DC’s Stargirl is a show about legacy. In the series, which airs on both The CW and DC Universe, a teenage Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) discovers Starman’s Cosmic Staff and becomes the hero, Stargirl, carrying forward the legacy of the Justice Society of America who were defeated in an epic battle with the Injustice Society a decade before. While the series’ premiere established the fate of many of the JSA’s members — especially that of Starman who was killed by Icicle — the specific details a few of those iconic heroes were left a bit ambiguous. In this week’s “S.T.R.I.P.E.” however, the series expanded a bit on what happened to those heroes — including Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
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Spoilers for this week’s episode of DC’s Stargirl, “S.T.R.I.P.E.”, below.
After showing up in the S.T.R.I.P.E. robot to help Courtney against Brainwave, Pat takes her back to his shop where they both try to process the experience. A very shaken Courtney struggles with everything and Pat explains to her that he built the robot following Starman’s death and then also begins to tell her a bit more about the history of the JSA and, specifically, that fateful night ten years prior.
Pat explains that it was Icicle that killed Starman and also revealed that Hourman actually survived and it was his efforts to find the Injustice Society that ultimately led Pat to Blue Valley after Hourman and his wife were killed in a car accident. During his explanation of events, Pat also revealed that two other Justice Society heroes perished that night outside of what viewers had already seen: Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
To an extent, the episode’s acknowledgement of Hawkman and Hawkgirl deliver a bit on what series creator Geoff Johns has previously said about the legacies of the original JSA team being an important element of the series. While Johns was specifically speaking about Alan Scott’s Green Lantern and Jay Garrick’s Flash, he was clear that the legacies of the original JSA were a big part of things, even if you don’t see those original characters directly.
“[Green Lantern and Flash] are spoken of and they exist in the JSA,” Johns said. “There’s a picture of them in the first episode, and there’s plans in the future for things, but Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, to me, are always the elderly statesmen. They’re the big heroes of the JSA and their shadow is very long and they’re great characters. They are a part of the original JSA, and their legacies will be felt throughout the show. I don’t want to spoil too much about it, but I can leave it at that.”
For fans of The CW’s Arrowverse, the mention of Hawkman and Hawkgirl is interesting as it also establishes that Earth-2 had their own version of the heroes. Hawkman and Hawkgirl both factored into the old, pre-“Crisis on Infinite Earths” Earth-1 as important members of the Legends of Tomorrow during that show’s first season. While the characters haven’t been seen since and their post-“Crisis” Earth-Prime fate hasn’t been addressed, we at least now know that a version of the heroes existed on the new Earth-2.
What did you think about the mention of Hawkman and Hawkgirl in “S.T.R.I.P.E.”? Let us know in the comments below.
Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. New episodes debut Mondays on DC Universe.
