Cosmic Converter Creating Costumed Crusaders

Along with the emerald batteries and their respective power rings, another pair of items that harnesses vast energies was created that rivaled these. The first was a star-band devised and wielded by a scientist adopting the alter ego of Evil Star. The second was a cosmic-converter belt developed and worn by Sylvester Pemberton aka the Star-Spangled Kid. Both channeled cosmic energies, allowing their owners to create objects from solid energy along with various other effects.

While Evil Star of Earth-Two didn't have access to the technology of his Earth-One counterpart, he was connected to the man who was, as Pemberton was not only a scientist capable of making the belt but also a financier of Stellar Studios. The original Evil Star's civilian alter ego was Guy Pompton, owner of Ace Movie Rental Agency, which provided movie props for several Hollywood studios including Stellar Studios. A movie script outline the criminal activities of Evil Star and his underworld associates, which Pompton sought to surpress when Stellar Studios sought to make a movie based on it. This led to Evil Star battling with Green Lantern and his allies in the the Justice Society of America. Decades later, Pemberton exercised his ownership right over Stellar Studios.

The later Evil Star was a frequent foe of his universe's Green Lantern, from the planet of Aoran. He sought immortality from the stellar energy, harnessing the Star-Band device he invented. However, a side effect transformed the once benevolent scientist into a malevolent menace to his family and the people of his world, watching gleefully as he remained young while his wife and children advanced into old age. The effects of wearing the Star-Band for years resulted in only Evil Star and his artificial Starlings remaining as the sole inhabitants of the planet of his birth.

Despite Evil Star's star-band having greater functionality than Lantern's ring, he was defeated in each of their encounters. Star-Spangled Kid's Cosmic Converter Belt was based on the technology developed by astronomer Ted Knight from his alter ego Starman's Cosmic Rod. Whether the Kid's Costmic Concevter was likewise more versatile than his Justice Society teammate Green Lantern's power ring is unknown.

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Space Stories & Stellar Sagas: Dynamic Duos & Problematic Pairs

On Earth-Three the roles are reversed from those on Earths One and Two, where superheroes there are supervillains, and visa versa. For instance, the counterparts on that world of the Justice League and Justice Society are the Crime Syndicate, while the noble doppelgänger of the Luthors on that planet is Alex Luthor, Earth-Three's only superhero (not counting the Rogue Hunters, opposite of Flash's Rogues Gallery, who were actually amoral bounty hunters who opposed the Syndicate).

However, there are some instances where a pair of protectors on Earth-One were devious duos on Earth-Two, with the reverse also being true of others. One examples of this were heroic Space Ranger and his shape-changing sidekick Cryll on Earth-One's future, and the villainous Saturnian Duke Saturno and the Duke of Deception's Martian shape-changer of Earth-Two's past. Another was the legendary lawmen Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy, and the larceny leaches Star-Tsar and Master Jailer... all four men possessing mechanical and engineering aptitude allowing them to devise gadgets to aid in their costume careers.

While the Kid and Stripesy had length careers working alongside one another, this was also the case for Space Ranger and Cryll. Some other parallels between the two dynamic duos is their stellar themes, the leader is a wealthy young industrialist equipped with a flying vehicle, assisted by adaptable and strong sidekicks.

As for the other four, Saturno and Deception’s mimic minion worked separate as had Tsar and the Jailer, each pursuing their own criminal capers (although Tsar’s alter ego Snapper Carr had a longer career as an honorary member of the Justice League, both before and after he had betrayed them to the Joker and… later… the Key).

Sensational Studios Starring Stellar Superhero

The "big five" movie studios of the golden age in Hollywood California were Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, RKO Pictures,  and 20th Century Fox. This quintet dominated the movie industry during the period of the 1930s and 1940s. On Earths One and Two, there were two others who grabbed the attention of masked marauders, both good and bad. These were Verner Brothers Studios & Stellar Studios.

Frank T. Fanum founded Stellar Studios, and by 1948 they were one of the renowned studios in Hollywood (although physically just outside of the actual city on Earth-Two). At that time, a masked man gave Farum a portion of a script for their latest blockbuster Thief in the Night, and another man named Evil Star was threatening the studio as the script might possibly expose his criminal rackets. After battling various henchmen, the Justice Society eventually confronted their leader, and exposed Evil Star as Guy Pompton, owner of  a movie prop store that Stellar Studios used.

