Could evil genetics play a part in Cameron’s story arc in Stargirl Season 2?
You can’t help whether you are born to wicked individuals. Stargirl has presented that very concept during its first season. The first character to face this dilemma was Henry King Jr when he discovers he has the evil genetics of his father who is the supervillain, Brainwave. However, in Season 2, we’re going to be seeing someone else discover their powers and just who their family is.
That someone is Cameron Mahkent.
During the first season of the show, Cameron was used sparingly but not without purpose. His placement as one of Courtney Whitmore’s classmates and potential love interest has him in an interesting position. Like Henry Jr and the other Injustice Society offspring except for Cindy Burman, he has zero idea as to who his father is, meaning Icicle. He also doesn’t know about his grandparents’ involvement in his dad’s evil schemes.
However, Season 2 is going to have Cameron in a very unique placement. Since his father is gone, he now only has his grandparents. There’s every chance that the kid might come to resent his dad and everything he thought he knew about him. Though, could this bring out the ice powers he doesn’t know he has?
[Please beware that this post might contain spoilers for Stargirl Season 2, reader discretion advised]
Examining the father-son dynamic
From what we’ve seen on Jordan and Cameron’s relationship, there’s not actually too much we can talk about. The reason? They aren’t together in a scene too often and we think it’s intentional for where the story is headed.
Now, Cameron was primarily raised by his grandparents after the death of his mother. His father was off reaping his revenge which is why he wasn’t around much during his son’s youth.
While the pair don’t have too much of a relationship, it is clear they love each other dearly. But, they’re not as close Courtney and Barbara are. Could this effect Cameron going forward? We don’t think so and here’s why. It would be a refreshing way to be little comic accurate.
In most stories with Cameron and Joar (the comics equivalent of Jordan), they don’t have much of a relationship either. In fact, in the Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E series that introduces Courtney, the youngest Mahkent is the only one of the two who appears.
Cameron, by the time of the storyline, is already being called Icicle. He also implies that he doesn’t have a relationship with his father and thinks of him as a simple and weak bank robber. This explains a lot about who he is without having to go over a complex backstory.
He’s not going by his dad’s codename because he wants to honour him. If anything, he wants to show – not prove – that he’s the better villain. He also doesn’t care what people think of him.
How Evil Genetics Could Play Into Cameron’s Continuing Storyline
One question we need to ask ourselves is how the Mahkent ‘evil genetics’ could play into Cameron’s story next season. Now, if we had to guess, like any kid who has lost both parents, he’ll be grieving his father which will likely bring out some of his pending powers. After all, his ice breath kicked in on his late mother’s birthday and he wasn’t aware of it. Perhaps traumatic events is what triggers them.
We know from the Season 1 two-part finale that his grandparents want to tell him who their family is. However, Jordan tells them not to. Now that he’s no longer in the picture, you know, because he’s dead, what’s stopping Sofus and Lily from telling him everything?
Perhaps, Lily and Sofus don’t actually need to tell him as he learns about them on his own when weird things begin to happen. There is literally any number of ways this may happen which brings us to Courtney.
Cameron’s blossoming relationship with Courtney is going to take a guaranteed nosedive when he learns her stepbrother killed his father. Whether he’s going to believe that Mike ran Jordan down in self-defence and to prevent him from hurting his family is anyone’s guess at the moment.
Jordan did some pretty horrible things when he was alive. He kidnapped Barbara, killed William and Joey Zarick, and threatened Courtney, Pat, and Mike’s lives.
Cameron doesn’t come across as ruthless like his father. He’s kind and softly-spoken with a big heart while wanting to help others. Look at the kind gesture he gave Yolanda as an example. But, given all the lies and deceit that will be thrown his way, it’s only going to snowball and become a trigger for his powers.
Changing Perspectives
Given his father’s death, there’s no doubt in our minds that Cameron’s view of his dad is going to change. Could he eventually follow Jordan’s ideals in wanting to make America bow down to tyranny? Will he forge his own path of villainy? Perhaps his feelings for Courtney get the better of him and he chooses the neutral path, despite his grandparents’ objections.
It’s uncertain to whether Jordan, Sofus, and Lily were even aware Cameron has powers of any description. We’ve questioned before whether his late mother, Christine knew about this.
However, given the dialogue in ‘Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E Part One’ from his grandmother, it’s possible that most members of the Mahkent family have the same powers. Just because we don’t see Sofus and Lily ice up, doesn’t mean one or both of them can’t do it. Also, it would make his grandparents look stupid if they didn’t know what they were talking about.
As Cameron starts to develop more as a character, we’re bound to see his perspective change. As we’ve mentioned before, his dad wasn’t the nicest person and would kill to prevent his plan from unravelling. Maybe he comes to see that while what Jordan did wasn’t right, there were other ways to get people to listen and not in a good way.
Eclipso
Given Cameron has evil genetics pulsing through him, his possible grief of losing his father may make him a target of Eclipso, the entity inside the little diamond found by Cindy amongst the Wizard’s abandoned belongings.
Eclipso is known to feed off negativity and grief as well as corruption. In the comics, he was the one who killed Yolanda and Beth. He also consumed Alex Montez who wanted revenge for his cousin’s death.
Given how dangerous and unstable Cindy is, she could unleash the ancient being and intend for him to target Courtney, but he instead goes after Cameron because he can sense his vulnerability due to his father’s death.
Now, this is all a massive theory for the time being. Nothing is confirmed. If there’s an update we’ll be sure to cover it.
