Starfire has always been one of the more intriguing members of the Teen Titans. She hails from a distant planet named Tamaran and often talks a lot about her home culture and way of life. Her special abilities and interests have always made her a subject of intrigue in the entire franchise.
But let's be honest for a moment. Aside from the name, how much do you truly know about your favorite extraterrestrial Titan's home planet? Let's put your knowledge to the test. Here are 10 things that you might not have known about Starfire's homeland, Tamaran.
10 The Vega Star System
Much like our very own solar system, The Vega Star System is home to dozens of planets, several diverse races belonging to different cultures, and around trillions of sentient beings. Starfire's race resides on the planet of Tamaran which is approximately 26 light-years away from Earth and resides in Sector 2828. It is the eighth planet in the Vega System and has two moons that orbit it; Tamaran I and Tamaran II.
9 The Inhabitants
The inhabitants of the planet of Tamaran are called Tamaranians or Tamaraneans. Thousands of years ago, the Tamaraneans migrated to the planet of Tamaran from Okaara, the thirteenth planet in the Vega System. Now, they aren't exactly your average-looking alien folk with big heads and eyes covering three-fourths of their face. Tamaranians are actually pretty humanoid in their appearance.
Not many people know that the Tamaranians are actually the descendants of the feline species. They're a race of golden/orange-skinned creatures with brown hair and sharp green eyes. They have a goddess named X'Hal whom they worship and consider their supreme deity. They refer to her often similar to how humans say, "Oh my God!" So, pretty much, "Oh my X'Hal." Not as catchy though, unfortunately.
8 The System Of Government
As the Tamaranians began to settle into their new planet Tamaran and make it their own, they established a planetary government that later morphed into a feudal society. So, you could say that there's a strict class system in place. Every landmass has its very own royal family that rules over it. Underneath these royal families come other influential families in the hierarchy of power. These smaller families hold power over the much smaller city-states.
7 The Way Of Tamaraneans
The Tamaraneans are very passionate and driven more easily by their emotions rather than logic and sound reasoning. You would think that makes them weak but be warned; Tamaranian culture is essentially war culture. Young Tamaraneans are trained from the very start to be tough and never to show any signs of weakness in public. So, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that they're pretty savage and fierce in battle. When they fight, they fight to win.
6 The Landscape
What once was a lush, breathtaking landscape was reduced to a desert wasteland after the Gordanian invasion fleet was done with Tamaran. They ruined the natural stunning flora of Tamaran and took away all its beauty. All the lush green fields, the pink and purple-flowered trees, and the mesmerizing blue sky with characteristic yellow clouds were no more.
The devastating invasion turned the planet's terrain purple and the only definitive landforms left were bare cliffs and rock formations. And the sky no longer bore its characteristic yellow clouds. Instead, they had morphed to a dark purple color permanently. It's not all bad though; a little bit of flora is visible within the Royal Castle - the only known architectural work of the Tamaraneans.
5 The Blorthog Festival
As portrayed by Starfire's amiable character in the animated series, the Tamaraneans hold a firm belief in the foundation of friendship. She mentions the Blorthog festival that is held on her home planet where friends exchange gifts to honor their bond with each other. But wait, it gets better. The Tamaranians actually fear the particular point where friends start to drift apart. They even have a special term for it called "rekmas". Are you picking up on the mixed vibes? It's really hard to discern whether these people will immediately kill you or show you around if you visit.
4 Tamaranian Wars: Starfire's Fate
The Tamaranians have generally been a peaceful race, never being the ones to instigate war. However, all that changed after their planet was invaded. When the Gordanians - a Citadel race - invaded the planet, the Tamaraneans ended up defending it for over an Earth century. That was until Blackfire, Starfire's elder sister, betrayed the Tamaranians by leaking top-secret military intel to the enemy. This betrayal drove the Tamaranians close to extinction. The Gordanians agreed to a truce only if they would give Starfire up to the Gordanian slavers. And they did, unfortunately.
3 Bad Luck With Settling
The Tamaranians have never been able to settle to this day. After Starfire was enslaved for over six years by the Gordanians, the Omega Men led a revolt against the Citadel Rule. That's when Starfire managed to flee to Earth and go on to become a part of the Teen Titans. A decade later, the New Citadel Wars were sparked where the Gordanians and Psions managed to eradicate nearly the entire fleet of Tamaranians. Fortunately, the remaining Tamaranians managed to defeat them with the help of the Teen Titans. With Tamaran destroyed, they decided to occupy Jalascis - a planetless moon - and called it New Tamaran. Unbelievably, New Tamaran got ravaged by a planet-consuming Sun-Eater; once again leaving them homeless. With no other option, the Tamaranians decided to invade the Gordanian home planet, Karna (sweet vengeance, indeed). However, that too got destroyed later on. Man, can't the Tamaranians catch a break?
2 Powers and Special Abilities
The Tamaraneans have a lot of special abilities aside from superhuman strength and agility, of course. They can absorb stellar radiation and convert it into energy for themselves. This phenomenon not only gives them extraordinary strength and vitality, but also equips them with the ability to take flight. They are excellent warriors, possessing incredibly sharp senses and superhuman reflexes. Interestingly, Starfire's ability to fire star bolts is not because of her race. It was a result of cooky science experiments performed on her by the Psions. But the most interesting ability of the Tamaranians is language assimilation through mere touch. In the animated series, however, it is portrayed that particularly a kiss is necessary; differing from the comics.
1 Tamaranian's Weaknesses
The Tamaranians have several weaknesses. The highlighting one is the fact that their powers are governed by their emotions. Unfortunately, negative emotions can weaken them in battle, even causing their body to 'deactivate' its powers. They also run a risk of undergoing radiation overload/deficiency if they end up absorbing either too much for their cells to process or not enough at all.