Stargirl, Nudes, and the Problem with Brainwave Jr.
This article contains spoilers for the Stargirl TV show. If you aren’t caught up, please stop reading until you are.
I’m going to preface this by saying I still love this show. But everyone has missteps.
And the Brainwave, Jr. plotline is a misstep in today’s climate.
What, Exactly, Happened?
The overall plot of the first season of Stargirl is the formation of a new Justice Society of America…and of course they’re all teenagers.
One of the characters we meet is a Hispanic girl named Yolanda Montez, who is destined to become the new Wildcat (due to, of course, her boxing proficiency).
Yolanda is angry and isolated. She’s bitter, she’s cynical, and she clearly hates her life.
And it’s all Henry King, Jr.’s fault.
He was dating her. She sent him topless photos. He shared them around…and this resulted in them being posted to the entire school.
This ruined Yolanda’s life. Her parents have grounded her forever and stated that she has brought so much shame to the family she can never be forgiven. This is misstep #1.
I am really tired of it being girls of color who are treated this way. Tired of it. Can we please have the next one be a white girl who’s family have gotten caught up in Purity Culture or something? But no! It’s because she’s Hispanic and they’re “like that.” (I think the CW knows better and just overlooked how this would read).
Then we come to misstep #2.
Brainwave and Brainwave, Jr.
The bad guys in the arc are, of course, the Injustice Society. Unlike the JSA, though, the originals have survived.
This gives a great plucky underdog feel; the kids of the JSA have to fight against adults. (Which is classic YA).
Brainwave, the Injustice Society telepath, married Starman’s sister and had a child.