Starlight, crusader of good and representative of those wholesome, Midwestern values that make America what it is. What better optics than to have this paragon of virtue join The Seven, the world’s greatest super team? Of course, followers of The Boys know that The Seven are in fact a corrupt corporate-run organization motivated by greed and power, and it’s hard to become part of that environment without it affecting you in ways that you might not be so proud of.
Poor Annie January from Des Moines, Iowa, has been no exception. While there's still a lot to come in the TV series, including the introduction of a new member of The Seven in Season Two, one of the differences between The Boys Amazon series and the original comic book is that the comic has had the opportunity to explore Starlight's dark side a little further.
Here then, are the ten worst things that Starlight of The Seven has done, ranked. Unlike the other members of The Seven, Starlight is genuinely quite innocent, so she is often not too blame for these moments. In this case, "worst" does not mean bad.
7 Losing her faith
You may be noticing a theme, which is that compared to the despicable acts of the other “heroes” who populate The Boys’ universe, Starlight’s “transgressions” are pretty tame and often she is not to blame. Nevertheless, she very clearly comes to New York as a woman of faith, her Christianity has been a key element of her superhero work as a member of the Young Americans super teen group before she joined The Seven.
It may come as no surprise to viewers that her faith was quickly shaken after being thrown into the cruel and depraved world of The Seven, but it certainly came as a shock to Starlight.
6 Eavesdropping
Starlight’s habit of eavesdropping could be considered self-defense, as there’s a fair chance that what she overhears will be members of The Seven planning some kind of awful prank on her.
On the other hand, if she’s trying to stay as pure as possible, there’s probably a lot she’d be better off not hearing, especially if she doesn’t want to get caught in between her own values and the problems inherent in betraying The Seven.
5 Smack talking A-Train
A-Train, The Seven's resident speedster, is no Mr. Nice Guy like Barry Allen. After missing an important meeting, A-Train decides he’s going to give Starlight a dressing down, but she’s reached her limit and makes a disparaging comment about his… manhood that humiliates him in front of the others and stops him in his tracks.
It’s well-deserved and Starlight feels great about it at first, but it’s only a momentary victory, as, in the end, she realizes that she has once again stooped to their level.
4 Lying to Hughie
Fairly early on in the series, Starlight and Hughie of The Boys find themselves in a romantic relationship. Naturally, neither wants to reveal to the others what they really do for a living.
RELATED: 5 Reasons Hughie & Starlight Belong Together (& 5 It's So Wrong)
It’s understandable, after all, superheroes are supposed to have secret identities, and The Boys hunt superheroes. But after it becomes clear that Hughie and Annie are going to be more than just a fling, someone should probably have come clean about who they were much earlier and saved everyone a lot of heartaches.
3 Speaking at BELIEVE
BELIEVE is a popular event in The Boys universe that brings together various religious superhero teams, or “ministries,” together for a day of faith, love, and worship. Of course, this world being what it is, the event is really just another corporate venture designed to disseminate propaganda and fleece the public.
Starlight is chosen to speak at the event, representing Capes for Christ. She initially refuses, citing the fact that she has lost her faith, but once she reveals herself to Hughie and is soundly rejected by him, she abandons her principles and gives a somewhat terrifying, proselytizing speech that is everything her corporate overlords could have dreamed of and more.
2 Blinding her parents
Later in the series, we learn tragically that A-Train was not the first person whose sight fell victim to Starlight’s powers. We find out that Annie was raised by foster parents because when her powers were activated as an infant, she had no control over them and released a light burst that rendered both of her real parents blind.
In many superhero universes, powers do not manifest until at least puberty, but sadly for Starlight, her universe is not one of them.
1 Leaving Hughie
Near the very end of the series, Annie finally decides to leave it all behind, The Seven, New York, Hughie, all of it. After everything that she and Hughie went through together, it seems like a really tough decision, especially on poor Hughie.
Fortunately, in the end, she works through her demons, comes back to Hughie and lives (we hope) happily ever after.