Decades later, Star-Spangled Kid along with his fellow Seven Soldiers of Victory returned to the 20th century following their battle with the Nebula Man, and the Kid discovered that his inheritance as Sylvester Pemberton included ownership in Stellar Studios. Reclaiming it to produce future movies, he hired various young superheroes as Infinity, Inc. to act as local protectors, in an agreement with Los Angeles to reopen the studios on land they owned.

On Earth-One, owner Jock Verner and his brother founded Verner Brothers Studio, and in 1984 he hired professional stuntman and special effects expert Daniel Cassidy to create the title character for the Blue Devil movie. While wearing his prototype suit, Cassidy melded with it while battling an other-worldly creature. From this point, the superhero Blue Devil faced various threats that seemed to gravitate towards him, as Cassidy was a "weirdness magnet".

Heinous Henchmen Help Hooded Hoodlums

Professor Zoom aka the Reverse Flash and Captain Cold had numerous capers, which brought them into conflict with the Flash of Earth-One and his Justice League allies. Likewise, Sargon and Star-Spangled had scores of adventures alongside their colleagues in the All-Star Squadron, including the Flash of Earth-Two. But their counterparts on each others’ Earth only appeared a few times. This would be compensated by their similarly empowered henchmen.

Saigon’s doppelgänger Mister Element had his key lieutenants named Argon, Krypton, Radon, Xenon and two others. Zoom’s cosmic twin the Rival had a handful of hoodlums with superspeed powers like his and the Professor. Cold’s counterpart Icicle had similar clad henchmen, while former Justice League honorary member and Star-Spangled Kid analogue Snapper “Star Tsar” Carr had his stellar themed gang.

These thugs severed as proxies for the original rogues, and compensated for the deficiency of appearances which their bosses had compared to their correlating counterparts on the alternate Earth.

What If: There Was an Earth-One Infinity Inc.

Earths One and Two have teams that are quite alike, such as the Justice League and Justice Society, the Injustice Gang and the Injustice Society, not to member a Secret Society of Super-Villains. Each world has a Dynamic Duo, a World's Finest Team, Ace Archers and the like.

Yet there are also distinct groups on each parallel planet, such as the Teen Titans and the Blue Boys, each unique. But imagine if Infinity, Inc. had a team like the Forever People, but composed of the next (and a couple previous) generation of superhumans:

Instead of Wonder Woman's daughter Lyta aka Fury, it was Wonder Woman's twin sister Nubia. Tempest replaced Northwind. Swap out one tall redhead in Nuklon for another in Big Bear, and one stellar stud in Star-Spangled Kid for Snapper Carr's Star-Tsar. Another tormented solar savant in Gardner Gayle aka the Atomic Knight who replaced that of Hector Hall aka the Silver Scarab. A pair of Green Lanterns in Arisia and John Stewart were inserted where Jade and Obsidian would have been. Brain Wave Junior's mental equal in the Omega Men’s Primus could fill in for him. And then, of course, the World's Finest Females, Batgirl and Supergirl, would be the team's dynamic duo in place of Huntress and Power Girl!

Imagine the team dynamics of this version of Infinity, Inc. on Forever People's Earth!

Fantastic Four Supports Seven Soldiers

Shortly after an their adventure alongside the Justice Society of America, wherein they assisted them in recovering their fellow All-Stars missing since the golden age of mystery men, the Justice League returned to Earth-One. That is, all save three Leaguers who remained on Earth-Two, who were tasked with what Hawkman said was: “helping the Seven Soldiers adjust to the world of the present”! Why?

In the early 1950’s, the Seven... also known as Law's Legionnaires, gathered together for one final case as a group. On that occasion, atop the Himalayas, they along with their unofficial eight member Wing, battled the Nebula Man monster. Assembling a Nebula Rod that destroyed the create, a side effect was Wing's death, while his teammates were sent to various past time periods. From these eras, various members of the JLA and JSA retrieves the Legionnaires, bringing them back to the 20th century although decades after they disappeared. Thanks to their reappearance, the Soldiers were able to save Earth-Two!

Undoubtedly, the Society also aided the Soldiers in their transition from the 50’s to the 70's. However, those three Leaguers: Aquaman, Atom and Black Canary; these three had special purpose that necessitated their temporary presence in that alternate universe.

