Pat Dugan
Pat Dugan is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Patrick "Pat" Dugan was a male human who was born in the modern age on Earth.
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
When Sylvester Pemberton joined the Justice Society of America, Pat felt that there was no need for a Stripesy anymore and he decided to start a new life for himself but felt a grudge against his former partner. He went to Las Vegas where he met Maggie Shaw where the two fell in love and in two days the pair got married. Maggie became pregnant and ten months later she gave birth to Pat's son who was named Michael Justin Dugan where he was happy but never attempted to mend his relationship with Sylvester due to their grudge. In this time, his married life began to be affected as Dugan started spending more time in the shop and neglecting Maggie who grew frustrated leading to her eventually walking out on their marriage. Pat kept custody of their son and Sylvester came to help him in a situation in Las Vegas leading to Dugan finally mending his friendship with Pemberton. Dugan and his son moved to Los Angeles to help Sylvester as he joined a new superhero team named Infinity Inc. A few months later, Sylvester died and Maggie gained custody of his son Mike Dugan thus leaving Pat all alone. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #9)
He was determined to find a way of removing the Cosmic Convertor Belt from Courtney as she was using it as an act of defiance in order to break Dugan up with her mother. Courtney intended to reveal that Pat was still a superhero to her mother but he professed his innocence and instead highlighted that she was getting in trouble at school. Pat then contacted Ted Knight about a means of removing the belt from his stepdaughter. The next day he went on patrol in his S.T.R.I.P.E. armour when he registered supervillain activity at his stepdaughters school and went to investigate. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #2) Once there, he found his step-daughter in a battle with a supervillain named Paintball. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #3)
John Henry Irons came to ask Pat Dugan to care for his business Ironworks whilst he was detained by bureaucratic measures orchestrated by Lex Luthor. In that time, Superman looked to access files that might free Irons from Luthor but his investigation was interrupted when the site was visited by the recently returned Eradicator. The Kryptonian A.I. had gone mad when in the depths of space and had seen a god-like being that was heading to the Earth. The Eradicator had returned to Earth to warn them but not to defend against the threat but to make their peace before their end. A fight erupted with Superman battling the Eradicator and Pat Dugan joined the fray whilst in the S.T.R.I.P.E. suit. Ultimately, Superman was able to defeat the Eradicator and purged it of its corrupted programming. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #114)
Dugan later decided to help the reformed Justice Society as an engineer and mechanic to put the designs of Ted Knight into practice. Thus, he worked at their headquarters in building the design of their jet craft that was named the Steel Eagle. (JSA v1 #7)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
As S.T.R.I.P.E., he responded to a bank robbery committed by King Midas and his henchmen who were attempting to steal from the First Bank Omaha. He and Stargirl came defeat their foe but this resulted in Courtney being late for school at Blue Valley High though her step-dad helped cover for her. Dugan later then received a call from his old teammate Greg Saunders from his time among the Seven Soldiers of Victory with Pat looking to take Courtney along to help him investigate the matter. (Infinite Frontier v1 #0) Pat and Courtney went to Myrtle Beach where they encountered the new Crimson Avenger Jill Carlyle who transported them to Greg Saunders as she sought to redeem herself by saving the soul of Lee Travis. The Crimson Avenger left behind Stargirl and Red Arrow Emiko Queen where the other Seven Soldiers were taken to fight the Clock King who was looking to claim a time machine built by Per Degaton. In S.T.R.I.P.E., Pat fought the Clock King along his compatriots as temporal distortions brought Lee Travis back to the moment when he vanished but rather than he saved he wanted them to find Wing and died as per historical records. The time machine was then destroyed with Crimson Avengers body being found and a funeral being held for Lee Travis. (Stargirl Spring Break Special v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Years ago, he had a romance with Maggie Shaw in Las Vegas where the two got married and from her he had a son named Michael Justin Dugan. Sometime afterwards, the marriage fell apart and over time Maggie gained custody of his son Mike Dugan who was sent to a military academy. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #9) He later met Barbara Whitmore and came to love her leading to the pair getting married and Pat gaining a stepdaughter in Courtney Whitmore. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #1) Barbara later became pregnant and gave birth to Pat's daughter who was named Patricia Lynn Dugan. (JSA v1 #26)
Powers and abilities
The S.T.R.I.P.E. was a large piece of robotic armour that Dugan could pilot from within where it provided him a range of features including strength, endurance and weapons. An on-board interface could convey verbal information to Pat such as status of the systems or even the weather conditions. Jets could be used giving him the power of flight allowing him to travel great distances. The fists could be launched out to punch enemies and return back to the armor. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #2) The fingers could launch out in order to deploy a net around their target. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #3)
The armor possessed self-repair systems allowing it to recover from damage dealt to it. It could also track the energies of the Cosmic Convertor Belt. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #3)
Dugan maintained a secret workshop where he tended to his armour with the site serving as a pit stop for S.T.R.I.P.E. From there, he had hidden cameras all around the neighbourhood to ensure the armor was not spotted during launch. There was also a scanner designed to monitor emergency frequencies were monitored for incidents. (Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1 #3)
Notes
- Pat Dugan was created by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman where he made his first appearance in Action Comics v1 #40 (September, 1941).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Justice League Unlimited, S.T.R.I.P.E. appeared in the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced by an uncredited Phil LaMarr. Pat Dugan was the stepfather of Courtney Whitmore. As S.T.R.I.P.E., Pat eventually joined the ranks of the expanded Justice League with whom he fought off Amazo, Mordru, the nano invasion, the battalion of Ultimen and Deimos's army in Skartaris. He and Stargirl often fought side by side; and Pat worked as an overprotective father figure, always watching over and keeping his partner's reckless behavior in check. Pat was also among the Leaguers who attended a Metropolis parade in Superman's honor. When General Eiling, who had mutated into a superpowered behemoth, crashed in and engaged the heroes, S.T.R.I.P.E. hit him with his artillery and engaged him in an aerial battle, but to no avail. Eiling tore Pat's armor open and nearly administered the coup de grace, had he not been thwarted by a civilian kid. Pat mustered enough breath to deflect the powerhouse from hurting the child and his friends, but he was quickly tossed aside and finally defeated. S.T.R.I.P.E. was later carried away for medical attention and technical repairs. S.T.R.I.P.E. was back on full duty in time to repel a resurrected Darkseid's invasion on Earth.
- In Stargirl, Pat Dugan appeared in the live-action DC Universe television series where he was portrayed by actor Luke Wilson.
Films
- In Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Pat Dugan appeared in the alternate universe setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Dan Gilvezan. This version was a scientist and member of Lex Luthor's Project Fair Play, a contingency program meant to destroy their universe's Justice League if necessary. After three of their number are killed, Dugan and the remaining scientists attempt to regroup, but are killed by the Metal Men.
Other
Appearances
- Action Comics v1: (1941)
- Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. v1:
- Superman: The Man of Steel v1:
- JSA v1:
- Infinite Frontier v1:
- Stargirl Spring Break Special v1: (2021)
External Links
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