year jump, when he comes to Russia for a meeting with Viktor Mikalek, a powerful business tycoon with suspected ties to the criminal organization known as the Society. When the meeting is interrupted by a vengeful female vigilante named 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 well 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 alien ship and discovers a stockpile of nuclear warheads.[4] Following an adventure in the Undernet, Red Robin is allowed to leave.[5]
During the final battle between the Teen Titans and Superboy-Prime's Legion of Doom, Red Star and a group of other former Titans arrive to help turn the tide.[6] He attacks Prime himself, angrily blaming him for the death of his family. Although he does manage to hurt Prime, Red Star is quickly overpowered by the villain, but is rescued by the other Titans.[7]
Red Star is 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 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 that allows him to form and redirect energies as well. It seems his powers have the same effect on Kryptonians as his namesake, as he uses them against Superboy-Prime during the Sinestro Corps War.
Other versions
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Red Star is a member of the H.I.V.E. council. He voted for innocent civilians to live in Western Europe between Aquaman and Wonder Woman before using nuclear weapons to end the war.[9]
In other media
Red Star as he appears in Teen Titans
A young Red Star appears in Teen Titans, voiced by Jason Marsden. This version gained his powers from a secret government project, but lacked control of them and was shunned by a local village. He subsequently exiled himself to an abandoned Siberian nuclear power plant, where he can convert his excess radiation into a liquid form and store it in capsules. Introduced in the episode "Snowblind", he rescues Starfire from a plasma monster he unknowingly created due to one of the capsules leaking radiation into a nearby pond. Upon learning of what happened and with Starfire's encouragement, Red Star seemingly sacrifices himself to help the Teen Titans defeat the monster, becoming an honorary member and regaining the villagers' respect in the process. In the episode "Titans Together", he resurfaces to help the Titans defeat the Brotherhood of Evil.
Konstantin Kovar appears in flashbacks depicted in the fifth season of Arrow, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. This version is a Russian criminal and dictator of a Russian village who seeks to overthrow the Russian government and return Russia to its former glory. In pursuit of this goal, he purchases sarin gas from Malcolm Merlyn and uses it to kill several members of the Russian government and military, but is thwarted by Oliver Queen, Anatoly Knyazev, and members of the Bratva. In retaliation, Kovar captures Queen and injects him with the "Red Star" drug to make him relieve his worst memories, though Queen eventually kills him.
Konstantin Kovar makes a cameo appearance in the Titans episode "Titans", portrayed by Mark Antony Krupa.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 246. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 238. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
