Icicle sets out to eliminate Stargirl.
Tropes:
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Joey sees S.T.R.I.P.E. during the bus rescue, which is problematic because Pat wants to keep a low profile. Icicle solves this problem for them by killing Joey for an entirely unrelated reason.
- Bittersweet Ending: Stargirl suffers her first defeat, Joey is killed by Icicle, Pat puts his foot down on the heroics, and it seems Icicle's plan is moving forward accordingly, while Courtney plans to recruit a new JSA without Pat's knowledge.
- Blinded by the Light: Stargirl uses the Cosmic Staff to emit blinding light while S.T.R.I.P.E. saves the bus, thus making sure Joey is the only one who sees the robot.
- Brick Joke: When Joey is killed, the card that flies loose is the three of clubs, the same one Courtney picked during his failed trick earlier.
- Combat Pragmatist: Icicle disables S.T.R.I.P.E. with ice blasts while hiding in the trees, disables the staff with another ice blast when Stargirl pursues him, then immediately tries to kill Stargirl.
- Contrived Coincidence: The school bus just happens to be driving along the bridge when Icicle is punched into it.
- Deconstructed Trope: The harsh reality of being a superhero is demonstrated here, where a young hero, despite having a powerful weapon, is still inexperienced and ends up badly beaten by the villain, followed by a kid being killed by said villain with the heroes being unable to save him.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Pat takes Courtney to the old JSA headquarters to show her that she's way out of her league against the Injustice Society, when the JSA, who were all experienced heroes, were completely annihilated by them. Courtney draws the conclusion that the JSA needs to be revived with new heroes.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
- Icicle loved his wife and was heartbroken when she died. He's also still a caring father and close to his parents.
- The Wizard is also a loving father, which contributes to his reluctance to commit to the project as thoroughly as his fellow villains.
- Generation Xerox: Courtney decides the only way to combat the Injustice Society is to revive the JSA by finding new recruits, and takes their Artifacts of Power without Pat's knowledge.
- Happy Fun Ball: Pat says a pink pen containing Thunderbolt is the most dangerous weapon in JSA headquarters. If it's anywhere close to the comic version, he isn't kidding.
- Incompletely Trained: Icicle mentions that Wizard betrayed and killed his mentor before finishing his training.
- Kick the Dog: Icicle uses his powers to get Joey Zarick to walk into the path of an oncoming pickup truck, then freezes the truck so the driver won't be able to turn on the iced-up bridge, killing him. Doubly so because Icicle was planning to kill William anyway, so he did it for no other reason than to make William suffer the loss of his son before that.
- Know When to Fold 'Em:
- After getting punched across the lake by S.T.R.I.P.E., Icicle forces the bus to crash as a distraction and retreats, sticking around just long enough to covertly kill Joey.
- After being outmatched against Icicle and Joey getting killed, Pat feels that Courtney should give up being Stargirl for the time being. Courtney's not having that, though.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Courtney is gung-ho about the idea of her and Pat taking on the Injustice Society, and when Icicle leaves his calling card she immediately rushes in to accept the challenge without thought. It ends poorly.
- Mythology Gag: Pat mentions a "Golden Age" when he was younger.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Courtney eagerly accepting Icicle's challenge to a fight ultimately sparks the chain of events that leads to Joey's death.
- Revealing Cover-Up: Pat visits Brainwave in the hospital and learns that he was found outside the emergency room in his doctor's coat. Since someone both moved him and changed his attire, Pat realizes that there must be more members of the Injustice Society in town.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Apparently Icicle's been away from Blue Valley because he was hunting down everyone connected to indirectly causing his wife's death.
- Schmuck Bait: Icicle freezes a giant star onto the ground outside the high school. When Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. show up to investigate, he freezes the latter and lures the former into the trees to ambush her.
- Secret-Keeper: Icicle's parents are fully aware of his alter ego and plans.
- Skyward Scream: Following the death of his wife, Icicle runs out into the backyard and screams into the night sky while his icy powers envelope the flower garden.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Joey. As Courtney said, he was so sweet, being the first student who was ever nice to her.
- Undying Loyalty: Dr. Mid-Nite's owl has been perched in the Justice Society of America's headquarters for a decade, waiting for the master who would never return.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Icicle sincerely believes that he's making the country better for future generations, and he'll kill anyone to accomplish that goal, even the very youth he claims to be looking out for.
- You Have Failed Me: Icicle kills the Wizard (and his son) for not being proactive enough against Stargirl, blaming him for Brainwave (who is crucial to the Evil Plan) ending up in the hospital.
