STARGIRL - SEASON 1.2

REVIEW:  STARGIRL 1.2:  "S.T.R.I.P.E."

After getting off the ground with some much needed background about Pat Dugan, AKA Stripsey, witnessing the destruction of the Justice Society of America at the hands of Brainwave and the Injustice Society, and trying to save his mentor, Starman, only to have the hero die in his arms, giving him the Cosmic Staff to pass onto a new hero---we jump ten years into the future.  Here, Dugan has a son, and is married to the mother of Courtney Whitmore, a high schooler who now has to fit into the small town of Blue Valley, Nebraska.  She discovers the Staff one night, as well as Pat's past, and the Staff takes to her.  Now, with the Staff revived, it's caught the attention of Brainwave, who had relocated to Blue Valley, and his son is the star football player at the high school, who'd been bullying everyone, and Courtney stood up to with the Staff.  Now, she barely escapes, and is met by Pat...inside a robot.  

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We pick up where we had left off the previous installment.  Pat has arrived in his robot , looking to save Courtney from trouble.  They end up taking off from the tire place, as Brainwave goes to find Courtney.  All he has is a burnt up school ID, but he has enough to try and do some research.

Back at Pat's garage, Courtney forces him to tell her the truth about everything.  She describes who attacked her, and he responds by letting her know it's a villain named Brainwave.  He goes on to explain about how Brainwave and the Injustice Society had killed most of the JSA, and that a man named Jordan Makhent had killed Starman.  Courtney is sitll convinced that Sylvester Pemberton is her father, and Pat is insistent on it not being true.  He says that the original Hourman, Rex Tyler, had followed Brainwave to Nebraska, but was killed with his wife in an auto accident.  Pat wanted to pick up the trail with him, but Tyler forbid it.  When he found out about Tyler's death, he decided to pick up the trail where he left off, and that's when he discovered Brainwave in Blue Valley, thus packing the family up from Los Angeles to move back east to track him, and bring him to justice.  That is why he built the robot out of sapre car parts.  

Courtney feels it's their duty to bring down the Injustice Society, and have justice served, but Pat says HE has that covered, and she is not to get involved.  She is insistent on being a hero, but he says he's trying to protect her, Mike, and her mother Barbara.  Pat says he forbids her to touch the staff, but she refuses to sit on the sidlines like he did.  The next day, we see Pat trying to test out the robot, and work through the kinks, but he has zero luck at it.  They both then have to discuss the wounds they suffered to Barbara, and come up with a lame excuse about the basement stairs.  

We see the King mansion, where Brainwave, AKA Henry King, Sr., has a chat with Henry Jr. about the night his car was destroyefd.  He uses his powers to discover that his attacker was possibly a girl.  He sends his son on his way, but reminds him that family does not steal from family...as Junior had tried swiping cash from the old man prior to their chat.  

Coutney later that night went into the basement, swiped Starman's suit, and took it with her to school the next day, where she destroyefd all the sewing machines in the Home Econimics class to tailor the suit to her body.  Apparently, this suit was made of a super strong material.  She then heads to lunch where she sits once again with Beth Chapel, who's video chatting with her parents, when they intrduce her to Courtney.  Yolanda Montez beats a hasty exit, when Courtney stares at her, and scolds her for it.  Beth's mother works for the Blue Valley Medical Center, as does Dr. Henry King, Sr.  While Beth is video chatting with Mom, King is looking up the school ID records to see who the ID belongs to, and we also discover that there's a parent-teacher conference later that night.  Pat, meanwhile, visists "Crusher" Crocks gym to whip himself into shape, and gets more than he bargained for.

Later that night at the conference, Pat and Courtney split up to find out where Brainwave is.  Courtney is the unlucky recipient, as he's read her mind, and follows her into a secluded hallway.  He then gets into her head, causes her some pain, and says that if she doesn't give him the Cosmic Staff at midnight, he's going to kill her mother by causing her a heart attack.  She then races to Pat to tell him that she met up with Brainwave, and that he threatened her with killing Barbara.  He goes up to Barbara, who's chatting with Principal Bowen who talks about her son, Isaac, being a musical prodigy.  We also see, briefly, Cameron Mahkent as well.  Pat comes up with another lame escuse to get Barbara home.

