Sylvester Pemberton (Earth-2: Post-Crisis)

"Family isn't born. It's chosen."

- Sylvester Pemberton

Sylvester Pemberton is a former socialite and the vigilante known as Star-Spangled Kid, as well as the partner of Stripesy. Pemberton later acquired the Cosmic Staff and adopted the alias Starman, becoming a member of the Justice Society of America.

On December 24, 2010, Pemberton was thought to be killed during the final battle against the Injustice Society of America. However, 10 years later, Pemberton seemed to have survived the battle and searched for his former sidekick, Pat Dugan.

Early Life
Sylvester Pemberton was born to the wealthy John and Gloria Pemberton in California. His parents would later have a daughter called Merry Pemberton, who he would be close with in their personal lives.

Stars & Stripes
"You taught me how to drive, Pat. You taught me how to stand up for myself. You taught me how to think for myself. You're more than a friend. You're my brother."

- Pemberton to Dugan

When Pemberton was fifteen years old, his family hired the twenty-year-old Pat Dugan as a driver and mechanic. They would later become good friends and when his parents were threatened by a group of criminals he put on a mask to stop them and Dugan came to his aid. This eventually resulted in him becoming a vigilante under the alias, the Star-Spangled Kid with Dugan joining him as his sidekick under the alias, Stripesy. At some point, the pair defeated the supervillain known as Doctor Weerd in Civic City, which was reported on by the Civic City News.

On Pemberton's 16th birthday, he was supposedly gifted a watch by his parents and later wore it to school. However, he got into a fight with Hop Harrigan and the watch was stolen. Scared and hopeless, Pemberton decided to tell his parents the truth and realized that they had forgotten his birthday in the first place, and the watch was, in fact, gifted by Dugan. On the next day, Pemberton stood up to Harrigan and took the watch back as it meant the world to him. He soon considered Dugan a brother despite not acting like it. At some point, he was also taught to drive a car by Dugan.

Seven Soldiers of Victory
Early in their careers, the pair joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory who were responsible for saving numerous lives, cities and even the entire planet at one point, but despite this, they never got the credit that the Justice Society of America did. During their time on the team, they also fought Dragon King and destroyed a living weapon that he had designed to eradicate New York. Despite this, the team eventually disbanded, and the members lost contact with each other.

Pemberton's parents eventually found out about his vigilante activities and died as a result.

Justice Society of America
At some point during his adulthood, Pemberton discovered the Cosmic Staff, adopting the alias of Starman and was recruited by the Justice Society of America, bringing Dugan along with him as a sidekick. Dugan later took a photograph of the entire team together.

His sister later married Henry King Sr. who unbeknownst to him was the supervillain known as Brainwave, a member of the Injustice Society of America. The pair had a son named Henry King Jr. but Pemberton's involvement in his nephew's life in currently unknown due to the disagreements between him and Brainwave.

Christmas Eve
"It's over. But...the Justice Society must live on. Its legacy must survive. Someone...with honor and strength must carry the torch. Someone with grace and heroism. You can't do it. But someone out there will. But it's definitely not you. Pat. Yeah. You were a good friend."

- Pemberton's "last words"

On December 24, 2010, the Justice Society was lured into a trap by Icicle and the Injustice Society at an abandoned mansion after Brainwave had started to question their mission due to seeing the world through Merry's eyes. Pemberton told Stripesy over the radio not to come as he was only his sidekick and not a member of the JSA, but he ignored this advice. This resulted in him almost attacked by The Wizard, but Starman saved him at the last minute by firing an energy blast. He then hit the Gambler with the Cosmic Staff and defeated Tigress and Sportsmaster before being ambushed by Brainwave. He managed to defeat him, but was impaled by a shard of ice from Icicle while turning around. Dugan pulled the shard from him body and helped him to the Star-Rocket Racer, but they were pursued by Solomon Grundy, who almost managed to capture them if not for Dugan enabling the car's flight capabilities. He did, however, manage to damage the car, which resulted in it crashing in a nearby forest. Dugan helped Starman out of the car and onto the ground and told him that he would take him to a hospital, but it was too late, and he supposedly died after saying that Dugan must find a successor to carry on his legacy.

