Starman (DC Comics)

Theodore Henry Knight is a 1940s DC Comics superhero who wore a red costume with a finned helmet and a green cape, and wielded a "gravity rod" (later "cosmic rod") which enabled him to fly and fire energy bolts.[3] He is a member of the Justice Society of America.[4]

The Starman of 1951 is a superhero who operated in the DC Universe in 1951. In pre-Crisis continuity, the Starman of the 1950s was actually Batman, who briefly took up that mantle in Detective Comics #247 (September 1957), using variants of his usual equipment, but with a star motif instead of a bat, due to him having been hypnotized to be given a fear of bats in the belief that this would render him incapable of being a hero.

Post-Crisis, the character was retconned in Starman Secret Files and Origins. The name was first used by the original Dr. Mid-Nite, Charles McNider. When David Knight, son of the original Starman, is drawn back in time, he takes over the identity from McNider for a brief period.

In Detective Comics #286, a villainous Star-Man appeared to menace Batman and Robin whose super-strength waned in the presence of a Tibetan belt worn by Batwoman.[5]

Will Payton, a 1980s DC Comics superhero, was created by Roger Stern and Tom Lyle.[6] Payton gained his powers of flight, super strength, a mild amount of shapeshifting, and the ability to alter his appearance and fire bolts of energy from his hands after being struck by a bolt of energy from a satellite in space. He was in his early twenties and worked as a magazine copy editor. He first appeared in Starman (vol. 1) #1 (October 1988)[7]

David Knight, a 1990s DC Comics superhero, was the son of the original Starman and elder brother of the 1990s Starman, Jack. He first appeared in Starman (vol. 1) #26 (September 1990), having taken up his father's mantle, and was killed by an assassin in Starman (vol. 2) #0 (October 1994). He regularly (annually) appeared to Jack after his death, providing guidance for his brother. Toward the end of the series, his ultimate fate was revealed to have been different from what was previously believed (as noted above for the Starman of 1951).

In Starman (vol. 2) #81 (a one-issue revival tying into the Blackest Night event), David's corpse is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. He unsuccessfully targets Hope and Mason O'Dare, and then confronts Shade, who pulls him into the Shadowlands, imprisoning him there. During their confrontation, the Black Lantern mentions his plan to lure Jack into another "talking with David" scene before killing him, a reference to David's prior role in the series.

Jack Knight, a 1990s DC Comics superhero, is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight. He wields a cosmically-powered staff, but refuses to wear a costume, instead preferring a T-shirt, leather jacket (with star emblem on the back), a Cracker Jack prize sheriff's star,[8] and light-shielding tank goggles. A reluctant hero that took up the mantle after David died, he is the protagonist of the comic book series written by James Robinson. Jack briefly joined the JSA, but soon retired at the end of the Starman series, passing along his cosmic rod to the JSA's young heroine, Stargirl.

Kallor as Starman. Art by Alex Ross.

Danny Blaine is a DC Comics superhero of the near future whose identity (but not his full story) is revealed in the 1990s Starman series. Danny Blaine was eventually revealed to be Thom Kallor, also known as Star Boy, a DC Comics superhero in the 30th century and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He originally had powers similar to Superboy, but later lost them and retained only his innate ability to increase the mass of nearby objects. Thom takes on the mantle of Starman in the 21st century with the full knowledge that he will lose his life there. The Danny Blaine/Thom Kallor version was inspired by the Kingdom Come depiction of the character, designed by Alex Ross.

The Starman of the 853rd century is Farris Knight, who is also a member of Justice Legion Alpha and was a major character in the series DC One Million. He is a distant descendant of Jack Knight's and the Mist's son. Farris commands an alien artifact called a "quarvat", similar in function to the "cosmic rod". He lives on a space station (in the orbit of Uranus) from which he monitors the artificial sun Solaris. He asserts that being the descendant of the Mist as much as the Knights, he was predisposed to villainy, and Solaris eventually corrupts Farris. The man arranges for the defeat of the two JLAs and travels back in time to kill the originator of his hated responsibility, Ted Knight. Meeting Ted, however, changes his mind and Farris ultimately sacrifices himself to save the modern day Earth from Solaris' machinations, his lost quarvat apparently going on to be found by his own great-grandfather (resulting in its existence being a temporal paradox).[15]

