Stargirl Confirms Courtney’s Father Is [SPOILER]

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Stargirl season 1, episode 11, “Shining Knight.”

The identity of Courtney Whitmore’s father has finally been confirmed by the latest episode of DC Universe’s Stargirl, which revealed him to be a grifter named Sam Kurtis. However, despite this mystery being solved, its resolution leaves one larger question unanswered regarding the superheroic legacy that Courtney inherited.

The question of Courtney Whitmore’s parentage has been a part of Stargirl‘s storyline since the pilot episode, where Courtney’s father skipped out on spending Christmas Eve with her and her mother, Barbara, when Courtney was 5-years-old. When Courtney later learned that Christmas Eve was the same night that the Justice Society of America fought their final battle and Sylvester “Starman” Pemberton died, she jumped to the conclusion that Starman was her father and that Pemberton had romanced her mother under an alias to protect his family from his enemies. Courtney’s mother said this was impossible, as she knew Sam Kurtis was a crook, not a hero. Pat “Stripesy” Dugan likewise said it was impossible for Courtney to be Pemberton’s daughter, feeling that if Starman had a secret family that he, as Starman’s sidekick, would have known about it. Despite this, Dugan could could offer no other explanation for why Starman’s Cosmic Staff worked for Courtney, when it had lain dormant for a decade until Courtney found it.

As Stargirl season 1, episode 11, “Shining Knight” opened, Sam Kurtis arrived in Blue Valley, Nebraska, having been summoned by a message Barbara Whitmore had sent to the last e-mail address she had for him after she learned about her daughter’s double life and Courtney’s belief that her father was a superhero. Sam took a skeptical Courtney out to breakfast and confirmed his identity by showing her an antique locket; a twin to the one Courtney always wore, which was her most prized possession as it contained a photo of her lost father. When Courtney asked why he had vanished, Sam spun a sob-story involving a chain of bad business deals and how he wanted to make something of himself before he came back into his daughter’s life.

This led to Sam making a pitch to Courtney about how he might be able to get the funds to get a decent place out in California where she could come visit him, if she gave him her locket. He claimed to have found out they were much more valuable than he knew when he gave her one when she was 4-years-old, but that he could only sell them as a matched set. Idealistic but not naive, Courtney gave him the locket, knowing full well that what her mother had told her was true and that her father had only sought her out to make a quick buck.

This chain of events proved unsurprising to comic readers, as it was taken directly from the Stars and STRIPE comics which introduced the character of Courtney Whitmore. The episode was also written by Stargirl‘s executive producer Geoff Johns, who also wrote the original Stars and STRIPE series and based the character of Courtney Whitmore on his sister. The main plot of “Shining Knight” is a fairly faithful adaptation of the final issue of Stars and STRIPE, though the comic book version of Courtney never thought Starman was her father.

While the question of who is Courtney’s father is may have been settled, it is still unclear why the Cosmic Staff works for Courtney and no one else if she isn’t Starman’s daughter. The comics offer no clear answers on this point, as the idea of the Cosmic Staff being a sentient weapon that chooses its wielder is unique to the reality of Stargirl. It seems likely this mystery will be saved for the series’ second season, as there will be little time for exploring the history of the Cosmic Staff in the upcoming two-part season finale.