Will Payton

Will Payton was an ordinary young man who was struck by a mysterious energy beam from space, which transformed him into a superhero with stellar-based powers. He took the name Starman and used his newfound abilities to protect the innocent.

Few characters capture the spirit of DC's late-Copper Age quite like Will Payton, who burst onto the scene in Adventures of Superman #444 in 1988, conjured by the formidable creative team of John Byrne and Jerry Ordway. His story unfolds most richly across the pages of Starman, Action Comics, and Adventures of Superman, where he keeps remarkable company — sharing adventures with icons like Superman, Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Green Lantern. With a publishing history stretching from 1988 all the way to 2019, Will Payton is a figure whose presence in the DC Universe proved more durable than a casual glance at his appearance count might suggest, and for fans who love digging into the connective tissue of DC's modern mythology, he's a rewarding discovery.