Once at home, Courtney insists that they both need to stop him, and Pat is adamant about her keeping away from the Staff...even if it DID choose her.  He says that he aimed to protect her, her mother, and Mike, and he will take care of Brainwave.  He tells Courtney that if he doesn't make it back, for her to take her mother and Mike...and get out of Blue Valley, and never look back.  And with that, we see Pat head to his garage, where he opens up his secret room, and fires up the robot in order to tackle Brainwave.  Courtney, meanwhile is frustrated, but has a heart to heart talk with her mother.  Barbara is happy that she is making headway with Pat, and learning to get along with him.  Courtney is scared, but she's also upset that Pat went without her.

Pat goes to meet Brainwave, and a battle ensues.  Pat picks up everything he can to toss it at Brainwave, but Brainwave just moves it aside with his mind.  He then finds himself in trouble when Brainwave attacks his mind, and then uses his powers to move a car and a bus to trap Pat, and he's stuck between the heavy vehicles.  Brainwave is ready to move in for the kill.  Back at the house, Courtney frantically paces, until she finally decides to hell with it, and she suits up, and hops out her bedroom window upstairs, and the Staff is waiting, and she's off to go and battle Brainwave with Pat.  

She arrives just as Brainwave is about to put the finishing touches on Pat, and she blasts him.  She introduces herself as Stargirl, and that's her sidekick, Stripsey.  The two begin their battle.  Stargirl manages to avoid most everything Brainwave tosses at her, but she ends up caught by a bumper that he has her pinned down with, and the Staff is just out of her reach.  He goes on his villian diatribe, and decides to cause her pain for attacking him, by invading her mind, and casuing some pain.  But Pat recovers enough to shine the headlights into Brainwave's eyes just enough to distract him, and for Stargirl to grab the Staff, and blast Brainwave with it.  She hits with a huge power surge, and he's out for the count.  Pat recovers, and they wonder what to do with him.

We see a little later that Brainwave is in the hospital, because he suffered a heart attack himself because of the power surge. Dr. Chapel, Beth's Mom, says they can't do anything for him right now to Junior.  He's not happy.  Courtney feels bad, but Pat tells her it's not his fault.  He's down because he feel he failed, and Courtney reminds him that they BOTH took him down.  Pat realizes the Staff chose her for a reason.  She says she can't do this without him.  She then renames the robot S.T.R.I.P.E., and gives it a bad set of names.  She was reaching.  She then asks Pat who's next on the list.

We finally see Jordan Mahkent arrive at this large mansion, and work his way through the secret passages until he reaches the HQ of the Injustice Society.  His brother is awaiting his arrival, and they talk about Brainwave being defeated.  Jordan then sees the video footage of the new "Starman", and he says he killed one Starman before, he'll just do it again, as he breathes out an icy breath...giving you the ID of the Icicle.  It is also worth noting that Mahkent has Solomon Grundy locked away in a room.  

This was another solid episode...it helps complete the origin story for Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E., and also introduces us to more members of the Injustice Society, who've been in hiding, as well as WHY Pat had moved the family out to Blue Valley.  And while we got more introductions into the rest of the cast, we got an idea of who some of the Injustice Society's kids are, as well as some subtle hints towards the NEW JSA, as well as what happened to the original JSA.

We now know that Courtney and Pat will be the main members of this new JSA, and will have to find new members, or see if there's anyone still alive from the old JSA left.  We know that Starman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Sandman, and Dr. Mid-Nite died on Christmas Eve 10 years ago. It's still not known if Jay Garrick survived, as we only saw his Flash helmet, but not HIM.  Rex Tyler, the original Hourman, had traced the Injustice Society from LA to Colorado, to Blue Valley, before he and his wife were killed in a car accident.  So, for the most part, aside from Ted Grant, the original Wildcat, and Flash...the original team has been killed off.  We get the modern version of the Icicle, who is the leader of the Injustice Society.  He's got Grundy locked up, and Brainwave is now incapacitated.  That leaves "Crusher" Crock, and his wife, Paula Brooks, who's the gym teacher at Blue Valley High, as the other known members of the Society, who've been in hiding.  Their daughter goes to the school, named Artemis.  