At least one of the Soldiers was given one-on-one assistance by a Socialite, as Starman took an immediate interest in his fellow stellar superhero, Star-Spangled Kid. In fact, when he later broke his leg, Starman lent the Kid his Cosmic Rod to use. And it would be this device, along with his knowledge of the Nebula Rod, that helped the Kid create his Cosmic Converter Belt.

The Legionnaire known as Shining Knight would have little difficulty readjusting to a new decade, as he had previously experienced a frozen sleep that lasted over a thousand years removed from his native time in Camelot. He and his flying steed Winged Victory simply acclimated to yet another new time period.

Apparently, although sent to save Star-Spangled Kid from the prehistoric past, something drew Aquaman's attention toward the Legionnaire referred to as the Vigilante. Perhaps with his telepathic abilities, the marine marvel was able to perceive some melancholy in the cowboy crusader. One thing they both had in common were beloved sidekicks who were surrogate sons, that they had grown distant from. While the emotional rift between Aquaman and his young partner Aqualad eventually mended, at the time of this tale it was still a fresh wound.

And if history parallels on both Earths, then this Vigilante would soon discover the tragedy that befell his sidekick Stuff. On Earth-One, after that Vigilante returned from a mysterious years-long absence, he learned of the death of his world's Stiff., who had been murdered by his arch-enemy the Dummy.

Honorary League member Metamorpho would have had a positive influence on Stripesy, the senior partner of the Kid. The Element Man would no doubt encourage Stripesy into settling down into a normal life and get married, something Metamorpho longed to do if ever cured from his inhuman condition. Stripesy later mentioned that he retreated into a new life with a wife and son on the other side of the United States... retiring from heroics… something he wasn’t inclined to do before meeting his new League acquaintance.

The Atom had first encountered Legionnaire Crimson Avenger in ancient Mexico, when the hero was under the influence of a fragment of the Nebula Man. Radiating with power from the radioactive rock, Crimson Avenger had battled Atom as well as Elongated Man and Doctor Fate, until they defeated him and he regained his senses. However, there was undoubtedly a concern as to the physical effects of Avenger's close proximity to the alien substance, which Atom sought to investigate using his scientific knowledge and experience with dangerous white dwarf radiation.

And indeed, his concern was borne out, as the Crimson while traveling the world as Lee Travis, discovered he now had cancer. With time running out, he resumed his costumed career for one final adventure. Sadly, if Atom discovered the root cause, he was unable to prevent the resulting effect.

And finally, there was Black Canary, a native of Earth-Two. She would perhaps feel inclined to help Vigilante, whom she helped save from the old west. However, she would've instead sought out the Legionnaires' ace archers, Green Arrow and Speedy. And given her recent history with her adopted world's versions of the pair of bowmen, one can see why this is a logical choice for her.

Throughout the years, the romantic relationship between Canary and the Earth-One Arrow usually involved her being the voice of reason, given his stubborn and opinionate point of view on life. This made him a better man, and would carry over with his adopted ward.

That ward, Speedy, had succumbed to drug abuse and addiction, despite having a storied career alongside his mentor and as a member of the Teen Titans. Canary in her Dinah Lance identity helped the lad recover over time.

Now on her home world of Earth-Two, Dinah saw a more mild and reserved Green Arrow, and a very frightened Speedy given his experience in ancient Greece when he temporarily lost his grip on humanity. 

She seemed a stabilizing influence, as the pair retired to reclaim their lives as Oliver Queen and Roy Harper. While the Earth-One Oliver and Roy had lost the fortune that supported them, causing them to live more modest lives and persist in their masked escapades... this wasn't the case for the Earth-Two pair. Those two ex-Legionnaires never acclaim resumed their more famous alter egos, aside from the occasional reunion with their teammates and during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Although Roy felt torment later during the Crimson Avenger's funeral due to their displacement in time, he did not revert to substance abuse as had his cosmic twin. Instead, he dealt with the harsh realities life had presented him with. The Teen Titan Roy, also at a funeral, felt some indignation for the abandonment of his former guardian Oliver, and would once more become Speedy in order to prove that he had regained control of his life once more.

Kara's and the Kids: Supergirls and Stellar Studs

Kara Zor-El began her caped career in secret, training under her famous cousin Kal-El. During this period, she joined the 30th century Legion of Super-Heroes to experience working side-by-side with fellow teens. However, given the special trips she needed to make a thousand years into the future, she was only a part-time member, and so was essentially a loner even after she revealed herself as Supergirl to her new world of Earth-One in her native era.

