Starman #15 (October 1989)

Starman is not one of DC Comics' most famous superheroes, but various incarnations of the character have been active in the DC Universe for 70 years. The original Starman was Theodore Henry "Ted" Knight. First appearing in Adventure Comics #16 (April 1941), he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley. Ted Knight was a scientist and astronomer who created a device known as the Cosmic Rod (originally called the "Gravity Rod"), which allowed him to fly and to manipulate energy. The original Starman would go on to join several other Golden Age-era superheroes to be part of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron. Sadly, like many of his heroic compatriots, Ted Knight would seemingly fade into obscurity with the end of the Golden Age of Comic Books.

Unlike the Green Lantern, Flash, or the Atom, Starman never got a revamp like they did during the Silver Age of Comics. That was always odd to me as a character who uses cosmic energy for power would have been a great fit in the more sci-fi-obsessed 1950s and 60s. Ted Knight himself would get revived alongside his JSA teammates, their new adventures now taking place on Earth-2.

The 1970s would see a new Starman: Mikaal Tomas, who first appeared in 1st Issue Special #12 (March 1976). Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Mike Vosburg, Tomas was an alien who originally came to Earth to conquer it, but then ended up being one of its protectors. He would also eventually be revealed to be one of DC Comics's first gay superheroes.

The 1980s would introduce another new Starman, one of two in fact: Prince Gavyn. This Starman first appeared in Adventure Comics #467 (January 1980), written by Paul Levitz, and drawn by Steve Ditko. He was a mutant alien prince, who used a staff and jeweled wristbands to manipulate the cosmic energies in his body to fly interstellar distances and shoot energy bolts. He was a casualty of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

In the 1990s, the Starman legacy would be taken to new heights thanks to an ongoing Starman series that focused on Jack Knight, the youngest son of Ted Knight. Created by James Robinson and Tony Harris, this Starman series would be critically-and-fan-acclaimed, lasting 81 issues with annuals and special issues. Jack Knight was a reluctant superhero, eschewing his father's classic red-and-green Starman costume for street clothes and goggles. Jack would go on to join the Justice Society until he retired and passed the Cosmic Rod to Courtney Whitmore, who would take up the name "Stargirl" afterwards. This Starman series was also notable for tying together all the previous incarnations of Starman u to that point...including the one we're going to focus on here.

Remember when I said that the 1980s introduced two new Starmen? Well, the second one is who I'm spotlighting here. After the death of Prince Gavyn in Crisis, the newly house-cleaned DC Universe introduced the world to a spanking-new Starman: William "Will" Payton. Created by Roger Stern and Tom Lyle, Payton first appeared in Starman #1 (October 1988). Yes, Payton was the first of the Starmen to get his own ongoing series, years before Jack Knight. Payton was once an ordinary man, until he got hit by an energy beam from a satellite. This energy beam gave him super strength, limited shapeshifting, and the power to fire energy blasts from his hands. His superhero career would be rather short, and he would seemingly get killed in an event known as Eclipso: The Darkness Within. The 90s Starman series would reveal that his gaining his powers was...more complicated than previously thought.

I had found this comic in the back issue bins of a comic shop that my dad found in a mall. I thought that it would be a fun comic to look at. The scans come from the actual comic instead of a trade (The Stern/Lyle Starman title has never been collected in trade as far as I know). Also, in a sad case of cosmic kismet, it turns out that one of Will's co-creators, Tom Lyle, had recently passed away. As such, I thought that looking at this comic would be a nice tribute to Mr. Lyle.

I would also like to say that I would like to apologize for the scan quality. You see, I normally scan from trades. But this is from an actual comic book that is about 30 years old. Please keep that in mind. So, for my 800th blog entry, let's take a look at Starman #15!

The cover is pretty neat. It's a Tom Lyle piece. We see Starman get ambushed by the villainous Deadline. The cover really does help show Deadline's skill and powers. I do wish this Starman included a mask with his costume. I know he can change his face, but having a mask would be a great additional layer of security for his secret identity. Can't be too careful with that.

"Look--Up In The Sky...!"
Writer: Roger Stern
Penciler: Tom Lyle
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: Bob Pinaha
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with a man in a rundown hotel room, being rather frightened.

"I worry too much. I should just go see a show or something."

Meet Daniel Finster, a man way in over his head. He's worried about some gambling debts he ran up with a local Mafia boss names Sal Galvagno. He tries to relax, as he's been in this situation before. However, Daniel Finster is a man who seems to like pushing his luck. As such, he's in debt again. This time, Galvagno is not going to be patient.

Danny gets a call from his brother Morris. He and Joey Finster, Danny's brothers, are in Las Vegas. They've actually managed to win big at a casino. They almost got the money they need to pay off Galvagno. However, Daniel finds himself having some company, and he's not there to have coffee.

"You don't think my armor is too garish, do you?"

Meet Deadline, assassin for hire. Galvagno hired him to...let's just say tie up the loose end that is Danny Finster. Finster tries to shoot Deadline, but it turns out that the hired gun is superpowered, particularly intangibility. Basically, he can pass through solid surfaces a la Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde. Deadline kills Finster, and decides to pay the newly-deceased man's brothers a "visit" in Vegas. It's there that the scene shifts to Sin City, which has a superpowered guest of its own.

"VEGAS, YOU JUST GOT GRACED BY THE LIGHT OF STARMAN!"

