Courtney Whitmore

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Courtney Whitmore
JSA: All Stars #4 (October 2003)
Created byCourtney Whitmore:
Geoff Johns
Lee Moder

Stargirl:
Geoff Johns
David S. Goyer
In-story information
Alter egoCourtney Elizabeth Whitmore
Team affiliationsJustice Society of America
Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.
Suicide Squad
Young Justice
Justice League
Justice League United
PartnershipsStarman
Notable aliasesStar-Spangled Kid
Abilities
  • Expert gymnast and kick-boxer

Via Cosmic Converter Belt:

  • Enhanced Physical Condition
    • Enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, durability, agility and stamina
  • Projection of sparkly shooting stars to dazzle and disorient her victims

Via Cosmic Staff:

  • Flight by standing or sitting on it
  • Cosmic energy projection and manipulation
  • Stellar energy generation and control
  • Deflection of energy and plasma-based attacks

Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore, known as Stargirl (often called Stars or Star), is a superhero created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character's name, appearance, and personality were patterned after Johns' 18-year-old sister Courtney, who died in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.[1][2]

Courtney Whitmore was originally known as the second Star-Spangled Kid, but she began using the name "Stargirl" after she was presented with the Cosmic Staff by Jack Knight.

Stargirl has appeared in

HBO Max series Titans
.

Publication history

The character was created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Lee Moder. She made her first appearance in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 (July 1999).[3]

Fictional character biography

Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.

Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore as the Star-Spangled Kid, prior to receiving the Knight family's Cosmic Staff from Jack Knight and becoming Stargirl. Art by the character's co-creator Lee Moder, who modeled Courtney after Geoff Johns' late-sister Courtney Elizabeth Johns from her family and personal photos.

Courtney Whitmore, stepdaughter of

Blue Valley, Nebraska. Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designs and builds S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit that he uses to accompany and protect her.[4]

During her time in Blue Valley, her frequent nemesis is the young villainess known as

Dragon King.[5] Their most recent rematch was in Infinite Crisis
, on a page added to the hardcover edition.

Stargirl

Courtney joins the Justice Society of America. After being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic staff, she changes her identity to Stargirl.[6] Courtney appears in most issues of JSA and it is in these pages that her half-sister Patricia Dugan is born.[7]

Starman and Stargirl on the cover of JSA: All Stars #4 (October 2003). Art by John Cassaday.

Later, she confronts her predecessor's killer,

Johnny Thunderbolt repairs the Statue.[8]
Grundy later develops an obsession with Courtney.

Courtney encounters Merry Pemberton, the sister of the original Star-Spangled Kid, during the "Sins of Youth" storyline. Merry's concerns about her brother's legacy and about young superheroes battling adults causes friction with Courtney. They resolve their differences during a battle against the forces of Klarion the Witch Boy. Courtney later saves Merry's life during an attack by Amazo. During this incident, Courtney is magically aged to an adult by Klarion.

Later, she discovers her biological father

Sam Kurtis working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang. They later confront each other during one of the Flush Gang's robberies.[6]

In Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and an issue of Impulse, Courtney hints at having a crush on Robin (Tim Drake), a concept that was not developed in subsequent issues.

Courtney briefly dates fellow JSA member Captain Marvel, who, in his secret identity of Billy Batson, is the same age as she, although she was attracted to Billy in his older form in the first place, without knowing his secret identity, and even kissed him.[9] To outsiders, however, Captain Marvel is by all appearances a fully grown-up adult, and the relationship between Marvel and Stargirl draws criticism from Jakeem Thunder and Jay Garrick (despite these opposing views and even inappropriate ageist and neo-puritanical comments from fans and readers in real life, however, even if Billy was actually much older in his original form like in his "Shazam" one, the relationship between the two would have been legally possible). After Garrick confronts them, Marvel decides to leave the JSA and Courtney, instead of revealing his secret to the team. Marvel later returns to the JSA and explains that the Wisdom of Solomon prevents him from revealing his secret identity.

