Superhero couples are one of the few things that make comics so fun to follow, and there are few quite as iconic as Robin and Starfire within the DC Universe. While the two characters have decades of history together in the comic books, they’ve transcended into animation, movies, and most recently the new live action TV show, Titans.
These two staple Teen Titans members come from completely different worlds, quite literally, which adds an intriguing dynamic to their relationship. Robin, being a much more distinguished character, is commonly recognized as Batman’s Boy Wonder who much later is referred to adopts the vigilante name, Nightwing. Starfire is a much less recognized character, but can usually be identified as the alien with fiery red hair that becomes an integral part of the Teen Titans. Much is known about them as individuals, but how many of you can say you truly know them as a couple? Their relationship as team members doesn’t scratch the surface of their interactions romantically.
With the two bound to pair off soon in the Titans series, it is crucial for you to understand how the two came to be, and what exactly makes them one of the most interesting couples in the DC Universe (move over Superman and Lois Lane.) While the show may have a different interpretation than fans are used to, the two have a long history and there have been many different versions of the characters.
Here are 20 Strange Things About Robin And Starfire's Relationship.
She Learned English By Kissing Him
Being of a foreign alien race, Starfire came to Earth with no prior training in the English language, and she was unable to communicate with anyone until kissing Robin, who seemed to be the only English-speaking human available.
Tamaraneans learn English by skin-to-skin contact, which usually is exhibited by the act of kissing. During their first interaction, where Robin ironically believed her to be a dangerous alien threat, the two share their first kiss. However, their true feelings for each other didn’t bloom until much later. In fact, neither of them considered that moment to be their real first kiss, as there was no romantic overtone to it.
Starfire Has Been Married Twice
One would think that at least one of these marriages would be with Robin, but this wouldn’t be the case. In fact, both of these marriages took place when Robin wasn’t in the picture. Starfire’s first marriage would be to Prince Karras, a Tamaranean, and would transpire only to form a peace treaty. Karras ironically carried no true feelings for Starfire either, but the whole ordeal still rubbed Robin the wrong way anyway.
Her second marriage, with General Phy'zzon, also a Tamaranean, would take place well after her relationship with Dick Grayson, however, this one took place out of love. It sadly ended with Phy’zzon’s demise in a battle to defend the New Tamaran against the Sun Eater.
Batman Might Not Know They're Dating
So much for the title of, “The World’s Greatest Detective.” While a portion of Dick Grayson and Batman’s relationship has ended up on the rocks, he is still his adoptive son, and has spent the better part of life living with him and fighting crime.
During Robin’s stint with the Titans, he has mostly split from his father, so it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that Batman has no idea that he’s dating Starfire. Despite coming into contact with her twice, Batman has failed to show any evidence that he knows the two are in a romantic relationship. If they would go on to date in the show, considering right now Robin is on the outs with Batman, it is likely that he wouldn't know on the show either.
Both Of Their Parents Have Passed Away
Tragedy seems to be an ongoing trend with superheroes, and unfortunately, this has been the case with both Starfire and Robin. While most of us know the story of the demise of The Flying Graysons, many are unaware that Starfire’s parents faced a similar fate.
Robin’s parents had a trapeze accident, orchestrated by a criminal mob organization. This was something Dick Grayson wouldn’t realize until much later in his crime-fighting career. He was of course later adopted by Bruce Wayne and trained to be his sidekick in fighting crime. Starfire’s parents were eliminated by the Gordonian alien race after defending their home planet, Tamaran. Starfire was also later adopted, but by a fellow Tamaranean named Galfore.
She Helped Him Become Nightwing
The best relationships are the ones that help us move past or transgressions and become better people. A reality that may have rung true for both parties. While it was Robin that influenced Starfire to inherit vigilantism, Starfire would be the one responsible for Dick Grayson discovering his new crime-fighting identity, Nightwing.
Starfire inspired Grayson at a point in his life where he was conflicted with his Robin title and his affiliation with Batman. She was the one that reminded him of why he adopted vigilantism in the first place, and that he could be just as great living outside of Batman’s shadow. It took someone that Robin not only loved, but also trusted to come to this resolution.
They're different Species
No need to avoid the elephant in the room concerning these two. While interracial dating is nothing new in the DC Universe, Interspecies dating is a whole other topic of debate.
