Starfinger
| Starfinger | |
|---|---|
 The Lars Hancom incarnation of Starfinger as depicted in Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #6 (October 1988). Art by Howard Bender (penciller), Arne Starr (inker), and Carl Gafford (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #335 (August 1965) |
| Created by | Edmond Hamilton (script) John Forte (art) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Garth Ranzz Dr. Lars Hanscom Char Burrane Molock Hanscom |
| Abilities | Ability to project power rays from the fingers of his hand. |
Starfinger is a supervillain appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #335 (August 1965), and was created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte.
Fictional character biography
[edit]Lars Hanscom
[edit]Lars Hanscom is a doctor who brainwashed Lightning Lad into serving him to help him obtain the rare metal rejuvium. He is arrested, but escapes and attempts a solo criminal career.[1][2][3]
Char Burrane
[edit]Char Burrane is a fugitive who flees to Mars and discovers a mysterious ring containing a microscopic world. Using the powers of two of its inhabitants, Starlight and Starbright, Burrane kills Hanscom and becomes a criminal mastermind.[4] After the Legionnaires defeat him, Starfinger flees to the secret world within his ring.[5]
Molock Hanscom
[edit]In Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 4), Molock Hanscom, Lars' brother and the former leader of the Cosmic Spy League, takes on the Starfinger role after killing Burrane and obtaining his rings, but is killed by the Khunds.[6]
Powers and abilities
[edit]Starfinger's right hand has star-tipped fingers, each of which can project different energy rays. Each ray has a different property:
- Thumb - neutralizing ray
- Index finger - lightning
- Middle finger - super-thrust ray
- Ring finger - can project any kind of radiation (e.g. heat, kryptonite, gamma rays, shrinking rays, etc.)
- Pinky - freezing ray
Using all the fingers together projects a power-disrupting ray.
In other media
[edit]- An unidentified Starfinger appears in the Legion of Super-Heroes episode "The Substitutes", voiced by Taylor Negron. This version is arrogant, narcissistic, and sports a thick Spanish accent. Additionally, his powers are derived from mechanical gloves that can create rope; fire lasers and concussive sound waves; produce fire, water, and ice; and provide rocket propulsion. Furthermore, he can summon "Furries", small flying creatures from another dimension that grow into ionosphere-eating monsters. With the Legion of Super-Heroes busy fighting the Furries, Starfinger is left unopposed until he is defeated by the Legion of Substitute Heroes, who take his gloves and use them to defeat the Furries.[7]
- Starfinger appears in the tie-in comic Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century.[8] Here, he is revealed to possess self-duplication abilities.
References
[edit]- ^ Adventure Comics #336
- ^ Superboy #200 (February 1974)
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 3) #29 (December 1986)
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 3) Annual #4 (1988)
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #57 (May 1994)
- ^ Scott Sonneborn (writer); Ben Jones (director) (February 17, 2007). "The Substitutes". Legion of Super Heroes. Season 1, Episode 9. Kids WB.
- ^ "Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #16 - The Untold Legend of Arm-Fall-Off Boy (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- Characters created by Edmond Hamilton
- Characters created by John Forte
- Comics characters introduced in 1965
- DC Comics supervillains
- Fictional characters with anti-magic or power negation abilities
- Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
- Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities
- Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities