DC’s Stargirl: SPOILER Dies in “Icicle”

This week’s DC’s Stargirl saw a major shift for the DC Universe/The CW series. Not only did Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) find herself searching for more members of the Injustice Society after her showdown with Brainwave last week, but the episode also saw the official arrival of the villain responsible for Starman’s death a decade before — Icicle. Unfortunately, Icicle’s arrival wasn’t just problematic for Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. It was also tragic for the people of Blue Valley as it meant the death of two of their own.

Spoilers for this week’s episode of Stargirl, “Icicle” below.

This week’s episode saw Jordan Mahkent/Icicle (Neil Jackson) return to Blue Valley after Brainwave’s defeat last week. The situation prompts him to pay William Zarick/Wizard (Joe Knezevich) a visit, as he is unhappy with how things were handled. Jordan makes it clear that he expects things to be handled in a certain way and that he will not permit anyone to get in the way of his plans for America. Zarick says his son is more important to him than anything.

Zarick’s son, Joey (Wil Deusner), is also introduced as a kind, caring, aspiring magician who is kind to Courtney while showing her a card trick. He heads off to the regional talent competition where he places third, something he’s happy about on the bus ride back to Blue Valley. However, the bus crosses a bridge during the fight between Stargirl and Icicle. Icicle had lured Stargirl out to kill her but was himself knocked onto the bridge by S.T.R.I.P.E. (Luke Wilson). Icicle freezes the bridge, causes the bus to crash, and while S.T.R.I.P.E. saves the bus, Icicle still manipulates the situation so that Joey is fatally struck by an out of control truck while his classmates watch in horror.

When Zarick goes to confront Jordan about his son’s death, the head villain uses his Icicle powers to kill Zarick, too. For the people of Blue Valley, it looks like Zarick simply died of a heart attack following the tragedy of his son’s death and the town mourns their loss. For Courtney, however, it’s a difficult thing to process, though it ultimately leads her to want to recruit more new heroes to the Justice Society so that she can stop the Injustice Society once and for all.

“Stargirl’s always been and always will be like, she’s one of my favorite characters to write because she’s just fun. I love how her endless energy and her drive is unstoppable,” series creator Geoff Johns told ComicBook.com. “And that doesn’t mean she’s going to do everything right. Or not make mistakes or succeed all the time, which I really love. She’s got to learn a lot.”

Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7 on The CW. New episodes debut Mondays on DC Universe.