A glimpse into the future shows an adult "Starwoman" married to

Albert Rothstein, the JSA member known as Atom Smasher.[10]

JSA/JSA and Black Vengeance

Courtney's family is murdered by agents of

the Spectre
during an attack on Khandaq. He survives, but the event reveals the depth of Courtney's feelings for him. She returns to her own time to find her family alive again.

Later, Atom Smasher is tried and convicted for his actions while working for Black Adam. During a TV appearance, Courtney says that with Al in prison, she would "be there for him... no matter how long it takes."

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis
Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. on the cover of JSA #81 (March 2006). Art by Alex Ross.

Courtney is approached by the

Shade, who tells her that her biological father is dead. This tragedy and her experience of the relationship between Liberty Belle and Jesse Quick prompts her to re-evaluate her family life.[11]
She discovers that she can't hate her biological father for his failings as a father and as a man. She also learns to accept Pat Dugan as her only real father figure.

Stargirl becomes part of a coalition consisting of the JSA, the Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans that is organized to stop

Risk, removing his arm. Stargirl later attends a memorial service for heroes who died in the Crisis.[12]

Afterwards, she begins attending college. She has altered her equipment: her rod now telescopes into a small cylinder, and her costume and belt materialize as the rod extends to full size.

"One Year Later"

Courtney joins the new roster of the Justice Society and fights without S.T.R.I.P.E.'s assistance.[13]

A seasoned hero despite her age, she forges a bond with her young teammate

Damage her doubts about Gog.[16]

A future version of Courtney is seen in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #53 along with Lex Luthor and his future Titans. Her role is minimal, however, she is seen wearing Jack Knight's goggles and jacket—the closest she has ever come to Jack's vision of "Starwoman" at the end of his series.

In the Final Crisis miniseries, Courtney joins with other heroes to form an underground resistance against Darkseid.[17]

Courtney is present (and apparently involved in voting) for discussions on how to move the JSA forward after the Gog debacle (and whom to retain or remove from the team) and she defends some of the heroes who sided with Gog. Later she is present when the JSA meet a depowered Billy Batson, who reveals his secret identity to the others.[18]

After the battle with Black Adam and Isis, Courtney was unhappy, as the events had happened on her birthday (and had ruined any planned celebrations). When she goes home and opens the door, the entire Justice Society is present and have prepared a late surprise party for her. Later she is unhappy to learn she still needed her braces despite being acknowledged as one of the senior members of the JSA.[19] It has been established that both she and Atom Smasher love each other in direct quotes rather than asides and implied habits, but the elder JSA members' comments about their age difference forced Al to turn Courtney down, stating he loved her "like a sister".[20][21]

Following a massive supervillain attack, the JSA is split in two. Power Girl convinces Courtney to join the JSA All-Stars splinter group. She later expresses a deep feeling of regret over siding with the All-Stars, claiming that she feels more at home with the original roster. Karen talks her through these doubts, telling her that she needed Courtney on the team because all the other teen members of the JSA look up to her.[22]

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Stargirl appears as part of a new Justice League of America title.[23]

Born in Los Angeles, Courtney Whitmore was cleaning out the office of Barbara Whitmore's boyfriend Pat Dugan when she found a staff, a belt, and a shirt with a star on it. While trying them on, she became Stargirl and caught the perpetrator of a fire she spotted. The heroic actions went viral.[24] After talking to her friend about what happens next, Courtney was informed by Pat that the person who originally wielded the equipment has died. Though Pat agreed to train her, Courtney had to respond to the criminal activity caused by Shadow Thief who was taking hostages to draw out a superhero. She managed to rout out Shadow Thief. When Stargirl returned home, she found that Shadow Thief arrived first, killed her brother, and wounded Barbara and Ted. Stargirl used this trauma to become a better superhero.[25]

She was chosen by Amanda Waller as the public face of the JLA's PR campaign.

crossover event Forever Evil, Stargirl joined the Justice League United.[27]

