DC’s Stargirl – S.T.R.I.P.E.

By starrymag | June 3, 2020

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

Courtney (Brec Bassinger) is face to face with Pat (Luke Wilson) in his robot suit and is pretty rattled. She wants an explanation, but Pat insists they get somewhere safe first. Presumably she agrees because Pat (a/k/a Stripsey) flies Courtney back to the garage. The cosmic staff is still a bit wound up and is yanking Courtney around. She asks it for a minute and the staff, still glowing, simmers down. Pat asks a visibly shaken Courtney if she’s alright.

 

She’s not and demands to know what the robot suit is. Pat built it after Sylvester (Joel McHale) died out of old car parts. It’s a prototype. He tries to figure out what Courtney’s attacker looked like from Courtney and she tells him he could read her mind. Also, not for nothing, he threatened to melt her mind. Pat gauges from this that she fought Brainwave (Christopher Baker), who was an enemy of the JSA and a member of the Injustice Society. He warns Courtney that melting her mind was not an idle threat. And we learn that despite what her mother said, Courtney is still clinging to the belief that Starman was her father. Pat says that Starman wasn’t her dad, but it doesn’t seem to sink in.

 

Moving on, we learn a little more about the night the Justice Society of America died. Starman, Pat says, was taken out by the Injustice Society’s leader. His name was Icicle.  For the present time Courtney wants to go after Brainwave as it can’t be a coincidence that he’s in the same small town Pat is in. But Pat wants to discourage this. Brainwave and the other members of the Injustice Society are really dangerous since they killed his friends and they’d have no qualms about killing Courtney. Still, Courtney wants to know what Brainwave’s doing there.

 

Quick history lesson: Starman had a colleague called Hourman (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). He didn’t die ten years ago. His name was Rex and he took it upon himself to keep tabs on the Injustice Society. It brought him to Blue Valley, but then he passed away mysteriously. That’s what Pat was doing in Blue Valley when he met Courtney’s mother; following Rex’s research. However, he assumed that they’d all left the town. He wouldn’t have been willing to move the family there otherwise. He gives Courtney a lecture on the importance of secret identities, but she still doesn’t seem to grasp the danger factor.

 

We cut to a house in a different part of town. We’re at a man named William’s (Joe Knezevich) house. His son wakes up him and his wife Denise (Cynthia Evans) says that someone is there. William tells them to stay calm as it’s probably just a cat. It’s not a cat. It’s actually Brainwave. He wants to inform William, a fellow member of the Injustice Society, that Courtney’s got the staff. William is angry that he didn’t just come in the morning and points out that Jordan (possibly Icicle) left him in charge. Brainwave says it’s because he knows William and that his impulse is to take his family and run, but the work they’re doing is too important. Blue Valley is the perfect test-case for Jordan’s grand plan. He says Project New America is their purpose and legacy. Also, William has a wand.

 

The morning after Courtney and Pat give lame excuses for the gashes and bruises they’re sporting on their respective faces. Barbara (Amy Smart) demands to know what happened and Mike (Trae Romano) is just hungry. They say they both fell down the stairs. She doesn’t seem to buy it, but is happy enough that Courtney is being nice to Pat to let it go.

 

Henry Jr. (Jake Austin Walker) has an awkward talk with his father Henry Sr. (also Brainwave) after stealing some money from a wallet that isn’t his. We learn that Henry Jr. probably didn’t inherit his father’s mind reading powers, much to his dad’s disappointment. He also tries to learn more about Henry Jr’s movie run in with Courtney. Although he saw her face, it was dark and he doesn’t have a name.

 

Courtney ventures to school and starts tweaking Starman’s old costume to fit her. There’s an intro to Barbara’s new boss Steven Sharpe (Eric Goins) at a company called the American Dream. He’s not a cuddly guy as he harshly shoots down every one of Barbara’s suggestions. And Pat goes to Larry (Neil Hopkins), the fitness junkie, because he wants to get in shape.

 

Courtney sits with Beth (Anjelika Washington) again at lunch. Beth is Skyping with her parents during lunch. As it turns out, at Beth’s mother Bridget (Kron Moore) works with Henry Sr. Beth reminds her parents about the open house later, something Henry is keen on attending in order to figure out the identity of the girl Henry Jr fought.

 

At the open house we get more background. Remember William? He’s a councilman. Bridget and Henry Sr are doctors. Courtney is trying hard not to be noticed by Brainwave. Unfortunately, he’s doing a psychic sweep of the crowd to try to find her. He tracks her down and corners her in a hallway. Apparently, she’s thinking that she’s Starman’s daughter. Telepathy. Anyway, Courtney says he’ll pay for what he’s done, but Henry issues an ultimatum: bring the cosmic staff at midnight or he’ll give Barbara a stroke.

 

Pat gets the family to go home and Courtney explains what happened with Brainwave. She thinks that the staff chose her to get revenge for what happened to the JSA. Pat just wants to keep her safe. He’s going to meet Brainwave and tells Courtney that if he doesn’t return to take her mother and Mike get out of town.

 

Courtney and Barbara have a moment before bed. She thanks Courtney for making an effort with Pat. Also, she acknowledges that all the changes have been rough on Courtney and says they’re gonna make it work. Mother and daughter hug and then we cut to Pat flying to meet Brainwave.

 

He lands and Brainwave is confused, but still ready to fight. He deflects Pat’s attacks with his mind. Elsewhere, Courtney suits up as Stargirl and gets on the scene just in time to give Pat a hand.

 

They struggle and Brainwave pins Courtney with some scrap metal. He tells Courtney she’ll die for attacking his son, but first she’ll feel a lot of pain. In the nick of time Courtney goes for the staff and presses it to Brainwave’s forehead. His eyes and mouth fill with light and he collapses.

 

At the hospital the doctors tell Henry Jr they think his father suffered a seizure. He’s alive, but in a coma. The prognosis isn’t looking good.

 

Courtney is worried that Brainwave might die, but Pat assures her it’s not her fault. He says his mind short-circuited. They talk a bit about the staff’s history and then the pair discuss Courtney’s crime fighting future. Courtney wants to find Starman’s killer and the other members of the Injustice Society, but with Pat’s help.

 

Reluctantly, Pat agrees. He never thought they’d be another Starman or Stargirl, but since Courtney’s determined to do this he’ll go along for the ride to keep her safe. Just one thing, Courtney says S.T.R.I.P.E. sounds cooler than Stripsey. Now, Courtney wonders which bad guy is next?

 

As a potential answer a man (Neil Jackson) in a car zooms into town and struts into The American Dream’s office. He uses handprint recognition to get into a secret passageway and says hello to a creature locked in a vault. Then, he greets Steven who addresses him as Jordan. It’s the Icicle!

 

Steven tells Jordan that someone wielding the staff took out Brainwave. Steven wonders what they should do. Jordan says not to worry, he killed one Starman and he can kill another.