Girl power

Brec Bassinger stars as a teenage superhero discovering her powers for the first time

- STEVEN PERKINS

From Steve Rogers becoming Captain America in order to defeat the Nazis to Bruce Wayne donning the mantle of Batman to avenge the murder of his parents, superheroes have generally had a noble and profound origin story. However, DC Comics’ Stargirl goes one better, because the teenager serves as a memorial to a real person.

Writer Geoff Johns, who created the character and is behind Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation, based Stargirl on his younger sister, Courtney, who was killed in a plane crash in 1996.

‘When she first passed away, I couldn’t focus on anything but the loss,’ says Johns, 47. ‘It took me years to finally talk to someone about it, and they had me do a very simple exercise. They said, “Every time you think of her, think of the best time with her.” And so I do, and it really changed things for me.’

The 13-part series stars Brec Bassinger as high-schooler Courtney Whitmore, who, after moving to a new town, comes across boxes in the basement of her home belonging to her stepfather, Pat Dugan (