Starman

Starman may refer to:

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Comics

Starman (comics)

Starman is a name used by several different DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.

Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941). An astronomer, Knight invented a "gravity rod", later reinvented as a "cosmic rod", allowing him to fly and manipulate energy, and donned a red and green costume with a distinctive finned helmet.

Like most Golden Age heroes, Starman fell into obscurity in the 1950s. In the ensuing years, several characters, with varying degrees of relation to the original, briefly took the mantle of Starman.

In Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #1 (September 1994), writer James Robinson and artist Tony Harris introduced Jack Knight, the son of the first Starman. A reluctant, non-costumed hero, he inherited his father’s name and mission and used his technology to create a cosmic staff. He starred in a critically acclaimed series, written by Robinson, from 1994 until 2001.

Starman (Ted Knight)

Starman (Theodore Henry "Ted" Knight) is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941).

Fictional character history

As Starman, Ted wears a costume of red and green tights, and a helmet with a fin on the top. He uses a gravity rod (later cosmic rod) which allows him to fly and to manipulate energy, at times in a manner similar to Green Lantern's power ring. As Ted Knight, he is an astronomer and an expert scientist, having developed the rods himself.

Initially intending them for use as a possible power source, Ted was convinced by his cousin, Sandra Knight, the Phantom Lady, to use his invention to become a costumed crime fighter. In the original 1940s stories, Starman operated out of Gotham City, but this was retconned in the 1990s to Opal City. He was a frequent ally of the FBI and a member of the Justice Society of America for much of the 1940s and, like other mystery men of the time, serves in the wartime All-Star Squadron. In 1942 Ted enlists in the U.S. Army Air Force and serves very briefly as a pilot during World War II.