Origins of Stargirl
If you are a comic book fan or a fan of the DC Universe, then you’ve most likely heard of the television series Stargirl. Stargirl season one debuted in 2020 and average about 1 million viewers per episode. Let’s get into the origins of Stargirl to find out where it came from and why it resonates with so many people.
Stargirl was created by Geoff Johns and first appeared in the Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 in July 1999. In the comic, Courtney Whitmore was the stepdaughter of an old World War Two hero, Pat Dugan. While rummaging around some of Pat Dugan’s belongings, she comes across the Cosmic Converter Belt of Dugan’s old partner, the Star-Spangled Kid. Whenever she put the belt on, Courtney would get to experience some of the hero powers that came along with it and took on the responsibility and name of The Star-Spangled Kid.
Dugan would eventually build himself powerful armor and was later dubbed S.T.R.I.P.E. in the comic and both of them became known as Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Later on in the story, Courtney joined the Justice Society of America.
In the comics, Stargirl would often be seen fighting along with her overprotective stepfather while participating in a myriad of missions. Some of the more memorable missions include that of fighting off Mordru, the army of Ultimen aboard the Watchtower, and the Deimos’s unruly army in Skartaris.
In the original comic, Stargirl isn’t too keen on Supergirl’s popularity and kind of dismisses her importance due to her training under Superman. In one story arc, Stargirl is pleased to see Stargirl without her powers temporarily in Skartaris, but when she saw how brave Supergirl was, the two eventually reconciled their differences and became powerful allies. Stargirl’s impulsiveness tends to get the best of her, which is a recurring theme in the comics, which causes self-inflicted shenanigans and danger.
Stargirl’s powers consist of her being able to wield a cosmic staff which gives her the power to fly, manipulate energy, and to shoot powerful energy blasts at enemies. On top of her powers, she can also throw down when in a hand-to-hand combat fight.
As you can see, the origins of Stargirl are quite extensive, which is why it has been fun to see how her comic book roots have been adapted for the TV screen. With multiple seasons most likely in sight, we look forward to seeing Stargirl’s journey continue.