We know now that Beth Chapel's mother works with Henry King, Sr.  Henry King, Jr. is the football jock, and we also are introduced to more offspring in the forms of Yolana Montez, Cameron Mahkent, and Isaac Bowen.  Those names will be important down the road.  But we have gotten the set up the first two episodes of the principal characters, as well as the supporting cast.  We got our origin out of the way, and we can really get into the big plot of the season.  I enjoy all the characters, and the show through the first two episodes doesn't feel like all the characters are repressed or DEPRESSED, or something like that.  It's kept fairly lighthearted, while still having its share of drama.  But they've laid the groundwork to this show quite nicely, and I'm invested in the hero.  I'm looking forward to Courtney's journey as Stargirl, as she defends Blue Valley, and sets up a new JSA.  Bassinger and Wilson have already developed great chemistry on screen, and that will go far in helping the series grow.  

Very well done, and I'm stoked for the next episode.

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That wraps up this episode.  What do YOU think of Stargirl after the first couple of episodes?  Subscribe and leave a comment below...

Unitl next time....Keep Looking to the Stars

DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.13

REVIEW:  DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.13:  "The One Where We're Trapped on TV"

We're sprinting to the end of our 5th season with the Time Travelling Heroes.  When last we checked in, the team was in the onslaught of a zombie apocalypse, and Gary was aboard the Waverider, hiding the Loom, and trying to avoid Lachesis (I keep getting her name wrong, sorry!), Atropose, and Astra, who'd put the team out of harms way while she used the Loom to get her mother Natalie back.  Charlie manages to get back board the ship, only to have seen Astra dead, and Gary impaled as he gave her the Loom, while trying to rescue him.  Charlie then says to her sisters that they can get to work, which only left us with ONE question:  Did Charlie just sell the team out?

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This episode gave us A LOT of tongue-in-cheek, but also allowed us to see the return of the original Zari, as well as witnessing the alternate reality created by the Fates, who're now firmly in control of the world after reshaping it (including the title intro, which was given a very Communist Russia kind of feel to it), and we see the team spread out in various tv shows which are direct spoofs of actual tv shows.  And the episode follows Zari, as she takes over her counterpart, and tries to rescue the team after witnessing this phenomenon of them being trapped in television.

The episode began in this alternate future that's very Orwell-esque, where people wear uniforms and conform to the Fate's will.  We see Mona Wu for the first time in awhile, as she's a writer for the historical department, and she ends up bumping into Gary, who is much like some of those strange homeless people wearing signs signaling the end of the world.  Mona goes home, and checks the TV and programming from the Clotho Network (Clotho being Charlie's actual name), and she sees a revived Behrad, Nate, and Zari in a spoof of the show Friends called Best Buds.  Behrad and Zari are a Ross/Monica spoof, while Nate is the Joey spoof.  However, the heirloom Zari has lights up, and her alternate self appears, and she takes over the body of her counterpart.  She's realizing that things aren't right, but is glad that Nate finally found her.  However, Behrad and Nate aren't aware that they're in a TV show, until Zari asks what's through one particular door.  They go through it, and appear on another TV show...a spoof of Downton Abbey called Kensington Abbey.  

It's in this new show they bump into John Constantine as an old school proper butler, and Astra as the main female character of the show, along with her mother Natalie.  Apparently, Behrad and Zari are a well off family, whereas Astra and Behrad are together and to be married.  Zari breaks away to get to John and convince him of the truth.  Behrad tries to get to Astra, and tell her she needs to be free to go off on her own.  Zari manages to see John work his magic, and he does with the rest of the team, and they're off onto another tv show.  

Meanwhile, Mona is witnessing all of this, and had heard Zari mention her by name when speaking of the team, and she's convinced that Gary was right, and something is off.  She and Gary formulate a plan to sneak into the Clortho building, and try to help the team. They manage to manipulate the guard at the reception desk, and make their way into the television studio, and find out how to save the team.

The next show the team winds up on is a Star Trek spoof called Star Trip.  Here, we find Sara and Ava, as captains of a starship.  We get an enjoyable laugh with Jes Macallan doing her best Spock impression, and Caity Lotz REALLY selling her Kirk impression.  The team shows up as a ripoff Klingon/Romulan race, where Zari yet again has to get through to both women to convince them that they're in a TV show.  The ship the team is in then is grabbed by a giant hand, and taken to Mr. Parker's Cul-de-Sac.  Where they are now all members of the community he lives in.  

