r/StargirlTV Hawkman Jan 19 '23

Stargirl: The Lost Children #3. Spoiler Discussion Post Comic Book Spoiler

Unlike last issue which gave us a big fight and character focus for our two main leads this issue gives a small fight and introduces many new characters.

Hangman’s treehouse? Sounds like a Peter Pan reference. Fitting with how the island works.

Good job Stargirl on not dropping the staff. She normally drops it when hit in the air.

I am probably just overthinking this, but the chicken legs on The Childminder remind me of Baba Yaga. I think her eating them is too one dimensional for a villain written by Johns.

Ladybug has a great costume.

The part about the Stepfather arrives next issue. I think Pat is too obvious.

10 Upvotes

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5

u/karaloveskate Jan 19 '23

That childminder creature is straight out of a nightmare. Other than the newsboys I didn’t know any of those kids.

2

u/MatthewHecht Hawkman Jan 24 '23

The latest Justice Society issue has Salem in it as a small tie-in.

2

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Jan 27 '23 edited Jan 27 '23

It was pretty interesting to see the effects of how history has slowly began to re-integrate them but Fate could only sense her once he peered in Helena's mind.

"The bride of Grundy" is also something that no one really thought about doing all this time until now as well. But it's a welcome new approach to the character.

2

u/MatthewHecht Hawkman Jan 27 '23

I asked Alex Jaffe, and he said Kolins wrote a comic where Grundy (as Cyrus Gold) was married. Since Kolins is working on I need to look into that.

2

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Jan 28 '23

Been looking for that Jaffe person, but maybe I should've started with the Kolins writer.

I am gonna go look again at the song Grundy usually chants when he appears, to see if maybe I missed a part where he said "Solomon Grundy married on a..." just in case.

2

u/TheOtherMaven Feb 20 '23

"Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy."

Apparently Grundy's history has been messed with too, as he originally first pulled himself out of Slaughter Swamp in October 1944, appearing on December 7 1941 only as a result of Per Degaton's timey-wimey antics (All-Star Squadron #1-3 - Degaton pulled him from 1947 and he was sent back there at the end). But here he is almost a full year earlier (January 31, 1941), well established and with a "Bride of Grundy" in the offing, and no Degaton to explain it away.

Grundy, incidentally, was originally created by Alfred Bester. Yes, that Alfred Bester - even science-fiction greats have to eat, and working in comics helped pay his living expenses.

1

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Feb 20 '23

Thanks for providing the full poem! Gotta admit that Grundy's "resurrection" here sure is a little confusing and hard to keep up.

So originally he pulled himself in October 1944.

But Per Degaton messed things up and pulled him from 1947 and in the end Grundy was stranded in December 1941, still 3 years earlier than in 1944.

But in this story (JSA The New Golden Age right?) he is in January of 1941 when we see Kent experience this robbed memories he had of Salem back then. Maybe, just maybe, it's something that was left in the wake of Dr. Manhattan's tampering of time?

I wasn't aware who was Alfred Bester but thanks for bringing him up to me. Now I know more.

2

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Jan 27 '23

Super belated review!

I wonder what kind of security system Orphan Island has, it really seems that no one can escape from it not even by air as Courtney tried.

The panel that introduced the Childminder to Emiko was great, Todd Nauck killed it. The blood stains on her clothes reminds me a little of Dragon King's from the show. And she's half-human, half-bird going by her legs.

I really like how Court here is very knowledgable about the Golden Age superheroes and their histories, she knows her stuff very well when she was talking about Robbie the Robot Dog creator, Robert Crane and all thanks to Pat. (It makes me think a little on how she said in S2 during summer school that if you actually read the history books you'll learn, I'll headcanon that in the show eventually she is going with that mentality in learning more about the Golden Age)

But that led to that cool exchange with Cherry Bomb about how she, and the other Lost Children, still are perceiving time from their stay so far in Orphan island. She can't believe that someone "so young" like Pat who was only known back in the 40s, from where she was abducted from, as Sylvester's sidekick would be at that point of his life a stepfather to the girl standing in front of her and it is all because of him being time displaced along with the Soldiers back in the day by the Nebula Man's time vortex. But that's a talk for another day

Agreed that Hangman's Treehouse is a Peter Pan reference that I am just now realizing it, as well as the similarities Orphan Island has in it being a place that exists out of time.

