Origin
Mason lived in Stockton, California, never feeling comfortable in his own skin. He yearned for purpose and identity, and he found it in the unlikeliest of places. Starro the Conqueror invaded Stockton, attaching its spores to the entire community. When Mason interacted with a spore, his metagene activated to protect him. By accepting the spore, they merged into a knew being with psychic abilities. With these psychic abilities, he made contact with Mento and got the attention of the Doom Patrol. He needed their help, because Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner had arrived to free the people of Stockton from Starro. However, Mason did not want to have his spore removed.
Creation
Starbro first appears in Unstoppable Doom Patrol #3 by Dennis Culver and Chris Burnham.
Major Story Arcs
Flex Force
After being taken in by the Doom Patrol, Bro was put on a team coached by Flex Mentallo, called The Flex Force. He would teach Bro physical fitness, general superheroics, and how to control his powers. During a demonstration of their progress, they played capture the flag against the Doom Patrol, only to have their training session interrupted by the new Brotherhood of Evil. The Flex Force was thrown into the deep end against the regular Doom Patrol rivals. While the two teams join forces to defeat the Brotherhood, Willoughby Kipling gives Robotman an important message. The Brotherhood was a distraction so that General Immortus could dig up Dorothy Spinner‘s grave and use her power to channel The Candlemaker.
Kipling tried to ward Robotman against Immortus’ new magic, but Robotman was in desperate need of backup. Crazy Jane was unwilling to leave The Shelter vulnerable to the Brotherhood, so Jane managed to convince The Quiz, who Immortus had rescued and enslaved from the Painting That Ate Paris, to switch sides. Combining their powers allowed them to defeat this new Candlemaker, who Quiz then threw into The Bleed.
Powers & Abilities
Starro Immunity: Before he was infected with a Starro spore, Mason developed a metagene power that made him immune to Starro’s mind control and allowed him access to some of Starro’s abilities.
- Telepathy: As Starbro, Mason was capable of communicating via telepathy.