Mona and Gary soon see the strands of the loom, and discover that in order to save the team, they need to change the script (which is being written automatically).  Mona goes in and starts re-writing Mr. Parker's show, and the team eventually remembers who they are.  Nate and the original Zari are reunited, and Behrad realizes that he's not even supposed to be alive in ANY timeline.  Astra wonders whether or not her mother is really alive, and John isn't sure.  Just as Gary and Mona celebrate, Charlie walks in and stops them.  She said she made a deal with her sisters that if they spared the Legends, that she would help them reshape the world as it was.  So she goes about re-writing everything Mona did, and putting everyone back in their original TV shows.  Much to their resistance.  

Mona tells Charlie that even though her intent was well meaning, that the life that is out there isn't really LIFE.  That it's just conformity, and it's not good for anybody.  Meanwhile, back in TV land, the team is spread back to their shows, but they are still back to "reality" so-to-speak.  Ava and Sara run into Mick, who's now a Khan Noonian Singh character.  Charlie figures that if she gave them all what they wanted, they'd be safe, and forget the world around them.  But the team sees through this, and doesn't want to live like this.  Except Astra.  She wants to be with her mother so bad, that she wants to go back to the show, and John goes with her.  It's also here that Astra realizes that her mother wouldn't want her to sacrifice herself for her, but to live her life.  Parents are supposed to sacrifice for their kids.  Astra comes to the realization that this version of her mother isn't real, and learns that John had bargained her life to save her mother's.  But he was willing to stay there with Astra, in order for her to be happy.  She appreciates that , but realize they have to go.  The same with Behrad and Nate.  So, the team is then transported back to the studio.

However, before they bail, Zari informs the audience to stand up and start living life on their own, and take control of their own destiny.  When the team returns, Charlie begs for them to reconsider.  Mick says he has a daughter, so he's not leaving her, Charlie offers Behrad his version of his sister, as she splits Zari's string in two, thus separating the two versions, which we see John being a little tad jealous of original Zari with Nate, whom she's finally happy he found her, and he has NO intention of letting her go.  Sara, still blind, says to Charlie that the team will take their chances with her sisters, and the team takes off.  Mona asks what will happen now, and Charlie says that she can't protect then anymore as the episode ends.

This was a good set-up episode to the season finale, and it allowed the actors some space to stretch a little, and have some fun.  I feel that Lotz and Macallan had a blast being Spock and Kirk, and to see Matt Ryan have to play Constantine as a stuffy butler was humorous.  Gary has stepped up big time the last couple of episodes, and it was awesome to see original Zari back and take control.  I know A LOT of people out there (especially after LAST episode), are shipping New Zari and John, but I can't see that as a real thing.  New Zari would eventually grate on John, and plus...John works better as a loner with some tiny romantic dalliances.  His last relationship blew up in his face, and it's just not in the cards for him to be tied down to anyone.  He's better as a solo act.  To me, they have painted the narrative of Nate and Zari finding each other again, and it's about damn time.  Now...with two Zaris in the universe, something HAS to give.  As we witnessed on Batwoman, two Beths could NOT live in the same universe.  One will have to die.  So, I feel the season finale will have to sort that out.  But I wouldn't mind an amalgamation of the two...but that will also create some kind of love triangle between John, Zari, and Nate.  That doesn't work for me.  Nate and Zari belong together, and that's how I see it.  

Mick has also gotten close with his daughter Lita, and they're bonding.  For him to make the sacrifice and go against the sisters is worth it for him---he has a kid to protect.  Mick has grown a lot this season, but still keeps that gruff exterior, and is ALWAYS good for a laugh.  Not sure what will happen with Behrad.  He's not supposed to exist in ANY timeline anymore, and I wonder if he will ultimately sacrifice himself next week.  Hard to say.  

Will Sara get her sight back at all?  And with her new powers, will she be able to battle Lechesis and Atropose?  I would think that she can do more than just be a precognative.  She's gotta tap into her inner Daredevil.  Charlie is in quite the fix.  Will she play it safe, or will she realize that her original reason for destroying the loom is still necessary?  Will she join the fight?  And Mona...I love that little sprite.  Ramona Young plays Mona with such sweet sincerity and honesty.  She truly IS the heart of the team, even if she's not a full-time member.  If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have this final battle yet to be fought.  We know she will join in, as Wolfie will be needed, but still...I miss Mona on this show.  But I understand she didn't have much use until now.  

