Justin the Janitor has featured in the periphery of Stargirl’s action. However, recent episodes have suggested that the custodian of Blue Valley High School may be important than he appears.
Since Stargirl first premiered earlier this year, the show has introduced a large cast of characters occupying small town Blue Valley, Nebraska. Between the Whitmore-Dugan family, the Justice Society of America (JSA), and the Injustice Society of America (ISA), it’s hard to keep up with every new face that Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) comes across.
One fairly consistent presence so far has been Justin (Mark Ashworth). You’d be forgiven for not immediately recognising the name – he is the janitor at Blue Valley High School, who has exhibited strange behavior since Courtney arrived.
The school janitor is not normally an important character. In this case, there is a fan theory pertaining to his true identity. According to CBR, it is looking certain that Justin is none other than Shining Knight. This character, also known as Sir Justin, debuted in print back in 1941 and was a member of the Knights of the Round Table in King Arthur’s court.
Crucially, Shining Knight was also a member of the Justice Society of America. In the context of Stargirl, this revelation would explain Justin mentioning dragons, possessing a sword and recognising Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson) as “Stripsey”, the latter being the now-mechanic’s former superhero alias while assisting the JSA.
Rather than fully introduce Shining Knight from the outset, Stargirl has instead chosen to build him up gradually. Placing a seemingly minor character in plain sight and expanding upon them is nothing new. However, there is a level of satisfaction is seeing the writers’ intentions converge with revelations about Shining Knight’s true nature starting to become clear.
In “Shiv: Part One”, the seventh episode of Season 1, Justin had his first action sequence by saving Stargirl/Courtney Whitmore from the titular villainess. Whether this active heroism will continue in later episodes is unknown. However, now that Courtney has seen Justin wielding a sword, this could present new questions about the once-seemingly inconsequential custodian down the line.
Stargirl airs on DC Universe and The CW.
Follow Courageous Nerd Editor-in-Chief Conor O’Brien on Twitter and Instagram – @CourageousConor.
