Starman (DC Comics Golden Age)

Starman
Cover to Starman vol. 2, #72 (2000). Art by Andrew Robinson.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941)
Created by	Jack Burnley Whitney Ellsworth Murray Boltinoff Jack Schiff Mort Weisinger Bernie Breslauer
In-story information
Alter ego	Theodore Henry "Ted" Knight
Team affiliations	Justice Society of America All-Star Squadron
Abilities	Fine hand to hand combatant Gifted inventor Brilliant intellect Via gravity and cosmic rods: Flight Stellar energy, light and heat projection Force field and simple energy construct generation Telekinesis

Starman (Theodore Henry "Ted" Knight) is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whitney Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941).

As Starman, Ted wears a costume of red and green tights, and a helmet with a fin on the top. He uses a gravity rod (later cosmic rod) which allows him to fly and to manipulate energy, at times in a manner similar to Green Lantern's power ring. As Ted Knight, he is an astronomer and an expert scientist, having developed the rods himself.

Initially intending them for use as a possible power source, Ted was convinced by his cousin, Sandra Knight, the Phantom Lady, to use his invention to become a costumed crime fighter. In the original 1940s stories, Starman operated out of Gotham City, but this was retconned in the 1990s to Opal City. He was a frequent ally of the FBI and a member of the Justice Society of America for much of the 1940s and, like other mystery men of the time, serves in the wartime All-Star Squadron. In 1942 Ted enlists in the U.S. Army Air Force and serves very briefly as a pilot during World War II.

At this time, the love of Ted's life is a woman named Doris Lee, who often chastises her layabout playboy boyfriend for his pretended laziness and hypochondria, unaware of Ted's costumed persona. Doris is tragically murdered in the late 1940s and this event, combined with Ted's role in the creation of the atom bomb, causes him to suffer a nervous breakdown. He was confined to a mental institution for a number of years as a result.