So, we have a few theories as to who actress and dancer Ysa Penarejo could be playing…
We announced earlier today that three castings had been announced for Stargirl Season 2. Arrow alumni Nick Taraby was revealed to be playing the Heart of Darkness, Eclipso while Jonathan Cake will take on The Shade. Ysa Penarejo was also mentioned but her character has not yet been announced.
After a having a conversation with fellow Stargirl fan @jsaforever1 and one of the Stargirl Fandom admins on Twitter, we came up with a few ideas of who Ysa could be playing.
Let’s begin with our first choice; Jade Nguyen/Cheshire.
Jade Nguyen/Cheshire
Our personal choice for the character Ysa might be playing is Jade Nguyen/Cheshire.
In DC Comics, Jade was allegedly born to a French father and a Vietnamese mother and was sold into slavery. She became accustomed with poisons and was a member of a number of supervillain groups including the League of Assassins and the Injustice League.
She also had a longtime rivalry with Green Arrow’s sidekick Roy Harper/Speedy with whom she would have a brief romance which resulted in the birth of their daughter, Lian Nguyen-Harper.
Her origins were slightly changed in the animated series, Young Justice. She is still known as Cheshire but was born as the eldest daughter of Paula Nguyen-Crock/Huntress and Lawrence “Crusher” Crock/Sportsmaster. Her younger sister is Artemis who would break the family’s cycle of becoming a criminal.
Jade was a member of the League of Shadows and even had her comic romance with Roy Harper, or rather, a clone of him who later changed his name to Will to avoid confusion with the real one. They married briefly and had a daughter, Lian Nguyen-Harper.
A few years later, Jade and Will had broken up and Harper was raising their daughter because Nguyen felt Lian was better off without her.
Could This Be A Possibility?
Do we think there’s a possibility that Ysa is playing Cheshire? There’s most certainly a chance, but we need to stress that if this is the case, Jade does not need to be related to the Crock family. As far as we know, Artemis is an only child and there has been nothing to indicate otherwise.
Also, what weighs against this idea is that Jade was never a member of the Injustice Society or any association to it, neither in the comics or Young Justice. This could be changed if necessary.
Jesse Chambers/Jesse Quick
Another idea we had for Ysa’s potential character is Jesse Chambers/Jesse Quick.
Yes, we know there’s already a Jesse Quick on The Flash. However, Stargirl takes place on Earth-2 and not Earth-Prime so there’s plenty of room for additions. Anyway, moving on to what we know about her in the comics.
Jesse Chambers was the daughter of Johnny Quick and Libby Lawerence/Liberty Belle, both speedsters. As an adult, she would become superhero like her parents and join the Justice Society of America. Eventually, she would marry Rick Tyler/Hourman II and have a son with him, Johnny, named after her father.
Could This Be A Possibility?
This has more potential than having Ysa play Cheshire for a couple of reasons.
The first is Jesse Quick actually has ties to the Justice Society and second, she has a link to a member of the team; Rick.
If Ysa is playing her, it would add a lot of friction between the already close bond between Rick and Beth.
A Version Of Hawkgirl
An idea that was thrown around is Ysa could be a version of Hawkgirl. Now, we need to stress that she and Hawkman both regenerate when they die. Stargirl has already depicted that the Injustice Society killed an incarnation of the pair.
If Ysa is a version of Hawkgirl, she would likely be Kendra Saunders. Sure, the Arrowverse did it first, but there’s a reason why its this version and not one of the others.
Two of the three incarnations of Hawkgirl served on the JSA. Pat wasn’t exactly specific when he said which version he knew. If we had to guess, he was friends with Shiera Saunders Hall.
Could This Be A Possibility?
Having Ysa be Hawkgirl is a little more far-fetched and unlikely for two very important reasons.
The first reason is that it takes years for the Hawks to regenerate. Our second point is they are going to appear in Black Adam and DC Entertainment has real thing against using a character in two seperate live-action projects.
Black Canary/Dinah Lance
As our speculation continues, various names have been thrown into the ring including both versions of the Black Canary. In the comics, Dinah Drake was a member of the Justice Society. She married Larry Lance and they had a daughter who was also named Dinah who would go on to have a romance with Green Arrow himself, Oliver Queen.
There is every chance that Ysa is playing the younger Dinah. This would make her a JSA legacy like Rick.