While Robin is clearly human, Starfire is of an alien species called Tamaranean. They descend from the planet Tamaran and are characterized by their green eyes, orange skin, and red hair. They’re many more characteristics of this race that differentiate them from humans, however the most notable are their superhuman strength, ability to generate green colored energy from their hands, and flight. They luckily are also humanoids, meaning they take the same form as most humans, which makes things a little less uncomfortable in public situations.
She’s Been With Two Robins
Everyone is familiar with the iconic romance between Dick Grayson, the first Robin, and Starfire, but it’s very seldom that Jason Todd gets mentioned. Jason Todd was the Robin that took the mantle after Dick Grayson abandoned the title and took to being Nightwing.
While brief, Jason and Starfire were romantically involved during the New 52 comics. This transpired after her relationship with Dick, when Starfire joined forces with Jason in a vigilante group called The Outlaws. It was evident at the time that Starfire still held strong feelings for her first love, so the fling between her and Jason didn’t end up going anywhere too far. Now that the two Robins appear on Titans, fans are wondering if Jason will end up crushing on Starfire.
Their Relationship Ended When She Fled Into Space
There comes a time in a relationship where one party just needs space. For Robin and Starfire, that time came in a literal sense. After the couple’s attempt to get married was foiled by Raven, who appeared to be evil at the time, Starfire took that as one of the many signs that they may need some time apart to work things out. This was a revelation that seemed to haunt her for some time.
While this did help cool their relationship, things never heated up like this before after this event took place. However, the love was still there, with the two often going off and on. It just happens to be one of the downfalls in a relationship when your girlfriend can fly.
Starfire is Much Taller than Robin
Robin might be the male in the relationship, but they don’t hold all the same tropes that are commonly found in traditional relationships. Starfire’s view might span farther than Robin’s, but not only because she can fly. She’s also considerably taller than the Boy Wonder in the comics. Canonically, she’s listed to be around 6’4, while Dick Grayson is around 5’9.
Hopefully, the Boy Wonder isn’t self-conscious. The difference in height is also not as noticeable when the two are together, as Starfire is regularly seen levitating or flying. It just so happens that most Tamaraneans are naturally taller than most humans, but Robin has managed to make up for his shortcomings in other areas.
Robin Has Dated Way More Than Starfire
Starfire may have well over a 100 years of life experience on Robin, but the Boy Wonder has been around the block a few more times when it comes to relationships. It may be safe to say that Dick Grayson has inherited his adoptive father’s playboy behavior when it came to women. While Grayson has been a bachelor all of his life, Starfire was married twice, and once only to solidify a peace treaty.
Robin, on the other hand, has quite the rogue’s gallery when it comes to girlfriends. He’s most notably dated Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon, but has had a number of flings which include Huntress aka Helena Bertinelli, the new Batwoman, and even his landlady at one point, just to name a few. In the show, Titans, we get an inside look to his dating life, as it was shown he had a short fling with the superhero Dove.
age is just a number
It may be best to not take the name, “Teen Titans,” too literally. Starfire is far from her teen years, at least by Earth’s standards, and has lived far longer than most humans tend to make it.
Starfire is 156 years old in Tamaran years, making her much more mature than her teenage colleagues, despite her youthful appearance. Also, due to her natural naivety and newness to the planet Earth, it’s also easy to consider her much younger than her peers. Robin, on the other hand, was about 16 when he first met Starfire, making their relationship not only unorthodox but brings in the question of legality. Luckily, in Titans, they fixed that issue as they have made Dick an adult.
Starfire is much Stronger than Robin
Superheroes all have their own special way to fight crime. When it comes to Robin, he’s inherited much of his crime-fighting skills from Batman. He’s an expert martial artist, a master tactician, and employs a host of amazing gadgets and weapons.
When it comes to Starfire. She’ll quite often go for the energy bolts, or the hard-hitting blows. Starfire’s Tamaranean descent has bestowed her with super-strength making her for more superior in physicality than the average human. Her natural thick skin also makes her nearly impenetrable to conventional means of damage. She’s even been shown to match Wonder Woman in hand-to-hand combat, so Robin and bad guys alike would be wise to stay on her good side.
They Never Got Married
Robin and Starfire may have been a match made in heaven, but the two were never able to take that final step in their relationship. One could propose a number of different reasons for this, but it’s important to note that they did make the attempt.
Robin did propose to Starfire; however, their ceremony was thwarted by Raven, who was evil at the time. Call it cold feet, but Starfire suggested that they take a break after that. Sadly, a second marriage proposal never followed. It’s also important to note that they both admitted that they had a lot going on personally at the time. There was limited room for their love at the time but that didn’t stop them from reconnecting time and time again.
