The first Starshine first appeared in Rom #14, and was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. The character subsequently appears in Rom #16, #19–20, #25, and #27–28.
Fictional character biography
The first Starshine was Landra, a young woman who lived in the fictional planetGalador 200 years ago. When her world's government called for volunteers to become Spaceknights to battle the alien Dire Wraiths, Landra was one of those who accepted the call. Her armor gave her the power to use the mystical "Living Light". After the Spaceknights fended off the Dire Wraith invasion, Starshine teamed with fellow Spaceknights Rom and Terminator to seek out Wraiths that infiltrated nearby star systems. During one mission, she witnessed Terminator kill an innocent. She then acted as the prosecutor during Terminator's trial. Afterwards, she apparently pursued the Wraiths solo. At some point, it appears she completed her mission and returned to Galador, only to be put into stasis by Mentus, who, in the Spaceknights' absence, had usurped the Prime Director's position as the ruler of Galador. After the Spaceknights defeated Mentus and prevented Galactus from consuming Galador, Landra, who had fallen in love with Rom, decided to follow him back to Earth. There she became jealous of Rom's relationship with Brandy Clark. Landra was soon killed as she prevented a Dire Wraith disguised as Brandy from slaying Rom. She was buried in Clairton.
Brandy Clark
Publication history
Brandy Clark first appeared in Rom #1, and was created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom. The character subsequently appears as the second Starshine in Rom #40, #43–44, #46, #48, #50–51, #52–53, #55–59, #72, Rom Annual #3 WM Johnson ), Rom #73–75 Steve Ditko ), Incredible Hulk #418 Todd McFarlane ), and Spaceknightslimited series #1–5 Chris Batista ).
Fictional character biography
Brandy Clark was a young woman residing in the fictional town of Clairton, West Virginia. She had a romantic relationship with a local young man, Steve Jackson. Brandy was the first person to meet the Spaceknight Rom when he landed on Earth, and helped him as he tracked down and banished the Dire Wraiths that had infiltrated the town. Brandy came to fall in love with Rom because of his nobility, which caused friction between them and Steve. Not long after the death of Landra, Rom left Clairton to continue seeking out Wraiths elsewhere. Brandy felt strangely compelled to dig up Starshine's body. A Wraith sorcerer called Doctor Dredd then magically transplanted Brandy's body into the Starshine armor as part of an evil plan. This was something she had secretly yearned for; and afterwards, she left Clairton and accompanied Rom as he traveled the Earth. During their absence, all of Clairton's citizens were killed by female Dire Wraiths when they decided to take over from their males. Steve and Brandy's family were among the dead, which made her bitter and vengeful, even causing the Starshine armor she wore to morph into a more fierce-looking one. She continued to help Rom battle the Wraiths, until she was magically changed back into her human form by Hybrid. When all the Wraiths were finally defeated, Rom left for Galador, leaving Brandy on Earth. Her desire to be with him was noticed by the cosmic entity the Beyonder, who was active on Earth at the time. He granted her wish to be sent to Galador, where she hoped to be reunited with Rom. However, she arrived before he did, and it turned out that a second generation of Spaceknights had turned against the human Galadorians and killed most of them off. Brandy joined the underground resistance, but ultimately all human Galadorians were killed, and Brandy herself was only saved by the timely arrival of Rom. With help from the original Spaceknights, Rom defeats the evil ones. He reclaims his "humanity" which he had until then thought lost. Rom stays on Galador with Brandy while the other Spaceknights watch over them from space. Brandy was seen again at Rick Jones' wedding along with the now-human Rom; she appeared to be pregnant. Brandy had two sons with Rom, both of whom became Spaceknights as well. When the Builders come to Galador, Starshine helps defend the world along with Terminator, Ikon, Firefall, and Pulsar.
Powers and abilities
Both Starshines derived their powers from their bionic Spaceknight armor. In addition to giving them superhuman strength and the ability to fly in space across interstellar distances, the armor could channel the extra-dimensional energy known as the Living Light from its eyes, which they could use to reveal the true form of a disguised Dire Wraith, or as destructive energy beams. After being separated from the Starshine armor, Brandy continued to display certain abilities. A "ghost" of Starshine saved Rom from Wraith darkness, and several times the outlines of her armor appeared around her, usually in times of stress. It was noted that when this occurred, she seemed stronger than human, although the plot point was eventually dropped.
