Blackfire (real name Komand'r) is the firstborn eldest daughter and princess of the long-dead King and Queen of Tamaran and the older sister of Starfire and Wildfire. She is the former Grand Ruler/Empress of Tamaran and serves as Starfire's arch-nemesis and an enemy of the Teen Titans.
Character history[]
Blackfire first appeared when she arrived on Earth in the second episode "Sisters" where she gave Starfire a Centauri moon diamond and pretended to enjoy being reunited with her. Blackfire won the Teen Titans' support by having fun with them and telling them stories of adventures she had throughout her travels in the galaxy.
The Titans seemed to like her so much, Starfire was beginning to think they wouldn't need her around anymore. She was especially unhappy with her sister's attempts at flirting with Robin. When Starfire thought of leaving Earth, the Centauri Police showed up and captured her. The Titans rescued her and explained to the Centaurians that they have captured the wrong Tamaranean. The Titans then discovered that Blackfire had framed Starfire for crimes by giving her a stolen jewel from the Centauri System. Blackfire, who was leaving Earth at that exact moment, was defeated by Starfire after her right hand was hit by Starfire's starbolts. She was about to attack again however, the Centauri Police catch her from behind. Starfire tells her sister, despite the betrayal it was still nice to see her. Not too pleased that she's being taken to prison, Blackfire swears revenge on her little sister for shaming and humiliating her.
Blackfire later broke out from prison and wrestled control of Tamaran as its new Grand Ruler. Blackfire attempted to get revenge on Starfire by forcing her to marry Glgrdsklechhh, a hideous alien. This was actually part of an elaborate plot between Blackfire and Glgrdsklechhh; by marrying Starfire to Glgrdsklechhh, he would reward Blackfire with a very powerful jewel. When her ruse was uncovered, Blackfire was once again defeated by Starfire in an official challenge for the throne and banished from Tamaran by her sister's royal decree.
Blackfire was one of the only villains missing from the lineup of the Brotherhood of Evil, suggesting that she was not out to get all the superheroes or even the Titans, but simply to just take out Starfire.
Physical appearance[]
Blackfire is shown to be a tall, beautiful girl. Blackfire has tan skin; angular, dark-violet eyes; and small, rounded, violet eyebrows. She appears to be wearing black eyeliner as well, or it could be that her eyelashes are naturally very thick. She also has shiny, straight, waist-length, black hair with short bangs.
Compared to Starfire's outfit, Blackfire's outfit acts more like full-body armor with a black crop top, mini-skirt and thigh-high boots. But this is considered as Tamaran's prisoner uniform, similar to the one Starfire wore in the episode Go!.
Personality[]
Even though Blackfire is Starfire's older sister, the two are polar opposites as Blackfire is grim, cunning, deceitful, immoral, sadistic and unremorseful who also has the optimum qualities of a villain. The two almost never get along well, except when Blackfire tricks Starfire into thinking she's being nice. Blackfire is constantly trying to, in some way, do away with Starfire, first with getting her arrested and then trying to marry her to an ooze alien. Blackfire loves fighting her sister and rubbing the fact that she is older and stronger in her little sister's face. The two of them are poster children for sibling rivalry. She has a very sarcastic sense of humor and always hurts Starfire's feelings. Blackfire is also quite vain and loves telling stories about herself. Blackfire is also quite pretty, and she knows it and uses it to her advantage when around boys. This is seen in the second episode, "Sisters" when she developed a crush on Robin upon meeting him and tried to gain his attention and affection, but this could also have been a ploy in further isolating her sister from her friends.
Teen Titans Go![]
Blackfire appears a few more times in the comics. In Issue #7, she returns apparently reformed and challenges Starfire to a race. However, the whole thing is a trap to dispatch the Titans and take revenge on Starfire, but the Titans overcome her tricks and she is forced to flee the planet.
She appears again in #36 as the leader of the Gordanians (the same aliens from the episode "Go!") and uses them to capture the Titans and their allies. Her plans were thwarted when the few remaining managed to sneak aboard her ship and she is defeated by Wonder Girl. Seeing the Gordanians surrendering, she mutters that she should've hired Czarnian Bounty Hunters (this is both a reference to Superman foe Lobo, who is known for his relentlessness in getting the kill, and a continuity snarl, as Lobo killed every other Czarnian in the universe).
