Stargirl Season 2 Poster Teases Its Dangerous Villain

With the August 10 premiere of "Stargirl" Season 2 mere weeks away, we've gotten a new poster teasing the upcoming adventures of Blue Valley's finest, and it displays a very cool-looking image. But beneath the awesome tableau of Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) and the heroes of the JSA looking badass and capable runs a darker vein, with hints of the evil to come, and the challenges the team will face as they stare down a powerful new villain about to make his CW debut. 

The first season of "Stargirl" featured Courtney discovering the secret superhero past of her stepfather Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson), and electing to become a superheroine in her own right, taking on the mantle of Stargirl to protect Blue Valley. In time, she met other young heroes who took up the various legacies of the JSA, a superhero team of years past. The new poster features the eponymous Stargirl in a heroic pose standing on the grass at sunset, with gathering shadows and her family, friends, and foes framed in shadow — a shadow that looks very much like a diamond. 

Or rather, a black diamond: the black diamond of Eclipso.

A darker second season

While the introduction of Eclipso hasn't exactly been a secret, the ominous new imagery is still an exciting confirmation of what's to come. Eclipso is an ancient, mystical entity bound to a mysterious black diamond. The villain can use a person's anger to overwhelm their minds and possess their bodies. He's been a baddy in DC Comics for decades, and has come close to destroying the world a time or two. The selection of Eclipso as the villain for the second season opens the door to all manner of potential psychological torment for the young heroes of "Stargirl."

In an interview with SFX magazine "Stargirl" showrunner Geoff Johns had this to say: "Eclipso is pretty formidable and all about darkness, which is great to go up against somebody who is all about light, like Courtney and the Justice Society ... there's these colliding ideologies and powers and drives that really help generate strong emotional stories that challenge each of our characters individually. They each go through something that is really personal to them. That's what Eclipso does best. He makes things very personal. He turns over rocks that you might not want him to turn over."

While we certainly don't look forward to seeing superheroes have to stare down nigh-impossible odds and bear the brunt of physical and emotional trauma, the fact remains that the real satisfaction lies in seeing superheroes stare down those long odds and overcome them, emerging stronger and more powerful, and ensuring the innocent are safe from harm. While Season 2 of "Stargirl" may have it's darkness, the heroes of Blue Valley remain a beacon of hope.