A Quick Guide to Stargirl

Making movies and television shows based on superhero comics is nothing new, but it sure is something that has become more popular in recent years. One of the newest superhero television series is Stargirl, which first aired on the DC Universe television network in May 2020. Season two premiered on the CW. To better understand and appreciate the show, let’s take a look at Stargirl herself and the history of the comic.

Creation

Before Stargirl was a superhero, she was a normal teenage girl named Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore. This ‘unsuper’ persona was created long before Stargirl. Courtney first appeared in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E in 1999 and was created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder. Stargirl, Courtney’s superhero alter-ego, first appeared years later in JSA: All-Stars in 2003. Geoff Johns helped to develop this character with the help of David. S. Goyer.

Plot

When the comic series first started, Courtney was a normal teenage girl living in the midwest. When her mother remarried to Pat Dugan, everything changed. Her family moved to L.A. One day, she began looking through her stepdad’s stuff; that’s when she discovered the older superhero gear from the Star-Spangled Kid.

Later on, Courtney wears the gear to school, only to later get attacked by henchmen of the Dragon King. Her stepdad, dressed in all-new S.T.R.I.P.E. gear comes in to help. Even though the two don’t get along at home, they decide to team up to fight crime, mostly going against the Dragon King and his daughter, Shiv.

In 2005, the DC comic universe entered the Post Infinite Crisis. Before this, Stargirl was a member of the Justice Society of America. Here, she worked alongside other famous superheroes like the Green Lantern and Flash. However, once the team split up, two new teams emerged, with Stargirl becoming a member of the Justice Society of America All-Stars.

In 2011, The New 52 series came out. This was a reboot caused by a Flashpoint event. In short, it created a new alternate reality. While Courtney Whitmore was still Stargirl, she was not a member of the Justice Society of America. Instead, she was a member of the Justice League of America, which was run by the United States government. She still retained her powers from the previous comic series.

Powers

Stargirl was not born with any superpowers, which is a common trend among DC superheroes. Instead, she gets all of her powers from the Cosmic Converter Belt. This gives her superhuman agility, durability, speed, and strength. She can also make force fields with the belt. Her not-so-secret weapon is the Cosmic Rod, which was given to her by Starman. This gives her the ability to fly and manipulate energy. Outside of her weapons and gear, she has spent years learning how to fight more effectively, so she can still kick butt even if something happens to her gear.

Hopefully, all of this information can help to pump you up to watch Stargirl, the series. It is now streaming on the DC Universe streaming service/website and on The CW app, website and on cable. Watch now to catch up on seasons one and two.

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