Stargirl season 2 promises big answers and more classic villains

Stargirl’s season 1 finale teased some new villains, and at the (virtual) New York Comic Con panel, series creator Geoff Johns dropped all the details about them.

Premiering in the depths of quarantine in May, Stargirl brought a little bit of hope and joy to everyone who became a fan of the DC Universe/CW series. Now, following the August season finale, Johns and members of the cast reunited to discuss their experience shooting the show’s first season, and also to discuss what we might see in season 2, coming exclusively to the CW. Johns said he’d only just finished writing the fourth episode, but that the biggest takeaway is that the season 2 villains are going to be much bigger and scarier.

The first season of Stargirl ended with Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and her friends and family successfully taking down the Injustice Society of America, but there were some key players who escaped. After killing her father, Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy) escaped, and found the mysterious black diamond prison of villain Eclipso.

The “ancient being that feeds off humanity’s own sins and grief and darkness” Johns said, adding that Eclipso is one of his favorite villains, and that he is going to be a very different kind of threat than the ISA.

The other big villain teased in the finale was the Shade, a centuries-old immortal with the power to tap into shadows and darkness. He is the only member of the ISA that didn’t participate in Icicle’s (Neil Jackson) plot — we see him saying that he knew it was folly, but now he’s in Blue Valley with his own nefarious goals. “As Pat will tell Courtney at some point, he’s the most powerful of them all,” says Johns.

The Shade appears in blink and you’ll miss it moments throughout season 1: In the opening of the pilot, when his shadow hand reaches out and grabs Dr. Mid-Nite, and his face can also be seen lurking in the background of an Injustice Society mural. “He’s very threatening because no one knows exactly what he wants,” says Johns, who refused to confirm or deny that Eclipso and the Shade will be working together. How very ominous.

Season 2 will also see the return of at least some old villains, with another appearance for Solomon Grundy. According to Johns, Grundy decided to stick around town, and we’re going to see a lot more scenes with him, and also find out if he has a heart, and is more than just the “attack dog” that the ISA trained him to be.

Johns also teased some non-villainous challenges for our heroes. Beth’s (Anjelika Washington) role as Doctor Mid-Nite is in flux since the goggles — Chuck — got broken in the finale, and sorting out that particular problem will be a big storyline in season 2. Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) is also dealing with the fact that she killed Brainwave (Christopher James Baker) in revenge for Henry (Jake Austin Walker), and is struggling to carry the weight of that.

About that big twist in the final episode of the finale — that Starman (Joel McHale), killed in the first episode of the series, is somehow alive and he’s looking for Pat (Luke Wilson)! — Johns says we’ll get clues about how he’s back and why in the very first episode of season 2.