The San Diego Comicon post! The New Starro the Conqueror vs. Real starfish! How do they compare?

So..many of you may know that I *gasp* am a comic book fan! A BIG one.

Starfish are probably one of the best known marine animals anywhere-so naturally, SOMEONE was bound to use them in some kind of fantastic pop culture reference.

Enter the fearsome echinoderm entity : Starro the Conqueror! A giant menacing interstellar starfish! (published by DC Comics-the same outfit that publishes Batman & Superman!)

I have published on Starro before.... but this weekend the famous, yearly San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) has begun!! The great mecha for all things Geek! comic books! action figures! movies! The great selling point for the prized 18-36 male demographic!

So, in honor of SDCC and a recent storyline featuring Starro, here I compare the character VS the REALITY!

Are they SO different?? yes-one lives in space and true starfish do not. But consider this:

1. The new Starro (from R.E.B.E.L.S. annual #1) has this fearsome new look!
An interesting mesh of several possible living species!

The body, for example, is CLEARLY from the family Asteriidae. Such as this specimen of Pisaster ochraceus from the west coast of North America.

Starro clearly has adambulacral spines, an actinal surface and even a set of marginal plates around the ventrolateral edge.
Even MORE interesting-Starro has TEETH! Yes, the ones in the middle of the arm are most noticeable..but if you look on the angles pointing into the mouth?? With the spines directed orally??/

REAL starfish have these also!!
Some such as this odontasterid (Acodontaster) have one big teeth projecting out from the mouth.
Some starfish have TWO spines around the mouth!!! The name of this beast-Diplodontias-LITERALLY means "two teeth". "Diplo"= two and "odontos"=teeth!
Some beasts, such as this specimen of Pteraster gibber have teeth with clear, hyaline tips (in red circles)!!
....and just to be thorough...some brittle stars have something similar-they also have "teeth" that project into the mouth!
2. The Old Starro did the mind-control thing by grabbing onto the face and voila! Instant zombies!
....and who among starfish enthusiasts does not have slavish devotion to their subjects??

Have a great weekend!