 While still a young teenager, Leonid Kovar and his father Konstantin (an archaeologist) investigate a spaceship that has crashed into the Yenisei River; during their investigation the ship explodes.It imbues Leonid with energy and gives him super-strength, speed, and pyrokinesis.Being a Russian patriot who believes in communism, he offers his services to his country and becomes the first official Russian superhero in the DC Universe, taking the name Starfire.