Starlight’s powers and origins explained

The Boys Season 4 sees Starlight in a brand new role away from The Seven and superheroics, but it’s also shed more light on her powers and origins.

That’s because the new season of The Boys puts Starlight up against the odds fighting Homelander and his army of devotees… all while The Seven adds a dark reflection of Starlight, Firecracker, to their roster.

Firecracker has now proven to be an incredible foil, exposing Starlight for her dark past and potentially ruining her image with her fans.

There’s a lot to talk about with Starlight in the context of the boys, so here’s a quick look at her power and origins throughout the series.

What are her powers?

Starlight has the ability to convert electricity into blasts of bright light. She doesn’t seem to have a ton of experience with her powers when the show begins, seemingly using them mainly to fire blinding bursts of light and drain or power electronics.

Those blasts are portrayed as devastating, too. In her The Boys Season 1 debut, she demonstrates her powers to a Vought rep by absorbing all the energy in a room and accidentally destroying a camera. It also comes after Annie offers a quiet warning to the camera person to look away, or else she’ll blind them.

As The Boys goes on, Starlight begins to develop more control over her powers. By Season 4, Starlight has begun using her powers to hover. Before her big fight with Firecracker, she even flies into frame.

How did she get her powers?

Starlight is not a natural-born supe, getting her powers from a Compound-V injection. She was subjected to it as part of a program offered by Vought to give children superpowers.

After receiving her powers from Vought, Annie trained under her parent’s guidance. She was basically a pageant child, but participating in competitions for superpowered children.

It was during those pageants that Starlight first met Firecracker. In a bid to win a competition, Starlight spread rumors that Firecracker was sleeping with judges to win, accidentally ruining her life and setting the stage for their grudge down the road.

Joining and leaving the Seven

Starlight joined The Seven as a replacement for the retired Lamplighter. However, her membership on the team was immediately met with tension, as she was sexually assaulted by The Deep upon joining and humiliated by other members and Vought execs.

Starlight remained with The Seven for several years, even as she saw the horrors of what they did, believing she could fix the organization from the inside. Thanks to her public image, she was largely protected from the whims of Homelander and others. The people love Starlight, which means Vought loves Starlight.

The Boys Season 3 sees Starlight named a co-leader of The Seven, but it occurs as Homelander finally manipulates his way into leading Vought. At the end of the season, a disgusted Annie abandons both The Seven and her Starlight identity, exposing what she saw as a member of the team and joining The Boys.

Starlighters movement explained

The Starlighters movement is a groundswell of support for Annie after she publicly called out The Seven. The movement came into formation after Annie posted a video on social media at the end of Season 3 attempting to expose Homelander’s crimes.

It didn’t work out perfectly, though. An opposing group, the Homelanders, rose up in support of Homelander. That group was only emboldened when Homelander killed a Starlighter in front of Vought Tower who had thrown a drink at his son, Ryan.

The Starlighters and Homelanders are now on the brink of a violent clash. While Annie appears to be trying to keep them reigned in and working to expose the crimes of Vought’s supes, the Homelanders are being manipulated by Homelander and Sister Sage as a cover for Homelander’s goal of usurping presidential power.

If you’re looking for more The Boys, check out all our Season 4 theories and read up on all the new Supes in The Boys. Or read about the best new movies on streaming and the best new shows on streaming this month.