S.T.A.R. Labs
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This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (November 2009) |
- This article is about the fictional organization in DC Comics. S.T.A.R. Labs is not related to S.T.A.R.S.
| S.T.A.R. Labs | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman vol. 1 #246 (December 1971) |
| Created by | Cary Bates (writer) Rich Buckler (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Type of business | Research and development |
| Base(s) | Gotham City Metropolis San Francisco Seattle Wichita San Jose |
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 (December 1971), and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
S.T.A.R. Labs was introduced in Superman vol. 1 #246 (December 1971). In the Superman comics, Professor Hamilton formerly worked there, and Dr. Kitty Faulkner, also known as the superheroine Rampage, is currently employed there. The Metropolis location is featured in a battle and as a plot point in Armageddon 2001. In Teen Titans, Cyborg's parents, Silas and Eleanor Stone, and his former love interest, Dr. Sarah Charles, all worked for S.T.A.R. Labs. Past S.T.A.R. Labs employees are Murray Takamoto,[1] Dr. Jenet Klyburn, and Dr. Albert Michaels (the first Atomic Skull). The 1993 comics miniseries S.T.A.R. Corps was about a group of superhumans who had inadvertently gained their powers in a S.T.A.R. Labs experiment. The labs are featured in the 1996 mini-series The Final Night. As eternal winter threatens the world, thanks to the Sun-Eater, S.T.A.R. Labs keeps their webpage updated with encouragement and various information related to the emergency. The San Francisco and Montana branches play an important role in the arc in "Justice League of America" #110-114 (2005). 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #1 (October 2007) shows a S.T.A.R. Labs relief operation working, side by side with Waynetech, in the devastated remains of the country of Bialya. All the relief workers are slain by outside forces.
[edit] History
S.T.A.R. The Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories was founded by a scientist named Robert Meersman, who wanted a nationwide chain of research laboratories unconnected to the government or any business interests. He succeeded not only on a national scale, but an international one as well: S.T.A.R. Labs currently maintains facilities in Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan as well as in the United States, with the total number of facilities numbering between twenty and thirty at last recorded count.
[edit] Locations
A partial list of some known locations of S.T.A.R. Labs facilities and their research focuses, where either is known, includes:
- Austin, Texas
- Central City, Missouri
- Chicago, Illinois: specializing in research and technology
- Detroit, Michigan: specialized in physics research. Closed down in 2004.
- Fawcett City: specializing in extraterrestrial research [2]
- Gotham City: specializing in weaponry
- Keystone City, Kansas
- Los Angeles, California: specializing in genetics and disease control
- Melbourne, Australia
- Metropolis (Queensland Park Borough, near Metropolis Harbor): specializing in marine biology
- Metropolis (central branch, New Troy Island): catch-all facility
- Missoula County, Montana [3]
- New York City, New York: specializing in research and technology. Destroyed in explosion. [4]
- Palo Alto, medical facility
- Phoenix, Arizona: specializing in meteorology and natural disasters
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, radioactive storage and testing centers
- Salt Lake City, Utah[5]: specializing in physics
- San Diego, California: specializing in chemical research
- San Francisco, California: specializing in studying meta-humans
- Seattle, Washington: specializing in studying psychology and psionics.
- Toronto, Canada [6]
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Wichita, Kansas, specializing in robotics
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
- S.T.A.R. Labs is shown in the Superman episode "The Hunter."
- In the TV series The Flash, Dr. Christina "Tina" McGee (Amanda Pays), the scientist who helps Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) deal with the super-speed that makes him The Flash, works for S.T.A.R. Labs.
- In Smallville, Winslow Schott is a scientific inventor of S.T.A.R. Labs who was hired by Oliver Queen to work for Queen Industries.
- In Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, S.T.A.R. Labs was often mentioned as a source of scientific information. It gained more prominence with the introduction of S.T.A.R. scientist Dr. Bernard Klein as a recurring character from the third season onwards. Dallas City Hall doubles as S.T.A.R. Labs' building exterior for long shots during the series.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, S.T.A.R. Labs served much the same purpose as it did in Lois and Clark, let alone that the recurring scientist was Professor Hamilton. S.T.A.R. has also made appearances in Justice League Unlimited (although the role it serves in the ongoing story has changed with the darkening tone of the series), and was briefly mentioned in Batman: The Animated Series (its name was shown on one of Batman's monitors).
- S.T.A.R. Labs was also mentioned in the Teen Titans cartoon, as the makers of the "Maximum 7", a microchip Cyborg uses to upgrade himself in the episode "Overdrive".
- S.T.A.R. Labs is also featured in the animated series Krypto the Superdog.
- A van that has "S.T.A.R. LABS" written on it can be seen at the end of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Invasion of the Secret Santas." Masked men from S.T.A.R. Labs are loading the remains of Red Tornado into it to be repaired. In "The Color of Revenge," a S.T.A.R. Labs facility in Bludhaven is later attacked by Crazy Quilt when he comes to steal the Stimulated Emission Light Amplifier. A group of bound and gagged S.T.A.R. scientists briefly appear, but have no lines.
- A S.T.A.R. Labs facility appears in the Young Justice episode "Infiltrator". The facility is raided and destroyed by the Swarm, a cloud of dangerous nanites used by the League of Shadows. In this continuity, S.T.A.R. Labs stand for Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Labs.
[edit] Video games
- S.T.A.R. Labs is featured in DC Universe Online. In the hero campaign, the players can gain the trust of S.T.A.R. Lab's personnel by completing certain missions, collecting specific bounties, and gain access to equipment from S.T.A.R. Labs Vendors. An old S.T.A.R. Labs building can be seen in Downtown Metropolis. There is also a S.T.A.R. Labs building in the Otisburg section of Gotham City. S.T.A.R. Labs' soldiers consist of S.T.A.R. Labs Heavy Troopers, S.T.A.R. Labs Security Guards, and S.T.A.R. Labs Shock Troopers.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Len Wein (w), Ross Andru (p), Danny Bulanadi (i). "If This Works, It'll Be A Miracle!" Blue Beetle 21: 12/7 (February, 1988), DC Comics
- ^ Justice League: Cry for Justice #2 (2009)
- ^ Justice League of America #110 (2004)
- ^ # Blackest Night: JSA #1–3 (February–April 2010)
- ^ Mike Baron (w), Jackson Guice (p), Larry Mahlstedt (i). "The Kilg%re" The Flash v2, 3: 3-4 (August, 1987), DC Comics
- ^ Action Comics # 883 Writers = Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann | Artist = Pere Pérez
