Stargirl Season 1 gave fans more than enough comic book goodness, but it looks like Season 2 has the potential to up the ante in a major way. The season finale teased some big developments, with some of the most significant being the arrivals of new villains Eclipso and the Shade. While comic book readers are sure to have an idea of who they are, Stargirl creator Geoff Johns has now shed some light on how they’ll factor into the show.
Near the end of the finale, Cindy Burman located the gem that holds the villainous Eclipso, and Geoff Johns, a longtime fan of the character, is ready to bring him to the small screen:
I’m so excited for Eclipso. Eclipso is so terrifying. I’ve always loved the character. He’s a very different villain or antagonist from the [Injustice Society of America].
Eclipso is a being with incredible powers like immortality, spirit possession and energy-projection. He’s also a megalomaniac who was once a spirit of divine vengeance. While speaking to the cast of the show during Stargirl’s virtual New York Comic Con panel, Johns didn’t say which abilities this Eclipso would have, but he totes him as a much scarier threat for the new Justice Society:
We’re just starting to cast him. It’s such a different, darker, scarier threat. Cindy’s one thing, and she’s got the black diamond and we're obviously going to explore that. But this ancient is aching to do what he does and feed off the darkness within humanity. It's going to take a lot to confront it, and it’s going to take the JSA and all our wonderful characters to a place that’s tough to explore.
Of course, there’s also the matter of ISA member the Shade, who was notably absent throughout the season, until he made a brief cameo in the finale. Johns says the second season of Stargirl will bring the character to the forefront, and it sounds like he’s not someone to be trifled with:
We’re going to see a lot of The Shade. He’s an immortal who’s been around for hundreds of years. He was a member of the ISA, and we saw him in that mural, and he was the only member of the ISA that wasn’t present in Blue Valley today. We saw him when his hand grabbed Doctor Mid-Nite in the opening of the pilot. As Pat will tell Courtney at some point, he’s the most powerful of them all, and he’s very threatening because no one knows exactly what he wants.
Johns also explained that comics writer James Robinson, who reinvented the Shade for the modern DC canon, is a writer and producer on Stargirl and that they’re working to develop the character for the show. Needless to say, the classic villain is in good hands.
The new villains are going to be an exciting part of Stargirl Season 2,and watching them go toe to toe with Courtney Whitmore and her team will likely keep us on the edge of our seats. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see how they mesh with that returning Big Bad from Season 1.
Stargirl Season 2 will premiere on The CW sometime in 2021.