Lastly....Astra.  She kind of came full circle a little bit this installment.  She did get some time with her mother Natalie, even if it was only a dream.  But the message her mother gave her about not sacrificing her own future for her, was dead on.  Astra I now believe realizes that her mother wanted HER to live, and not give up everything to get her back.  It's not like she won't be there...she always will.  But Astra needed to lean that lesson on her own, and she did.  

Okay...one last episode to go before we wrap Season 5.   Also...nice of the writers to name this episode like an episode of Friends.  

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Okay, boys and girls, that does it for this week...one last one to go.  Please subscribe and leave a comment below.  

Until then....Time is on our Side...

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Yes, I know I've been away from this part of the blog for a couple of weeks, but we've had shows to catch up on, and a new series to debut, plus, a couple of other things to write about, and life in general.  But we are BACK!  And THIS WEEK'S edition is for all you goth people who have a fancy for the macabre.  We dip into a collection produced by a writer/artist/magician named Roman Dirge, and a delightfully creepy character named Lenore.  So, let's see what this collection entails.

LENORE:  NOOGIES

COVER: Roman Dirge

WRITER: Roman Dirge

ARTIST: Roman Dirge

INKS: Roman Dirge

LETTERS: Roman Dirge

COLORS: Unknown

EDITOR: Unknown

COVER DATE: September 1999

PUBLISHER:  Slave Labor Graphics

STORY TITLE: Various titles over a four issue collection

Lenore: Noogies is a collection of the first four issues of Roman Dirge's Lenore series, produced by Slave Labor Graphics back in 1998-1999.  Lenore is a character inspired by Dirge's love for the Edgar Allan Poe classic, The Raven.  Many of his issues started with a quote from the famous poem to set the tone for the book.  Pretty much all the stories featured in this collection are short stories from the four issues featuring the (mis)adventures of the Cute Little Dead Girl.  Lenore became very popular and has had a two series run in her time.  Titan Graphics are now behind the publishing of the Lenore catalogue, and any new stories Dirge may produce.  He took a break from the character for a bit, as she's been around since 1998, and he publishes books on his own schedule.  

THE STORY:  A collection of various stories and adventures of The Cute Little Dead Girl.  Babysitting, visually impaired mice, and a cannibal named Soylent Green, Lenore comes back from the dead and tries to acclimate to her surroundings living in a funeral home, with various eccentric and dark characters as her friends.  

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I got introduced to Lenore by a friend, and while I am not big on the macabre and dark stuff too much, Dirge's writing had me in stitches because of the irony of the stories and the dark humor, which I can appreciate.  Apparently, the character initially was a bit darker, but Dirge found his funny bone, and created a character who just bumbles into death and killing, and other creepy, but hilarious scenarios.  If you're interested, this book is an excellent start to find out all about this deliciously dark character.  

STARGIRL - SEASON 1.1

REVIEW:  STARGIRL 1.1:  "Pilot"

WELCOME!!  I know it's been a crazy TV season, gang, what with some of our favorite shows cut short due to the COVID-19 concern, and has thrown a monkey wrench in the works for the forseeable future, and our Arrowverse shows will be on an extended hiatus until 2021 at the very least.  Until then, we have been given the offering of a brand new heroine to join the ranks of our CW brethen:  Stargirl!  We will now head to the brand new Earth-2 for the adventures of our Star-Spangled Teen.  So, without further ago, let's learn about our newest hero, the Justice Society of America, and this new world...

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We begin our new series with the origin of our main hero, Courtney Whitmore, who's a high school teen forced to move from her California roots to Blue Valley, Nebraska, due to the fact her mom (Amy Smart), gets a job back in her old home town.  Her mother has married a man named Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson), whom we see at the beginning of the show is a man named Stripsey.  Stripsey was the sidekick of the Sylvester Pemberton, the former Star-Spangled Kid, now known as Starman (Joel McHale). 