During the same period of time, Lucas "Snapper" Carr was made an honorary member of the Justice League of America. After years as that team's mascot, he grew disenfranchised at being looked down upon, and she so adopted the stellar powered Star-Tsar. After a brief criminal career, Carr decided that make amends for his actions by becoming a research assistant of S.T.A.R. Lab's Fred Danvers, step-father of Supergirl's alter ego. It was then that she first met Snapper when trying to stop a malfunctioning robot of Superman's he was attempting to repair to help mankind.

Kara Zor-L began her caped career also in secret, though for far longer. This was due to fact that, unlike her counterpart who grew up in Argo City which has survived the destruction of Krypton, she was raised within her Symbioship providing her with an artificial reality creating a simulated Kandor with virtual parents and friends. Now on Earth-Two, she was taught by her adopted father Clark Kent, when was also her cousin Kal-L, and her step-mother Lois Lane Kent. 

Eventually, she revealed herself to the world as Power Girl when joining rhe Justice Society of America, at the same time as time displaced Sylvester Pemberton, known as the Star-Spangled Kid. The Kid would try to impress Kara repeatedly, although his affection would not be returned. However, a friendship would grow between the two in the years together as teammates.

Spandex Stripe and Star Suited Studs

On Earth-Two, wealthy young heir Sylvester Pemberton and his chaffeur Pat Dugan joined forces to become the crime fighting team of Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy, in part inspired by Superman. Together, they fought a variety of foes as a dynamic duo and, later, as members of both Law's Legionnaires and the All-Star Squadron, where they were teammates of Superman himself!

On Earth-One, school student Lucas "Snapper" Carr was a mascot of the Justice League, of which Superman was a member... and years earlier school student Carl "Moosey" Draper was a school classmate of the younger alter ego of Superboy. Although friends, their relationship with the Man of Steel soured, leading to Lucas adopting the Star-Tsar alias while Draper became the Master Jailer. Their criminal careers led to their each confronting Superman in battle and losing.

Both Lucas and Sylvester were genius level intellects as well as aspiring crime fighters, using their aptitude for the sciences to devise devices that could channel stellar energy through weaponry and their super-suits. Also, Carl and Pat were adept in mechanics and utilized their skills to develop various gadgets they then used in their costumed careers. One such device that Dugan built was the flying car known as the Star-Rocket Racer which he and the Kid drove, a vehicle that mirrored that of Snapper's flying hot rod car which the League gifted him in his early adventures with them.

Around the same time that Pemberton as the Kid joined the Justice Society, Carr in his Star-Tsar alter ego conspired with the Key and Privateer to defeat the Justice League... before having a change of heart. Also around this time, Draper and Dugan both became embittered by the superheroes whom they had known for the lack of appreciation shown to them, each of them hiring out their technical design skills to use their advanced weaponry to aid criminal endeavors. This was in part also due to the anger they felt over lost loves, Carl with his love for Lana Lang not being returned, and Pat with his divorce to his wife Maggie who abandoned him and their son Mike. However, while Draper as the Master Jailer remained a criminal adversary of Superman and Supergirl, Dugas as Stripesy continued to assist his old partner the Kid along with other heroes such as Superman and Power Girl behind the scenes.

Star-Spangled Striplings

After several years as the mascot of the Justice League of America, Lucas "Snapper" Carr attempted to enter adulthood as his own man. Sadly, he was well-known for his honorary status with the League, which caused others in college and the secular arena to view him as still a kid. Bitter from this experience, he was easily manipulated into adopting the alter ego of Star-Tsar, a costumed identity created by the supervillian known as the Key.

Using stellar energized technology, Snapper and the Key each disguised themselves at certain points as Star-Tsar, who had a few confrontations with the criminal Doctor Light and the combined Justice League. However, Snapper eventually realized the folly of turning to crime, and secretly assisted the League in capturing first the Key and then the true mastermind behind Star-Tsar, the hero turned villain known as the Privateer, aka Mark Shaw. From this point, Carr retired from League affairs and became a research scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs in Florida, assisting Supergirl in Florida.

