Starshine (comics)

Starshine is the name of two fictional American comic book characters owned by the Marvel Comics and appearing in that company's Marvel Universe.

The first was an alien woman named Landra who first appeared in #14 (1980) by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. The second was an Earth girl named Brandy Clark, who first appeared in Rom #1 (1979) again by Mantlo and Buscema.

Landra

Superherobox|

caption= The cover of Rom #20, featuring Starshine I, Rom and Terminator. .Art by Sal Buscema
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Starshine
real_name=Landra
species=Galadorian
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Rom #14" (Jan 1981)
creators=Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Spaceknights
aliases=
powers=|

Publication history

The first Starshine first appeared in "Rom" #14 (January 1981, in a backup story), and was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema.

The character subsequently appears in "Rom" #16 (March 1981), #19-20 (May-June 1981; backup story by Mantlo/S. Buscema, took part in the Trial of Terminator), #25 (December 1981), and #27-28 (February-March 1982; arrived on Earth, killed; by Mantlo/S. Buscema).

Fictional character biography

The first Starshine was a young woman named Landra who lived in the fictional planet Galador 200 years ago. When her world's government called for volunteers to become Spaceknights to battle the alien Dire Wraiths, Landra was one of those who accepted the call. Her armor gave her the power to use the mystical "Living Light".

Landra acted as the prosecutor on the trial for murder of her fellow Spaceknight, Terminator.

Afterwards, Landra, who had fallen in love with Rom, decided to follow him across space. 200 years later, Landra arrived on Earth following Rom, and became jealous of Rom's relationship with Brandy Clark. Landra was soon killed by a Dire Wraith disguised as Brandy. [Rom #28] She was buried in Clairton.

Brandy Clark

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caption= The cover of Rom #51, featuring Starshine II.Art by Sal Buscema
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Starshine
real_name=Brandy Clark
species=
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Rom #1" (Dec 1979)
as Starshine: "Rom #40"
creators=Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Spaceknights
aliases=
powers=|

Publication history

Brandy Clark first appeared in "Rom #1" (December 1979), and was created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom.

The character subsequently appears as the second "Starshine" in "Rom #40" (March 1983; by Mantlo/S. Buscema), #43-44 (June-July 1983), #46 (September 1983), #48 (November 1983), #50-51 (January-February 1984; changed appearance and mood; by M/S.B.), #52-53 (March-April 1984), #55-59 (June-October 1984), #72 (November 1985), "Rom Annual" #3 (1984; became human again; by Bill Mantlo (writer) WM Johnson (art)), "Rom" #73-75 (December 1985-February 1986; reunited with Rom; by Bill Mantlo (writer) Steve Ditko (art)), "Incredible Hulk" (vol. 2) #418 (June 1994; revealed to be pregnant; by Peter David (writer) Todd McFarlane (art)), and "Spaceknights" limited series #1-5 (October 2000-February 2001; children revealed; by Jim Starlin (writer) Chris Batista (art)).

Fictional character biography

A young woman named Brandy Clark lived in the fictional town of Clairton, in West Virginia. She had a romantic relationship with a local young man named Steve Jackson. Brandy was the first person to meet Rom Spaceknight when he landed on Earth, and helped him as he tracked down and banished the Dire Wraiths that had infiltrated the town. However, Brandy came to fall in love with Rom because of his nobility, which caused friction between them and Steve.

Not long after the death of Landra (the original Starshine), Rom left Clairton to continue seeking out Wraiths elsewhere. Brandy felt strangely compelled to dig up Starshine's body. A Wraith sorcerer called Doctor Dredd then magically transplanted Brandy's body into the Starshine armor as part of an evil plan. This was something she had secretly yearned for; and afterwards, she left Clairton and accompanied Rom as he traveled the Earth. [Rom #40]

During their absence, all of Clairton's citizens were killed by the female Dire Wraiths when they decided to take over from their males. Steve and Brandy's family were also killed, which made her bitter and vengeful, even causing the Starshine armor she wore to morph into a more fierce-looking one. She continued to help Rom battle the Wraiths, until she was magically changed back into her human form by Hybrid.

When all the Wraiths were finally defeated, Rom left for Galador, leaving Brandy on Earth. Her desire to be with him was noticed by the cosmic entity, the Beyonder, who was active on Earth at the time. He granted her wish and sent her to Galador, where she hoped to be reunited with Rom. However, she arrived before he did, and it turned out that a second generation of Spaceknights had turned against the human Galadorians and killed most of them off; Brandy joined the underground resistance, but ultimately all human Galadorians were killed, and Brandy herself was only saved by the timely arrival of Rom. With help from the original Spaceknights, Rom defeated the evil ones. Reclaiming his “humanity” (human body parts) which he had until then thought lost. Rom stayed on Galador with Brandy, with the other Spaceknights (who had lost their human bodies permanently) watching over them from space.

Brandy was seen again at Rick Jones' wedding along with the now-human Rom; she appeared to be pregnant.

In a possible future, Brandy will have two sons with Rom, both of whom will become Spaceknights themselves.

Powers and abilities

Both Starshines derived their powers from their bionic Spaceknight armor. In addition to giving them superhuman strength and the ability to fly in space across interstellar distances, the armor could channel the extra-dimensional energy known as the Living Light from its eyes, which they could use to reveal the true form of a disguised Dire Wraith, or as destructive energy beams.

After being separated from the Starshine armor, Brandy continued to display certain abilities. A "ghost" of Starshine saved Rom from Wraith darkness, and several times the outlines of her armor appeared around her, usually in times of stress. It was noted that when this occurred, she seemed stronger than human, although the plot point was eventually dropped.

References