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Stargirl is among the superheroes that confront Doctor Manhattan on the Moon.[28] Stargirl appears with the Justice Society of America when Doctor Manhattan, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erased the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes.[29]

DC Universe

The New Golden Age

In the pages of "

Wing.[30]

Emiko later visits Courtney telling her that she found a lead in where the missing children sidekicks are. Their search takes them to an island in the Diablo Triangle. When they arrived, they find that the sand is similar to Miraclo. When an egg-shaped Child Collector working for the Childminder makes off with Red Arrow, Stargirl is saved by

Quiz Kid) and Time Masters member Corky Baxter. With these people, Stargirl works to rescue Red Arrow and the other captive Lost Children as Childminder plans to sell them to the android version of Hourman. As most of her allies are "nested" by the Child Collectors, Stargirl and the remaining ones with her continue their raid on the Childminder's castle. Upon meeting up with an escaped Red Arrow and those with her, the Childminder arrives as the Hourman android subdues everyone but Stargirl. He states that she is not a Lost Child and that he is working to save the Lost Children from "complete obliteration". The Hourman android was later revealed to be working for an adult version of Corky Baxter called Time Master. As Childminder is reduced to an egg by a beam from the time portal, Boom and Quiz Kid reprogram the Hourman android's brain so that he can fight off Time Master. Since the Hourman android stated that the Lost Children can't be returned to their own time due to paradoxical reasons, he brought them to Courtney's time. While noting that some of the Lost Children have mentors or families who are dead, Courtney works on putting together a team for the Lost Children called the Young Justice Society.[31]

Afterwards, Stargirl was with the Justice Society of America when they were fighting

Harlequin's Son to Huntress.[37]

Courtney Whitmore later took Judy Garrick to the Keystone City Mall as Jay Garrick secretly watched from afar. Their day is out is ruined when the JSA's old enemy Ro-Bear attacks in order to claim Judy. Courtney becomes Stargirl to help Flash and Boom fight Ro-Bear.[38] Following Ro-Bear's attack, Stargirl was present with Flash and Boom when Mister Terrific, Quiz Kid, and Fairplay work on an invention that would help access the memory of when Boom saw the true face of Doctor Elemental. Thanks to the Memory Imager, they identity Doctor Elemental to be Professor Hughes who Flash claimed to have been responsible for him getting his super-speed.[39]

Titans: Beast World

During the "Titans: Beast World" storyline, Huntress and Stargirl deal with the characters mutated by the Beast Boy spores. They subdue Alan Scott (who was mutated into a humanoid frog) and Boom (who was mutated into a humanoid alligator).[40]

Powers and abilities

Courtney is an expert gymnast and kickboxer.

Equipment

When wearing the Cosmic Converter Belt, Stargirl has enhanced strength, speed, agility, and stamina as well as the ability to project shooting stars.

When wielding the Cosmic Staff, Stargirl can fly and perform cosmic energy manipulation.

Secret identity issues

Over the years, Courtney has been careless with her secret identity. Many of her school friends and some villains are aware of her identity; she admits this during the Identity Crisis crossover. Courtney revealed her identity to her friend Mary moments into her first outing, before she decided to make a career of being a costumed hero. In Justice Society of America #26, the entire JSA is at her home in full uniform, and are also present when she visits the dentist (in costume, much to Courtney's annoyance).

Supporting characters

Besides her stepfather Pat Dugan, the following are supporting characters of Stargirl:

  • Barbara Whitmore - The mother of Courtney and the wife of Pat Dugan.[41]
  • Josh Hamman - A star athlete at Blue Valley High School who had a brief relationship with Courtney.[42]
  • Mary Kramer - A student at Blue Valley High School and a close friend of Courtney.[41]
  • Mike Dugan - The son of Pat Dugan who became Courtney's stepbrother and Barbara's stepson.[43]
  • Travis Thomas - The biggest bully at Blue Valley High School who has a crush on Mary.[42]

