Hourman, one of the founders of the Justice Society of America, has been cast in DC Universe’s Stargirl, with Lou Ferrigno Jr. joining the TV show as Rex Tyler in a recurring role for the streaming series. Stargirl was announced during San Diego Comic-Con 2018 and it’s one of several live-action superhero series coming to the platform alongside Titans and Swamp Thing.
The Stargirl series will be executive produced and run by the character’s creator, Geoff Johns. Johns is working with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Arrowverse fame to bring to life the character that first appeared in 1999. The streaming series is set to be a brand new take on Stargirl and her comic book team the Justice Society of America, which is why Hourman is involved.
TV Line reports that Lou Ferrigno Jr., known for his role in S.W.A.T. and for being the son of TV’s Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno, will join Stargirl in his dual identity as Rex Tyler and Hourman. In the comics there are three versions of Hourman, but Rex is the oldest and most popular. Stargirl’s Hourman is described as “a master chemist and adrenaline junkie.” He struggles with balancing his life as father and superhero, even though his powers are very unique. Just like the Golden Age version of the character, Hourman has incredible super-strength but only for one hour a day.
Outside Stargirl, Hourman is the second member of the Justice Society of America to be cast for the series. The first was Starman, who will be played by Joel McHale, and is unsurprisingly a bit of a mentor for Stargirl. In the comics and in the series, Stargirl’s own stepfather is Starman’s former sidekick. It’s through her stepfather’s past that Courtney Whitmore gets involved in the world of superheroes. With this information in mind, it appears that the Justice Society of America and Hourman will be fully formed before the Stargirl series begins.
For the uninitiated the Justice Society is one of the first superhero teams in the world of comics. The Justice Society of America first appeared in 1940 in the pages of All-Star Comics. Hourman, or as his name was spelled at the time Hour-Man, was one of the founding members of the team alongside The Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern and several others. A fixture of superhero comics during the WWII era, Hourman declined in popularity in the 1950s and 60s. He eventually returned but only as an obscure and elder statesmen-like figure. At 34 years old, Ferrigno Jr. can’t exactly pull off being a member of the elder generation, but he could still be a mentor for Stargirl, who will be a teenager when the series begins.
Even though Hourman is a relatively minor character, this will not be his first appearance in live-action. Hourman first appeared in the Legends of Tomorrow season 1 finale played by Suits’ Patrick J. Adams. Rex’s role in Legends of Tomorrow was very brief. He only appeared in a couple episodes before being killed off. However his death became a motivating factor for his Justice Society of America teammate Vixen to join the Legends herself and try to avenge his death. This new casting - among several other factors - makes it clear that Stargirl will be in no way connected to the Arrowverse. It stands to reason the role of Stargirl’s Hourman will be a little lengthier and more meaningful that Patrick J. Adams’ character.
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Stargirl is set to premiere in late 2019 on DC Universe.
Source: TV Line
