Maris Denahbi was already a trained killer by the time she reached adulthood, having been working for the nefarious Tien-Hou, a self-styled goddess with a band of assassin-cultists at her command. Denahbi had been convinced that Tien-Hou was right about the coming apocalypse, but when her entire family were killed along with other settlers of the Pacifica Commune, Denahbi had to reassess her life.

Surface dwellers had poisoned the waters around Pacifica, flooding it with waste and radiation. Tien-Hou had warned of impending doom, but Denahbi could now see that the world was dying because of the humans. She left the cultists and began to train herself for retribution against the corporations and governments who had poisoned her family.

When she successfully destroyed three oil rigs in the Persian Gulf, Denahbi caught the attention of Five Pillars. At last she was able to pit her talents and anger against the so-called uberhumans. The battle was fierce, but Denahbi was outnumbered and forced to retreat, nursing a broken arm and damaged pride. She wasn't sure how to bring about the destruction of the humans, but when Morningstar called her in a public display of destruction, torching an oil tanker in the Straits of Malacca, Denahbi realised that she wasn't the only ones to hate the surface dwellers.

Morningstar and others like her were just as determined to rid the world of polluters and dismantle the dangerous web of globalisation. Denahbi joined Morningstar's neophyte band of Elementals as Starfish, and has not looked back. The longer she stays in the company of the other women, the more she realises that Atlantis also shares some of the faults of human society.

Starfish is bitter about losing her family to surface-dwellers, but she is also bitter about her involvement in the cult of Tien-Hou. She hates being used as a tool, and can sometimes be moody if she feels that others are manipulating her. As a trained killer, she exudes a sense of uncompromising danger. She has been known to kill for no other reason than to shut someone up, and she is able to kill quickly so those who annoy her rarely get a chance to apologise.

“How many times do we have to hear them beg? Can't you just kill them quickly... before they dribble.”

Starfish is an Atlantean, able to survive in and out of water, as well as being stronger, more durable and able to live longer than humans. Atlanteans are able to see in the dark and survive in the deepest recesses of the world's oceans. In addition to her Atlantean heritage, Starfish is also a trained killer, and is able to use her superhuman strength to render bone as if it were straw.

Like all Atlanteans, Starfish has slightly green skin, thick seaweed-like green hair and webbed toes and fingers. Atlantean's heads are fish-like, with thick-lipped mouths and gills at their necks. Starfish wears a dark costume with a pink zipper attached to a yellow star. She also carries an Atlantean death blade. When she is out of costume, Starfish wears a variety of clothing from hard coral-like bikinis to regular surface-sweller clothing.