Starman (Theodore Henry "Ted" Knight) is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in media published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, primarily as a member of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

. Created by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and artist

Jack Burnley Jack Burnley (January 11, 1911 – December 19, 2006) was the pen name of Hardin J. Burnley, an American comic book artist and illustrator. Burnley was the first artist, after co-creator Joe Shuster, to draw Superman in comic books. Biography E ...

, he first appeared in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #61 (April 1941).

Publication history

Invited by editor Whitney Ellsworth to create a new superhero character, Burnley drew the Starman costume as a variation of

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

's famous outfit, topped with a

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

-style helmet.

developed the character, and science-fiction writer

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine Editing, editor and scriptwriter for comics. He is best remembered for his science fiction, including ''Th ...

also contributed Starman scripts. Later in the run, Emil Gershwin wrote the stories, with art by

Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age. Early li ...

and

George Roussos George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age of comic books, Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early is ...

. His first story in ''Adventure Comics'' #61 (April 1941) pitted Starman against the sinister Dr. Doog, who threatened the world with his invention, the Ultra-Dynamo. He continued to appear in ''Adventure Comics'' through #102 (Feb 1946), and ''

All-Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All St ...

'' #8 (Dec 1941) to #23 (Winter 1944).

Fictional character biography

As Starman, Ted wears a caped costume of red and green topped with a helmet with a fin on the top. He uses a gravity rod (later cosmic rod) of his own invention which allows him to fly and manipulate energy. Initially intending the rod as a power source, Ted is convinced by his cousin, Sandra Knight / Phantom Lady, to use it to fight crime. In the original 1940s stories, Starman operated out of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

, but this was

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned in the 1990s to Opal City. Starman's first recurring villain is

Mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets ...

, an elderly scientist who wields an invisibility potion. Starman's rogues gallery also includes Astra the Astrologist, Cuthbert Cain, Dr. Doog and the Secret Brotherhood of the Electron, and the Veil. He is a frequent ally of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and a member of the

for much of the 1940s and, like other "mystery men" of the time, serves in the wartime

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

. In 1942, Ted enlists in the U.S. Army Air Force and briefly serves as a pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At this time, the love of Ted's life is a woman named Doris Lee, who often chastises her layabout playboy boyfriend for his pretended laziness and

hypochondria Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is an old concept whose meaning has repeatedly changed over its lifespan. It has been claimed that th ...

, unaware of Ted's costumed persona. Doris is murdered in the late 1940s, leading Ted to suffer a nervous breakdown. In the 1990s-era '' Starman'' series, Ted returns to active duty, partially inspired by his time-traveling son Jack. Additionally, it is revealed that he had a brief affair with the first

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

(Dinah Drake) in the 1960s. Like the rest of the Justice Society, Starman spends many years in retirement following the end of the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

of heroes, but returns to help mentor the team's spiritual successors the

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

. During this time, Ted Knight marries a woman named Adele Doris Drew and has two children, Jack and David. In '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'', Ted loses his slowed aging and is forced into retirement. Ted later battles

Doctor Phosphorus Doctor Phosphorus (Alexander James Sartorius) is a supervillain who has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. Primarily an enemy of Batman, the villain exists in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe. Doctor ...

, whose radiation gives him terminal cancer. He is killed in battle with Mist while stopping his bomb from destroying the city.

Powers and abilities

Ted Knight has no natural, superhuman powers. His abilities stem from the use of his inventions, the gravity rod and the cosmic rod. These devices channel an unknown form of stellar radiation, which Ted is able to manipulate through the rod. As Starman, he possesses the ability to fly, project bursts of stellar energy, light, and heat, create force fields and simple energy constructs, and levitate objects. Extended use of the cosmic rod created a bond between it and Ted, allowing him to mentally summon the rod when separated from it. Ted possesses a brilliant intellect, mastery of several sciences, and a gift for invention. In addition to the gravity and cosmic rods, Ted created the cosmic staff used by his son, Jack, and the cosmic converter belt worn by his JSA teammates, the Star-Spangled Kid and Stargirl.

Other versions

* An alternate universe variant of Ted Knight / Starman appears in '' JLA: Age of Wonder''. This version is an inventor and friend of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

, and

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

who built his cosmic rod with technology gleaned from the rocket ship that brought Superman to Earth. * An alternate universe variant of Ted Knight, codenamed "Star", appears in '' JSA: The Unholy Three'' as an intelligence agent working at

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

. * An alternate universe variant of Ted Knight / Starman makes a cameo appearance in '' JLA: Another Nail''.

Collected editions

* ''Golden Age Starman Archives'' Vol. 1 (Starman stories from ''Adventure Comics'' #61-76) * ''Golden Age Starman Archives'' Vol. 2 (Starman stories from ''Adventure Comics'' #77-102)

In other media

* Ted Knight / Starman appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!", voiced by

Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. * Ted Knight / Starman appears in '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths''. * Ted Knight / Starman received a figure in

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

DC Universe Classics DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on the fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horse ...

line.

References

External links

Starman (1941)
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 23, 2017.

Earth-2 Starman Index
{{Gardner Fox Characters created by Gardner Fox Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics male superheroes Earth-Two Fictional astronomers Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with gravity abilities Fictional inventors in comics Fictional stick-fighters Golden Age superheroes Starman (DC Comics)