Introduced in Jonah Hex (vol. 2) #27 (March 2008), the "Star Man" of the Old West originally came to New York City with his father from Italy just after the Civil War ended. His name was Victor Sono. His father tried to get work as a sheriff, but the group of lawmen with whom he interviewed mocked and killed him for being crippled. Young Victor later found his body hanging outside the building and decided to avenge his death. He pickpocketed a pistol and fired on the group. Before he could do much damage, however, the owner of the pistol, Jonah Hex, who was in town collecting a bounty, knocked him out and took his gun back. He nearly left the boy to the "lawmen", but after recalling his own terrible childhood, came back and rescued Victor, whom he left at an orphanage. Years later, Hex and Victor would cross paths again, Victor now calling himself the Star Man. He had dedicated his life to killing unjust lawmen and adding their sheriff's stars to his coat.[16] The Star Man has a habit of manipulating Hex for his own ends, although he does know that he owes Hex his life.[17]

Each of the different incarnations of Starman have their own enemies:

• The Blockbuster II - The brother of the original Blockbuster who went through the same treatment his brother went through.[18]
• Deadline - A mercenary who can become intangible.[19]
• Deathbolt - A criminal who was turned into a living battery by the Ultra-Humanite.[20]
• Doctor Phosphorus - A radioactive villain with burning skin.[21]
• Harold Melrose - A scientist.[7]
• The Mist - A supervillain who can turn into living vapor.[22]
• The Power Elite - A group of six superpowered villains.[7]
  • David Winters - A member of the Power Elite who can fire radiation blasts from his eyes.[7]
  • Dennis Blake - A member of the Power Elite with energy-projecting abilities.[7]
  • Frank Donovan - A member of the Power Elite who can shoot plasma flames from his hands.[7]
  • Olivia Hardy - A member of the Power Elite with super-strength.[7]
  • Samantha Morgan - A member of the Power Elite who can change her size.[7]
  • Stanley Hale - A member of the Power Elite with flight and telekinesis.[7]
• The Rag Doll - A contorting supervillain.[23]
• The Spider II - The son of the original Spider.[24]

• Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore), formerly the second Star-Spangled Kid, is a superheroine who inherited Jack Knight's cosmic staff after he retired from being Starman. She is a member of the Justice Society of America.
• In JSA #72, a female calling herself "Starwoman" is revealed to be Patricia Lynn Dugan (the half-sister of Courtney Whitmore).
• In JLA: Age of Wonder, Starman is portrayed as a fellow inventor alongside Superman, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. He invents his cosmic rod with technology gleaned from the rocket ship which brought Superman to Earth.
• In JSA: The Unholy Three, Starman is an intelligence agent working at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and is code-named "Star".
• Dr. Stellar of Big Bang Comics has some elements of Starman.
• In JLA: Earth 2, in the Crime Syndicate's space headquarters, they have a costume belonging to a former teammate bearing the name "Spaceman". He is the Antimatter universe counterpart of Starman, although he does not make an appearance.
• Countdown: Arena introduces several alternate Starmen: an adult Courtney Whitmore from Earth-7, an intelligent gorilla from Earth-17 and a feral Mikaal Tomas from Earth-48.
• It was revealed by Ted Knight in Starman (vol. 2) #17 that Sylvester Pemberton considered calling himself Starman before he decided on Skyman.

• The Prince Gavyn version of Starman made several background appearances in Justice League Unlimited. Stargirl also appeared, utilizing the staff that she inherited from Jack in the comics.
• There was a television series planned based on Jack Knight's adventures, but was last referred to in 2003 as being "indefinitely on hold".[30]
• The original Starman appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!", voiced by Jeff Bennett. He appears as a member of the Justice Society of America.
• Machinima Inc. and DC Entertainment were producing a live-action web series based on an updated version of the original concept, titled DC's Hero Project.[31]
• A variation of Starman appears in the DC Universe series Stargirl, portrayed by Joel McHale. This version is a combination of Starman and the Star-Spangled Kid, Sylvester Pemberton.[32] Ted Knight is mentioned in the series as the creator of the Cosmic Staff.
• The Thomas Kallor version of Star Boy appears in DC Universe Original Movie Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, voiced by Elyes Gabel.[33]

• History of Ted Knight
• Starman III (Mikaal Tomas) – Gay League Profile
• Starman (2016)
• Starman (1941) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
• Starman (1980) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
• Starman (1988) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
• Starman (1994) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 23, 2u017.