Starhaven

Starhaven
First appearance	Superboy [and the Legion of Super-Heroes] #226 (April 1977)
Information
Type	Planet
Notable locations	Temple of the people
Notable characters	Dawnstar Wildstar
Publisher	DC Comics

Starhaven is a fictional planet first depicted in stories of DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes set in the 30th and 31st Centuries, and described as being located near the core of the Milky Way galaxy. ^[1] It was portrayed as being the home of Legion member Dawnstar and R.E.B.E.L.S. member Wildstar.

Starhaven was described as being forcibly settled in the 13th Century by the Anasazi tribe, believed on Earth to be extinct. As a result of genetic engineering by the same unknown alien race which abducted them from Earth, their metagenes were said to have been triggered to cause specific mutations. ^[2]

The inhabitants were given feathered wings which could move air, and which had an undescribed role in assisting the open-space flight of their descendants. Some of them, at first by random variation ^[3] and later through selective breeding, have superior navigation and tracking skills. ^[4]

Their clothing and hairstyles resemble those found in various tribes of Plains Indians: feathered war bonnets, fringed deerskins, hair-pipe breastplates, breechcloths, high-top moccasins, and long flowing hair or two long braids (for both men and women).

Their main temple, held to be sacred ground of the Great Spirit whom they see as ordering the universe, rests atop a grand mesa and resembles a hewn monolithic moai. Inside, wide-open arches are supported by large, smooth columns through which Starhaven's moons can be seen. Braziers are lined along polished floors and upon a low, raised dais where vigils can be held. ^[5]

Family dwellings resemble futuristic wigwams and can accommodate an open hearth. The top is opaque from the outside, but the open sky can be seen clearly from within. Community structures are cylindrical, upright, rounded at the top, and supported by six legs. ^[6]

By the time of Dawnstar in the 30th Century, it is seen as being traditional for a Starhavenite reaching his or her eighteenth year to embark on a spiritual "Grand Tour" of the galaxy. After reaching one's naming place, it is believed one receives a vision of a destined soulmate or life partner. ^[7]

In other media

Starhaven is mentioned on the television series Supergirl . In the season 1 episode "Truth, Justice and the American Way", the character Alphonse Luzano, prisoner #2445, reveals that he was born on Starhaven, to which Supergirl remarks that she visited Starhaven with her father, as a child, and that the air smelled of cinnamon. In the season 2 episode "Mr and Mrs Mxyzptlk", the alien Lyra says she is from Starhaven, and that once "the blight" hit the planet, the air smelled of death.

References

1. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #240 (June 1978)
2. From a retcon in R.E.B.E.L.S. (vol. 2) #3 (June 2009); no specific tribe had been described for this population earlier
3. R.E.B.E.L.S. (vol. 2) #3 (June 2009)
4. Who's Who in the DC Universe #6 (August 1985), Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (April 1988)
5. Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #311 (May 1984)
6. Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #305 (November 1983)
7. Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (April 1988)