Who Is Stargirl’s Shining Knight? One Of DC’s Oldest Superheroes Explained

Warning: The following feature contains SPOILERS for Stargirl season 1, episode 7, “Shiv Part One.”

The latest episode of DC Universe’s Stargirl, “Shiv Part One,” dropped several hints as to the identity of Justin, a janitor at Blue Valley High School. The clues suggest that Justin is not only more than a mere sanitation engineer but that he may be one of DC Comics’ oldest heroes in disguise. Previously episodes of Stargirl showed that Justin had been watching Courtney Whitmore in the halls shortly after her assumption of the Stargirl mantle. More recently, Justin had also been seen spying on the other teens whom Courtney recruited to help her restart the Justice Society of America. Justin even went so far as to deliver a warning to the new Dr. Mid-Nite, Beth Chapel, whispering to her that “there are dragons in the water.”

The mentions of dragons were the first clue as to Justin’s true identity. Who would know more about the habits of dragons than a hero used to fighting them? A knight in shining armor, perhaps? One of the oldest heroes in DC Comics’ history was such a knight; Sir Justin of Camelot, aka The Shining Knight. Originally the youngest and poorest of the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Justin undertook a quest to prove himself by slaying the ogre Blunderbore. As he searched for the monster, Sir Justin happened upon the wizard Merlin, who had been trapped by the workings of a rival witch. In gratitude for the young knight’s assistance, Merlin enchanted Sir Justin’s armor and sword and gave his horse, Victory, wings that enabled it to fly.

Despite the power granted to them by Merlin’s magic, Sir Justin and Winged Victory were unable to protect themselves from the avalanche that was triggered when they finally slew Blunderbore atop an icy mountain. Like Captain America, the two were cryogenically frozen until the 1940s, where they were discovered during an archaeological expedition and revived. Learning of the evils posed by the Axis Powers, Sir Justin vowed to defend the strange new world in which he had awoken and joined other costumed heroes of the era, including the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripsey, to form the Seven Soldiers of Victory. He later disappeared shortly after an adventure that scattered the Seven Soldiers across time and space and it was assumed that he had returned home to Camelot. In truth, he had remained in modern times and tasked himself with tracking down the Dragon King, the villain responsible for killing the heroine Firebrand, who had been Sir Justin’s sweetheart during World War II.

A major subplot of the Stars and STRIPE comics which introduced Courtney Whitmore centered around a janitor named Justin, who was eventually revealed to be an amnesiac Shining Knight. Fans of the comics guessed at the connection when Justin first appeared in Stargirl. However, showrunner Geoff Johns refused to confirm or deny Justin the Janitor’s identity, but teased that he would have a major role to play in the show. “Shiv Part One” seems to confirm that Justin is indeed Shining Knight. A brief scene in his closet shows that Justin has several horse toys and a medieval goblet on one table, along with a horse calendar, which he looks at longingly. He also has a medieval longsword with a cross worked into the pommel tucked away among his brooms and mops.

The most damning evidence comes near the end of the episode, however, when Justin intervenes in the battle between Shiv and Stargirl and saves Courtney Whitmore from an untimely death. He also identifies Pat Dugan as Stripsey, when Courtney’s stepfather discovers her wounded and near death. There may be other explanations why Justin recognizes Pat Dugan, carries a sword, and uses medieval terms such as “milady.” It seems most likely, however, that Justin the Janitor truly is the Shining Knight.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1835 Articles Published)

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Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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