‘Stargirl’ Casts Eclipso And The Shade
by Erik Amaya
The darkness is rising on The CW’s Stargirl.
Deadline reports actors Nick Tarabay and Jonathan Cake will play beloved DC Comics characters Eclipso and The Shade respectively. Tarabay will be a series regular while Cake will recur; which suggest The Shade may be more of the anti-villain outlined by writer James Robinson in his acclaimed Starman comic book series than, say, Eclipso’s right-hand shadowman.
Ysa Penarejo will also appear in an undisclosed role.
Created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias, Eclipso first appeared in 1963’s House of Secrets #61. As the evil alter-ego of solar power researcher Bruce Gordon, he operated as a conventional supervillain, but came back strong in the 1990s as the big bad of a summer-long crossover event. During his subsequent solo series, he developed strong ties to the JSA by killing off several members.
The Shade, meanwhile, was a minor Flash villain created by Gardner Fox and Harold Wilson Sharp. He also received a creative boost in the 1990s thanks to Robinson’s Starman. More an ally to series protagonist Jack Knight, the character moves between heroism and villainy whenever it suits his own ends. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but it remains to be seen how much of The Shade’s backstory will factor into the show.
Of course, both characters are tied by their use of darkness, which makes them good fits for Stargirl. They’ve also tussled in pages of various comic book crossovers, so it will be interesting to see just how The Shade fits into Courtney’s (Brec Bassinger) battle with Eclipso.
Stargirl is set to return in the 2021 midseason on The CW.
