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SuperRogue
BBR

Starro was a centuries-old starfish-like alien that's native to a world of water.

History

One day, as Starro sunned itself on a rock, a strange craft appeared in the sky. It never occurred to Starro to be scared, until it was too late to flee. Being the last of its kind, Starro became an object of the Preserver's interest, and was included in his collection of unique specimens. Starro tried repeatedly to escape, but to no avail; it simply was not strong enough to escape the enclosure the Preserver put it in. Years later, it was rescued by Superman and placed in his Fortress of Solitude.[2] Though it was still little more than a prisoner, now Starro had a plan. Having witnessed Superman's strength,[3] Starro decided to gain control of him.

File:Starro attacks Superman.jpg

Starro makes its move on Superman.

Decades later, when Superman was feeding it, Starro jumped up at his face and grabbed hold of him. From that moment on, Starro took psychic control of Superman, and during the subsequent years, it remained concealed under his costume and used Superman to breed thousands of psychic-parasitic clones. It planned to release the creatures into the ocean and thus conquer the world.

File:Starro controlling Superman.jpg

Starro/Superman chases Batman.

When the time came to enact its plan, Starro/Superman attempted to dispose of the Justice League Unlimited (presumably in fear they might jeopardize its plans). After nearly killing Micron, Starro/Superman enlisted Batman's help to find the traitor among the JLU ranks (most likely to sidetrack everybody).[4] However, when Starro/Superman failed to do away with Warhawk, Superman was exposed as the culprit though the team wasn't aware of Starro's existence.

Starro/Superman retreated to the Fortress of Solitude, where he was confronted by the League. After Superman was subdued by a shard of Kryptonite, the heroes discovered Starro attached to Superman's chest. Realizing it was a water creature, Aquagirl made telepathic contact with it, uncovering its plans. The tables were soon turned, however, when Starro's spawn took over Aquagirl, Warhawk, Kai-Ro, and Big Barda. Starro/Superman was released, and went in pursuit of Batman. After crashing the Batmobile, it let its guard down and Batman tackled it with an electrocuting grapple. Starro was stunned and lost its mental grip on Superman, who managed to break free. Starro was subdued while Batman and Superman fought off its brethren.

File:JLU returns Starro's brethrens.jpg

Starro returns to its home planet.

When finally all the alien starfish were contained, Aquagirl made contact with Starro and was able to determine the location of its home planet. She input the coordinates into Big Barda's Mother Box, and then Starro and its spawn were safely boom-tubed back home.[5]

Powers and abilities

Starro used mind control to achieve his goals. It could completely control any host, who in turn retained no recollection of the happening. Starro was photosensitive, seeing as it squinted when pelted with a flash grenade. However, its bigger vulnerability was electricity, which could inflict pain, and completely neutralize it thus releasing its victim.

Background information

In the DC Comics, Starro the Star Conqueror was the first enemy of the Justice League of America. Incidentally, "The Call" was the first appearance of the Justice League in the DCAU.

Starro was never referred to by this name in Batman Beyond, but Bruce Timm used it in Batman Beyond - Season Three (DVD) extras. Also in the extras, it is revealed that Starro's appearance in Superman: The Animated Series was not meant to prepare for a future appearance and was simply a cameo of a well known alien creature for comic book fans. When coming up with an enemy for the JLU to fight in "The Call", Starro was deemed an appropriate enemy and the cameo in "The Main Man" was decided to be used.

Appearances

Superman: The Animated Series

Batman Beyond

Footnotes

External links

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