Star Sapphire (comics)
Star Sapphire is the name of several fictional supervillainesses characters in DC Comics; many of them are villainous, and all connected in origin. Within DC continuity, an immortal race of warrior women were depicted as having the ancient tradition of choosing physically identical mortals from across the cosmos to serve as the host body for their queen. The woman chosen to serve this queen is called Star Sapphire. She is given the queen's symbolic weapon: a crystal resembling an actual star sapphire that grants the user powers similar to the power ring of Green Lanterns.
In the 2000s the term came to refer to the Star Sapphires, an organization whose members in part include women previously depicted as the singular Star Sapphire in DC titles. Not clearly defined as superheroes or supervillains, the Star Sapphires debuted as a corps in Green Lantern vol. 4 #20. They were created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver.
Fictional character biography
Golden Age Star Sapphire
The first version of the character appeared in All-Flash Comics #32 and Comic Cavalcade #29 and battled the Golden Age Flash. This Star Sapphire claims to be a queen from the 7th Dimension, and attempts to conquer Earth by destroying all the plant life, which would cause the world to run out of oxygen.A later retcon connected her with the Zamaron Star Sapphires, explaining that she had been chosen as Queen of the Zamarons, but had proved unworthy, hence her banishment to the 7th dimension. In this story, she attempts to manipulate Carol Ferris into using the Star Sapphire stone to destroy the Zamarons. The Flash is able to break the connection. This was the Golden Age character's sole modern appearance.
Carol Ferris
Carol Ferris is first introduced in S.O.S. Green Lantern!, which ran in Showcase vol. 1, issue #22. In her original appearance, Hal Jordan becomes employed at Ferris Aircraft and she makes it clear that she does not date employees. However, she would go on to play an on and off romantic role in his life. She first appears as the second Star Sapphire in Green Lantern vol. 2, #16. As Star Sapphire, she battles Green Lantern for many years, because the Zamarons want to prove men are inferior. When she is first defeated by him they take away her memory of the event, but the persona keeps resurfacing. When Jordan becomes the Spectre, he removes the Star Sapphire persona from Ferris. While seeking to inhabit the body that Jordan most desires, the Star Sapphire gem again possesses her for a brief period during the Mystery of the Star Sapphire story line. Her reunion with the Star Sapphire entity is short, however, as it soon learns that Jordan most desires Jillian Pearlman and as a result abandons Ferris. Though she no longer holds the singular position of Star Sapphire, in Green Lantern vol. 4 issue #38, she receives a violet power ring sent to her by the Zamarons. It attaches itself to her, and she leaves for Zamaron to be inducted as a member of the Star Sapphire Corps. As the Queen dies at the end of Green Lantern #57, Carol is named queen by her predecessor.Dela Pharon
Dela Pharon was introduced as the third woman to hold the position of Star Sapphire in Green Lantern vol. 2, issue #41. Technically speaking, however, Carol Ferris simultaneously appears as Star Sapphire in the same issue.In the story, Ferris is injured testing out one of her new flying machines, and is brought to the hospital for treatment. However, she awakens and finds herself drawn away from the hospital. It is shown that Ferris is being lured off by the Star Sapphire gem, and upon finding it she once again takes on the mantle of Star Sapphire. As Star Sapphire she returns to pursuing her quest to marry Green Lantern; however, conflict arises with the arrival of an alien woman who also appears to be the Zamaron's queen and Star Sapphire. Jordan discovers Ferris' transformation upon finding her fighting the second, alien, Star Sapphire. The Zamarons arrive to meet Jordan and explain that Dela Pharon is the woman that Ferris is fighting.
Before the events of the issue, the Zamarons chose Pharon as their new queen and recipient of the Star Sapphire, but a dissenting group of Zamarons claimed that Ferris would have made a superior queen. Angered by the opposition, Pharon travels to Earth and attacks Ferris in retaliation. Recognizing the attack provokes Ferris to become Star Sapphire again and defend herself. At the conclusion of their duel, Ferris appears to be the victor and leaves to challenge Jordan. Following his defeat, she forces him to travel with her to Zamaron and become her husband. Before the wedding, Jordan discovers that the woman he believed to be Ferris is really Pharon in disguise. Jordan finds the real Ferris living Pharon's life on Xanador, and brings her to Zamaron. He defeats Pharon and returns with Ferris to Earth without her retaining any knowledge of the events that transpired.
