The name of DC Comics superheroes dating back to the Golden Age. The original Starman was Ted Knight, an astronomer and inventor who created a special rod that harnessed and emitted cosmic energy from the stars. The cosmic rod allowed him to fire energy blasts, fly, and create forcefields. Wearing a garish red, yellow, and green costume, he called himself Starman and patrolled the skies over Opal City.
Years later, his son, Jack Knight, reluctantly took on the Starman name. More comfortable running his antique shop, getting tattoos, and watching old movies, Jack preferred to forego the brightly-colored spandex his dad wore in favor of street clothes, a black leather jacket, blast goggles, and a redesigned cosmic staff.
The Jack Knight version of Starman is, for a lot of comics fans, the very, very best version of the character. It had style galore, wonderful art, an excellent setting in the art deco-inspired Opal City, a fondness for classic superhero hijinx while still being able to demonstrate its own non-superhero edginess. James Robinson was the writer and creator of the book -- and it seems like "Starman" was the only comic book he was able to write well.