Will Payton just wanted to enjoy the fruits of the Silver City. You know, see a show, do a bit of gambling, enjoy a buffet, that kind of thing. But a superhero is never truly off duty, as he finds a Lear jet about to crash into the city. Starman gets the pilot to cut the plane's engines. Once that's done, Will flies underneath the plane and with great effort, is able to save the Lear jet and keep it from crashing into downtown Vegas.

"Lifting a plane that is full of people who just left the buffet. How does Superman DO this?!"

The crowd goes wild, cheering for the cosmic champion. With the crisis averted, the Starman is able to return to being plain ol' Will Payton once more. He's off to meet a friend named Phil Easton. He heads towards Easton's room, where he hears someone covering Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man".

"Huh. I didn't know Phil could sing."

Turns out Phil is doing a bit of performing for a captive audience. I'm wondering how he's got this party going in a hotel room. We also see that quite a few of the female partyers are quite interested in our hero. Will wonders how Phil is able to afford this. Well, it turns out that Lady Luck had smiled on Phil, and he won a very nice chunk of change at the slot machines. He invited Will here because he's got money to burn, and he wants to...well, burn it. Will thinks he should put that money away for the future. Phil has some of the money saved up, but he's never had an opportunity to really live it up before. He finally has, and he wants to take it!

Will agrees to come along and help Phil live it up and stay out of trouble...in exchange for him paying to see Jay Leno's comedy show at Caesar's Palace. The two get some nice tuxedos and live it up.

"Ohhh, we are going to have so many drunken misadventures..."

Meanwhile, Morris "Morrie" Finster heads back to his hotel room. Unlike Phil, his night was a lousy one. He lost quite a lot of cash, but that's the least of his problems as Deadline is in town to pay him a visit. The superhuman assassin tells him he killed Danny, and he's next. Joey Finster also arrives, just as Deadline fixes the kink in Morrie's neck by snapping it.

It happens to be then that Will is helping the drunk Phil into a cab. He hears a gunshot, and goes to check it out. But not before making sure the cabbie gets Phil back to his hotel room and reimbursing him for his trouble. It's then he spots Deadline going after Joey. Will changes his face to resemble Jay Leno and confronts Deadline.

"Hey, Guns! Wanna see my garage?!"

Joey takes advantage of Deadline being distracted to run for his life. Deadline also decides to make his escape, because he was paid to kill the Finsters. After getting two of them, he's not going to let the third get away because of some fancy-dressed superhero. Deadline pursues Joey into a casino. He manages to catch up to the portly man and is about to kill him, but Starman is all "Nope to that, pal!"

"Ohhhh, epic fail, Deadline!"

Deadline is able to use his intangibility power to escape the cosmic champion, and pursues him into the storage areas under the casino. Deadline tries to ambush Starman with his intangibility powers and a knife to the neck, but Starman's durability makes cutting his neck rather tough. Deadline tries phasing his shotgun partially into our hero's body and firing, but that doesn't work either. The super-assassin runs for it, and is able to escape Payton's alter ego.

Meanwhile, the cops managed to get Joey Finster. Starman warns the police about Deadline and his powers. They take the sole surviving Finster brother to a holding cell, where he feels he is finally safe.

"I'm the BOOGEYMAN, and I'm comin' to GET YOU!"

Yeah, a regular holding cell is not going to stop Deadline. The next morning, Will and Phil are enjoying some breakfast at a diner. Phil is nursing the mother of all hangovers. Will decides to check out the local paper...where he learns that Deadline managed to kill Joey Finster. He blames himself for it, but is brought out of his funk by Phil noticing a photo of a man who resembles Will, only much older. Does Will have any relatives in San Francisco named "Deming"? Well, as it turns out, the name is not an unfamiliar one to our man.

"Dad, what did you DO?!"

Yup, that's our hero's father. And it looks like he's not in a good place right now.

This was a fun issue. Although, I will admit, I may be a bit biased because I'm a bit of a fan of Roger Stern, thanks to his work on Spider-Man and The Avengers. It was quite fun seeing Will live it up and have some fun in Las Vegas. We also get some great action in the comic. It's a good challenge for Starman to face a foe that he literally could not touch.

Deadline himself isn't much to write home about. He's seemingly just your standard assassin claiming to be "the best" at it. Him having superpowers is a nice touch, though. And it would make sense that in a world of superheroes and supervillains, there would be superpowered assassins. I did like that he was shown to be a skilled assassin, using his powers to great effect, as well as very hard to catch...not to mention that he won in the end. All three Finster brothers are dead. Better luck next time, Starman. I did also like that Starman was shown to be competent. Deadline had to work to evade the rookie hero. That was good to see.

Tom Lyle's art is very-well done. It's detailed, and a joy to look at. That's pretty much all I can think of to say about it, really. It's very nice. There are some minor issues, but they're more nitpicky. Lyle's characters are expressive, and he can draw some good action.

If you want to read this for yourself, well...the original Starman has never been collected in trade as far as I know (DC never really tends to release a lot of their 80s stuff in trade outside of New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths, or Dark Knight Returns), nor is it out officially on digital platforms (again, as far as I know, as I've never really bought comics in digital before). You'll have to search the back issue bins for this.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me the week after next (I'll be out of town, so no comic review next week), where we join one of DC's most infamous Western-era characters as they deal with life in a post-apocalyptic future...