Star-Spangled Kid

[ Meet Courtney Whitmore and her bodyguard]
Written By Kal-El

One of the original features of The House of El is to deliever informations on Superheroes and Villains, Sometimes special Info Pieces on stuff that we don't normally talk about as well, but one thing is for sure, We not only will be talking about your average everyday Superheroes and villains like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Wolverine, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil etc. We also would like to share more information on other unmentionable superheroes. So today,I'd like firstly to ask you readers, Do you know a girl that goes by the name "Star-Sprangled Kid"? If you haven't heard of her, read on readers.

Stargirl, who was previously called Star-Spangled Kid, is Courtney Whitmore, stepdaughter of Pat Dugan. Courtney Whitmore found the original Star-Spangled Kid's gear in her stepfather's belongings and donned the costume in order to annoy him as partial revenge for marrying her mother and supposedly forcing the family to move from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska. Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designed and built S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit which he rides in to accompany and protect her.

During her time in Blue Valley, her frequent nemesis was the young villainess known as Shiv, daughter of the immortal Dragon King. The two had their most recent rematch in Infinite Crisis, in a page added to the hardcover edition.Eventually, Courtney joined the Justice Society of America and, after being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic rod/staff, changed her identity to Stargirl.

[ Star Powered Teenager ]

Courtney has appeared in most issues of JSA and it was in these pages that her little sister Patricia Dugan was born.During her time with the team, she confronts her predecessor's killer. Solomon Grundy, driven further into madness by the Joker, attacks the JSA headquarters with the head of a giant statue. With the aid of only Jakeem Thunder, Courtney fights him in the streets and into the tunnels below. The two heros barely defeat Grundy. Jakeem's Thunderbolt fixes the statue.

Courtney encounters Merry Pemberton, the sister of her predecessor. Originally, tensions existed between the two as Merry had feelings about her brother's legacy and also did not like the fact young superheros operated on the same field as adult ones. These problems were resolved when the two were part of a larger battle against the forces of Klarion the Witch Boy. Courtney even saves Merry's life from an attacking Amazo. During this incident, Courtney temporarily has the body of a much more mature adult.

Later, she discovers her biological father working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang.Despite a glimpse into the future, which showed an adult Starwoman married to Albert Rothstein a.k.a.Atom Smasher (member of JSA), Courtney briefly dated another JSA member, Captain Marvel, who in his true identity of Billy Batson is actually younger than her. However, Captain Marvel was, by all appearances to those not knowing Billy's secret,an adult, and the relationship between Marvel and Stargirl drew the attention of JSA members Jakeem Thunder and Jay Garrick, the original Flash. After being confronted by Garrick over the issue, Marvel chose to leave the JSA and Courtney instead of telling the team his secret. Marvel has recently reappeared in the JSA and revealed he can't give out his true identity due to the wisdom of Solomon blocking him.

Courtney's family was murdered by agents of Per Degaton. She traveled with the rest of the JSA back to 1951. The time-traveling adventure featured the newest versions of classic JSA members meeting and fighting alongside the originals to try to save her family and the future. During this adventure, she found herself forced to work with Atom Smasher again, for the first time since he defected to Black Adam's rival team. Following this, she apparently forgave him, but Atom Smasher was then nearly murdered by the Spectre. Though Atom Smasher was saved, the events clearly revealed the depth of feeling she has for him. She was quite relieved to return after this time-travelling adventure to see that her family was still alive.

Later, Atom Smasher was tried and convicted for actions he took while working for Black Adam, and during a TV appearance, Courtney stated that even though Al was in prison, she would "wait for him."

[Courtney Sneaking out]

Over the years Courtney has been a little careless with her secret ID with many school friends and even some villains learning it.In fact Courtney revealed her ID (to her friend Mary) moments into her first outing (though she was at this point only dressed as a hero having yet to decide to give it a go as a career). It's currently unclear how public her ID is though it seems to be known by many in the heroic community. (This is in fitting with the current DC practice where most of the heroes seem to know the others on first name basis).

She has developed from a bit of a brat to a well-rounded heroine. She is best friends with Hawkgirl and is also close to Power Girl, whom Courtney considers a role model of sorts. As well, she has started to befriend with Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. She has also developed good leadership skills and courage, often throwing herself directly into harm's way. She can also be quite violently effective when angered. After Courtney's family was killed by Per Degaton's Forces (incident later erased from history) she used the rod to disintegrate all of the attackers.

As well as her relationships with Atom Smasher and Captain Marvel, Courtney is the object of a crush held by Jakeem Thunder. She has also been stalked by Solomon Grundy who was at one point obsessed with her. It was also said in a comic issue story that Courtney dropped hints of having a crush on our young Robin (Tim Drake),But that hasn't been picked up for years now.

[Star & S.T.R.I.P.E.]

Stargirl also made several appearances in the Action animated series of The Justice League Unlimited, Along side with her is her usual sidekick (or Step Dad) S.T.R.I.P.E. When you watch Justice League the Animated series, be sure not to miss Stargirl as she goes on kicking bad guys butt out of the way. So there you go guys, Watch out for more Origins here at The House of El.