Robin Was The First Person To Show Her Kindness
Despite Starfire’s fun-loving and happy-go-lucky demeanor, making friends has not always been the easiest task for the Tamaranean princess. It can be argued that both Starfire and the Boy Wonder had it hard growing up, but being betrayed by her own blood sister and enslaved by an adversarial alien race hasn’t allowed her to understand what a true friend really was.
Lost and scared on a new foreign planet, Robin became the first person outside of her legal guardian that she could place genuine trust in, and the first person who took the time to understand her. Robin introducing her to the Teen Titans was a pivotal point in Starfire learning to not only trust humans, but learning how to love one.
Starfire’s Powers Are Fueled by Her Emotions
Starfire’s powers are extremely crucial in her team’s success; however, they don’t just stem from nowhere.
Her abilities, most notably her starbolts and power of flight, are directly linked to her emotions. Meaning she’ll often be inhibited if she’s feeling too down or too stressed, which can be a pretty big problem when you’re working on the same team as your significant other. This was exhibited at a point where she believed Robin no longer cared for her, and she lost the ability to fly. In hindsight, this can often work in her favor, as if she frustrated or enraged, her abilities are amplified.
Her Sister Keeps Trying To Break Them Up
Starfire’s feud with her sister, Blackfire can be considered far more serious than your run of the mill sibling rivalry.
Robin has been the sole purpose of Starfire’s happiness – a huge no-no when that comes to Blackfire, Starfire’s sister and mortal enemy. Her attempts to split them up has spanned from forcing her sister into a ceremonial marriage with another alien species, attempting to seduce Robin herself, and just plain murder attempts. Blackfire seems to have no real interest in Robin or the other Titans, but she recognizes that these individuals disable her to oppress her sister as she once had. Her jealousy of her sister is pushed to new heights when she sees how happy Robin makes her.
They had a child in an alternate timeline
The “what could have been” stories are sometimes much more fun to hear than the actual story. This was the case during the Kingdom Come future timeline, where Robin and Starfire had a daughter together who would go on to become a superhero, just like Mom and Pops.
She was named Mar’i Grayson, and her vigilante name would be Nightstar. Mari’I inherited her mother’s superpowers, such as flight, super strength, and the ability to fire solar powered blasts. She took inspiration from her father’s Nightwing costume for her own. She also had an odd attraction to Damian Wayne, Batman’s son, which could also be argued to be her uncle. It might have been best to keep this character in the “alternate” timeline.
Starfire Can Fly and Robin Can't
One would assume the Teen Titan member named after a bird would be able to achieve flight, however, that would be wrong. Starfire is the only one in this relationship that can go airborne and this ability also allows her to travel through the atmosphere and into outer space. Something she’s commonly done to gain distance from Robin.
Good luck trying to keep up with her as well, as she commonly clocks in around the speed of light at the peak of her powers. It can't be the most fun part of getting into an argument with her. While most Tamaraneans have been born with this ability, some lose it through a childhood disease.
a connection to animals
It’s common that most superheroes draw inspiration for their costume or alter ego through animals, but it would surprise many that Starfire’s connection to a certain animal goes far deeper than just a name. Robin’s vigilante title was given to him by Batman, and inspired his classic costume. Apart from his yellow cape and black mask, that’s as far as the similarities go with the bird.
Starfire, on the other hand, is of an alien race descendant from cats, much like how humans are believed to be evolved from apes. This fact hasn’t been explored in depth, however in Teen Titans Go! Starfire is shown to become a cat when all the characters are reverted to their primitive states.
They've Been on Other Teams
A superhero couple that fights crime together, stays together. Or, at least that’s what Starfire and Robin believe. The two have met and fought alongside each other on the Teen Titans for a majority of their relationship, but their stories have led them to join other factions, and not always as a couple.
Between the two, they’ve been members of the Justice League, the Outlaws, the Outsiders, R.E.B.E.L.S., Batman Incorporated, Spyral, the Furies, and the All-Star Squadron. Starfire is seen to actually hook up with Jason Todd, the second iteration of Robin when she joins the Outlaws, but it fails to go any further as she still had feelings for Dick. Most teams she would join following the Titans were in order to get closer to him.
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What do you think is strange about these two Titans? Let us know in the comments!