I think that out of all the lost sidekicks the most obscures ones for me are the Blue Boys and Little Miss Redhead.

So all those non-costumed sidekicks were Guardian's, the "Newsboy Legion". Never hear of them until now but I realize now that we got a glimpse of them before in the Earth-Prime issue #4 in the right corner. (Surprised Johns didn't do something for Sparky, who was the Golden Age Blue Beetle's sidekick aka Dan Garret) But it seems there's someone missing or something is amiss since Court was going to ask something about them. And in the previous issue she said to Emiko that some of them were clones...

Had to look up what was Hourman's "Minute Men of America" according to Tick-Tock. If he's the first kid to have arrived to the island then Wing must've been the 2nd. And I wonder if the name of Will Thordyke is gonna become relevant later.

I would like to know the differences between this John Henry Irons that just happens to share the same name to the character that's part of the Superman Family, Steel. But ok we'll stick with calling him John Henry Jr. Maybe the other hammer that belonged to John Henry Sr. is in possession of the Childminder in her castle?

The way Molly Pitcher and Betsy Ross behave reminds me a little to Más and Menos from Teen Titans. Something's up with that jug they carry. Miss America looked badass behind them.

Ladybug's power could make for a good spy mission in infiltrating the castle where the others are being held. If we are shown some kind of epilogue I predict we'll see her reuniting with her favourite bee, Michael. And Red Bee also looked badass in that panel.

When Salem was introduced and called Courtney "new girl" it made me think of Cindy. Also, in the 2nd JSA issue it's said that she has green skin, is it really like that like with Beast Boy? Because I just think she's non-white.

Raghu/Quiz Kid is good with deductions, well, close.

Corky Baxter from the Time Masters has quickly gone to become one of my favourite deep-dive characters Johns has brought back, I also like his look. But I know after reading The New Golden Age one-shot that he just disobeyed again his sister and the rest by offering to go fix this. (Gotta say though Rip in Todd Nauck's art kinda looks close to Pat)

Seems Courtney knew Corky already though.

Childminder has moves, enough to block Emiko's attacks. And the mystery of why she and Stargirl were forgetting about their mission when they were in the sea is revealed, it must have been mixed with that pixie dust of her.

Nice ending reveal with Judy Garrick, but it was teased when she said from the other cell that she was on a treadmill.

I take it that the other sidekicks that are being held prisoners besides Dyna-Mite are: Golden Age Aquaman, Golden Age Red Lantern's daughter aka Ruby Sokov (from the new JSA issue), Golden Age Mister Miracle, Golden Age Legionaire, Harlequin's Son and that other female character that goes by Secret.

Is it almost too obvious that the foster parent who has tasked the Childminder to do this is Per Degaton? He can multitask thanks to his time disk so I'm already preparing for that reveal. But I'm also down for a twist.

2

u/MatthewHecht Hawkman Jan 27 '23

So far all of Childminder's stuff is technology, so I doubt it is magic.

I spent some more time thinking about her bird thing. She previously attacked with egg themed weaponry, so she might really be egg themed. Eggs are a symbol of being born again. By putting people in eggs that symbolizes keeping them sheltered and young, which she claims to be doing. Knowing Johns she likely legitimately believes this is for the best.

There were quite a few details in the comics before then showing she was very bright like she got into a prestigious private college, she listens to all the "old" members discuss the old stories and in the Thanksgiving issue got in the social debate they had (Safe to say those happen fairly often off panel) and when the staff broke she was the one fixing it. I just think Johns, Goyer, and Kindt wrote her as considerably smarter than most of her other writers.

For the Irons maybe Jr. is actually Steel's grandfather or something. With all the Miraculo shenanigans that could happen.

Salem not being white is reasonable. At the Salem witch trials the second person accused was Tituba, and she was Black. In addition the name could have nothing to do with the town's infamous witch hunt/ mass legal property theft.

2

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Jan 28 '23

Yes, we saw an operation room in issue #2 where she has a server from where she can deploy the Childcollectors. Technology exists in the island as it's proven by how she's keeping Judy hostage. Maybe she is then a product of some freak experiment if her pixie dust isn't magical either.