Enemies

With her stepfather as S.T.R.I.P.E., Stargirl had her own set of enemies that she fought in the comics:

In other media

Television

Live-action

Animation

Film

Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl was originally going to appear in Black Adam as a member of the Justice Society of America, but was cut from the film.[61][62][63]

Video games

References

  1. ^ Nieves, Evelyn (July 20, 1996). "THE CRASH OF FLIGHT 800: THE PASSENGERS;Reunions and Homecomings Never Fulfilled and Sudden End to a Vacation". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (May 8, 2009). "Looking Back at JSA with Geoff Johns". Newsarama.
  3. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0
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  4. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6
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  5. ^ Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #4-12. DC Comics.
  6. ^
    JSA All Stars
    , no. 4 (October 2003). DC Comics.
  7. ^ JSA #26
  8. ^ JSA #29
  9. ^ JSA #48. In this issue, Stargirl meets a temporarily powerless Billy Batson, and each learns that the other is sixteen years old.
  10. ^ JSA #15. DC Comics.
  11. ^ JSA #81 (March 2006)
  12. ISBN 1-4012-0959-9
    .
  13. ^ Justice Society of America #1 (2008)
  14. ^ Justice Society of America #3 (2008). DC Comics.
  15. ^ Justice Society of America #12 (2008)
  16. ^ Justice Society of America: The Kingdom one-shot (2008). DC Comics.
  17. ^ Final Crisis #1–5. DC Comics.
  18. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #23 (January 2009). DC Comics.
  19. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #26 (April 2009). DC Comics.
  20. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #27 (May 2009). DC Comics.
  21. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #28 (June 2009). DC Comics.
  22. ^ JSA All-Stars (vol. 2) #1. DC Comics.
  23. ^ "New Details on GEOFF JOHNS JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Series". 8 March 2024.
  24. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #9. DC Comics.
  25. ^ a b Justice League of America (vol. 3) #10-12. DC Comics.
  26. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #1 DC Comics.
  27. ^ Justice League United #1. DC Comics.
  28. ^ Doomsday Clock #8 (May 2019). DC Comics.
  29. ^ Doomsday Clock #12 (February 2020). DC Comics.
  30. ^ Stargirl Spring Break Special #1. DC Comics.
  31. ^ Stargirl: The Lost Children #1-6. DC Comics.
  32. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 4) #3. DC Comics.
  33. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 4) #4. DC Comics.
  34. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 4) #5. DC Comics.
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  42. ^ a b c d e Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #1. DC Comics.
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  45. ^ a b c Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #3. DC Comics.
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  52. ^ Eric Goldman (2009-10-19). "Exclusive: Two of Smallville's Justice Society". IGN. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  53. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (July 23, 2016). "Comic-Con: Legends of Tomorrow to Tackle Legion of Doom Villain Team In Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter.
  54. ^ Patten, Dominic (July 19, 2018). "Geoff Johns To Write & Produce Stargirl Series For DC Universe – Comic-Con". Deadline. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  55. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (March 29, 2019). "DC Universe Reveals Stargirl Costume, Sets Swamp Thing Premiere Date". TV Line. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  56. ^ Byrne, Craig (September 20, 2018). "Stargirl: Brec Bassinger Cast As Courtney Whitmore". KSiteTV. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  57. ^ Clark, Travis (November 21, 2019). "DC Universe's 'Stargirl' also air on The CW, and the character debuted during the network's crossover event". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  58. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 20, 2022). "Stargirl's Brec Bassinger Teases Titans Crossover — See Photo". TVLine. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
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  60. ^ Vick, Megan (January 4, 2019). "Young Justice: Outsiders Is Now Streaming On DC Universe". ComicBook. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  61. ^ Dyce, Andrew (November 23, 2019). "Black Adam Movie Will Introduce The Justice Society of America To The DCEU". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  62. ^ @TheComixKid (October 12, 2022). "TheComixKid" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  63. ^ "DC's Arrowverse Reportedly Prevented Black Adam Movie From Including Major Hero". October 13, 2022.
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