Courtney resolves to become a hero after her first meeting with Brainwave, even though Pat tries his best to prevent it.
Tropes:
- Atrocious Alias: Courtney finds "Injustice Society of America" to be as lame as Stripesy. Pat brushes it off by saying that it was a different time. She becomes a hypocrite by coming up with a terrible acronym as Pat's new codename (though it's Played for Laughs).
- Big Damn Heroes Just as Brainwave is about to finish off Pat, Courtney blasts him as the newly-christened Stargirl.
- Blinded by the Light: Pat triggers the high-beams on S.T.R.I.P.E. to disorient Brainwave as he's frying Courtney's brain, letting her grab the Cosmic Staff and return the favor.
- Clark Kenting: Briefly discussed by Pat. He never wore a face mask as Stripesy but people focused so much on his silly costume that it protected his regular identity. Without his costume, people did not recognize him as Starman's sidekick.
- Closest Thing We Got: Hourman left all his files on the Injustice Society to Pat. When Courtney questions why Hourman would give the files to him, given his low standing in the Justice Society, Pat points out that Hourman didn't exactly have any other options since the rest were dead.
- Comically Missing the Point: Pat chews out Courtney for fighting Brainwave in civilian clothes, making it more likely he'll figure out her identity and go for her family, which is why he and the other heroes wore costumes. Her takeaway is that she needs a costume, as opposed to the danger Pat is trying to impress upon her.
- Convenient Coma: Getting his brain fried by the Cosmic Staff leaves Brainwave in a coma, thus making sure his knowledge of Courtney's identity stays with him for the foreseeable future. It also spares Courtney the guilt of killing him, though the possibility of him dying of his injuries is mentioned.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Brainwave's telekinesis is more than a match for S.T.R.I.P.E., but luckily Courtney shows up to save the day.
- Cut Himself Shaving: Courtney and Pat blame their injuries from Brainwave and S.T.R.I.P.E. testing, respectively, on falling down the basement stairs.
- Death by Secret Identity: Brainwave learns who Stargirl is by reading her mind. He doesn't die, but he's in a coma after their battle.
- Failure Montage: Pat goes through a montage of unsuccessfully testing and then repairing S.T.R.I.P.E.'s Rocket Punch as he tries to get it fully operational.
- Freak Out: Courtney is understandably freaked out after just getting away from Brainwave and running into her stepfather piloting a Humongous Mecha with a demonic voice. She calms down a bit when he offers the mecha's hand.
- Fun with Acronyms: Courtney comes up with a pretty forced acronym for S.T.R.I.P.E.:Courtney: Subatomic Tactical Robot Internet Pat Enhancer.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: Brainwave threatens to make Barbara have a stroke if Courtney doesn't deliver him the Cosmic Staff.
- If I Do Not Return: Pat tells Courtney to take the family and run if he doesn't come back from confronting Brainwave.
- Jerkass: Barbara's boss, Sharpe, rudely shoots down her festival ideas before deciding to come up with an idea himself. The behavior of her coworkers suggests this is fairly common, as they've all been browbeaten into saying nothing when he asks.
- Juggling Loaded Guns: At one point during his Failure Montage, Pat triggers S.T.R.I.P.E.'s Rocket Punch and nothing happens. He aims the fist at his head, which then decides to activate.
- Missed Him by That Much: Brainwave just misses seeing Courtney on video chat with one of his doctors while looking up pictures of students that match Courtney's burnt ID card.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Courtney loudly thinking "Brainwave!" alerts him to her presence, allowing him to figure out her identity and by extension her mother's.
- The Oner: There's a long, unbroken shot in the gym as the camera follows various characters, up until Pat bumps into Denise.
- Papa Wolf: Of the villainous variety: once he has her in his clutches, Brainwave tells Stargirl that he's gonna kill her for attacking his son.
- Sole Survivor: Hourman survived another two years after the rest of the JSA were killed, tracking the movements of the Injustice Society. He reached Blue Valley, only to die in a car accident before finding anything. Given the presence of the Injustice Society there, the odds of that not being a coincidence are pretty good.
- There Are No Coincidences: Courtney is quick to note that Pat moving them to the same small town that Brainwave is living in can't be a coincidence. Pat reveals that Hourman tracked the Injustice Society to Blue Valley, where the trail went cold. He never expected that any of the Injustice Society would actually still be living there.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: While he's currently still alive, Courtney worries that Brainwave may die as a result of their battle and is clearly distressed by the possibility.
- Training Montage: Pat drops by Crusher's gym so Crusher can shout motivational speeches at him while he works out with different equipment. Parodied in that the montage in question only encompasses a few minutes of In-Universe time.
- Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway: Pat built but never used S.T.R.I.P.E., so when he does bust it out to rescue Courtney, it sparks from almost every joint and only barely works.
- Visionary Villain: The Injustice Society plans to make a "New America", starting with Blue Valley. What exactly that entails remains to be seen.
