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"I am... getting married"
- StarfireOriginally aired: September 11, 2004 Written by Amy Wolfram
Directed by Alex Soto
The Teen Titans take a trip to Starfire's home planet, Tamaran. But this is no ordinary visit: The Grand Ruler of Tamaran has arranged for Starfire to be married! The Titans try to go along with the strange ways of Starfire's homeworld, but Robin has a hard time believing that Starfire really wants to marry someone she's never met. And when the team discovers that Blackfire is Tamaran's new ruler, Robin becomes suspicious. But can the Titans learn the truth before Starfire marries the repulsive Glgrdsklechhh?
Hynden Walch, who does the voice of Starfire, also provides the voice of Blackfire
Alan Shearman as Galfore
Dee Bradley Baker as Glgrdsklechhh
Blackfire appeared last in season one's SISTERS, which was also written by Amy Wolfram
Story Editor/Writer Amy Wolfram on BETROTHED : "In season three, we realized there were some characters we loved from season one. And now we had a chance to revisit them. But we really wanted to make sure we didn't do another story just like SISTERS. We wanted to take it to another level... another place. And what better place than Tamaran? And that gave us a whole lot. The idea of Starfire being forced to go along with the wedding gave us an opportunity to see her world. And also to see Blackfire again. And to see their relationship was the same yet different. ""[...] I think she realizes she knows what she wants and where she wants to be. But at the same time, Blackfire is her sister and she'd never be intentionally mean or cruel to her. So we wanted to honor that too. She wouldn't turn her back on her sister. We wanted to strike a balance - Starfire is still sweet and genuine but we also wanted to give her some backbone. "
"And we had fun with developing Tamaran and the whole culture. We know they're hearty eaters. And that they're warriors. So we went with that and had fun with it. I had a lot of fun with the character of Galfore. He's this big hulking creature but at the same time he's Starfire's nanny and he's very sweet. [...] We just thought that Starfire would have someone like Galfore watching her, even if her parents were around. Since her parents are the king and queen, it seemed to make sense she might be raised by someone else. "
Producer/Story Editor David Slack on BETROTHED: " I'm not exactly sure where that story came from. I think since we view Starfire as 'the foreign exchange student', the idea of this arranged marriage for her seemed like a natural thing to explore. And we knew we wanted to bring Blackfire back and go to Tamaran. So there was an opportunity to do something about culture clash as well. "
The comic book series had a storyline where Starfire was forced to marry a Tamaranean Prince named Karras to keep peace. This happened in NEW TEEN TITANS [second series] #13-23 [1985-1986]. Starfire actually went through with the marriage, which ended her relationship with Nightwing [formerly Robin].In the comic books, Starfire had two living parents - Myand'r and Luand'r - who were the king and queen of Tamaran. They later perished when Tamaran was destroyed in New Titans #128 [1995]. She also had a younger brother, Ryand'r. Galfore was created for the animated series.
Starfire is indeed the Princess of Tamaran and rightful successor to the throne. Her older sister, Blackfire, should have been bestowed that honor. But Blackfire was born without the power to harness the sun's energies, so she was overlooked for the throne. This made her bitter towards her own people - and her rage was often directed at Starfire, who received honors that should have been hers. The full story is revealed in Tales of the New Teen Titans mini series #4 [1982].
Blackfire wrested control of Tamaran and became its queen in the same story where Starfire was married, in NEW TEEN TITANS [second series] #13-23 [1985-1986].
When Galfore greets Starfire, he speaks Tamaranean and utters the word, "Koriand'r." Koriand'r is Starfire's real Tamaranean name in the comic book. [Blackfire's real name is Komand'r].
Galfore also uses the phrase, "X'Hal" [pronounced as "Xzhal"]. X'Hal is a living battle goddess worshipped by much of the Vegan System, including Tamaran. In the comics, Starfire often uttered the exclamation "X'Hal." On the balcony scene, Starfire even says, "Thank X'Hal you..."
For more information on the comic book versions of the characters - including many images - visit titanstower.com's meeting room page.