30 Days of Scans: Day 19: Character you used to dislike but now don't:

[halialkers]

I choose Starfire of Tameran.



I'll admit that the fanservice bit threw me off and made me take her less seriously. As did my assumption that the comics character served as comic relief the way the cartoon one did. The more I read about comics Starfire though, and about her past and how she'd overcome it to frankly be one of the few members of the Wolfman-era Titans to avoid massive Wangst storylines in the present day......the more I came to appreciate this character.

Besides she's one of the few who can make a Classical-Age attitude to military dress work like a charm. I found Comics-Starfire more worthy of respect in some ways because the Proud Warrior Race parts of her personality did not come to dominate all of her personality at the expense of the rest of it. To me, it was this balanced approach and that Starfire's been in fights with beings like Trigon and Imperiex and ended up being a real made-of-win fighter in them......I really wish they did more with these sides of Starfire's character than they did in the cartoon. She's the rare Titan whose original comics version was actually superior to the Cartoon version.

Comments

[nezchan]

To be honest, growing up with the Perez Titans, I was a bit disappointed when they made her the comic-relief naïf character. But I started thinking of her as a completely different person who happened to share the name and similar powers, and felt a bit better.

Note to producers: I liked the "weird alien food" schtick better when Urusei Yatsura did it, IN THE 80'S! And it wasn't even that new then.

[halialkers]

Would have been better had they made it Obfuscating Stupidity the way they did with the comics version, but still......though Cartoon!Gar is about on the level of Scrappy Doo with me on the HATEHATEHATE sweepstakes. The comics version, not so much, he's actually a fairly decent guy.

Though I was surprised to see them bring the Gordanians into the origin episode. Means they did their homework as far as continuity was concerned.

[minyandu]

I'm still avoiding giving her costume detail look...=_=
But I really like the time she's being the big sis and recruiting the Titans with Cyborg and Gar.

[halialkers]

That was indeed one of Johns' better moments with writing.

[minyandu]

Yeah, that's why I don't quite get the current TT run.

[karlalove]

I agree with this. I hated that TV show and that was before I got into comics it seemed so rediculus to me. And then I started reading the Teen Titans and hated the show more because it was so out of character. My poor Gar D: And Kory oh Kory what did they do to you. Poor guys...

[halialkers]

The absence of Wangst IMHO was a noticeable improvement for both Raven and Cyborg, though. I felt that show was hit or miss with the Titans, though Beast Boy rather quickly earned my irritation for getting two seasons where Starfire got none.

[karlalove]

Maybe it's because Cyborg is the Titan I know least about except for him being sort of a big brother to the younger Titans and everything but as little as I watched of the cartoon his cartoon version seemed to have more personality, or maybe it was just a bigger personality... I don't know. I don't like that everyone after the show was like lol Raven's so Goth/Emo and all that but again from what little I watched of the show she didn't seem to bad.

I don't know.

[halialkers]

Of course you'd think that knowing she's half-demon would indicate to people that perhaps what's Goth/Emo to us wouldn't be to a half-human. *shrugs.*

And meh, Cyborg's the Teen Titan who gets the most exposure aside from Robin. Just once I'd like to see say, Donna Troy, Starfire, Gar, or Raven get a live-action or cartoon appearance outside the Titans instead of just Cyborg. Especially when your token minority is Victor "mostly a robot" Stone.

[karlalove]

You'd think.

I'd give anything for Donna to be in anything ever at all. Or for there to be no legal issues with any of the Wonder Girl crap or whatever. But that's besides the point. It is weird that he's been in that cartoon and Smallville (not that I watched that either), because like I said maybe it's because I know least about him but I think Cyborg is one of the more bland members of the Titans. Maybe that's just me thinking that though...

[stig]

Apart from her relatively cool appearances in 52, I think one of the few times I've found the character likeable was in Shortpacked!.

[omnipotent]

Totally right clicked + save as. LOL.

[lonewolf23k]

Honestly? I like comic book Starfire and Beast Boy and all, but I grew to like their personalities in the cartoon a lot more.

And yes, I'm well aware this makes me a heretic in the eyes of many.

[halialkers]

Nah, I feel the same about cartoon Raven in that she had the same origin but had much less wangst about it than her comics counterpart. That plus being actually useful in a fight puts her in several major ways head and shoulder above present-day Nu-Raven.

Though I think that Gar's would have been fine in the cartoon if he hadn't had two seasons to himself.

[randyripoff]

Loved the cartoon, didn't miss the angst in the slightest. In fact, I can't stand comics Raven, but the cartoon one is awesome.

[star_of_airdrie]

I really enjoy her run so far in REBELS. Although it began with what I perceived as foreboding a reunion with Dick Grayson (and I'll admit I harbor some fangirl hope for this as I feel Batman Inc will go boy in what will be proverbial flames), her role in the for-profit organization and the return to the Vega System has been interesting.

She is definitely a Warrior and a Princess without being a princess and a sex-kitten.

[lyraeinne]

I really do prefer toon!verse Kory in almost every way, but I actually really appreciate your reasons for feeling differently. For me comic!verse Kory has always read as someone who's potential has been effectively squandered by DC's tendency to make her the butt of every hurr hurr frat boy joke and endless, tired reiterations of her frustratingly mindless obsession with her relationship with Dick. And god, the costume. I can't take it seriously. I can't take her seriously as long as she's in it.

But that said, when writers do bother to give her the opportunity be a full, balanced character who doesn't have to be weighed down by any of that she really can be amazing.

[yaseen101]

Yeah, my stance is pretty much the same as yours.