A New Starman
Pemberton's apparent death caused Dugan to seek justice against the Injustice Society by building S.T.R.I.P.E. in an attempt to help Hourman who had also survived the battle, but Rex refused his help. Ten years after the battle, Courtney Whitmore discovered the Cosmic Staff and carried on his legacy as Stargirl, believing Pemberton to be her father. She later discovered that he was not actually her father, but was still his legacy and so continued to be Stargirl. Pemberton was eventually avenged by the new Justice Society when they defeated the Injustice Society.

The Bond
Thanks to the newfound bond between Whitmore and the Cosmic Staff, it also woke up the bond between Pemberton and the staff, resurrecting Pemberton in his grave. Pemberton later dug himself out of his own grave and attempted to search for the staff and his partner, Pat Dugan.

An Old Friend
In December 2020, Pemberton approached Dugan's old building manager in North Hollywood, California to ask where he was. The man informed him that Dugan had moved several months ago and asked who he was, with him responding that he was an old friend, Sylvester Pemberton.

Months later, Pemberton travelled to Nevada and asked Dugan's ex-wife for his whereabouts.

Defeating Eclipso
Pemberton ultimately arrived in Blue Valley, Nebraska right when the newer generation of the Justice Society fought against Eclipso. As the demon took over the body of Courtney Whitmore, Pemberton surprised the team and fought for the control of the Cosmic Staff, hoping to purge Eclipso from Whitmore's body. After Eclipso left Whitmore's body, the Justice Society utilized different forms of power and transformed him into a piece of toast, successfully preventing his invasion.

Mentor of the JSA
Soon afterwards, Pemberton moved in with the Whitmore-Dugans, reminiscing his past with Pat Dugan and choosing to stay as the new Justice Society's mentor, using his expertise and experience in vigilantism to guide the team.

Powers

 * Cosmic Energy Physiology: Acquiring the Cosmic Staff from Ted Knight, Pemberton later began to wield the staff as his weapon of choice, making him one of the most powerful heroes to have ever existed. Throughout the years, the cosmic energy altered his physiology and allowed him to heal from major injuries, even from death, by manipulating the energy within his body.
 * Flight: Pemberton is able to fly when using the Cosmic Staff.
 * Photokinesis: Pemberton is capable of generating light using the Cosmic Staff to temporarily blind or distract his enemies.
 * Stellarkinesis: Pemberton can create and manipulate stellar energy using the staff to use against his opponents.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Pemberton, with the cosmic energy imbued within his body, was able to heal from major injuries and return to life after years in a stasis form.
 * Telepathic Connection: Not only can Pemberton communicate with the Cosmic Staff, he can also summon the staff from a great distance with simple thought in his mind.

Abilities

 * Driving: Pemberton was taught how to drive by Pat Dugan.
 * Peak of Human Physical Condition: As a trained and experienced vigilante, Pemberton has an excellent physique, allowing him to take on Olympic-level criminals such as Sportsmaster and Tigress without showing visible signs of exhaustion.
 * Acrobatics: While wielding the Cosmic Staff, Pemberton can perform exceptional acrobatic movements with ease and evade projectiles with ease.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Since before he acquired the Cosmic Staff, Pemberton, without any elaborated superhuman abilities, was already a skilled combatant in the field and fought against dangerous criminals.
 * Staff-Fighting: As Starman, Pemberton wielded the Cosmic Staff, which he used extensively in battles.

Current Equipment

 * Cosmic Staff: Pemberton used the Cosmic Staff, a weapon that was capable of giving him various superpowers such as flight, stellarkinesis and photokinesis.
 * Starman Suit: An exact replica of the original Starman Suit, Pat Dugan handcrafted the replica for Pemberton to return as Starman.

Former Equipment

 * Starman Suit: Pemberton wore a protective suit whilst operating as Starman.
 * Star-Spangled Kid Suit: Pemberton wore a protective suit whilst operating as the Star-Spangled Kid.