Double-Sized Issue Reviews!

*This article contains spoilers for Stargirl: The Lost Children #5 (2023)*

Stargirl and The Lost Children are still battling for their lives against the child napping villain named Childminder, along with a mysterious buyer who has a deeply rooted connection to the Justice Society of America of 1999. Even though Geoff Johns has been slow to release new material, his ability to captivate an audience still stands strong—especially when writing Stargirl, he can tell a good story. 

Corky Baxter failed miserably at leading the army of lost children; most were recaptured and brought back to Childminder. Stargirl blames herself—though she should not because Corky was the one in charge. But the question becomes, should she have let Corky take the reins? Should she have led everyone into battle instead? 

In fact, those are questions worth mentioning. Stargirl has not been the leader in her own series. Yes, she has been a driving force, but she has not acted as a team leader. To that end, being a leader sometimes means standing aside and letting someone with more knowledge take control. In the United States, when a person is unconscious and in need of CPR, whoever is near must administer CPR but must relinquish control when someone with more experience or higher credentials arrives, i.e. paramedics. To that end, it could be argued that is what Courtney did. She saw Corky as a Time Master in training who knew much about Orphan Island and so, she allowed him to lead. Either that, or she was unable to find her voice and courage to lead. Only future comics will tell. 

While Hourman—aka the mysterious buyer—reveals he is only working for someone, Judy Garrick learns of the other Flashes in the future. She learns from Red Arrow that they can vibrate their cells fast enough to phase through objects. Judy gives it a go—while not perfect, she breaks the wall and frees Red Arrow.

Judy then sets about freeing another mess of heroes Childminder kept—presumably the strongest of the sidekicks. This includes: Sparky, Secret, The Whiz Kid, and Dyna-Mite. Though they don’t stay free for long.

The issue concludes with Hourman capturing all the lost children. 

This issue was great in flow, the story seemed to move nicely. And it kept my attention. I will say, my only issue is Stargirl not leading in her own title. I would expect her to have more involvement than she has had. Though, that could be character development across many future stories the public does not yet know about. Geoff Johns has played the long game before, perhaps this is that. 

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Rating: 4/5 Stars. Great story. The plot and progression of narrative was believable. It leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. 

Suggested reading: JSA #13 (1999) This issue includes the time traveling android known as Hourman. Worth reading to get to know the character.

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