{"id":17034,"date":"2012-02-20T08:05:54","date_gmt":"2012-02-20T14:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17034"},"modified":"2012-02-20T03:49:42","modified_gmt":"2012-02-20T09:49:42","slug":"dc-classics-com-s-t-r-i-p-e-weekstargirl-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17034","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week
Stargirl Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>S.T.R.I.P.E. Week rolls on, but today I\u2019m jumping ahead, oh\u2026 a few decades to a young member of the modern JSA. One of the things I enjoyed most about the late 90s DC offerings was the return of the Justice Society of America and its newest member Courtney Whitmore, a.k.a. Stargirl.<\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned before that one of my happiest times reading monthly comics was in the late 90s, from Final Night to when Dan Didio was hired. One the most fun comics from that time period came in the form of a revival of the Justice Society, in the aptly named JSA title. <\/p>\n

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The book featured the remaining old guard (Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, & Wildcat), but what I really enjoyed was the heavy focus on the legacy concept. The book also featured Starman VII, Black Canary II, Sand (Sandman’s former sidekick), Hawkgirl III, Atom-Smasher (the GA Atom’s nephew), Mr. Teriffic II, Dr. Mid-Nite II, a new Dr. Fate, and a new Star-Spangled Kid (that’d be our young Courtney Whitmore here). The book, largely written by Goyer & Johns, was a fantastic title for several years and I happily read monthly until a few months after Goyer left. After that, book featured things I didn’t enjoy all that much like tearing down Atom-Smasher, the “bullet hole” Crimson Avenger, killing the modern Hourman to bring back the original, and other assorted stuff I’d rather forget. <\/p>\n

Okay, so we’re only a couple paragraphs in and I’ve already called Courtney Whitmore both the Star-Spangled Kid & Stargirl. That’s because she’s both. Courtney is a Geoff Johns’ creation, originally appearing as the second Star-Spangled Kid in his book Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.<\/em>. The character is based on Johns’ sister, also named Courtney, who died in the TWA Flight 800 explosion. <\/p>\n

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Courtney is the stepdaughter of the Golden Age Stripe – partner of the original Star-Spangled Kid and member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. I know to some of you, I’m just throwing out weird names and teams, but I love doing these reviews. Getting to talk about these old characters is great, we just need the figures to match! <\/p>\n

When Courtney discovered Pat’s history, she set out on her own as the new Star-Spangled Kid (ultimately being accompanied by Pat in his S.T.R.I.P.E. armor). She’d go on to join the JSA and after receiving Starman’s VII Star Rod when he retired, changed her name to Stargirl. She’s been an integral component of all the JSA-themed books since and made crossover appearances in both JLU<\/em>, Brave & the Bold<\/em>, & Smallville<\/em>. I’m not sure of her status in the new 52, but if you’re a fan of the character, I’m positive Geoff Johns will have done right by her and left her largely intact. <\/p>\n

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In terms of sculpt, Stargirl features a lot of new parts. Her arms may be the only thing reused and her two lower torso pieces are shared with the Young Justice Artemis, though I’m not sure who came first anymore. Courtney features new shorter legs with the thigh articulation moved to the bottom of the bicycle pants, there are new hands, the new belt, a new upper torso that features a sculpted line between her midriff and costume, and the all-new head. As it is, I’m perplexed by this figure. The newly sculpted pieces are great and capture the detail right, the size is right, but the waist confounds me. <\/p>\n

The major problem is that the belt is too small. On the top, it lines up with her skin, but then below, it juts out over her hips. That has to hurt. When combined with the internal hip articulation (it causes the upper hip to move inward as the leg juts out) and the pinch created by the ab crunch, Stargirl ends up looking rather ill-proportioned in some poses (and that’s without mentioning this young lady is supposed to be 16). <\/p>\n

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The new pieces do get the job done and capture the figure’s look right down to the weird “Yankee Poodle” aspect to the costume design (Geoff Johns loves the Zoo Crew). The head sculpt has taken some flak, but I think the sculpt is solid. I love that Courtney’s smiling because that’s pretty much what she does on every cover, but the decision to include the braces as a paint app seems to jar the entire piece. One, it looks bad. Who thought a yellow line through her teeth would be a good idea? Second, it situates the teeth strangely in the open-mouth sculpt. I’m not against smiles on sculpts, but after Courtney and the Legion I think we need to go back to the drawing board. (For fun, I whited out the yellow line to check out the sculpt without it, I do like it better).<\/p>\n

I would say the braces needed to be a sculpted detail, but I think that’s too small for this line to reproduce, so I think they should’ve skipped it altogether this time around. She’s had the braces removed in the comics and the figure definitely appears to be older than her early appearances, so they really wouldn’t have been missed. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Articulation is standard for the line (I’m gonna be saying that a lot this week): ball-joints for the neck & shoulders, swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, thighs, and calves, hinges at the elbows, knees, and ankles, the ab crunch, and the 4H hips. I had no issues with stuck joints (though the right knee was warped due to packaging), but there were a few blockages by design elements. The sculpted edge of Courtney’s top blocks forward movement on the ab crunch while the hair limits the range on the neck. It’s a shame because Sandman had no reason for blockage but his neck only feature swivel action. Courtney’s capable of more, but the hair gets in the way. She’s another figure to lament the loss of the rocker ankles too – the double swivel cuts in her legs really opens up her ability to be posed, but the ankles being simple hinges cancels out most of what they can do. <\/p>\n