Her final appearance is in #46, her Tamaranean origin is revealed along with Starfire's. It's unclear of the sister-brother relationship between her and her younger brother Wildfire was, but by the look on her face when he was sent away after the Gordanian invasion, it can be assumed that she could have mistreated and ignored him. The reason for her being evil was because of long-held jealousy. Although she was the most talented and more experienced combatant, her parents favored Starfire more because she was kinder. And although she is the eldest child, Wildfire was next in line for the throne after their father. It could also be hinted, however, that her general appearance was another factor: her purple eyes and black hair made her different in comparison to the dominant green eyes and red and brown hair of other Tamaraneans, and thus deemed "impure and unworthy" for the Tamaranean throne, which further surfaced her inner fury and thirst for vengeance on her people. Although, in the comics, it was shown that her mother, Queen Luand'r had dark hair and eyes just like her, so it could that it was merely an uncommon, but not rare, appearance for Tamaraneans.
In the issue, it is revealed that she sent the shapeshifting Madame Rouge into the Teen Titans' base disguised as Wildfire (who has supposedly returned after several years of absence). After a heartbroken and outraged Starfire discovers this deception, she furiously confronts Blackfire in her prison and renounces her as her older sister for pulling such a cruel stunt. Starfire then swears to find Wildfire one day because "he is the only family she has left". Since Blackfire has an idea of what Wildfire might look like at that time, that also means that she knows where he's been and what he's been doing all this time. Its also in this issue we learn about their past and that it was Blackfire who had given Starfire to the Gordanians as a bargaining chip to keep them from invading Tamaran, indirectly setting up the events in "Go!" and the subsequent forming of the Teen Titans.
She also appears in the final issue but is a product of an illusion from a villain name Phobia who was causing the Titans to face their worst nightmares.
Mentions[]
Season One[]
- "Sister!"
- "I wish to introduce my big sister."
- "Sister? Sister? Sister, I seek your companionship."
- "Have either of you seen Blackfire?"
- "Blazin' B? She was here just a second ago."
- "Winner plays Blackfire."
- "She rules at this game."
- "I am happy to see her, but Blackfire rules the video games and she is able to share every depressing poems and she knows the cool moves, and she always knows when people are not talking about shovels. And I am nothing like her."
- "She won't get away with this."
- "No, she will not."
- "You are a criminal and you were going to let me take your place in jail."
- "You will give back what you have stolen, and turn yourself over to the police."
- "Farewell, Sister. Although you did betray and attack me, it was...still very nice to see you."
- "I am sad for my sister."
- "Your sister was interesting. But she could never take your place."
Season Two[]
- "When my sister had transformation, she merely turned purple for two days."
Season Three[]
- "Blackfire?"
- "I am surprised to see you out of prison!"
- "Blackfire arranged the whole thing."
- "Blackfire doesn't want anyone to know."
- "Blackfire set her up."
- "Blackfire's been lying to everyone!!"
- "You are not best for Tamaran!!"
- "I challenge my sister. For the crown."
- "You may be the ruler of this planet, but you are not the ruler of me!!"
- "And hence forth my sister Blackfire will be banished from Tamaran."
- "I overthrew my sister because she was not best for Tamaran."
Season Four[]
- "You remind me of our sister."
Relationships[]
Starfire[]
- Besides, you'll always be my little sister.
- ―Blackfire[src]
Blackfire's sisterly relationship with her younger sister is far from close and loving, despite the fact that she would often rescue Starfire when the two were little, as revealed in Sisters. She prefers to take advantage of her rather than spend sisterly time with her. In fact, she despises her sister so much, that she had taken a Centauri Moon diamond and gave it to Starfire to have the Centauri police think that she, Starfire, was the culprit they were after. Upon being found out, she attempted to retreat but was blocked by Starfire. A fight broke out between the two sisters with Blackfire being taken into custody. She angrily vowed that she would be out of jail soon and would get even.
Wanting to get rid of her little sister once and for all, Blackfire had made a deal with the elephant-like alien, Glgrdsklechhh: She would give him her baby sister as his wife, and he would give her the mystical Jewel of Charta. With it, her natural abilities would increase drastically, allowing her to rule all of Tamaran with an iron fist. Unfortunately, her plan was realized and Starfire demanded a challenge for the right to take the Tamaranean throne and rule as empress. The duel later ended in Starfire breaking the Jewel, reducing Blackfire's strength and abilities to normal and being knocked out cold by a barrage of starbolts. With Starfire as empress, she was then banished from Tamaran. As she was taken away by the castle guards, she said that she would never forget what Starfire had again done to her.
Other Titans[]
- And keep an eye on her friends.
- ―Blackfire[src]
At first, Blackfire had easily won the four other Teen Titans by praising their strengths and skills. She had shaken Cyborg's metal hand with great physical strength, laughed at Beast Boy's joke, and expressed interest in Raven's chakra gem. She even flirted romantically with Robin, hoping to make Starfire envious and hurtful. When her true nature was revealed to them, she became their enemy and considered them a threat to her plans for ruling all of Tamaran.
Powers and abilities[]
- I always was the better fighter.
- ―Blackfire[src]
Tamaranean Physiology: With the exception of her ultraviolet energy-projection, Blackfire has the standard Tamaranean abilities.
- Superhuman strength and enhanced durability: Being a Tamaranean like her younger sister, Blackfire is far much stronger than she appears to be as she could damage Cyborg's mechanical hand with just a simple handshake. In "Betrothed", she seemed to be physically stronger and more powerful than Starfire as Blackfire was able to lift a large pillar, which only came as a result of the Jewel of Charta. After Starfire destroyed the gem, her superhuman abilities were reduced to their normal power-levels.
- Superhuman stamina: Blackfire can work continuously for days at a time without tiring out.
- Superhuman agility and enhanced reflexes: Blackfire is quite agile, nimble and has quick reflexes, which greatly perfect her own combative skills.
- Semi-invulnerability: Like her younger sister, Blackfire has moderate invulnerability to physical harm, heat, cold and high-intensity radiation. At one point, she was able to withstand a barrage of Starfire's unusually strong starblasts; due to wearing the mystic Jewel of Charta which greatly increased her natural abilities.
- Interstellar flight: Like her younger sister, Blackfire can fly through the air under her own power faster than the speed of light. In the comic books, however, she does not possess this ability whatsoever which is one of the reasons why her people less favored her.
- Ultraviolet energy projection: Due to being experimented on, Blackfire can project incredibly strong and destructively effective bursts of light purple-colored "blackbolt" energy from the palms of her hands; even though they light purple, not black. This is a trait unique to her, as all other Tamaraneans project bright green ultraviolet energy. Blackfire also went through the Tamaranean puberty (referred to as the "the Transformation"), Blackfire is mentioned to have turned purple for two days. She also has the power and ability to channel her lilac-colored energy as thin narrow beams from her eyes similar to "heat vision." at one point, her blackbolts turned red when she had the Jewel of Charta in her possession, which greatly strengthened her natural Tamaranean abilities to even greater power-levels.
- Blackbolt shields/Force-fields: When empowered with the mystical Jewel of Charta, she was capable of creating powerful red force-fields capable of withstanding Starfire's bright green starbolts.[1]
- Vacuum adaptation: Blackfire also has the ability to survive in the hostile conditions of space without any sort of protection or special gear.
- Extended longevity: Like the rest of her kind, Blackfire is capable of living hundreds of years; far above the normal human being.
- Decelerated aging: Like all Tamaraneans, Blackfire can remain young and beautiful for many, many years to match her extended lifespan.
Other skills[]
- Learned that move from a Ven-Zo master on Tyrus Three.
- ―Blackfire[src]
- Alien martial artist: Blackfire demonstrated some high-level moves of alien martial arts to Robin. Knowing much more combative moves than Starfire, she considers herself the better fighter. She used a move on Robin which she learned from a Ven-Zo master on Tyrus Three.
- Master manipulator and deceiver: Blackfire is very well at manipulating others to do her bidding willingly and manages to control their actions through her "kind and friendly" words.
