Did Starfire end Apartheid?!
I remember in summer of 1986 when the news broke: "Apartheid is no more! Fictional character ends world's currently most racist and despicable government!" But then later that same year, she was killed by a bomb in Northern Ireland. I guess she just couldn't fix all the world's problems.
Maybe the troubles in Norhern Ireland will be solved by Jericho next issue. But first, we need to read about the end of Apartheid! I wonder if Starfire blasts all the bad guys with her starbolts or she writes a pop song and gets all the heroes to sing it?
At the end of the last issue, Starfire was gaslit into believing that she'd accidentally killed the one man that could bring an end to the systemic oppression of black South Africans, Father Nelson Mandutu! Hopefully she only believes that lie on the opening splash page because it makes the story seem super exciting to kids checking it out on the rack. They flip open the book and think, "Holy shit! This fucking bitch killed that asshole! I've got to motherfucking read this Goddamned rag!" The kids I knew were foulmouthed bastards.
At least Starfire doesn't fall on her sword and allow herself to be arrested by the South African government. She flies off, promising to return, so she can think about her next move. It probably won't be shooting starbolts willy-nilly. I think it will be rending her garments remembering how Dick Grayson, the love of her life, always chastised her for being a violent psycho. Then she'll fly back to turn herself in only to hear somebody discussing how she was set up. Then maybe she'll kill some people unaccidentally!
After gnashing her teeth and pulling out her lovely, weird hair, Starfire decides to investigate the death of Mandutu. When she realizes she's a lousy detective who couldn't find a clue if it were hidden somewhere on her skimpy costume, she flies to the morgue to hug Mandutu's corpse and apologize to it. While acting weird, she discovers a bullet hole in his head. And she doesn't fire bullets out of her hands! She only fires starbolts! Mystery solved! Take that, Dick Grayson! Starfire's passion and temper didn't make her into a murderer like you always said they would (and probably secretly hoped for so that you could scold her and say, "I bat-told you so!").
From Mandutu's corpse and his still living wife and WOPR, Starfire learns that the only way to win is not to resort to violence. Although passive resistance has its own problems (like the amount of concussions and dead friends you're going to rack up while somehow continuing to have the will and fortitude to maintain the passive resistance), Starfire learns that it effectively puts the Spotlight On: the monsters abusing their power to hurt, belittle, oppress, and destroy certain people. It's often the only way to disarm the trap the people in power set up. They declare certain people are violent monsters and subsequently use every tactic they can to bait those people into violence. The only way to fight back is to refuse to rise to the occasion so that the world sees through the lies and falsehoods. But the other half of that trap is that before the world sees the lies, the powerful assholes are going to beat ass on a bunch of innocent people just trying to make their lives better. Sure, they fall into their own trap and expose themselves as the monsters but not before a whole lot of innocent people get killed. Still, what choice do the oppressed have?! Aside from rising up and murdering all of the powerful jerks! I guess that's an option but as the last powerful jerk dies, he'll probably cough up some blood and say, "See? I knew you were violent! I win!" Then that asshole dies and maybe nobody cares? I think maybe that's a good ending too?
Starfire, coming from a planet of warriors who punch first and punch questions puncher, sees the power of the people to enact change through non-violence. It's a good use of her character because any other Teen Titans would be all, "Yeah! Duh! I learned about Martin Luther Gandhi too! I totally already knew about this stuff!" But Starfire gets to look confused and be introspective. Maybe she thinks, "Dick Grayson was right! I am a violent jerk!", a few too many times. But it's nice to see her come to respect a view where less violence is better through her own experience instead of being lectured by Dick and Donna.
Teen Titans Spotlight #2: Starfire Rating: B-. This issue wasn't as intriguing as the first one, mostly because it wasted a lot of time on Starfire doing lousy detective work and sitting on a mountain crying about being guilty of murder. But it was still far more satisfying than I expected it to be. There isn't a third part but there should be. It should involve Starfire flying to Superman's home and bothering him non-stop until he fucking does something about this Apartheid bullshit.
