Affiliation is everything in the superhero world. However, what happens if you don’t have a side? This is the question we’ve been asking since the introduction of Cameron Mahkent in Stargirl Season One. Throughout the first two seasons, the icy scion’s powers have been slowly trickling through. However, between Seasons 2 and 3, his powers have evolved to the point that he’s been struggling to control them. With the agony of discovering a new part of his family history, his usually happy-go-lucky nature has faded into the frustration that he is now having difficulty hiding. We’ve covered the Mahkent family’s powersets before.
Episode 2 of Season 3 has seen him struggle because his powers are causing pain in his hands, which disables Cameron’s ability to paint, the one thing that brings him joy. It’s also easy to sympathise with the Mahkents in some fashion. While it appears that his grandparents, Lily and Sofus, are relishing in this, it still doesn’t answer the affiliation question.
Cameron, in the comics, is a mixed bag. While he’s Icicle’s son, he has no love for his old man and takes the Icicle mantle for his own reasons. Also, he married Artemis Crock and had a daughter, Isabelle, with her. Cameron’s affiliation in the comics is mostly leaning toward villainy. However, there was a time when he allied with the heroes. When Artemis was sick during her pregnancy with Isabelle, he joined Hourman and Liberty Belle in locating an artifact with magical qualities. He also needs the money for treatment that will save his wife’s and unborn child’s lives.
The affiliation question has been up in the air since Stargirl Season One, and we might get an answer in upcoming episodes. With his Romeo + Juliet-esque relationship with our girl Courtney on the fringes of romance, his affiliation could make or break the relationship. He’s already had two run-ins with Courtney’s teammate and friend, Rick Tyler, oh, and Cindy Burman, Whitmore’s frenemy. Synopsises have also implied that Cameron could unwittingly come between the JSA.
It has also been pointed out by one of our Twitter followers, Miguel, pointed out that there’s not enough build-up for Cameron to go full-on evil.
We agree with Miguel’s observation. If it were intended for Cameron to go full-on, Icicle Junior, there would’ve been more build-up prior to him telling Courtney in this week’s episode. It was implied last week that Rick knows about Cameron’s powers when he makes a dig at him. The Mahkents having powers isn’t news to the JSA.
They’ve known since they pieced together that Jordan and Icicle are the same person. Furthermore, Courtney pieced together that if Jordan has powers, then Cameron probably does too. However, it’s unclear if they’re aware of Lily and Sofus’ powers.
Anyway, a new set of promo images for episode five dropped a few hours ago, and one of them was this:
As you can see from the image above, Cameron is standing at the JSA table, and it looks like he’s taking another swipe at Rick. While we don’t know what the outcome is for episode four, it could be possible that while Cameron doesn’t like Rick, his loyalty may only be to Courtney as she’s the one he shared his “secret” with. Yolanda and Beth are wildcards. Cindy is definitely on Rick’s side, as Cameron doesn’t have any love for her either. Again though, Yolanda may be more on Rick and Cindy’s side than Courtney’s.
Yolanda didn’t want Courtney anywhere near Cameron because she knew about Jordan’s death. Beth, however, hasn’t had any interaction with Cameron at all. Like with Cindy, she could give Cameron the benefit of the doubt.
Another factor we need to consider is whether Courtney tells him anything about the JSA or their investigation into Sharpe’s death. If she does, that poses a problem for the team, given the already uneasy nature with the Mahkents, mainly Jordan, when he was alive. Not to mention, Lily and Sofus hate Courtney with a passion. Well, Lily does. Sofus wants to protect his grandson’s happiness. Also, they’re not exactly fond of Pat or Barbara since she broke Jordan’s heart.
Cameron has not experienced the same pain his father has, and there’s not enough to push him over the villainous ledge. Jordan’s heartache over losing his wife Christine caused him to start his crusade against those who caused his death. In other words, it was a death that caused Icicle Senior to spiral, not his powers.
Also, Jordan only killed those in his path who wronged him. A true villain would be Brainwave, who had zero regards for those he murdered. He killed his own wife and son while Jordan thought he had killed Starman.
Something massive would have to happen for Cameron to go full-blown villain. A rivalry with Rick and blowing out the Mustang’s front tyre isn’t evil. It’s just plain spiteful.