Dela Pharon reappears in a story told by Carol Ferris during the Mystery of the Star Sapphire story line. She continues to serve as Star Sapphire after her first appearance, and eventually both falls in love with and enslaves the Green Lantern of Xanador. After becoming his mate, she kills him and encases their planet in violet crystal so that they will be together until the end of time. This presumably leaves her encased in crystal during the events currently enfolding in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. However, promotional imagery included in Blackest Night vol. 1, issue #0 lists her as a prominent member of the newly formed Star Sapphires. What role she will play among the corps is unknown.
Deborah Camille Darnell
Remoni-Notra, of the planet Pandina, was chosen by the Zamarons to be their queen, an honor previously bequeathed upon Earth's Carol Ferris, but refused. Remoni-Notra was given one of the five star sapphire gems and was told of the existence of the other four. Using her powers, she came to Earth to locate and steal Carol Ferris' gem and joined the Secret Society of Super Villains as the new Star Sapphire in hopes of finding a clue to the gem. On Earth she took the name Deborah Camille Darnell and became a stewardess at Ferris Aircraft, in hopes of getting closer to Carol to take the Star Sapphire gem. As Star Sapphire, Darnell can use her gem of power to fly and to hurl blasts of force nearly equal to the power of a Green Lantern's ring. Moreover, the Sapphire bestows upon her a certain amount of invulnerability and allows her to survive in airless space.As Debbie Darnell, she often dated long-time hero Captain Comet. She also portrayed a French real estate agent named Camille on Earth. Her whereabouts were unknown until recently when it was revealed that she was mind-wiped and put in a coma. She was most likely mind-wiped at the request of Green Lantern, Hal Jordan to protect Carol Ferris. She was in a coma following the mind-wipe, and was revived by her teammates in the Secret Society. Together, they again battled the Justice League of America.
In Geoff Johns' run on "Green Lantern", her origin is rebooted: she is presented as a flight attendant who dated Hal Jordan when he broke up with Carol Ferris and, thus, was chosen to be the new Star Sapphire, since the crystal is used to possess Hal's girlfriends. Later, in Infinite Crisis #6, several magic-users assemble at Stonehenge and summon the Spectre. He singles out Darnell, condemns her, and transforms her into a star sapphire and shatters her, killing her.
Jillian Pearlman
The fourth child of a Texan rancher, Jillian enlisted to the United States Air Force after she turned nineteen. Her sharp wit, attitude, and Texan accent earned her the call sign "Cowgirl." Jillian met Hal Jordan's alter-ego, Green Lantern, after he saved her life when the engine of her jet, an X-2020, was failing and later met Jordan face to face at Edwards Air Force Base. Jordan and Jillian felt a romantic attraction to each other, and eventually realize that they have a lot in common.During the lost year, Cowgirl, Hal "Highball" Jordan, and Shane "Rocket-Man" Sellers were sent on an Air Force mission, on which Jordan, per usual, did not wear his Green Lantern ring. During the mission all three of their jets were shot down and the pilots taken as prisoners of war. Jordan filed down his chains in an attempt to escape the camp, finally doing so when his captors attempted to torture Cowgirl in front of him to get him to reveal secrets, since torturing Jordan himself wasn't working. Cowgirl and Jordan used the surprise to overcome their jailers, located Rocket-Man, fled the camp, and eventually made it to a campsite and a hospital. Upon their return to America they were awarded POW medals in a ceremony interrupted by a ship piloted by Tomar-Tu crashing to Earth. When the three recovered POWs were put back on active Air Force duty, it was done so on the condition that they attend therapy sessions. All three skip the sessions, deciding instead to get together at Pancho's, the station bar, and work through it.
Just 24 hours after being re-activated, Cowgirl was sent on a mission alongside pilots "Sugarsnap" and "Whims" to take down the same group of terrorists that took her captive. During the mission her jet was hit and the Air Force lost contact, causing Jordan to go after her, in his Green Lantern guise, when he found out. When he made it to the crash site and nearby camp there was no sign of her, the terrorists having immediately taken off with her in a jeep when they realized the Green Lantern was coming. Cowgirl yanked the steering wheel, sending the jeep into a tree and herself into a frozen lake, from which she was saved by Hal Jordan, whom she recognized beneath the mask. As he attempted to heal her with his power ring numerous bounty hunters attacked him, until John Stewart, undercover as Hunger Dog, "captured" him and deposited Cowgirl in a hospital.
When the Star Sapphire gem resurfaced, hosted by Carol Ferris, it attacked Cowgirl at Pancho's to get to Jordan before realizing that Jordan had feelings for her. The Star Sapphire jumped hosts to Cowgirl and chased Jordan, carrying Ferris, through the city as he tried to tire her out, eventually knocking him into a "Honeymoon Hotel". Jordan covered Ferris with a Green Lantern "suit" and the two did battle, with Jordan finally pinning Cowgirl under a car and prying the Sapphire off of her. Four Zamarons stepped out of the portal, and one said that both Cowgirl and Ferris would become the first two members of their Corps.
Jordan then told Ferris to attempt to remove the Star Sapphire from Cowgirl while he confronted the Zamarons. Though she was able to do so, the stone immobilized both her and Cowgirl while the Zamarons gained the upper hand over Jordan. The stone asked Jordan which of the two women he desired most, and that the woman he chose would be able to be with him forever. In response, Jordan kissed one of the Zamarons which in turn convinced the stone to release its hostages and possess the Zamaron Jordan kissed instead. The stone reacted with its new host violently, prompting the Zamarons to retreat to their home planet.
Pearlman currently resides in Coast City, living with Hal Jordan. She most recently appeared at the beginning of the Blackest Night storyline, performing a "fly-by" with the Green Lanterns of Earth for Coast City's "memorial day".
Nol-Anj
A new villainous Star Sapphire debuted in Green Lantern Vol 5 #21. Prixiam Nol-Anj was a former prisoner of the Oan sciencells, imprisoned for a slew of different crimes: racketeering, smuggling, extortion, murder for hire, abduction, trafficking in organisms, larceny, grand theft starship, and assault with an energy weapon. Over time, she uses her wiles to beguile her guard, a Green Lantern named Cossite, and he falls in love with her. When Larfleeze attacks Oa in the aftermath of the First Lantern's defeat and the death of the Guardians, his constructs kill a Star Sapphire who arrived to aid in the defense of the planet. The fallen Sapphire's ring flies to Nol-Anj's cell, where it declares her eligible to become a Star Sapphire herself. Nol-Anj persuades Cossite that the ring's presence is proof that her love for him is true, and he readily opens the door and allows her to slip the ring onto her fingers and acquire its power. To his understandable shock, she then kills him, declaring that the love in her heart that the ring detected was not for him, but for the Clann she belonged to, that accepted her when no one else would.After Larfleeze's attack is thwarted, Hal and the rest of the Lanterns discover Cossite's body and learn of Nol-Anj's escape, who had by then commandeered a spacecraft and left for space sector 0563. This is the home base for her clann, the Braidmen, a group of scavengers and contraband pirates, of which she is the "Prixiam". As Prixiam, she serves similarly as would a queen. The love for her clann is so potent, Nol-Anj has been shown to have the ability to extend her violet powers to shatter green constructs and summon/control multiple members of the Braidmen across great distances.