Stripsey is racing to the HQ of the Justice Society of America, to assist, as they are under attack from their arch-nemises, the Injustice Society, led by Brainwave.  Stripsey arrives, and sees several members down, including Wildcat and Sandman, plus we see Flash's winged helmet.  Stripsey goes inside the building, and is almost attacked himself, when Starman arrives, and holds back the villains.  It's not enough, though , as he's wounded.  He and Stripsey escape, and the manage to get away from the Injustice Society.  Unfortunately, Starman is mortally wounded, and tells Dugan to hold onto the staff until the one worthy of it comes along...though that's not Dugan.  Dugan promises, and Starman dies.

We skip to 10 years later (with the 10 years prior being the "Age of Heroes"), and Dugan, now married to Whitmore's (Brec Bassinger) mother, and her brother Mike, as they make the trek to Blue Valley (BTW - LOVE the name of the moving company:  "Action Movers" after Action Comics).  There, Whitmore encounters the not-so-nice "queen bee" of the school, and also the social misfits, who she sits at the cafeteria table with, but not much for conversation.  As they're picked on by the head high-school jock, Courtney stands her ground, only to get in trouble with the principal.  Pat does what he can to make a connection with Courtney, but she rebuffs him at every chance, not accepting him has her stepfather.  She recalls the past when she was awaiting her actual dad at Christmas time with a present for him, only for him to never show.  Depressed and upset at having to relocate, and not having any gymnastics team to join...and her bad day at school, Courtney goes into the basement, and comes across an amazing discovery.

Courtney accidently knocks over a box of Pat's, and rummages through it, and finds a picture of the family, but then she notices a picture BEHIND it:  The Justice Society of America.  While looking at Dugan's box of JSA secrets, this long box Dugan had been very careful with begins to move.  Courtney opens it to discover the Cosmic Staff that belonged to Starman.  Only someone worthy would be able to use the power of it, and it activates for Courtney.  She's amazed at what it is, and eventually tests it out.  She hides her discovery from her mother and Pat for the time being, and then the staff begins to "talk" to her, and she takes it out for a test spin, discovering she can fly with it, or "ride" on it.  However, she doesn't have complete control of it, as it still doesn't quite obey her commands.  

She later stumbles across a drive-in, where the same high school jock and his buddies are disrupting everyone's evening, so she disguises herself, and only aims to deflate the jock's tires on his car to teach him a lession.  However, she's caught by the jock and his buddies, and they attack.  They didn't anticipate---and neither did Courtney---that the staff would attack back, and she was able to defeat them with it.  Then, for good measure, the staff unleased an energy beam, and destroyed the jock's car.  Courtney then bails, leaving the young man to ponder the consequences of having his father's car destroyed.

She returns home, and her and Pat have a talk about the staff, and the fact that he used to be Stripsey.  She inquires about Starman, and who he is, and she makes this connection that Pemberton was her real father.  Pat denies it, trying to hide much of the truth from her, and telling her about the staff, and the dangers of it.  Pat realizes that the staff chose HER, and she promised to keep HIS secret, if HE promised to keep HERS.  She also inquires about her dad to her Mom, and her mother simply says that her "hero" dad was nothing more than a deadbeat father who couldn't be there for her, but Pat has ALWAYS been there for her.  

The jock kid returns home to his father, and tells him of the incident at the drive-in.  The father is REAL curious about the staff that shot "lasers" according to the kid.  the kid said he didn't know who the person holding the staff was, but he just knew it shot lasers.  When the kid is sent away by his dad, he opens up a secret room in his library, and it turns out, it's Brainwave.  

The staff once again goes active, and wants Courtney to take it out again.  It ends up pointing her in the direction of a tire store, where she's eventually attacked by Brainwave.  He's very interested to know just HOW she got the staff, and he wants it.  She manages to resist just enough, but he tosses her around, and she tries to avoid him.  She then uses the staff and blasts him.  However, in the process, she sets the tires in the warehouse on fire, and begins to make her mistake, only to bump into this giant robot.  The robot is operated by Pat, who came to Courtney's rescue.

For a first episode, it's pretty straightforward, and not only gives us a glimpse into Earth-2's "Age of Heroes", but we see the fall of the original Justice Society.  We got some nice easter eggs in the form of Flash's helmet (now, not sure WHO is playing Jay Garrick in this series, but we'll find out), and the Sandman.  Joel McHale looked good as Starman, and Wilson's Pat Dugan is a very honorable "aw, shucks" kind of a guy.  We see that the Justice Society fell on Christmas Eve, around the same time Courtney's father was SUPPOSED to be home, but never showed.  We learn from her mother that her "hero" father was never around, and that Pat has been the best thing to a father the kids have had.  It also telegraphs the future members of the New Justice Society when we meet the misfit kids Courtney's forced to sit with at the cafeteria.  We get what will probably be her school nemesis in the catty girl, and then there's Brainwave's son, who will more than likely give trouble to Courtney throughout the first season.

