DC's Stargirl: Nick Tarabay Compares Eclipso to Thanos
After five episodes of a terrifying slow burn, Eclipso made his in-the-flesh debut in this week's episode of DC's Stargirl, "Summer School: Chapter Six". It's a development that will certainly increase the danger faced by the Justice Society of America and indeed everyone in Blue Valley. After all, fans have seen what Eclipso can do when contained by the Black Diamond so it isn't hard to imagine that free of that constraint he will be much more frightening. But while the heroes of the show and indeed fans alike may see Eclipso as a villain, the actor bringing him to life, Nick Tarabay, doesn't quite see it that way. Tarabay tells ComicBook.com that he doesn't judge his characters and, in some ways, Eclipso is much like Marvel's Thanos in that he sees his actions as having an important, utilitarian purpose.
"The first thing I do is, I don't judge any character I've played, that's a key point. If I think of him as a villain, I've already put him in a box. No matter how big that box is, he still is in a box, so I never look at it as, he's a villain or a good guy," Tarabay explained about how he approached Eclipso. "As a matter of fact, every character that I've played, that's 'bad guy,' I didn't see it as a bad guy. I saw that I was justified in everything that I was doing because in any world, if you think about it, to the crazy person, we are the crazy ones. You know what I'm saying? If you look at a crazy person, the crazy person's fine, we are the lunatics. We are the ones who are losing our minds and don't see what they see. So everything is subjective and it's a simplified way of asking that question is, I don't see it that way, I see objective. I'm justified for my cause, I am here to make things better."
He went on to explain that with Eclipso, it's a situation not too different from Thanos. Tarabay said that both characters are clearing thins up, as it were to make things stronger.
"So it's almost like Thanos and Marvel, where he was demolishing half the world, but in his mind is he was clearing up. Eclipso has the same way, only the strong can survive. If you are tempted, if you have evil in you, denying it will just make you more delicious to me, or not. You know what I'm saying? So, this is how I approach any character, I do not judge them. If there's any actor that's out there that's listening to this, I think it's one of the best pieces of advice you can have that I've learned. Never, ever judge your character, just go with your objective. And again, to the crazy people, you are the crazy ones so it's all subjective."
Of course, while perspective can be subjective, much like Thanos' impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eclipso's impact on the JSA isn't exactly benign. The end of this week's episode showed how shaken the team was by what transpired when Eclipso finally broke free from the Black Diamond and it's only going to get worse. A preview for next week's episode sees Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) struggling with her guilt more than ever - something that her recent encounter with Eclipso certainly didn't help.
DC's Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.