After jumping ahead several decades from his native time due to a cosmic anomaly, the young superhero known as the Star-Spangled Kid attempted to restart his career using the cosmic rod which fellow superhero Starman developed to channel stellar energy through. This led to his joining the Justice Society, at first being a provisional member alongside Power Girl as one of the "Super Squad" which she formed to combat the evil Brain Wave and Per Degaton. Soon thereafter, Kid created a cosmic converter belt based on the cosmic rod which had even greater versatility in its usage, returning the rod to Starman. After several adventures alongside the Society, the Kid retired from superheroics to resume his private life as Sylvester Pemberton, later using his inheritance to purchase Stellar Studios in Los Angeles and fund the new young superhero team known as Infinity, Inc., which his pal Power Girl also joined.

While Star-Spangled Kid and his former sidekick Stripesy had longer costumed careers than had their Earth-One counterparts Star-Tsar and fellow criminal Master Jailer, their adventures during the 1940's mirrored those of the World's Finest Team of Superman and Batman on Earth-One who had more chronicled cases than their Earth-Two counterparts.

Fawcett Fridays: Peak Physique Personas

On parallel planets populated with powerful people, it would at first seem that Peter Cannon and Jack Weston were ordinary. But in fact, each man was extraordinary, accomplishing tremendous feats of physical and psychological strength that far exceed their more common-place contemporaries, and earned the respect of their superpowered peers.

Jack Weston was the first to appear, in 1941 as the costumed crimefighter known as Minute-Man on Earth-S. Left an orphan after first his mother’s passing, followed by his father dying during World War I. Throughout his formative years, Jack was trained in various physical and psychological discipline, each of which he excelled in. Recruited by his guardian General Milton into adopting an alter ego as a One-Man-Army, Jack as Minute-Man battled a wide range of both local criminals and foreign adversaries.

Peter Cannon was an orphan whose parents were medical professional a group of Tibetan monks in the Himalayas from a ravenous disease. In gratitude for this self sacrifice, the monks raised Peter and taught him from ancient scrolls how to unlock his full physical and mental potential. Journeyed to his parents’ native country the United States of America, Peter as the costumes crusader known as the Thunderbolt on Earth-Four. Cannon fought a wide range of both local criminals and foreign adversaries.

While Peter’s femme fatale was the one-shot Egyptian temptress known as Evila, John’s femme fatale was his frequent foil named Illyria, who worked for various countries in the field of espionage, seeking to exploit secrets from the United States. 

The Earth-One and Earth-Two doppelgängers of Minute-Man and Thunderbolt were Star-Tsar and Star Spangled Kid, respectively. While the Kid was himself a child protégée, so much so that he was the leader of a dynamic duo consisting of he and his adult chauffeur, the Tsar was only highly intelligent. That said, Tsar’s alter ego of Snapper Carr was trained by the heroes in the Justice League, of whom he was an honorary member. The Kid had years of experience before joining the Justice Society.

Cannon’s constant companion was Tabu, who motivated him in his constant war against evil. Milton was Weston’s mentor and closest companion, continually spurring on his protégée in his heroic pursuits. While neither were team-players, preferring to work more solo, on occasion Minute-Man worked alongside Captain Marvel and the Crime Crusaders Club, while Thunderbolt operated on occasion with Captain Atom and the Sentinels of Justice.

The Crossovers Time Forgot Between Titanic Teams

While the teamups of headliner heroes such as the Justice League in the silver age and, prior to that, the Justice Society in the golden age, were fairly common... minor mystery men generally kept within their corners of comicbook continuities. Partly this was due to their lack of notoriety, and popularity. However, on occasion, these did occur with startling results.

There was the time when the criminal League of Challenger-Haters stalked the vacationing objects of their vitriol. And without their gadgets, the Challengers of the Unknown may have been helpless versus their inhuman opponents, were it not for the Doom Patrol who leant a hand. Elasti-Girl vs Multi-Woman... Kra versus Robotman. And, of course, the more modest masked men Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy crossed paths... not to mention almost running into each other.. with the Dynamic Duo in pursuit of the Joker. Good times.

Fawcett's Finest: Stellar Studs

During World War II, two cosmic twins had different private lives although parallel public ones, due in large part to their age.

While Sylvester Pemberton on Earth-Two had been a wealthy teenage with a genius-level aptitude, Jack Weston was a young man in his early twenties who was no longer in school. As a result, he was an army private for whom his superior, General Milton, saw tremendous potential. So had Sylvester, in himself, and so both lads adopted similar blue, white and red costumes to fight the forces of evil terrorizing humanity.

