Starman #1

"Oil (Paint) and Water"
Sins of the Father, Part Two
written by James Robinson
pencils by Tony Harris
inks by Wade Von Grawbadger

Still reeling from the Mist's full-on assault on the Knight family and the ongoing criminal chaos in Opal City, wounded younger son, Jack Knight, seeks out his father's hospital room.  Unlike his obedient brother David, who assumed without questioning or alteration his father's mantle of Starman, Jack is far more independent.  He's sees, for the most part, their actions for what they are and their devotion to an outdated idea of superheroics as somewhat foolish and not a little misguided.  Yet, Jack takes his father's undue criticism hard, and it's this family dynamic that makes Starman's universe so relatable.  Jack's struggle with his father's legacy—his current enemy, whose personal vendetta has enveloped the city, and his paternal disapproval at Jack's disinclination to be Starman—is the thematic center of #1.

However reluctant he may seem (to himself and his father), Jack continually seems to find himself being the hero...not playing it as David was accustomed.  His motivations, mostly family and devotion to the memory of his dead mother, still may be selfish or at least self-interested, but they are heroic.  And though his father may not see it, since his only idea of what a hero can be is the one that he once was, Jack may very well be the hero Opal City needs.  It takes an astute and charismatic former villain to realize it.  The Shade makes his debut in Robinson's Starman early, though with the Shade it can never be too early.  Unlike Theo Knight and the Mist's thugs, he sees Jack Knight for what he can be, and he sees something far better than his predecessors.  He's a hero, one who doubtless would decline the "superhero" moniker, but one who might deserve it for that very reason.

[November 1994]