Star Sapphires
Powers and abilities
Star Sapphire gem
The original Star Sapphire's powers are vast. She is equipped with an arsenal of weapons, including a replicate Zamaron star sapphire, of unknown origin. She also has a variety of personal powers, though whether they stem from herself or her personal armament is unclear. She is also able to access the memories of the Zamorans regarding the Star Sapphire gem, such as the experiences of other wearers. As with the powers of the woman bearing the title of Star Sapphire, the limitations of the Star Sapphire gem are also unclear. Psychologically, the women serving as Star Sapphire have displayed a bizarre preoccupation with gender, suspected of reflecting a pathological fear of men. They also have had a less than accurate grasp of the variations in physics between dimensions. They are sometimes foiled primarily due to their own overconfidence. The Star Sapphire gems used to power the original incarnations of Star Sapphire were used by the Zamarons to create the main violet Power Battery.Other versions
- In the Elseworlds one-shot "", where Bruce Wayne is granted Abin Sur's Power ring, Selina Kyle is granted powers by Sinestro; calling herself Star Sapphire. Though never outright stated to be Kyle, the story strongly hints at her identity: Binary Star says "You have the eyes of a cat, Star Sapphire," and Bruce recognizes her as "that woman I met in the bar. I nearly died that night", a reference to the events of .
- In the Tangent Comics fifth-week event, a woman with the name Star Sapphire is a member of that world's version of the Doom Patrol.
- In the universe prior to the current one, groups managed to tap into the wellspring of power created by the Emotional Spectrum. In this universe those who tapped into the violet light were known as the Lightsmiths of the Violet Light of Passion.
In other media
Television
- Star Sapphire appears in episodes of Justice League, voiced by Olivia d'Abo in her natural English accent. She receives her power from the stone in her mask which gives her Green Lantern-like abilities that enable her to form shields, create energy constructs, fire power blasts and create a full-body field that enables her to fly and travel through deep space. While her origins are never elaborated upon of which version she's based on, the show's creators have confirmed she is intended to be Carol Ferris. In the episode "Injustice For All", Star Sapphire is invited to join Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang to plot the destruction of the Justice League. She is initially repelled by the idea of working with "common criminals" but seems to warm to the amount of money that Luthor promises each of them. In the Injustice Gang's final battle with the Justice League, she is defeated by Green Lantern. In the episode "Fury", Star Sapphire is later recruited to the Injustice Gang's second incarnation led by Aresia to destroy the men of the world. When Aresia reveals the group's agenda, she is initially shocked, but ultimately joins enthusiastically. While aligned with this Injustice Gang, she successfully tricks Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl into believing that she still wants to live in a world with men by luring the two women into a trap that subdues both them and Hippolyta. Later on, she and Aresia, along with Tsukuri, flee with Hippolyta aboard Aresia's plane. Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl pursue them and she is knocked out of the fight when Wonder Woman wrenches one of the plane's laser cannons free from its housing and hurls it at her from behind which plunges her into the sea. In the episode "Hereafter", Star Sapphire is among the several supervillains from the mayhem that reigns in Metropolis shortly after Superman's supposed death at the hands of a group of supervillains. She battles Green Lantern however is defeated when Wonder Woman sneaks up behind her and knocks her out.
- In Justice League Unlimited, Star Sapphire joins Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society. During the mutiny led by Grodd, she sides with Luthor, and thus is among the survivors who arrive on Earth in time to warn of Darkseid's impending invasion. She joins the Justice League and the rest of the Secret Society in fighting off the forces of Apokolips, and is depicted fighting parademons over the Great Wall of China beside Wonder Woman, Shining Knight and Vigilante. During the battle, she is struck unconscious by a beam from an Apokoliptan cannon, but is saved from falling to her death by Shining Knight. She is last seen fleeing the Metro Tower along with the Secret Society's other surviving members.
- The Carol Ferris version of Star Sapphire appears in ', with Carol Ferris voiced by Rachel Quaintance and Star Sapphire voiced by Vicki Lewis. Carol is transformed into Star Sapphire after being abducted by the Zamarons then implanted with their queen's spirit within her and bestow a violet power ring upon her. Whenever Carol places the ring on her finger, she transforms into the Star Sapphire and loses control of her body. In the episode "Scorn of the Star Sapphire", Star Sapphire ultimately attempts to open a portal that allows an army of Zamarons to invade Earth, but the invasion is repelled by Green Lantern and Batman. After the Zamarons are sent back to their homeworld, Carol eventually regains control and casts the Star Sapphire out of her body while apparently losing all of her memories of her time under the ring's influence. This version sports a costume that combines elements from both her original design as well as the more recent 2005 Green Lantern series redesign. The Star Sapphires' Central Battery is briefly featured in a flashback showing the Zamaron homeworld. Star Sapphire later makes a cameo appearance in the episode "Powerless!" where Captain Atom attempts to illustrate how weak Batman is by pointing out that Star Sapphire could easily kill him in battle.
