# Pat Dugan
**Pat Dugan** (Patrick Dugan), also known as **Stripesy** and later as the armored hero **S.T.R.I.P.E.** (Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer), is a fictional superhero in [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), created by [Jerry Siegel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-siegel) and Hal Sherman and first appearing in *Action Comics* #40 in September 1941.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2020000504.html) He began as the adult sidekick of the teen hero Star-Spangled Kid, was lost in time with the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and returned to prominence in 1999 as the stepfather and partner of Stargirl ([Courtney Whitmore](https://www.edgepedia.org/courtney-whitmore)), wearing a robotic suit of armor.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2020000504.html) • [2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman; first appearance *Action Comics* #40, September 1941[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2020000504.html) |
| Original identity | Stripesy, adult sidekick to the Star-Spangled Kid (Sylvester Pemberton)[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan) |
| Time exile | Lost in time in 1948 with the Seven Soldiers of Victory; rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society in *Justice League of America* #101 (September 1972)[3](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e) |
| S.T.R.I.P.E. debut | Profile in *DCU Heroes Secret Files* #1 (February 1999); full appearance in *Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.* #0 (July 1999)[3](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e) |
| Armor | Wearable suit with armor, weaponry, and flight, built with cybernetist Robert Crane from Robotman-derived technology[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan)) • [5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm) |
| Family | Husband of Barbara Whitmore-Dugan, stepfather of Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl), father of Mike and Patricia[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan)) |
| Screen portrayal | Luke Wilson in the live-action *Stargirl* series, piloting a 15-foot STRIPE robot[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan) |
## Publication history
Pat Dugan's first appearance was a three-page preview in *Action Comics* #40 (September 1941), a teaser for the new series *Star Spangled Comics*, a book created as a reaction to [Captain America](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-america)'s debut a few months earlier.[6](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/pat-dugan.html) His first full appearance came in *Star Spangled Comics* #1 (October 1941), and his origin was not revealed until *Star Spangled Comics* #18 (March 1943).[3](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e) The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy ran in *Star Spangled Comics* #1–90 (September 1941 to March 1949) and headlined *Leading Comics* #1–14 (Winter 1941 to [Spring](https://www.edgepedia.org/spring-season) 1945) as members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.[5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm)
The character then vanished from the present day of the DC universe for decades. Stripesy was lost in time in 1948 and was finally rescued by the [Justice League](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-league) and Justice Society and brought to the present in *Justice League of America* #101 (September 1972).[3](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e) He later signed on as the team mechanic for Infinity, Inc. (*Infinity, Inc.* #28), a series that ran 53 issues from 1984 to 1988.[5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm)
**The 1999 revival.** Writer Geoff Johns and artist Lee Moder launched *Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.* in 1999, the 14-issue series in which Stargirl made her debut and in which Dugan first donned the S.T.R.I.P.E. armor.[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan) • [3](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e) Johns modeled the new hero Courtney Whitmore after his recently deceased teenage sister, and the series marked a major return to prominence for a character rendered obsolete decades earlier.[6](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/pat-dugan.html) Dugan then became a fixture of the Justice Society era: he was the JSA's mechanic through *JSA* (87 issues, 1999–2006), *Justice Society of America* vol. 3 (54 issues, 2007–2011), and *JSA All-Stars* (18 issues, 2010–2011).[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html)
## Fictional character biography
Pat Dugan, a mechanic, started out as a superhero called Stripesy, serving as the grown-up companion to Star-Spangled Kid and fighting alongside the Seven Soldiers of Victory in World War II.[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan)) In-story, he found his destiny on July 4, 1941, when pro-Nazi protesters disrupted a movie he was attending and turned out to be Nazi spies, after which he created a costume.[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan)) He was a former boxer who had once bent the bars of a cage.[5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm)
