Star Sapphire’s Justice League Journey, Explained

The Justice League is finally heading back to being the center of the DC Universe, and the team’s roster will feature more than just the usual suspects. Along with somewhat obscure heroes, the all-inclusive new roster of the upcoming Justice League Unlimited comic book will include some completely unexpected faces to join the group. This includes a ring-slinging heroine who was once a rather one-dimensional villain.

Carol Ferris is best known as the Green Lantern supporting character Star Sapphire, and this identity’s debut in the Silver Age of Comics had her portrayed as a somewhat silly villain. As comics evolved, so did the character, and she’s now a firmly heroic figure in the DC Universe. Given how things have changed over the years for the Green Lantern mythos, it was only a matter of time before Carol found her way onto the premiere DC team.

Star Sapphire Debuted As a Green Lantern Enemy

First Appearance: Showcase #22 by John Broome and Gil Kane

Star Sapphire has been an identity used by several people throughout the cosmos, but the most popular incarnation is Carol Ferris. Debuting in the Silver Age, Carol was the vice president of Ferris Aircraft, making her the superior of Hal Jordan, a.k.a. Green Lantern. However, their growing romantic tension was a huge problem, especially since so many of their feelings went unsaid over the years.

It could be argued that Carol’s more villainous streak was a precursor to Jean Grey’s identity as Dark Phoenix in later
X-Men
comic books by Marvel.

This presented an unintended problem when the alien Zamarons crowned Carol as their queen and a member of the Star Sapphires. Unfortunately, they also discovered that she was in love with Hal Jordan, a member of the Green Lantern Corps and a pawn of their enemies, the emotionless Guardians of the Universe. Thus, Star Sapphire was sent to fight and defeat Green Lantern in combat. He constantly defeated her, however, and each time this happens, Carol is restored to normalcy and none worse for wear.

From there, Carol had varying degrees of relevance in Hal’s life for a while, especially since she was briefly engaged to another man named Jason Belmore. However, this fell by the wayside with Hal still pining for her, and vice versa. The Star Sapphire persona was initially written in a somewhat cartoonish manner, and she lacked much of the depth later given to Carol. At the same time, she was on the same footing as Green Lantern and wasn’t treated as weaker or inferior. This made her a cut above some love interests in that era. ​​​​​​

Star Sapphire’s Darkest Suitor Gave Carol Ferris Her Own “Emerald Twilight”

Predator’s First Appearance: Green Lantern (Vol 2) #178 by Len Wein and Dave Gibbons

In the ensuing years, Carol’s loneliness gave rise to the “Predator” identity, which was in some ways a romantic partner for her. Taking on a form of its own, this entity even used its own growing economic power to give Carol control of her father’s jet company. Eventually, Predator even defeated Hal Jordan in combat, leading to his being cemented as Carol’s “true love.” Merging with Carol, the entity turned her into a truly evil version of Star Sapphire who was removed entirely from any sort of morality.

In many ways, Carol’s most heinous acts as Star Sapphire were similar to how Hal Jordan acted years later as Parallax.

Unfortunately for her, the Zamarons had left that plane of existence after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, so Carol vented her rage by striking at the Green Lantern Corps itself. This saw her kill a defenseless Katma Tui (the fellow Green Lantern and wife of John Stewart). When Hal Jordan tried to keep the unusually emotional John from getting his revenge, the result was an escaped Star Sapphire and a broken friendship between the two Green Lanterns.

Ironically, both Predator and Parallax would be retconned as cosmic entities that possess hosts, with one representing the Star Sapphire Corps while the other did the same for the love-based Star Sapphire Corps. The event led to Carol leaving superheroics and Hal’s life behind for a while, though she was briefly an admin for the Extreme Justice group. Later, the events surrounding Katma’s death and Carol’s hand in it were retconned completely, and it was revealed that the entity left Carol before possessing another Star Sapphire who killed the Green Lantern.

When Hal Jordan died and became The Spectre, he helped Carol by removing the Star Sapphire persona from her as a gem, which Carol promptly destroyed. This helped Carol move on and marry a man named Gil (seemingly named after her co-creator). However, once Hal returned to the land of the living and the role of Green Lantern, things somewhat returned to normal—and changed forever—for both of them.

Geoff Johns Turned Star Sapphire Into a Hero

Following the return of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth, he started working for Carol at Ferris Aircraft again. Unfortunately, the mutual hurt caused Hal to leave, though Carol was also honest with herself and divorced Gil due to her returning feelings for Hal. Sensing this, the Star Sapphire Corps sent her one of their Star Sapphire power rings, which empowered her as Star Sapphire like never before.

Giving herself over willingly (as opposed to past interactions), the modern characterization of Carol’s Star Sapphire persona was explicitly heroic and not the same villain as beforehand.

She wasn’t a mind-controlled femme fatale, and Carol retained her familiar personality while wearing a new version of the Star Sapphire costume. With her head firmly on her shoulders and the Predator entity nowhere in sight, Carol does several heroic acts throughout the galaxy, including defending the homeworld of the Zamarons against the onslaught of the Sinestro Corps. Since then, Star Sapphire has had a rocky relationship with Hal Jordan.

After encountering Hawkman and Hawkwoman before the events of the New 52 reboot, she noted that the two Thanagarians had a more pure love than she and Hal ever did. During the New 52, the history and continuity of Carol and almost all Green Lantern mythos were retained, with the only real exception being elements involving Golden Age Green Lantern and Justice Society of America member Alan Scott.

Green Lantern and Star Sapphire’s Relationship is Still Rocky

Though she and Hal still clearly felt for each other, they didn’t officially restart their romance, as Carol briefly dated Kyle Rayner. However, this temporary romance soon ended, and at one point, Hal was revealed to desire to marry Carol and have a family with her above all else. Most recently, in the current Green Lantern series, Carol and Hal have had more tension than ever, especially once he started working for her again.

Angered at Hal and drunk one night, she asked her beau Nathan to marry her in Las Vegas, though her Star Sapphire ring kept her from doing so. While her relationship with Green Lantern in the current Green Lantern comic book is definitely on-again and off-again, Star Sapphire is firmly a heroic identity. This can also be seen in other members of the intergalactic team. After all, even the formerly villainous Fatality (an alien who once hunted Green Lanterns) has become a Star Sapphire due to her growing love for John Stewart.

Star Sapphire is the Newest Member of Justice League Unlimited

Given that she’s now not done anything villainous for years and was essentially mind-controlled when she engaged in those acts, it makes sense that Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire would be joining the Justice League. Though she’s usually more focused on her company, Carol is always ready to defend innocents and come to the aid of others. This was seen when she took her newfound power to protect the Zamarons.

In fact, her tendency to put the needs of others over herself is a reason why the Star Sapphire ring chose her in the modern era. This makes her a great Green Lantern stand-in as a member of the new Justice League, and it’s one of the only great villain-to-hero transitions in comics. While she started as a somewhat goofy foe, Star Sapphire will now be cemented as a great hero.