- The Star Sapphires appear in '. Debuting in the episode "In Love and War", Queen Aga'po is their leader. This version starts out as a villain group, as their conception of love involves trapping men in crystalline stasis chambers, putting them in a permanent euphoric state to ensure nothing bad will happen to them. They rely on their charms to convince men to be trapped willingly, or, if those men already have true loves, attempt to recruit said true loves. Carol Ferris is briefly recruited in an attempt to seduce Hal Jordan, but the ring's effect causes her to turn crazy and attack Hal. He is finally able to bring her back to her senses through a kiss, and she decides to reject the Star Sapphire ring, stating that the Zamarons' methods are not love, but selfishness. One of the Star Sapphire's novices is struck by her speech, and helps Hal and the others to escape, planning to teach her comrades the true meaning of love. In the episode "Homecoming", it is shown that they have stopped being fanatical. They help Hal and Razer by transporting them to Earth and Oa, respectively. In the episode "Love is a Battlefield", the Star Sapphires are attacked by Aya and the Manhunters for the spreading the message of love. As a result, they call back Carol to explain love to Aya. To help prove her case she had to fight Atrocitus. At the end of the episode, she decides to keep the ring this time just in case.
- Star Sapphire appears in Justice League Action.
- Star Sapphire also appears in DC Super Hero Girls.
Film
- Star Sapphire makes a cameo appearance at the end of ' along with the other villains. Carol Ferris also appears, however the link between her as Carol and Star Sapphire is not official.
- While the Star Sapphires do not appear onscreen in the 2011 film Green Lantern, Carol Ferris is a main character. In the scene where Carol is flying a fighter jet, her call sign is 'Sapphire' and the Star Sapphire sign can be spotted on her helmet. While the Star Sapphires were never involved in the film, Lively has commented that there is potential for Star Sapphire to appear in any possible sequels and that she would enjoy the chance to return as Star Sapphire.
- The Carol Ferris version of Star Sapphire appears in ', voiced again by Olivia d'Abo but without her accent this time. Her costume here is similar to the one currently worn by the Star Sapphires. She is hired to be part of Vandal Savage's Legion of Doom since she is the counterpart to Green Lantern. Her plan is to break Hal Jordan's will by making him believe he had let her get killed by a terrorist that he could have easily defeated before harm befell her. As Hal mourns her, the real Carol walks up to him and berates him for his failure to save her and for hurting Carol, driving her into becoming Star Sapphire. Weeping, Hal takes off his ring, becoming a broken man as he continues to mourn Carol. When Batman arrives, he reveals that the woman was an android used by Star Sapphire to trick him, and that she had exposed him to a diluted version of the Scarecrow's fear gas in order to break his will, to which Hal dons his ring and becomes Green Lantern once more. When the Justice League storms the Hall of Doom, she faces off against him again. As they fight, Hal expresses anger over Carol's plan, saying that he couldn't believe what she did, only for her to coldly remark that he broke her heart, and she would never stop trying to kill him for it. She manages to capture him but he escapes and knock her out. Hal proceeds to take away Carol's Star Sapphire gem and admits that he keeps hurting her. This version is shown to be able to create both energy blasts and hard constructs. She was the only one to use the non-lethal version of Batman's contingency plans and was the last member to be defeated.
- Star Sapphire appears in the animated film .
Video games
- Although she is not featured as a character, there are 2 Hero cards on which Star Sapphire appears on in Injustice 2.
- Star Sapphire appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains.
Webisodes
- Star Sapphire appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Jessica DiCicco.