WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "Shiv, Part Two," the latest episode of Stargirl.
Before Starman, there was the Star-Spangled Kid. In "Shiv, Part Two," the latest episode of Stargirl, Pat "Stripesy" Dugan confirmed Sylvester Pemberton once went by Star-Spangled Kid during a heart-to-heart with Cosmic Staff.
This week's episode picked up where the last one ended: with Courtney suffering from the injuries she sustained during her battle with Cindy Burman, aka Shiv. She woke up in the hospital, only to learn Pat crashed his beloved Buick in order to stage a car crash. Ultimately, he was more concerned about his stepdaughter's well-being, and he even had a frank discussion with the Staff about their future work with the Justice Society of America.
"Look, I know -- in the past -- we've had our differences and haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything. At times, you know, it seemed, well, you didn't really even respect me all that much," Pat told the Staff, which lay dormant in its crate. "And as long as I'm speaking honestly, I felt that you were pretty impulsive and reckless."
"But the thing is, when you came into Starman's life, he was already an adult, right? Sylvester had been running around as Star-Spangled Kid for years. He had experience! Sylvester knew what to expect," he continued. "But Courtney -- Courtney has got a lot to learn. I know you want justice for Sylvester -- I do too -- but Courtney could have died tonight. I'm asking you to protect her. If it gets to be too much, take her away from the danger instead of towards it."
In the comics, Sylvester was Star-Spangled Kid for years, before he became Skyman. Introduced by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman in 1941's Star Spangled Comics #1, Sylvester took up the Star-Spangled mantle to fight Nazis alongside his adult sidekick Stripesy, who was the Pemberton family chauffeur. They used nothing more than their fists and acrobatics in their battle against crime. As Skyman, he eventually used Ted "Starman" Knight's Cosmic Staff, and then a cosmic converter belt with similar properties. The Staff is more often associated with Courtney, the second Star-Spangled Kid, and Ted's son Jack Knight.
Although Stargirl picks up with Sylvester as Starman, not much was revealed about his past, outside of his association with Pat and the JSA. An old photo showed him wearing the Star-Spangled Kid costume, but the codename was not mentioned. However, in "Shiv, Part Two," Pat confirmed Sylvester went by the Star-Spangled moniker in this continuity as well.
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.