How Stargirl’s [SPOILER] Survived In Season 2

A shocking scene in the latest episode of Stargirl confirmed that the original Doctor Mid-Nite still lives. In the Stargirl series premiere, Charles McNider was shown being killed by the Shade during the final battle between the Justice Society and the Injustice Society.

In that fight, McNider was believed to be one of a long list of casualties that also included Starman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Johnny Thunder, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern, the Flash, Sandman, and Wildcat. Hourman died sometime later. Supposedly, all the Justice Society heroes (with the sole exception of Luke Wilson’s Stripesy) were dead, but the Stargirl season 1 finale called that into question with a mysterious cameo from Joel McHale’s Starman. Then, season 2 foreshadowed a similar reveal with Doctor Mid-Nite by having the Shade (Jonathan Cake) imply that the JSA didn’t know the truth about his death.

Stargirl season 2, episode 4 proved that Shade wasn’t lying about Doctor Mid-Nite, and that the voice Beth (Angelika Washington) heard from his goggles wasn’t his rebooted AI – but Charles McNider himself. At the end of the episode, the figure speaking to Beth was shown walking around in a strange, shadowy dimension. How he got there and where he actually is hasn’t been delved into yet, but comics involving the Shade shed some light on what really happened to Doctor Mid-Nite during the Injustice Society battle. It seems that McNider is now stuck in a world known as the Shadowlands. In the episode, he said he was “trapped in the shadow” but didn’t get to finish his sentence. “Shadowlands” may have been what he was trying to say.

In DC Comics, the Shadowlands is the name of the realm that the Shade draws his powers from. It’s possible that when Shade used his shadow abilities against Doctor Mid-Nite in the series premiere, he accidentally pulled the JSA hero into the Shadowlands, where he’s been stranded ever since. This outcome means that while Shade may still be responsible for Doctor Mid-Nite’s disappearance, he didn’t murder any of the JSA heroes. If the characters are able to accept that, a team-up with Shade against Eclipso may be on the table in season 2.

Thanks to Doctor Mid-Nite’s survival, the new Justice Society could also gain the support of one of the original team’s members. This could be huge for Beth, who has had a void in her life ever since she lost her connection with McNider’s AI. But if the team finds a way to save him, the real McNider can become her mentor. He could decide to let Beth keep the Doctor Mid-Nite mantle, while also sticking around to play a vital role in the story for Stargirl season 2. That does seem likely, especially since the show has already established a connection between Mid-Nite and Eclipso. The villain murdered his 10-year-old daughter, so McNider may be a big factor when the show expands on the JSA’s history with Eclipso. And, he may get a chance to avenge his daughter by helping the younger generation of heroes bring down the season’s big bad.

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