Could This Be A Possibility?
It’s a little far fetched, given Arrow literally just ended and there’s no word yet on Green Arrow and the Canaries. So, we’re going to say that’s a massive pass for us.
Young Paula Brooks/Tigress
Now, this next idea is totally plausible. It has been teased before the surviving ISA members will get their stories told in a way that explains why they wanted Project New America enacted. So, what if we see a flashback where we see a young Paula Brooks/Tigress?
Could This Be A Possibility?
Ysa is the right age to be a young Paula. However, what pushes this idea out of reach is her reoccurring status. This means her character appears more than once. All we know is that she playing a DC character and not one that is original.
Zatanna Zatara (Becomes Doctor Fate)
A name that has been thrown around a bit is Zatanna Zatara with a little bit of a twist – she becomes the new Doctor Fate. Ysa would be a great Zatanna.
She has the look for it however, Zatanna was never a member of the JSA in the comics, but she was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. If she was to become a member of the Justice Society, it would have be as Doctor Fate and not as herself.
Could This Be A Possibility?
As we’ve said before, anything is possible, but there’s something that someone mentioned in a chat on the Stargirl Fandom site. It’s unlikely that Ysa will be Zatanna because the character will be used in the upcoming Justice League Dark series on HBO Max.
We’d totally forgotten about that.
Jennifer-Lynn Hayden/Jade
A popular theory as to who Ysa could be playing is Jennifer-Lynn Hayden aka Jade. For those who don’t know who she is, here’s a brief rundown.
Jennifer-Lynn was the daughter of the Alan Scott version of Green Lantern. She was also the sister of Todd Rice/Obsidian. Known as Jennie, she was born a metahuman due to both her parents having powers. In other words, she is a JSA legacy like Rick is.
Could This Be A Possibility?
Of all the characters listed in this post, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden has the most potential. However, why was the lantern be glowing if she wasn’t in Blue Valley at the time? We have so many questions! If it is true that Ysa is Jade that it would make her the second JSA legacy after Rick to appear in the series.
Karen Beecher/Bumblebee
One character that has been thrown around but not a lot is Karen Beecher aka Bumblebee. If you’re a fan of Young Justice you’ll know her as being a budding scientist who was dating Mal Duncan who became Guardian. She also had a daughter with him, Rhea and was a part of The Team that makes up Young Justice.
We like to think of her as the Wasp of DC Comics.
Could This Be A Possbility?
Could Ysa be Bumblebee? It’s possible if they’re looking to change the character’s ethnicity which we don’t think the writers are looking to do. They’ve been respectful to all ethnicities of characters who have appeared thus far.
The likelihood that Ysa is Bumblebee is incredibly slim. As cool as this would be to see, we don’t think it’ll happen.
Mari McCabe/Vixen
Another idea that has been chucked around is that Ysa could be playing Mari McCabe better known as Vixen. If you’ve seen the Arrowverse at all in the past five years, you’ll be familiar with her.
Mari is the better known version of the character as she appeared in the comics. However, the Arrowverse not only used her but they created an ‘older’ version of Vixen in the form of Amaya Jiwe, her grandmother who served on the Justice Society.
In the comics, Mari was never actually a member of the JSA but she did serve in various superhero groups. Her power came from her necklace which gave her the ability to imitate animals and use them in combat.
Could This Be A Possibility?
Do we think Ysa could be playing Vixen? We don’t think so. Like with Bumblebee, there’s no way the Stargirl writers will change a character’s ethnicity just for the sake it. Though, nothing beats a good theory. It would be cool to see another version of Mari outside of the main Arrowverse one.
Maxine Hunkel/ Cyclone
The last character on our list is Maxine Hunkel or as she is known by her superhero name, Cyclone. She is a relatively new character to the comics and the best part about her is that she is a member of the Justice Society as well as being co-created by Stargirl creator Geoff Johns.
She is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado, Abigail “Ma” Hunkel and grew up looking up to her grandmother’s JSA team mates. At a young age, she was kidnapped by the evil scientist T.O. Morrow who created the android Red Tornado.
Could This Be A Possiblity?
Of all the choices on this list, it’s very unlikely Ysa will be Cyclone. The character is due to make her live-action debut in the upcoming Black Adam as part of the version of the JSA that will be in the movie.
