Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Stargirl season 1, episode 10, "Brainwave Jr."
The latest episode of Stargirl reveals that three of DC Comics' most obscure heroes are silver-screen superstars in the reality of Earth-2. This information is revealed through a series of Easter eggs hidden in the opening flashback sequence of "Brainwave Jr."
Stargirl has presented more nods to the weird and varied history of DC Comics than any other television or movie project in recent memory. This is hardly surprising given that the show's creative team includes Geoff Johns and James Robinson; two comic book writers with a long history of drawing upon DC Comics' older and odder properties in their work. Yet even with earlier episodes making mention of characters like The Red Bee, Stargirl's production team outdid themselves with the blink-and-you'll-miss-them movie posters that can be briefly seen outside the Dallas Theater, during the opening pan down Blue Valley's main street in "Brainwave Jr." The brief scene, which reveals how Barbara Whitmore and Pat "Stripsey" Dugan first met and fell in love, shows three posters promoting films featuring three of DC Comics least famous heroes; The Unknown Soldier, GI Robot, and Prez.
The Unknown Soldier first appeared in Our Army At War #168 in June 1966, but proved popular enough to get his own solo series in the war comics anthology Star Spangled War Comics, beginning with Issue # 151. Star Spangled War Comics became so synonymous with the character that it was re-titled The Unknown Soldier beginning with Issue #205 and ran for another 64 issues before coming to a close in October 1982. The Unknown Soldier was an American infantryman during World War II, who was left horribly scarred by a grenade attack. Left completely unrecognizable and presumed dead, he requested and was granted special training as a master of disguise, taking on espionage missions where "one guy can affect the outcome of a whole war! One guy in the right place... at the right time..."
The first GI Robot appeared in Star Spangled War Stories #101 in February of 1962, though upgraded versions would later appear in Weird War Tales and Checkmate. The basic idea behind the GI Robot program was to test the long-term feasibility of robot soldiers by partnering the robots with experienced US Army Rangers. The first two GI Robots, nicknamed Joe and Mac, were part of the team that fought The War That Time Forgot on Dinosaur Island. Later GI Robot models were designated with the codename J.A.K.E. (an acronym for Jungle Automatic Killer - Experimental) and a number. The most recent JAKE unit was JAKE 6.1, who served with the spy organization Checkmate as a Rook-Level field operative.
Prez was a short-lived series best remembered today as one of the odder creations of Captain America co-creator Joe Simon and for a tribute to the series that was part of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. The series centered around 18-year-old Prez Rickard, who became the first teenage President of the United States in his reality, where the 26th Amendment of the US Constitution lowered the voting age and the age at which a citizen could run for office to 18. Prez only lasted four issues, during which time Prez Rickard had to content with multiple assassins, who ran the gamut from a right-wing militia (who disapproved of Prez's strict stance on gun control) to a legless vampire and his werewolf henchman.
An interesting point to consider is whether or not these films might be documentaries or historical films in the reality of Stargirl. In a world where the Justice Society of America and Seven Soldiers of Victory were real, it's impossible to say that the United States on Earth-2 didn't use robot soldiers or have a teenage President back in the 1970s. Even so, we wouldn't hold our breath on seeing a Madame Fatale movie anytime soon.
Stargirl Confirms The Original Green Arrow Exists On Her Earth