As the Star-Spangled Kid, Sylvester eventually met fellow hero Stripesy, and developed a long lasting partnership while employed Dugan as his chauffeur and mechanic. For Weston, he was a one-man army sent on various missions by his officer and mentor, and as the Minute-Man he soon developed a legendary career in his own right.

Weston never meeting his world's Dugan, a Pat Gleason who assisted the costumed crusader known as Devil's Dagger. Similarly, Jack and Sylvester’s Earth-Four counterpart… Peter “Thunderbolt” Cannon, mostly worked solo. That is, aside from Peter’s personal assistant and life long friend, Tabu. Minute-Man did find allies among his fellow mystery men. As a member of the Crime Crusaders Club alongside Captain Marvel Jr., Bulletman and Bulletgirl, he found long lasting friends. So did the Kid, as a member of Law's Legionnaires.

Due to the machinations of villains, both heroes were catapulted from their era and reappeared in the mid-70's. Syl resumed his heroic career, although Jack only resumed his alias on occasion and mostly retired as a restauranteur. While Jack has little in similarity with his Earth-One twin, Star Tsar aka , Snapper Car, both seem to manifest the ability to tackle weighty matters with equal parts valor and victory.

Boy Sidekicks for Teams of Justice

Lucas Carr was a resident of Happy Harbor when Starro came to Earth-One to begin his invasion of humanity. Thanks to the lad's accidental discovery of the alien's weakness, lime, the Justice League of America defeated the villain and made Carr an honorary member. He was given a flying hot rod designed by the League, and over the years Snapper proved valuable more than once in assisting his teammates.

Sylvester Pemberton was the child heir to his father's fortune when he became inspired to adopt a stellar uniform and alter ego. When he was joined by his future chauffeur Pat Dugan, the pair became the dynamic duo known as Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. Dugan designed for them their flying car, the Star Rocket Racer. Soon after, they were both charter members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Snapper fell into some bad association, first duped by a disguised Joker into revealing the JLA's cave headquarters and later assisting the Key in developing the villain Star-Tsar, Using stellar based technology, Snapper as Star-Tsar was a recurring adversary of the League, although his ultimate intention was to supplant the schemes of Key and another rogue named Mark Shaw, which with the League he was able to accomplish. Snapper eventually reconciled with the team once more.

Star-Spangled Kid was eventually liberated with fellow Soldiers from ancient eras they had been exiled, returning to the 20th century where he was given Starman's Cosmic Rod to embark on a new career, joining the Justice Society of America. He created a Cosmic Converter Belt that gave him star-based powers similar to technology created by Earth-One's Evil Star. Syl eventually created a new persona as Skyman with his new team, Infinity Inc. which operated out of Stellar Studios, once owned by Guy Pompton aka Earth-Two's Evil-Star.

Star-Tsar would later be revived by a coworker of Snapper, who stole Carr’s super-suit to use for his own crimes, before this new Tsar was defeated by Green Arrow. Around the same time, Stripesy’s counterpart on Snapper’s Earth, Lucas Draper, began his criminal career as Master Jailer. Although both Jailer and Tsar had battled Superman, Draper and Carr never had opportunity to meet as had Dugan and Pemberton.

Swell Rides in the Sky: Enjoy the View!

Fantasy is unleashed in comic books, allowing writers and artists to unleash their vivid imaginations in ways unimagined in live or even cartoon media. Such was the case in the 40's and again in the 70's, when boy heroes and their older red-haired companions came upon a pair of flying cars that could not exist outside a Back-to-the-Future flick.

Boy genius turned costumed hero Sylvester (the Star-Spangled Kid) Pemberton enlisted the aid of his chauffeur/mechanic Pat (Stripesy) Dugan to build for him a unique form of transportation. Matching the lad's sky-high expectations, Pat built the Star-Rocket Racer, and history was born. The pair used the vehicle throughout the duration of their partnership until lost in time for decades. When the Kid returned, he would use the Racer once more as the chief mode of transportation for his newest team of youths, Infinity Inc of Earth-Two.

Earth-One's Snapper Carr was an honorary member of the newly formed Justice League of America, helping to assist them against the evil Starro. As a gift to the lad, the League designed a special device which allowed Snapper's Hot Rod to fly..

There were also the Whiz Wagon piloted by the Newsboy Legion of Earth-One and the Atomobile piloted by the Boy Commandos of Earth-Two. Each of these vehicles could traverse even more diverse environments than either Snapper’s Hot Rod or Sylvester’s Star-Rocket Racer.