DC's Stargirl Recap: Here's Everything You Missed in "Summer School: Chapter Three"

The loneliest hero

The episode opens at Christmas ten years ago, at the JSA headquarters. Pat is working on his car/STRIPE when Johnny Thunder drops by to visit him. The two of them have been left behind while the rest of the team goes to deal with the Injustice Society. Johnny is unhappy about being left behind and not considered a reliable team member - he says that in his hands, the Thunderbolt is just a mess for the JSA to clean up. Soon, though, Wildcat shows up and lets them know that it's pretty bad and they need backup but not Pat because he has a kid. Johnny heads off and says when they get back, he'll have some eggnog with Pat.

In the present Mike, is out doing his paper route when he's confronted by some bullies who beat him up for his money. At home, Courtney talks to Barbara and Pat about taking on The Shade and Mike comes in, but no one notices that he's been beaten up. When he tries to get involved in the JSA work, Pat quickly shuts him out. Mike then gets a call about a new customer and ends up grabbing the pink pen to write down the information. He sadly wishes he were a superhero.

Meet the Thunderbolt

The next day, Mike is on his route and starts noticing signs and things that all say "So Cool" on them. Distracted, he crashes his bike and notices the newspaper is full of the words "So Cool" as well. When he reads it aloud, out pops Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt reveals that the magic word to release him is pronounced "so cool" and now Mike's wishes are Thunderbolt's command. Thus begins Mike's training on how it works. Mike wishes for water and gets drenched so Thunderbolt explains that he has to be specific about his wishes, and it becomes clear that Thunderbolt is also a bit of a jokester. He also explains that one can't wish for the same thing twice, can't wish someone to die or back from the dead, either.

In the shadows

At the garage, Pat gathers the team to inform them about Richard Swift/The Shade, that he doesn't age, and his power is the manipulation of shadows. However, Pat has no idea what The Shade wants in Blue Valley. He also tells Beth that The Shade killed Doctor Mid-Nite, which makes her realize that he's the only JSA member for who they didn't get justice. They need to deal with him, but there's not much of a plan.

At The American Dream, Barbara is looking through storage for Zarick's magician gear when Richard Swift just shows up. She tells him that he's trespassing, but asks him if there is anything, in particular, he's looking for. He more or less deflects but is soon drawn to the box Eclipso's Black Diamond was kept in. He asks if he can just take the empty box, but she says no. When she does, he menaces her and then disappears into the darkness.

Newest member of the JSA?

Now armed with Thunderbolt, Mike goes out and finds the bullies messing with a Girl Scout and stealing her cookies. Mike wishes they would stop and suddenly stop signs start dropping from the sky. Thunderbolt informs Mike that it won't stop until the bullies stop so dozens of stop signs start raining down onto the street, causing the bullies to scatter. It also attracts the attention of Yolanda and Courtney who investigate. Mike says he's the newest member of the JSA and Thunderbolt introduces himself.

At the garage, Pat's upset about the situation. The team wants to use Thunderbolt to help them find The Shade and also fix Chuck, but Pat says he's too unpredictable and tries to make Mike give up the pen. However, Thunderbolt keeps going back to Mike. Pat has Mike call him out so they can talk. Thunderbolt tells Pat that Johnny's last wish was that he'd find a new friend and Pat wants to know why Mike. Turns out, Mike feels completely and utterly alone -- just as the Thunderbolt does. Outside, Courtney goes to talk to Mike. She's reluctant to give him JSA membership, but he claims it is his destiny so she agrees to let him try, and the team votes to let him be on the team. They think he and the Thunderbolt can find The Shade.

The plan...

The team starts to come up with a plan. They work together to formulate an extremely specific and detailed wish that they can use to locate The Shade and a montage shows just how much effort and editing they put into it. Finally, they come up with a full whiteboard of a wish, and then Mike reads it aloud. The wish works and they locate The Shade's location at the old Zarick house. The team is ready to roll and Mike with them, but Pat benches him.

The plan is simple. Yolanda and Rick are going to restrain The Shade until Courtney can use the Staff to subdue him. Beth is going to use an old tanning bed to contain him. It seems straightforward and Barbara more or less approves it. Back at the garage, though, Mike isn't content to be sidelined. He starts coming up with another very specific wish.

...doesn't quite go to plan

At the Zarick house, which is now a historic home, the team confronts The Shade, but right from the start, it doesn't exactly go to plan. The villain is already waiting for them with tea ready and invites them to sit and join him. Beth confronts him for killing Doctor Mid-Nite, but he tells her she doesn't know what she's talking about. The team sits down to talk. The Shade says he's not there to hurt Blue Valley and that he wasn't really friends with the Injustice Society. He just wants them to stay out of his way and he'll leave when he's done. He tells them it's better that they do not know why he's there. Before discussions can go any further, Mike arrives and has Thunderbolt attack, but the genie is soon overtaken by The Shade, and Mike is knocked out. The JSA leaps in to defend him and are soon overwhelmed. The Shade tells them again to stay out of his way and then vanishes in the shadows.

Foreshadowing

After, Mike reveals to Yolanda that he's not really a hero. Turns out that his taking out of Icicle was just an accident. He hadn't planned to hit him with the truck and, as a result, doesn't feel guilty about it because it really was just an accident. At home, Barbara and Pat talk to Courtney and Mike and while Courtney tries to defend him, Mike is pretty down. He accidentally ends up wishing the pen into better hands and the pen vanishes. Across town, Jakeem is playing computer games and being hassled by his sister for being a "loser". Jakeem agrees and suddenly, the pink pen appears.

Pat and Barbara talk about how Mike feels alone, and Barbara tells Pat what she found in Zarick's inventory, specifically about the box. She says the box contained a black diamond and she thinks it's a prop. Pat corrects her and says that the Black Diamond is something very, very bad. At the garage, Beth is trying to fix Chuck again. She opens up to Rick about the situation with her parents and while they share a moment with Rick being a supportive friend, Chuck suddenly and briefly comes to life with a warning: they're in danger... Eclipso's here.

At the top of The American Dream, The Shade looks out over the city while holding the empty box and says to himself "he's going to kill those children."