This picture is still my favourite super-heroine picture of all time, by virtue of just how CUTE it is. WOOK AT HER, SHE'S SOOOOO KYOOT!! She's just a young, pretty girl, and she's NOT over-sexualized, with her boobs out, or ultra-hot or anything. You can actually picture a real teenaged girl looking like that. Makes me feel all big-brothery and protective and crap. Totally amazing work. Dale Eaglesham, you rock.STARGIRL (Courtney Whitmore)- Modern-Day JSA
PL 9 (140)ST 10/22 (+0/+6) DEX 16/20 (+3/+5) CON 12/22 (+1/+6) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3)
Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+7)
Bluff 2 (+5)
Computers 2 (+3)
Diplomacy 5 (+8)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 5 (+6)
Notice 4 (+6)
Feats:
Attack Focus (Melee) 2, Dodge Focus 2, Power Attack, Teamwork 2
Powers:
"Cosmic Converter Belt" Device 12 (hard to lose) [48]
Enhanced Strength 12 (12)
Super-Strength 2 (heavy load: 1.5 tons) (4)
Enhanced Dexterity 4 (4)
Enhanced Constitution 10 (10)
Enhanced Feats: Diehard, Endurance (2)
Leaping 1 (1)
"Shooting Stars" Stun 8 (Feats: Extended Reach 3) (Extras: Autofire) (28)
AP: Nullify All Machinery 8 (Feats: Extended Reach 3) (Flaws: Touch Range) -- (60 points)
"Cosmic Rod" Device 7 (easy to lose) (Feats: Restricted 2- Courtney Only, Remote Control) [24]
Cosmic Energy Control 10 (22)
AP: Strike +2 (Feats: Mighty)
AP: Dazzle Visuals 5
Flight 5 (10) -- (32 points)
Saves:
Toughness +1 (+6 Cosmic Converter Belt), Fortitude +2/+8, Reflex +5/+7, Will +5
Combat:
Attack +8 (+10 Melee), Damage +0 (+6 Belt Strength, +8 Shooting Stars, +8 Cosmic Rod, +10 Blast), Defense +8 (+10 Dodge), Initiative +5
Complications:
Responsibility (The Legacies of Sylvester Pemberton & Ted Knight)
Responsibility (Mother Paula, Stepfather Pat Dugan, Stepbrother Mike & Baby Sister Patricia)
Responsibility (Unresolved Feelings for Billy Batson, aka "Captain Marvel")
Reputation (Young Heroine)
Responsibility (Team Leader of the JSA's Younger Generation)
Responsibility (Loves Albert Rothstein, aka "Atom Smasher")
Abilities: 20 / Skills: 20--5 / Feats: 7 / Powers: 72 / Saves: 5 / Combat: 32 (140)
-Warning: this rant's as long as my Atom Smasher one was
. Just cycle to the second-last paragraph if you want to ignore my long-winded Shipping of Stargirl & Atom Smasher.
-With her inclusion on the JSA, Courtney became quite blessed, especially once her creator, Geoff Johns, fully took over the series. She gave the team some much-needed youth and perspective, so it wasn't just a bunch of old guys hanging around, reminiscing about old times. She was cute, funny, and had some extra-special qualities about her. Rather than dress like a stripper and have gigantic knockers, Stargirl wore a midriff-baring top as her skimpiest article of clothing, and she looks like a pretty teenager with a normal slim build. During every single JSA arc, she stands out- she was brave, but not TOO brave; she admired the older JSAers, but carved her own path anyways; she was rebellious, but she smacked around Jakeem Thunder for talking lip to Mr. Terrific. She was so perfect that the other characters could only talk about how much potential she had, which could veer DANGEROUSLY into Mary Sue territory (especially when Johns based her off of his late sister), but they kept her above the level by making sure she was never TOO smart or TOO powerful. In the end, she is still a fairly young kid.
-And then there's the whole Atom Smasher/Captain Marvel thing. See, while she was quickly pushed away from the Young Justice crowd (as that team did it's own thing), she did a lot of hanging around with the older hero Albert Rothstein, himself a young kid to the JSA elders. He was nice, respectful, and didn't talk down to her, acting like she deserved to be there, when so many others didn't. A few issues implied some feelings on Courtney's part (especially the end of the Extant story, where a future Courtney narrates the story while being married to Al), but we never quite got how serious they were at first. Then, Al (who'd killed Extant to save his mother- she'd been killed by the terrorist Kobra) quit the team after believing Black Adam's assertions that the team was too easy on criminals.
-So while Stargirl was heartbroken over that, she fell swiftly into the arms of one Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel, upon discovering his secret identity (and true age). This relationship was a SUPER-CUTE heart-warming affair, with Billy feeling good around what was basically the nicest girl ever by this point (losing just about all the rebellious attitude of her early years). This went on for only a short couple trades (including Black Reign, the JSA's master-stroke of storytelling, featuring her & Al having a few heart-to-hearts about his betrayal of the team in between him knocking her unconscious), until Jay Garrick added up all the flirting and hints she & Billy were showing, and put the kibosh on it (the pervy old man in Billy's head wouldn't let him just admit that he was as old as Courtney was). The image of Courtney, bawling her eyes out, alone in her room, is one of the most emotionally torquing scenes in the JSA's entire run.
