WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "S.T.R.I.P.E.", the latest episode of Stargirl.
DC Universe's Stargirl may have just introduced a member of Young Justice.
In "S.T.R.I.P.E.," the latest episode, Courtney Whitmore attended Blue Valley High School's open house with her mother Barbara and stepfather Pat Dugan. There, she unwittingly encountered several members of the Injustice Society -- and their children. While many of these kids have the potential to be villains themselves, Larry "Crusher" Crock (Sportsmaster) and Paula Brook (Tigress)'s daughter Artemis makes an interesting exception.
Artemis appeared in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo, with only one line of dialogue. As Courtney looked for Brainwave in the crowd, she unwittingly passed several Injustice Society members, including Crusher and Paula. She caught sight of Brainwave in his civilian identity as Dr. Henry King just as Paula bragged about her daughter's sports prowess.
"They say my daughter will be the first woman drafted into the NFL," Paula announced.
"You say it, Mom," Artemis corrected her.
"Your father does too," Paula pitched in, to which Crusher added, "It's true! I'm a bragger with this one. You know what they say: it's not bragging if it's true."
Artemis Crock made her comic book debut in 1987's Infinity, Inc. #34 by Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane. For many years, she followed in her parents' footsteps to become a villain in her own right. After using her first name as her villainous moniker for some time, she eventually took up her mother's mantle as Tigress. She worked frequently with the Injustice Society, joining team members like Icicle and Solomon Grundy. This iteration of the team ultimately killed Sylvester Pemberton, who was the original Starman in Stargirl's continuity.
Then, in 2011, Artemis underwent a major reinvention. With the launch of the New 52, she became an ally to the Teen Titans and chose to die rather kill them, motivating them to take down the nefarious organization Harvest in The Culling crossover. Meanwhile, she became a critical member of the Young Justice animated series, which launched in fall 2010. In that show, she forsook her parents and ran away from home to become a superhero. She has appeared only once in live-action on The CW's Arrow, where she maintained her villainous origin.
As such, Stargirl's Artemis poses an interesting quandary, in that she could theoretically go either way as the TV series continues. She could join the Injustice Society's other children on their road to villainy, or she could defy her parents to become part of Courtney's up-and-coming Justice Society of America. Series creator Geoff Johns even hinted the character could become important to the series as it moves forward.
"The idea of even characters like Artemis Crock, everything we put in here isn't just an Easter egg but it's a pathway to a story," Johns told CBR. "The depth and breadth of the Golden Age of DC Comics, the Justice Society, the Seven Soldiers of Victory -- Stargirl and STRIPE have ties to so many different characters that stretch all the way back to the very first comics that DC ever published and up to the present that have been on tap. There are a bunch of minor, obscure characters and stories and some that, to hardcore fans, aren't as obscure, but when you're talking about Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt, for some people, that's obscure. But we have plans for if we get to tell more and more series of this. We have plans and ideas to explore every corner of the DC Universe from this point of view, just like we have in the comic books. So characters like Artemis Crock or if you see a prop or something in the background, or they talk about somebody, it's not just -- I mean, there's this episode 9, where I'm really excited for people to see, that we do a pretty deep cut into the DC Universe and it's pretty fun for our super hardcore fans. It's a lot of fun."
DC Universe's Stargirl stars Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl) and Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan (S.T.R.I.P.E.). The series airs Monday on DC Universe and Tuesdays on The CW at 8 pm ET/PT.