Starlight (The Boys)

"Since when did "hopeful" and "naive" become the same thing? I mean, why would you get into this business if not to save the world? That's all I have ever wanted. And that's why I have always wanted to be in."

- Starlight.

Starlight is a major protagonist of the highly controversial Comic book and TV series The Boys.

Annie January is as down-to-earth and sincere as they come; the girl next door with superpowers. And as Starlight, “The Defender of Des Moines,” all she’s ever wanted to do is save the world — and while a lot of people say that as a corny catchphrase, she actually means it. So when she’s selected to join The Seven, it’s every dream she’s ever had come true. But that dream becomes her worst nightmare when this fresh-faced Midwesterner arrives in New York, and learns that the old adage is true: never meet your heroes.

She is portrayed by Erin Moriarty.

Joining The Seven
Starlight has had a history of being in the spotlight, often attending superhero events as a child, she is selected to be a member of The Seven after interviewing following Lamplighter's retirement. She is at first rejoiced at being selected, however is sexually assaulted when the Deep forces her to perform oral sex on him in The Name of the Game.

Her membership with The Seven comes with a price, however, as she is forced to disregard her morals in return for Vought International profit. She initially disregards Vought's attitude towards fighting criminals, dismayed at having her patrols arranged for her in Cherry, she deviates from the path after saving a woman from two assailants — much to Vought's initial anger, however is praised after it gains positive publicity for The Seven.

Starlight eventually strays from her path as a member of The Seven during the Believe EXPO, in which she expresses her anger at Vought and the world in general. She is soon made to realise, however, that membership with The Seven comes at a price following threats and warnings from Homelander.

In the comics
In the comic series, she is known by her superhero alias, Starlight. She has the ability to emit blinding light from her hands and also the ability to fly. Annie was born with her abilities and accidentally permanently blinded her parents and the doctors present upon birth. Faced with an increased cost of living due to their disability, her parents were forced to give up custody of Annie to Vought. She was raised by foster parents and attended several superhero pageants as a child.

She received no real love from her foster parents, however, as they viewed her as a show pony more than anything else, and were only caring as long as she preformed well in the pageants. She joined the Seven after the death of previous member Lamplighter, leaving her previous superhero group Young Americans. She is quickly rattled after finding that her membership to the Seven comes at a high price — sexual activity with the male members. Similarly to the show, Starlight is coerced into preforming oral sex on Homelander, Black Noir, and A-Train. She continues to be mistreated, but gradually learns to stand up for herself, particularly in her interactions with A-Train. This culminates in Starlight temporarily blinding him when he attempts to rape her.

Shortly after joining The Seven, Starlight enters into a relationship with Hughie Campbell, although neither are aware of the other's real profession. When Annie finally confesses to being a superhero, Hughie is shocked and hurt. He considers resuming the relationship, but is further hurt when he is manipulated by Butcher into watching Starlight preform oral sex on members of The Seven. Without knowing the full context of what he just witnessed, Hughie is furious and breaks up with Annie after insulting her.

She later tracks Hughie down to Auchterladle, his home town, where the two are able to partially rekindle their relationship after he apologizes for insulting her. Their relationship remains strained, however, and Annie eventually leaves Hughie due to him being unable to move past the events he witnessed. Despite this, the two rekindle their relationship at the end of the comic, and presumably live happily ever after.

Relationship with Hughie
Hughie and Starlight form a close relationship shortly after the former's girlfriend's death. Initially, Hughie engages in the relationship to plant a bug on Starlight's phone, however the relationship develops into a romantic/sexual one. Starlight is angry and upset that Hughie begins using her to get tickets into the Believe Expo in Good for the Soul, and again to gain information on Naqib. The relationship between the two does fix itself to a degree, however, with Starlight rescuing Hughie from A-Train in You Found Me.

Trivia

 * Unlike in the comics where she is sexually assaulted by Homelander, Black Noir, and A-Train, she is a victim of The Deep in the tv series.