-This brings us to the Per Degaton storyline. Showing classic Geoff Johns-level violence, her entire family is gunned down in front of her, sending her into a firestorm of despair. Being forced to team up with Atom Smasher again, as the JSA runs back into the past to save their mentors and forebears, only makes it worse, as she utterly SNAPS at him when he says "now you know how I felt". But by the story's end, she kind of understands where he was coming from before, and she openly worries about Al in front of the whole team (and Captain Marvel), when they fly to Kahndaq to help Al & Black Adam face The Spectre (doing one of his weekly "I'm controlled by evil!" rampages). Poor C*ck-Blocked Billy tries to interject, and Stargirl rejects him, and then Power Girl (herself pulling a Mama Bear on the younger heroine- and recognizing Courtney's feelings for Al) SNAPS at Billy, telling him off.
-And here's where things regarding Courtney/Al get interesting: By this point, it's fairly obvious she likes him (Billy as much accused her of it during Black Reign anyways). But when he sacrifices his life, willingly letting The Spectre kill him, rather than hurt the people of Kahndaq anymore, you see the depth of her feelings: Courtney absolutely loses it, crying as hard as she did when Billy dumped her over Al's dead body. NOW you know she truly loves Al, in one of my favourite heart-wrenching scenes in comics history. He is saved thanks to Black Adam (in one of the more emotional scenes in the series, as Adam can't stand the thought of his 'brother' dying), but willingly goes to jail to serve his time in the name of "Justice". Courtney makes a promise- she'll "be THERE for him" when he gets out.
-Fast-forward to the last year or so of books: Al is finally back on the JSA, moping about how Billy "Deserves Courtney more than I EVER could" while they fight Black Adam AGAIN, and Billy & Stargirl nearly share a kiss (NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!), but by story's end, Billy is off with his sister doing whatever the hell DC is doing with Captain Marvel these days (seriously- has any hero's handling made less sense?), and Courtney smiles at Al. With Geoff Johns' final issue, we figure out that Courtney still likes Atom Smasher (when her friend Mary calls her on it, and all Court can manage is a weak denial), and in Jerry Ordway's filler-arc, even Power Girl is just telling that giant retard to just GET WITH HER ALREADY. By this point, it's PATENTLY obvious both are head-over-heels in love, but then we get a good-old-fashioned Comic Book Break-Up, as the JSA elders, feeling protective (and noting the age difference), force Al to let her down easy, telling her he loves her "like a sister". Courtney doesn't believe it any more than WE do, but ultimately, the age issue, and Al's questionable standing with the public given his history as a mass-murderer, split them apart.
-So yeah, that's a relatively simple love story, huh? I know Marvel's a more popular character, so Billy/Courtney "Shippers" have more say, but damn it, the Courtney/Al thing is just SO fascinating (even if it's kind of a retread of the old Kitty/Colossus story, which in itself was AWESOME), I can't help but totally support it, and I wish they'd just GET TOGETHER, already! She should be at least seventeen by now (since they've already started ignoring "One Year Later" making everyone older and she's not eighteen yet), so all they have to do is play kissyface until she hits her next B-Day! C'mon, DC Comics, I've been good enough to stat up all your heroes, just do me this one bonus, OK? PLEEEEEEEASE?
-So, uh, where was I? Oh yeah! Courtney's an awesome character. She's a mega-favourite with girl readers for good reason- cute and spunky, brave but not a Scrappy-Doo, and she actually feels emotions like a normal personl. The greatest Little Sister character I've ever seen, and one of comics' best teen characters (or just characters PERIOD) ever made. The fact that she's not a major powerhouse makes her more likeable in a world of Kryptonian-level guys, and her teeny-tiny build, mixed with the outfit and the braces, makes for the most ENDEARING character in history. It totally makes sense that the rest of the JSA recruits look up to her (particularly obsessively in Maxine's case). Between her, Cyclone and Atom Smasher, JSA has my favourite line-up just about all-time in comics.
-Courtney, now boosted by a whole bunch of extra stuff, is now an over-pointed PL 9 (140) build, which I think makes sense. I've never been comfortable with her as a PL 10, because she's never been shown doing very powerful stuff (the most powerful stunt I've EVER seen her do was blow off a guy's arm and through the side of her house). What she ends up looking like is a moderately athletic kid, boosted to near-peak human stats with her Cosmic Converter Belt (though she's not doing Cap or Spidey-level damage- she can barely KO most Mooks with her fists), and carrying an additional weapon, the Cosmic Rod, which has TOTALLY replaced her Stunning Shooting Stars as her weapon of choice. The Rod had Telekinetic & Force Field powers under Jack Knight, but Courtney has NEVER shown them during any issue I've ever read (and I've read them all, at least in JSA), so I didn't put them in. The Belt is actually lower-level than it was when she was starting out, as her baseline stats have caught up a little better (So she's just as powerful, but less dependent on the Belt). Courtney's fairly experienced for a teenage superhero, and is basically at that cusp when a character becomes PL 10. Maybe one day she'll get there.
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