DC’s Stargirl has officially joined the DC TV franchise as DC Universe’s third original series as well as another Arrowverse-tied show on The CW. The Geoff Johns-produced series is breaking new ground for DC's live-action shows as Courtney Whitmore's (Brec Bassinger) Stargirl becomes the first teen-focused series that will follow her origin story.
Not only does Stargirl see the rise of one of DC's most iconic teenage superheroes, but it also follows the iconic superhero group, the Justice Society of America. Through Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson), the first generation lives on while Courtney revives the group to lead the next one.
While Stargirl will mostly stand on its own for the first season, the DC Universe series still made its connections to the Arrowverse even ahead of its series premiere. Though Courtney and the Justice Society have been depicted in live-action before, Stargirl becomes the primary platform to give them the proper spotlight without being guest characters on other DC TV shows. Following the pilot's premiere on DC Universe, what is the show's connections to the Arrowverse as well as other DC Universe shows?
Stargirl’s Place In The Arrowverse Multiverse
A big surprise that Arrowverse viewers weren’t expecting was the inclusion of Stargirl before it had even premiered. That moment happened at the end of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" when it was revealed that Oliver Queen had rebooted the Multiverse. While the heroes of Earth-Prime believe there only is one universe now, a montage of alternative universes is shown that includes several other DC shows outside The CW. The first non-CW series to get its own Earth is Stargirl as Oliver not only put them on Earth-2 but gave them a re-imagined version of it.
Prior to the crossover, Earth-2 was known as the home of The Flash characters like Harry Wells, Jesse Quick, and Arrow’s Black Siren. During the Arrow season 8 premiere, Oliver’s visit to Earth-2 triggered the Anti-Monitor and caused that world to get destroyed earlier. But thanks to Oliver’s final act as the Spectre, Earth-2 was revived and rebooted to act as the home of the Stargirl TV show.
During their cameo, Courtney is seen fully suited up with Pat’s S.T.R.I.P.E. as well as Rick, Beth, and Yolanda as the new Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Wildcat. While Earth-Prime’s heroes have yet to learn about the new Multiverse, the crossover officially established Stargirl as being part of the Arrowverse, which can lead to future crossovers down the line. Given what has been so far, Stargirl’s Earth-2 doesn’t seem to have any traces of the original Earth-2.
Stargirl’s Connection To Other DC Universe Shows
With the series premiere of Stargirl, this becomes the third original series to come from DC Universe, following Titans and Doom Patrol. All executive produced by Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti as well as streaming on the same digital service, what are the larger connections between the three shows? Stargirl both is and isn't tied to the other DC Universe dramas. Prior to "Crisis on Infinite Earths," it was established that Doom Patrol was in its own universe and not following the version that appeared in Titans season 1.
While Stargirl was being worked on, Johns confirmed that for now his show wouldn't be crossing over with the other DC Universe shows. However, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" managed to bring them all together without setting them in the same world. In the new Multiverse canon for the Arrowverse, during part 5 of the massive crossover, each DC Universe show officially became part of the Arrowverse Multiverse canonically. With Stargirl on Earth-2, Titans is set on Earth-9 while Doom Patrol is now set on Earth-21, all three DC Universe shows connect to The CW's larger franchise.
Depending on the storyline, Stargirl can easily crossover with fellow DC streaming shows or the Arrowverse in future seasons. So while it's not entirely connected to Titans and Doom Patrol, the Arrowverse still has them connected as part of the same Multiverse. Given that there is still a whole season of Stargirl season 1 to explore, it remains to be seen whether or not there may be more indicators of its place in the DC TV Multiverse as well as other connections.
How Earth-2’s JSA & Stargirl Differs from Legends of Tomorrow’s Incarnation
With the arrival of Stargirl, this becomes Arrowverse’s second version of Courtney as well as the Justice Society of America. In the Legends of Tomorrow season 1 finale, Patrick Adams showed up in the final minutes and was revealed to be playing Rex Tyler a.k.a. Hourman as a member of the JSA. The following season introduces the Legends to the Arrowverse version of the iconic group featuring Vixen, Dr. Mid-Nite, Obsidian, Commander Steel, and Stargirl. However, the biggest difference between the two shows' versions of Stargirl as well as the JSA is the time period.
DC Universe’s iteration portrays the JSA as having operated only 10 years before Courtney began her journey as Stargirl in modern times. The incarnation that viewers saw in Legends of Tomorrow season 2 was active in the 1940s, and unlike Stargirl, the group was never revived in the present time. Outside of their season 2 appearances, Stargirl and the JSA never reemerged in the Arrowverse following the "Spear of Destiny" storyline. Hourman is murdered by Reverse-Flash in his second appearance on Legends of Tomorrow, making his run extremely short-lived. Pre-Crisis, Courtney has last seen in year 507 AD when she went back in time with a piece of the spear in order to prevent it from being rebuilt.
In this time period, Courtney cleverly takes on the name Merlin in the episode “Camelot/3000” and stayed behind after having begun a romance with King Arthur. That is a large departure for Legends of Tomorrow’s version of Courtney as her Stargirl career was short-lived. Meanwhile, Dr. Mid-Nite died in the year 3000. Since "Crisis on Infinite Earths," it's unknown whatever happened to Legends of Tomorrow's Stargirl. Given that she hasn't appeared since the second season, it's highly likely that viewers will never see her or that version of the team, in favor of DC Universe's Stargirl that is portraying Courtney and the JSA more faithfully to the comics.