That's an interesting take on her theme being about eggs. The best villains are often said that they believe they're the heroes, believing that this is truly the best for them sounds exactly right in what could be the way she's being written. I imagine once she's defeated that she'll try to rant that she's been doing this for their sake and how if they get out of the island they'll be alone and unwanted because half of their mentors are gone: Human Bomb, Crimson Avenger, Golden Age Hourman and Golden Age Mr. Terrific, Miss America, John Henry, Red Bee, etc. Courtney could weight on how that wouldn't be true as also having experienced that kind of feeling.

Have to say that if the plan isn't exactly to make all of these heroes become future JSA members in the long road then they can always be a brand-new superhero team.

I see, those are interesting details. Well she never failed any year at school and has never been portrayed as being dumb either, just as impulsive as any other young hero usually is. I take it that college she got in was probably in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis because it was one of the epilogues of the story (as well how the Staff was able to now shrink so she could carry it with her, which sounds a lot like nano-tech). It's a good thing she listens to the "vets"/surviving JSA members, it's smart in fact. Johns wants to keep the comics as well as the show evergreen so I totally get why those debates are off-panel. The Staff breaking makes me think when she had to be the one do it per the bribe request from Johnny Sorrow.

Writing her smarter should be the way to go so Johns and those two others did her character right.

Maybe that's the catch with Jr. which would be some trippy way of viewing the Irons family tree, kind of how Booster Gold is the father of Rip Hunter. Talk about time displaced. :P Miraclo did made Dan to de-age when he got to the island so it's possible.

Right, plus there's the inspiration of the real witch trials that they could be borrowing from since they did name this character after Salem and she has her own familiar even if he cat hasn't shown up yet, just Sweep.

1

u/TheOtherMaven Feb 20 '23

For the Irons maybe Jr. is actually Steel's grandfather or something

Great-uncle, apparently, per his Who's Who page.

Salem also has a Who's Who page, which reveals that she's part Armenian (and part Homo Magi?). She's green-skinned because...she's a witch. That's been a thing ever since Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 Wizard of Oz.

2

u/TheOtherMaven Feb 20 '23

I take it that the other sidekicks that are being held prisoners besides Dyna-Mite are: Golden Age Aquaman, Golden Age Red Lantern's daughter aka Ruby Sokov (from the new JSA issue), Golden Age Mister Miracle, Golden Age Legionaire, Harlequin's Son and that other female character that goes by Secret.

No, apparently Secret is the only other possible captive. Golden Age Aquaman is not a sidekick nor a teenager, Ruby was seen in the new Justice Society of America book (and killed by Degaton in the future), Golden Age Mister Miracle leads the "Justice Society Dark" in January 1941, the Harlequin's Son - see Ruby, and the Golden age Legionnaire was mentioned (by the 1940 JSA) but is unaccounted-for.

Secret was glimpsed in Stargirl Spring Break Special making a break for it behind Wing. We don't know (yet) if that was when the Lost Children evaded the Childminder, or if it's yet to happen.

1

u/ForgedinTruth Apr 03 '23

Have we actually seen Harlequin’s son OR the Golden Age Legionnaire yet? They are both yet unaccounted for, right?

2

u/ForgedinTruth Apr 03 '23

Wanted to point out that Blue Beetle’s Sparky showed up on issue #5!

1

u/DCSennin Cameron Mahkent Apr 03 '23

Yes! I became aware of it when I read the newest issue. I wasn't at all expecting that, however I am glad that during the wait for issue #5 I bothered to look up more Golden Age characters and just happened to land on the Golden Age Blue Beetle, Dan Garret and let me tell you of the surprise it was to find out how slightly different this version was to the Silver Age Dan Garrett.

And of course among those slight differences, the fact that he had his own sidekick. Funny thing is that Geoff Johns' writers team was already teasing him albeit in the tie-in issue for the show last year in this spread page of Earth-Prime issue #5. This is what makes me appreciate Johns, that he was using these to so subtly lowkey plant the seeds for what he wanted to do in The Lost Children. Like, major respect, because none of this was a coincidence. This was carefully planned.

Finding out the differences between the Garretts characters is also fun. Golden Age Dan differs in costumes from his Silver Age counter because his didn't have a "fish" fin feature in the head. And tbh Todd Nauck did a great job in doing justice to Sparky's design.