In 1948, the Seven Soldiers of Victory were betrayed by their own member, the Spider, and flung across time; Pat was stranded in ancient Egypt and returned decades later through [Doctor Fate](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-fate)'s magic.[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html) In the modern era he married Barbara Whitmore and became stepfather to her daughter Courtney. His family also includes his ex-wife Margaret Dugan, his son Michael "Mike" Sylvester Dugan, and his daughter Patricia Lynn Dugan; in current continuity Mike trains in the S.T.R.I.P.E.S. armor and Patricia is destined to take up the Stargirl identity.[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan))
## Powers, equipment, and abilities
Dugan's defining skill is practical mechanical engineering. He designed the Star Rocket Racer, a super-car said to reach 200 miles per hour, and excelled at applying experimental technology to working machines; one feat cited is an engine that could lift a 1940s automobile into the air and guide it like a small plane.[5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm) • [4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan))
**The S.T.R.I.P.E. armor.** Decades after his [Golden Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age) career, Dugan created the exoskeleton called S.T.R.I.P.E., short for Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer, outfitted with armor, weaponry, and flight; the suit may have incorporated technology from Robotman's android body.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2020000504.html) • [5](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm) He built the armored suit with the cybernetist Robert Crane, using technologies found in the Robotman armor.[4](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan)) The suit is described as a high-powered, high-tech wearable suit of armor that could alert Pat whenever the cosmic converter belt became active.[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html) As the Justice Society's mechanic he built their aircraft, the Steel Eagle, first shown in *JSA* #7 (2000).[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html)
## Insight: one of comics' few adult sidekicks
Stripesy occupies an unusual position in superhero convention: as Stripesy and later as S.T.R.I.P.E., Pat is one of the few adult sidekicks to support a child or teen superhero, a role reversal of the standard boy-sidekick formula.[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan) The 1999 series sharpened this reversal. After Courtney finds the hidden workshop where Pat keeps his superhero equipment and takes the cosmic converter belt once owned by the original Star-Spangled Kid, Pat dons his large mechanical suit so he can match her, with each of them attempting to make the other give up.[6](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/pat-dugan.html) The adult becomes the sidekick to his own stepdaughter.
[Geoff Johns](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoff-johns) described the character in a February 14, 2007 Newsarama interview: "He's a mechanic turned super-hero and a super-hero turned step-father. In Stargirl's eyes he's as real a father as she'll ever had."[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html)
## In other media
Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. became members of the animated Justice League during Season 3 of *Justice League Unlimited*, which aired in 2005–06.[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html)
In live action, DC announced on January 7, 2019 that [Luke Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/luke-wilson) had been cast as Pat Dugan in the *Stargirl* television series, alongside [Joel McHale](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-mchale) as Sylvester Pemberton and Brec Bassinger as Courtney; the character description suggested the show would stay close to the source material.[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan) In the series, Pat comes out of retirement to be a sidekick to his stepdaughter, this time piloting a 15-foot robot called STRIPE.[2](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan)
## What has changed since 2023
Dugan has continued to appear in new DC comics. He features in *Stargirl: The Lost Children*, a six-issue limited series published in 2023, and in *Justice Society of America* vol. 4, a twelve-issue limited series running 2023–2024.[7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html) He also appears in *Absolute Power: Task Force VII* #3, "Options," cover-dated September 2024.[8](https://www.findmecomics.com/character/pat-dugan)
## References
1. [S.T.R.I.P.E. (Fictitious character) — Library of Congress Name Authority](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2020000504.html)
2. [Stargirl: Luke Wilson Joins the Series as Pat Dugan — DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/01/07/stargirl-luke-wilson-joins-the-series-as-pat-dugan)
3. [S.T.R.I.P.E. (Pat Dugan) — Kapow HQ](https://kapowhq.com/characters/s-t-r-i-p-e)
4. [dcuguide.com](https://dcuguide.com/S.T.R.I.P.E._(Pat_Dugan))
5. [The Star-Spangled Kid — Cosmic Teams](https://cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/star-spangled-kid.htm)
6. [Pat Dugan — DC Continuity Project](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/pat-dugan.html)
7. [Stargirl + S.T.R.I.P.E. — Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/stargirl.html)
8. [Pat Dugan — FindMeComics](https://www.findmecomics.com/character/pat-dugan)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters › Comic book characters and teams › DC Comics characters and teams*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license