Warning! Spoilers for The Boys comic book series below
Almost every superhero in pop culture has some sort of tragic origin and Starlight from The Boys is no exception, as her original backstory was much darker in the comics. While it's yet to be explored in The Boys streaming series, Annie January has one of the darkest origins in comic books, as she accidentally blinded her birth parents after being born before her custody was transferred to Vought-American.
The Boys is a satirical take on the world of superheroes, but its 'Supes,' like the characters they spoof, still have tragic origins. For example, Homelander was born in a lab, designed explicitly to be a killing machine and the greatest hero on Earth - as he never got the chance to have a normal childhood or life. Black Noir was also lab-made, created to be a failsafe against Homelander. Meanwhile, after being exposed to Compound V, the Female was kept in a cage as a human lab rat before being rescued by Billy Butcher and joining The Boys. However, one character whose dark origin is overlooked is Starlight, whose birth parents were sadly changed forever by her powers.
In The Boys (Highland Laddie #4) by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, John McRea, Keith Burns, Simon Bowland, and Tony Avina, Hughie and Starlight have a heated fight following the revelation she is a Supe. In an effort to show Hughie the real Annie January, she reveals her dark origin. After sharing that her powers can generate the light of a "million candles," Starlight tells him her birth parents found that out the hard way. It's revealed that when she opened her eyes after being born, she let out a light that blinded her parents.
Starlight tells Hughie that she was signed away to Vought-American after the corporation promised her now-blinded parents visitation rights and money, as they faced a lawsuit from the nurse and midwife also blinded in the incident. Because of her dark origin, Starlight was raised by foster parents who were most interested in showing her off as a prop instead of giving her a loving childhood. Her pageant life remains in The Boys streaming series, but her birth mother raises her while Annie is injected with Compound V after being born.
While The Boys' live-action adaption changed Starlight's dark origin, they still could introduce Annie January's comic origins if they want to give a surprising twist to her story. Although given her relationship with her birth mother in the series, it's doubtful she was secretly born to different parents. Still, Starlight's comic origin reminds readers of The Boys that her already tragic history could have been much darker in the show.