Weaknesses[]
- Blackfire's arrogance has always been her downfall in combat. Since she thinks she's the better fighter simply because she is older, she often underestimates Starfire, believing her little sister cannot compete with her in terms of fighting, yet Starfire has defeated her every time they fought on screen.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- "Sisters" (debut)
Season 2[]
- Transformation (mentioned)
Season 3[]
- "Betrothed" (final appearance)
Season 4[]
- The End - Part 2 (mentioned)
New Teen Titans Shorts[]
Teen Titans Go![]
- "How You Play the Game" (debut)
- "Secret Moves" (as a game character)
- "When Chibis Attack" (cameo)
- "Troy"
- "Wildfire"
- "When There's Trouble..." (final appearance)
Video games[]
Gallery[]
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia[]
- In the comic books, Blackfire has the same hair color, albeit with intense black shading, and eye color as Starfire. The idea of giving her actual black hair may be a reference to the evil elder sister from I Dream of Jeannie.
- Blackfire is the only Tamaranean in the DC comics that could not fly because she had a childhood disease that prevented her from doing so. However, in the animated series, she can.
- In the comics Blackfire's blackbolts were blue instead of purple.
- Blackfire is referenced twice by her younger sister in the episodes "Transformation" and "The End - Part 2".
- Blackfire is much more vengeful and lethal in the comics.
- In the comics, Tamaraneans were able to fly due to their absorbing of tremendous amounts of pure ultraviolet energy. Starfire and Blackfire were subjected to an experiment to see how much ultraviolet energy they could contain before expiring. They were freed, but the experiment altered their physiology to allow them to concentrate the ultraviolet energy into starbolts or blackbolts. However, Blackfire was subjected to the experiment slightly longer than Starfire, therefore hers are far much stronger and more effective. This made them the only Tamaraneans capable of creating such energy, while the cartoon implies that all Tamaraneans could do so.
- Both Blackfire and Starfire were voiced by Hynden Walch.
- Blackfire is a playable unlocked character in the video game, but she has no dialogue.
- Blackfire was one of the villains that did not join the Brotherhood of Evil.
- Blackfire and Starfire are almost identical, except for their hair color, eye color, eye shape, and their outfits.
- Ironically, by trading her sister to the Gordanians, Blackfire is indirectly responsible for creating the Teen Titans, the same group which would end up opposing her on several occasions.
- Blackfire is the only archnemesis of a Titan that is not the main villain of a season. Slade was Robin's archnemesis, Brother Blood was Cyborg's archnemesis, Trigon was Raven's archnemesis, and The Brain, the Brotherhood's leader, was Beast Boy's archnemesis. Blackfire was only the antagonist of two individual episodes, each in a different season.
- Beast Boy appears to be somewhat attracted to her. When Starfire asks Cyborg and Beast Boy where Blackfire is, Beast Boy mentions that Blackfire "rules at [video games]." Hearts appear on his eyes and float above his head to imply he may have a small crush on Blackfire. This changed once he learned that Blackfire was a bad sister to Starfire.
- It is heavily implied that Blackfire wanted a relationship with Robin since she dragged him back to the party while he tried to console Starfire. Of course, this could have been done to further make Starfire feel inadequate.
- Unlike other English-speaking Tamaraneans who speak in formal tones, Blackfire is the only Tamaranean who speaks with contractions.
- Blackfire's Tamaranean name, Komand'r, sounds like "commander" and Starfire's Tamaranean name "Koriand'r" sounds like "coriander," which is a flowering herb. Yet "Ryand'r" (the Tamaranean name of their younger brother, Wildfire) has no same-sounding word.
- Unlike the other Tamaraneans, the whites of Blackfire's eyes are not colored.
- Blackfire had turned purple for two days during her natural Transformation cycle, which may be a reference to the purplish color of her blackbolts, which could imply that they were indeed black originally.
- In the New Teen Titans shorts, it is revealed that Blackfire has been married to Glgrdsklechhh with several kids but given her repulsion to him, as with everyone else's repulsion to him, it is most likely a purely arranged marriage. This is however, non-canon.
References[]
- ↑ Betrothed