Maybe the troubles in Norhern Ireland will be solved by Jericho next issue. But first, we need to read about the end of Apartheid! I wonder if Starfire blasts all the bad guys with her starbolts or she writes a pop song and gets all the heroes to sing it?
At the end of the last issue, Starfire was gaslit into believing that she'd accidentally killed the one man that could bring an end to the systemic oppression of black South Africans, Father Nelson Mandutu! Hopefully she only believes that lie on the opening splash page because it makes the story seem super exciting to kids checking it out on the rack. They flip open the book and think, "Holy shit! This fucking bitch killed that asshole! I've got to motherfucking read this Goddamned rag!" The kids I knew were foulmouthed bastards.
At least Starfire doesn't fall on her sword and allow herself to be arrested by the South African government. She flies off, promising to return, so she can think about her next move. It probably won't be shooting starbolts willy-nilly. I think it will be rending her garments remembering how Dick Grayson, the love of her life, always chastised her for being a violent psycho. Then she'll fly back to turn herself in only to hear somebody discussing how she was set up. Then maybe she'll kill some people unaccidentally!
After gnashing her teeth and pulling out her lovely, weird hair, Starfire decides to investigate the death of Mandutu. When she realizes she's a lousy detective who couldn't find a clue if it were hidden somewhere on her skimpy costume, she flies to the morgue to hug Mandutu's corpse and apologize to it. While acting weird, she discovers a bullet hole in his head. And she doesn't fire bullets out of her hands! She only fires starbolts! Mystery solved! Take that, Dick Grayson! Starfire's passion and temper didn't make her into a murderer like you always said they would (and probably secretly hoped for so that you could scold her and say, "I bat-told you so!").
From Mandutu's corpse and his still living wife and WOPR, Starfire learns that the only way to win is not to resort to violence. Although passive resistance has its own problems (like the amount of concussions and dead friends you're going to rack up while somehow continuing to have the will and fortitude to maintain the passive resistance), Starfire learns that it effectively puts the Spotlight On: the monsters abusing their power to hurt, belittle, oppress, and destroy certain people. It's often the only way to disarm the trap the people in power set up. They declare certain people are violent monsters and subsequently use every tactic they can to bait those people into violence. The only way to fight back is to refuse to rise to the occasion so that the world sees through the lies and falsehoods. But the other half of that trap is that before the world sees the lies, the powerful assholes are going to beat ass on a bunch of innocent people just trying to make their lives better. Sure, they fall into their own trap and expose themselves as the monsters but not before a whole lot of innocent people get killed. Still, what choice do the oppressed have?! Aside from rising up and murdering all of the powerful jerks! I guess that's an option but as the last powerful jerk dies, he'll probably cough up some blood and say, "See? I knew you were violent! I win!" Then that asshole dies and maybe nobody cares? I think maybe that's a good ending too?
Starfire, coming from a planet of warriors who punch first and punch questions puncher, sees the power of the people to enact change through non-violence. It's a good use of her character because any other Teen Titans would be all, "Yeah! Duh! I learned about Martin Luther Gandhi too! I totally already knew about this stuff!" But Starfire gets to look confused and be introspective. Maybe she thinks, "Dick Grayson was right! I am a violent jerk!", a few too many times. But it's nice to see her come to respect a view where less violence is better through her own experience instead of being lectured by Dick and Donna.
Teen Titans Spotlight #2: Starfire Rating: B-. This issue wasn't as intriguing as the first one, mostly because it wasted a lot of time on Starfire doing lousy detective work and sitting on a mountain crying about being guilty of murder. But it was still far more satisfying than I expected it to be. There isn't a third part but there should be. It should involve Starfire flying to Superman's home and bothering him non-stop until he fucking does something about this Apartheid bullshit.
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