DC's Stargirl: SPOILER Dies in Season 3 Premiere

DC's Stargirl returned for its third season Wednesday night on The CW and the fan favorite superhero series quickly made good on star Brec Bassinger's previous tease that Season 3 would be a murder mystery. After setting up a new status quo for Courtney Whitmore and her friends after their defeat of Eclipso in Season 2 of the series, the Season 3 premiere also introduced some new tensions and new mysteries all before closing the episode with a shocking murder — and it's a whodunnit with some major implications for the rest of the season.

Warning! Spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of DC's Stargirl, "Frenemies – Chapter 1: The Murder", beyond this point.

Well before getting to the murder at the end of the episode, "Frenemies – Chapter 1: The Murder" had some returns to set up first — or at least some reintroductions. Sylvester Pemberton/Starman (Joel McHale) has stuck around after his return at the end of Season 2 as has Richard Swift/The Shade (Jonathan Cake), who has remained in Blue Valley. The Crocks now live next door to the Whitmore/Dugan family and even Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy) is properly back, even returning to school at Blue Valley High. Soon enough Steven Sharpe/The Gambler (Eric Goins) returns to Blue Valley as well, telling Pat (Luke Wilson) and Courtney (Bassinger) that he's changed his ways and is looking for the long-lost daughter he only recently became aware he had, Becky.

All of these returns leave things in a very unsettled place. Most of the JSA aren't really keen on believing that the former ISA villains have turned over new leaves — and they really don't trust Cindy, who has now joined the JSA team. It turns out that the reformed villains also don't trust one another with both the Crocks and The Shade in particular very wary of The Gambler and his return to town. Everyone, it seems, distrusts each other all the while someone or something is surreptitiously keeping tabs on just about everyone.

It's that surveillance that, in a sense, leads into the murder. In his trailer on the edge of town, The Gambler is working to try to locate his daughter, Becky, by searching every database he can find. He also writes her a heartfelt letter and it appears that he is genuine in his desire to be a better person in the hope that when he finally finds Becky, he's worthy of her love. However, soon after finishing his letter, The Gambler's search pulls up not a lead on Becky but the video surveillance feeds keeping tabs on not just the JSA heroes, but himself as well. The Gambler goes outside to investigate the camera and he's attacked by something vicious sounding but unseen. The JSA shows up a few moments later only to find The Gambler dead and Cindy standing over his body, claiming she didn't do it.

Things certainly look bad with Cindy standing there literally holding the gun, but the mystery of who killed The Gambler has only just begun. At the end of the first episode, there are a number of potential suspects for the crime. Cindy is certainly one just because of her proximity to the scene of the crime, but there's also the Crocks who weren't thrilled about their former colleague's return as well as The Shade, who had a very interesting interaction with The Gambler at the cafe earlier in the episode. There's also the unaccounted-for Solomon Grundy who Rick has been trying to bring back from the dead using The Shade's instructions. There's also the question of who is watching not just the villains but the JSA as well and why — let the murder mystery begin.

DC's Stargirl airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Were you surprised by The Gambler's death in the Season 3 premiere? Who do you think killed him? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments!