The Stargirl season finale episode “Stars and Stripe Part 2” is now available on the DC Universe streaming platform. For those who haven’t seen it yet or perhaps waiting to watch it when it airs tomorrow on The CW, it should go without saying but just in case here’s the obligatory SPOILER warning.
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After a harrowing battle, the new JSA is triumphant and has defeated the Injustice Society of America’s plan to reprogram the minds of adults throughout the country. If you assumed Stargirl/Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and pals could take a break from superheroics for the remainder of the school year, think again.
Fans will recall that earlier in the season, former ISA member The Shade was briefly mentioned as having betrayed his villainous cohorts and his whereabouts unknown. Wherever he’s been in the interim, Shade has returned to Blue Valley reveling in the failure of his former teammates. Originally a foe for The Flash, Shade was reinvented as an enigmatic antihero during the acclaimed Starman comic series by writer James Robinson, who happens to be involved as a producer and writer on Stargirl.
Immediately after the Shade reveal, we see Dragon King’s daughter Shiv (Meg DeLacy) going through the belongs of deceased ISA member the Wizard and uncovering a mysterious diamond, which comic readers will recognize as the Heart of Darkness housing the demonic spirit Eclipso.
While the Eclipso spirit has possessed many over the years, perhaps the most pertinent for Stargirl is Alex Montez. Introduced during Stargirl creator Geoff Johns‘ JSA comic book run, Montez is the cousin of the second Wildcat, Yolanda Montez, who sought to avenge his cousin’s death at the hands of Eclipso by channeling the demon’s powers for himself as a hero. Alex Montez has already been introduced in Stargirl, confirmed online by actress Yolanda Montez actress Yvette Monreal that Alex played by Jonthan Blanco is in fact Yolanda’s cousin. Could his appearance in the episode “Wildcat” be setting up Alex Montez to take on the Eclipso mantle in Season 2?
Of course, the tease of Shade and Eclipso was nothing compared to the bombshell dropped in the last scene of the Stargirl season finale when we discovered that the original Starman Sylvester Pemberton played by Joel McHale is in fact still alive despite seemingly dying in the arms of his sidekick Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson). Perhaps it’s not that surprising since death as a revolving door i pretty much the naturally for comic book superheroes even on television. Fans who may have been disappointed that a charismatic performer as McHale didn’t appear that much for the first season will be glad to know we haven’t seen the last of him.
Whether or not this is actually the real Starman or the methods behind his miraculously resurrection are questions that viewers will have to wait until next season when the Stargirl moves to the CW.
DC’s Stargirl follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore as she inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. This new drama reimagines DC’s Stargirl and the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America, in an unpredictable series.
Typo: “by writer James Robinson, who NOT happens to be involved as a producer and writer on Stargirl.” Robinson is a writer and producer for STARGIRL. (At least, according to Wikipedia.)
For me, the Shade teaser was the best part of the season finale; Robinson’s version of the Shade was my favorite character in the 90’s STARMAN series. Given he and Johns are tight, and he’s involved with the series, I’m guessing we’ll see Robinson’s antihero version, as opposed to the Golden Age villainous version.
I already assumed Shade wasn’t a straight-up villain: in the pilot episode of STARGIRL, where the original JSA is defeated/killed, the last we see of Hourman is him being sucked into one of Shade’s dark clouds.
However, since Rex Tyler survived this (only to be killed with his wife later, in Blue Valley), I figured either this was Robinson’s honorable version of the Shade; or one that subscribes to a catch-and-release policy in superhero battles.
D’oh! My mistake: the Shade battles Dr. Midnight in the pilot. So much for that theory.
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