We also got a good look at the Injustice Society, who a couple have taken up residence in Blue Valley.  We have Brainwave, and, of course, the gym owner who's across the street from Dugan's auto shop.  He'll be the future Sportsmaster (book it, trust me, I KNOW this stuff!).  But we're getting the premise set for the new team to emerge.  Especially since Courtney is now the chosen one for the Cosmic Staff, and Dugan's history with the Justice Society will motivate her to be the hero much like her father (if it i, indeed, the late Sylvester Pemberton, though he used a different name back in the day).  I also enjoy the fact that the location of the series takes place in Blue Valley, Nebraska...which, if you know your comics lore--is Wally West's hometown.

While this series will probably have its share of drama, it seems as though it's going to become much more lighthearted, and not as heavy handed as some of it's other Arrowverse contemporaries.  While this episode didn't explode onto the scene, it's got a really nice set up, and a good vibe going for it.  Of course, I'll be invested in it, and we'll see how Courtney grows into her role as Stargirl.  

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That's it for this premiere episode of our Star-Spangled heroine.  What did YOU think?  Subscribe and leave me a comment below!  

Until next time:  Keep Looking to the Stars!

DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.12

REVIEW:  DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.12:  "I Am Legends"

This team just can't seem to get ANYTHING to go right, can it?  After having to go through the trials of the Chug Test from Dionyses in order to gain immortality for a day, the team is looking to get back to the ship to use this immortality to be able to use the Loom of Fate to not only bring back Zari's brother Behrad, but bring back Astra's mother as well.  

But you just KNOW something is going to gum up the works, don't you?  Let's see just how bad the team steps in it THIS week...with Charlie's sister's in tow, and Khalesis calling in a favor to Astra...

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If it's one thing we can honestly say about the Legends---they're a lot like Indiana Jones:  manage to get out of ONE mess, and immediately step into another.  In what SHOULD'VE been a simple trip back from John's house to the ship to be able to use the Loom with Charlie, Kalesis called in a marker on Astra at the end of last episode---and that meant betraying the Legends.  And she did---in order to still be able to find a way to resurrect her mother.  So, in Astra fashion, she stranded the team in London...a post-apocalyptic London, in fact.  This was the team having to endure their own version of The Walking Dead.  The team spends the entire episode dealing trying to get back to the ship by finding a courier watch to transport back to the ship, all the while being chased by zombies.  

So, Astra traps the team at John's, and they have to end up having to take a bus to London (though they actually STOLE it), and along the way, Mick, who's driving the bus, hits a person on the road.  The team stops, only to run into zombies coming after them.  after having disposed of them, they find out the bus has broken down, and it'll take a couple of hours to fix.  John knows of a guy in the area he did a favor for awhile back, that owned a junkyard, and he and Zari take off to retrieve some wheels, meanwhile, the team tries to make the most of it by trying to fix the bus.  Sara had another vision prior to the trip, but she kept the visions to herself.  She also presses Ava to take point on this mission, making the excuse of her blindness as an issue.  Ava is unsure about leading the mission, and it doesn't help that the team is arrested by the British military, by them believing the team is some sort of super-advanced form of zombies.  

Astra, meanwhile, has joined Charlie's sisters aboard the Waverider, and have disabled Gideon.  Gary, who was just feeding his pet rabbit at the time, witnesses the trio aboard, and hides for his life, trying to figure out how to get Gideon back online.  As he tries to move some wires here and there, he gets zapped by an electrical charge.  When he comes to, he sees Gideon in physical  form, and she lets him know that Astra and the evil sisters have taken over the ship, and they need to get the team back.  Gary then plays hide and seek with them during this time, even so far as obtaining the rings of the Loom to be able to hide them from the evil duo and Astra.  

