Starro Dies a Hero in Justice League: No Justice #3

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League: No Justice #3 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Josh Williamson, Riley Rossmo and Marcus To, in stores now.

In order to save the universe in Justice League: No Justice, Brainiac kidnapped the gratest heroes from Earth. To everyone's surprise, he also brought along several villains to the party. While the likes of Lobo, Deathstroke, and Lex Luthor have more ambiguous natures than most, only Sinestro and Starro appear to be the true villains included on the mission. In issue #3, it's Starro who proves himself to be a true hero, even if it results in him making the ultimate sacrifice.

Since his reappearance in Dark Nights: Metal, Starro has been a character who is actually capable of advanced reasoning. Typically the Star Conqueror has been presented as more parasitic life form than action hero, but Scott Snyder's version of the character is a sarcastic, arrogant and petty bully. He is capable of telepathic speech, which he constantly uses to insult those around him. It is this quality that allows him to be convinced to change his nature and do the right thing.

The Making of a True Hero

Considered an alien entity who embraces the cosmic energy of mystery, Starro was placed on Team Mystery alongside Martian Manhunter, Superman, Starfire, and Sinestro. Two telepathic members on the same team may feel like a redundancy, but it is clear that Brainiac had planned for this. It turns out the villain had an ulterior motive for gathering these teams, and the technology in their suits actually works to inhibit some of their powers. This means Martian Manhunter telepathy has been weakened, but it seems Starro's work just fine.

In order to ignite the Tree of Mystery, Team Mystery realizes they must release thousands of miniaturized planets from Colu's Nursery. To do it, they will need a telepath who can help the residents of these planets survive the process of enlargement. Without Martian Manhunter's abilities, that responsibility must fall to Starro, though the giant starfish isn't exactly convinced of the idea at first.

The issue opens with J'onn J'onzz discussing their predicament with the Star Conqueror. Known only as a tyrant until now, Martian Manhunter asks him if it is "possible for [him] to be something greater." Brainiac may have included him on the team because he knew Starro was a villain, but that doesn't mean he can't rise up to become something more. When Starfire discovers that her home planet of Tamaran is among the planets in storage, her pleading finally gets him to step up. Instead of using his abilities to "enslave weak minds," he reaches out to billions of alien life forms to calm them and tell them it will be all ok. This allows Sinestro to guide the expanding planets safely into outer space, thus officially introducing the promised new sector of the DCU to be explored in Justice League: Odyssey.

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With the planets safely sent out into space, all attention is placed on the Omega Titan who is about to consume Colu. It seems that despite everyone's efforts, the Tree of Wisdom has not been drained enough to properly balance out the four energies on Colu. In the end, there just wasn't enough time to get the job done, so all four teams converge on the Wisdom Titan in order to buy enough time for the planet to be evacuated.

The powerful cosmic entity is so above this collection of mortal life that it is barely cognizant of the attack against it. Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and others are brushed aside as if they are insects. It is here that Starro decides to take matters into his own hands in order to properly fight against the Omega Titan. He has the Atom use his size manipulation abilities to grow the starfish in size. This allows him to face the cosmic being on a scale it will recognize, and allows him to latch onto its face. A true hero is born in this moment.

In the meantime, the other heroes are able to finish the evacuation of Colu, getting all innocent life off the planet before it is destroyed. Unfortunately, Starro's attack does not prove to be enough, and the Omega Titans rips the would-be hero to shreds before going on to devour the planet. The Justice League may have ultimately failed in their mission to save Colu, but thanks to Starro, they were at least able to save several billion living beings.

It's hard to say whether Starro the Conqueror is really gone. As we've seen before, there are millions of other Star Conquerors throughout the universe, and for all we know, he may have survived the attack (starfish do regenerate, after all). No matter what happens, though, Starro just proved to everyone who he truly was. Sure, he may have lived his life enslaving innocent lives, but he went down like a hero.

KEEP READING: The Significance of Justice League: No Justice #2’s Cliffhanger, Explained