Stargirl showrunner talks villain Eclipso and bringing in new heroes for season 2

Stargirl, the DC Comics TV show, is returning soon for its second season. The new installment brings with it an ominous villain and some new heroes, and showrunner Geoff Johns teases what to expect from the follow-up in conversation with SFX Magazine.

This year's big bad is Eclipso. An evil being known for possessing individuals that come into contact with shards of his black diamond, Eclipso represents corruption, hatred and vengeance. But his true gift lies in exploiting people's weaknesses and deep-seated pain.

"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," Johns explains. "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."

It's not all bad news. Courtney and the Justice Society will bump into some potential new allies... even if they start off on the wrong foot. There's Jade, the daughter of Green Lantern Alan Scott, speedster Jay Garrick, and the magical pink imp, Thunderbolt.

"Season two gives us a chance to deal with the other two artefacts that Courtney stole: Alan Scott's lantern and Johnny Thunder's pink pen," explains Johns. "Those two elements play into the story pretty early on. And where Jade is, her brother Obsidian surely can't be far behind...

"We haven't seen a character wield the power of Green Lantern for a long, long time on TV. And the Thunderbolt has never been on the screen before in live-action. That was also a great challenge."

You can check out our full interview with Johns in the new issue of SFX Magazine, which features Masters of the Universe: Revelation on the cover, available from Wednesday, July 14. Subscribe here and never miss an issue. Stargirl arrives to The CW this August 10.

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Bryan is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to SFX, along with ET Canada, Sci-Fi Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scream Magazine, CBR, and more. He's a sci-fi expert in the movie and TV space, and also has a great knowledge of comics.