John and Zari make it to his friends junkyard and find some wheels---and ice cream truck, only to have to hold off zombies of their own.  Zari and John spend the episode bickering about his smoking habit, as well as to what he actually cares about.  He calls out Zari on her being nothing more than just a wannabe cyber-celebrity.  The two manage to hold off the zombies for a little bit, but the monsters are closing in.  Zari remembers that they don't go after John because he has no soul...and Zari, who's NOT immortal at this time (and has been keeping track of the time the team has of immortality left), come up with a plan to escape into the truck, by stopping Zari's heart.  John says it's risky, but Zari tells him to do it, and he does.  The plan works, and John has to jumpstart Zari's heart again, and they succeed into securing the truck, and they take off, where they manage to pick up the team and head to a Time Bureau secret HQ - a bar in London.  

Gary, meanwhile, has gotten the rings, and has stashed them on his person, while Astra has bided her time in stalling the sisters from getting the rings.  She just wants her mother back, and Khalises asks her why she wants her back, when she is going to die anyway.  Khalises shows Astra the future where her mother dies, convincing her that it's pointless.  Gary ends up getting captured, but he used a spell to hide the rings from Astra, and tried to reach out to her.  Astra then tells him that she needs him to work the time courier and make it work, so that they can get their friends back, and deal with the sisters.  It all goes for naught as Astra is killed by Atropose, leaving Gary at the mercy of the sisters.  

The team is at the bar, waiting for the time courier to charge, and reflecting on their lives.  Meanwhile, John and Zari continue to bicker in the back, only to get into a hot makeout session.  Things don't improve later on, when Zari's timer goes off, thus ending the 24 hour period of the immortality of the team.  And that's not good, because the zombies have now surrounded the bar, and they are legion.  Zombies end up busting through, and the attack begins.  Sara reveals at one point that she doesn't survive this attack to Ava, and that's why she's wanted Ava to lead the team---because once she dies, Ava is going to be the one they look to.  The team gets overwhelmed, and eventually the courier charges.  Sara gives the courier to Charlie, and tells her that SHE is the last chance to save the team and set things right.  She takes off, and manages to get back to the ship, as the team is over taken by the dead army.

Gary, who had been asking Gideon for help, realizes that she was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.  Astra was going to kill him, but once the sisters left, she tries to get Gary to use the courier to help get the team back to the ship.  However, she's found out by the sisters, and killed by Atropose.  Gary, who's next, is then approached by Charlie, who arrives on the ship.  He gives her the rings for the loom, but is soon killed by Charlie's sister Atropose himself.  Now faced with her sisters, Charlie says she's tired of running...and shows them the rings with a smile saying that it's time for them to get to work.  

We've gotten into desperation mode with the team, and this was another good episode.  And we seen what seemed like betrayal from Astra, but she KNEW Gary was aboard the ship, and she worked her plan perfectly, for the most part, to keep the sisters occupied while Gary hid the rings.  Her ruse didn't last long, however, as she was killed when she tried to have Gary help her get the team back.  Gary didn't fare much better, as he was killed not long after he gave Charlie the rings.  However, this was the first episode in awhile where Gary wasn't annoying as usual.  He stepped up, and had Gideon in his head coaching him to help the team.  While it was just his imagination, it was enough to get him to hide the rings until Charlie arrived.  As for Charlie...well, either she's decided to join her sisters again, or she's just playing them until she can help the team.  

Sara had a vision of dying yet again, and it was HER that ended up dying.  She has wanted Ava to take the lead on their new missions, because she was preparing Ava for the future.  However, it doesn't look like ANYONE survived the attack when Charlie bailed.  They were overrun.  We'll see just how they survive next week (they have to...the mission isn't over yet).  

And Zari and John seem to be having a thing now.  This leaves Nate out in the cold, but I think he's getting used to it.  I think even Nate realizes that he's not getting the Zari of old back.  And it seems that Zari actually finds herself drawn to John, and vice versa.  Zari has really begun to embrace her role the last couple of episodes, and it's very cool to see.  

Overall, a nice homage to The Walking Dead, and created a more heightened sense of urgency to resolving this mission before the end of the season.  The team's back is, once again, against the wall, and we shall see if they can fight all the odds, and finish what they started.  

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That's it for this week, boys and girls!  Subscribe and leave a comment!  What did YOU think of this week's episode?  Lemme know below!

Until then....Time is on Our Side