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For the most part, I got a relatively slop free Courtney. The metallic blue looks spectacular and the white star tampos were clean throughout. I also enjoyed the high gloss on the belt and the boots. There is some slop though, the seam down the outside of the thigh are visible through the white paint and the flesh paint on the face and torso doesn’t do a great job of following the sculpted lines. It’s nothing too terrible, I’d fix the yellow line through her teeth before any of these. Like the teeth, there are a few cosmetic annoyances here, the eyes (while painted well) are painted looking upward instead of being centered and the hip pegs are flesh colored which isn’t a big deal, but the flash of fleshtone in there does look a bit odd in certain poses.<\/p>\n

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Courtney reuses Jack Knight’s Star Rod which is appropriate since thats’s exactly what she uses in the comics. I’m not really sure why Mattel opted to mold it in clear yellow though. I like the idea of molding it yellow and then painting the handle gold to make the Rod seem “powered up”, but having it all clear yellow just makes it looks like something I should give to Sinestro or one of his goons. <\/p>\n

My Courtney does have some problems holding the Star Rod as well. Her hands appear to have been molded for this specific purpose, but on my figure the Star Rod tends to find its way to the shelf floor before too long. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Stargirl isn’t my favorite figure in the wave, but she’s not a bad figure. I have a series of nitpicks like the yellow paint for the braces, the undersized belt, the sloppy face paint, but Mattel got the majority of things right, leaving her a good run of the mill figure for the line. If you’re an avid Stargirl fan, you might want a little more attention to detail. If you’ve been playing with Marvel Legends all week, you might want a little more articulation. But if you’ve been collecting DC Classics all year and are in need of some good relatively-longstanding characters to add to your shelf, then this Stargirl will work for you. She looks great with S.T.R.I.P.E., she looks great with the (still way undermanned) modern JSA display, and she makes you want more of the great JSA-related characters from Mattel. <\/p>\n

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For more DC reviews, check out our
\n DC Universe Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

S.T.R.I.P.E. Week rolls on, but today I\u2019m jumping ahead, oh\u2026 a few decades to a young member of the modern JSA. One of the things I enjoyed most about the late 90s DC offerings was the return of the Justice Society of America and its newest member Courtney Whitmore, a.k.a. Stargirl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[6,34,10],"tags":[15,665,1049,259,20,957,1390,598],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-4qK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17114,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17114","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":0},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week S.T.R.I.P.E. Review","date":"February 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As everyone (hopefully) expected, we\u2019re wrapping up our S.T.R.I.P.E. Week with a look at the big guy. STRIPE & \u2018comic accuracy\u2019 don\u2019t belong anywhere near each other in a sentence, but Mattel and the Four Horsemen pulled off a feat, a fantastically inaccurate figure that\u2019s fantastic at the same time.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17021,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17021","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":1},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. WeekGolden Age Sandman Review","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While I enjoyed DCUC18, I\u2019m still of the mindset that DCUC19, with its JSA theme, was a bastion of greatness in an otherwise dull year for DC Classics. Sandwiched between a wave of Geoff Johns\u2019 Rainbow Deputies and Brightest Day figures, the classic characters featured here were a 2011 bright\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17072,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17072","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":2},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Golden Age Atom Review","date":"February 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"S.T.R.I.P.E. Week has me taking another trip down memory lane today with a look at the Golden Age Atom! He\u2019s not my favorite Justice Society of America member, but as a JSA Fan that\u2019s been waiting forever for a good Al Pratt figure, I\u2019m happy to report this one doesn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20380,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20380","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":3},"title":"DC Classics.Com Club Infinite Earths Starman Review","date":"August 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week was a little light on reviews, so it seems fitting we kick things into high gear this week with Reviewapalooza II! Our second foray into the mad world of double reviews will feature over a dozen figures between today & Saturday. Let\u2019s kick off with Club Infinite Earths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17160,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17160","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":4},"title":"DC Classics.com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Hawkman Review","date":"February 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"S.T.R.I.P.E. Week is nearing its conclusion with my review of the last regular figure in the JSA themed wave, the Golden Age version of Hawkman.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been waiting a long time for this particular figure, and he actually turned out pretty well for what's mostly redeco. Carter Hall was an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/hawk1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10246,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=10246","url_meta":{"origin":17034,"position":5},"title":"DCClassics.Com: Wave 14 Hourman Review","date":"November 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"DC Universe Classics Wave 14 is a wave without variants, so that means one figure gets a solo review. I picked Hourman because he's a favorite of mine and because he has a ton of comic potential. He's a smart character, but he's still a brawler at heart. Plus, he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17034"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17056,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17034\/revisions\/17056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}