Chuck

**Chuck** was a major character in The CW and DC Universe series *Stargirl*.

He was the artificial intelligence of Dr. Charles McNider, a brilliant, introspective, and forward-thinking medical pioneer. McNider was better known by his alter-ego Dr. Mid-Nite, and was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. Charles uploaded his artificial intelligence into his goggles which survived the 2010 battle that resulted in his believed physical death.

In 2020, Beth Chapel activates the goggles, and Charles, whom she nicknames Chuck, continues to aid the JSA through his artificial intelligence. He befriended Beth and they became close, sharing similar interests and intellect. The goggles and his AI were destroyed by ISA leader Icicle, leaving Beth heartbroken.

## Biography

*For a full history about Charles, please visit Charles McNider.*
Charles McNider lost his sight fighting the mob. In an effort to regain his vision, he built a pair of goggles that helped him see, allowing him to further fight crime and have other technological advances. Charles uploaded an AI version of himself into the JSA database to help aid himself and those who would join the JSA after he was gone. He made two pairs of goggles, the original pair which was kept at the JSA headquarters, due to being a bit outdated, and a second pair that he wore in the 2000s.

McNider's AI form lived on inside his former pair of dormant goggles. His goggles and suit were safely stored in the JSA's headquarters by Pat.

## Series

### Season 1

Ten years later, Pat's stepdaughter Courtney Whitmore finds the Cosmic Staff and becomes the leader of the JSA. Pat explains who Charles McNider was, even pointing out his banner in the JSA's headquarters. Pat also introduces Courtney to Charles's trusted owl, Hootie, who used to land on Dr. Mid-Nite's arm every time he came to the headquarters. Hootie has been waiting a decade for Charles to return. Pat explains that Hootie doesn't understand that Charles and the rest of the JSA aren't coming back. Courtney finds this sad but asks Pat why there can't be a new Dr. Mid-Nite. Despite his objections, she steals Charles's goggles and costume from the headquarters and kicks off a recruitment mission.

Beth Chapel unexpectedly shows up at Courtney's house after overhearing Courtney and Yolanda Montez discussing recruitment for the JSA. She is a talkative young girl with bright eyes and an uncanny intellect. While she waits for Courtney to come home, she sees the Whitmore's dog, Buddy, chewing on a pair of goggles. She rescues the goggles from the dog and enters Courtney's room. She tries on the goggles and is stunned when they whir to life. The voice of Charles McNider speaks to Beth, introducing himself as the artificial intelligence of one Dr. Charles McNider. He used to be Dr. Mid-Nite, an original member of the Justice Society of America. He shows her his credentials and a picture of himself, though his speaking in the first person is jarring to her at first. He offers to speak in the third person instead, but she tells him that it's fine, calling him "Chuck". She asks if this is okay and he doesn't seem bothered by the nickname. Chuck asks whom he has the pleasure of speaking with, and Beth introduces herself. He greets her and accesses the JSA database to learn everything he can about the girl.
Beth is the only person who can hear Charles' voice, making her a translator for Chuck's information. This includes telling Courtney that she made a classic rookie superhero mistake by referring to Wildcat by her real name, Yolanda. Courtney eventually agrees to let Beth use the goggles for the night, and Beth and Chuck are able to help Courtney identify who Rick Tyler really is and his connection to the JSA. Later that night, Beth confides in Charles about her family situation and he is sympathetic. He then shows her that what happened to Rick's parents wasn't an accident, thus, allowing the new JSA to recruit Rex.
Beth becomes accustomed to the goggles and becomes very close friends with Chuck. She enjoys talking with him and he tells her about his favorite book. He brags that he bought the first edition of the copy which was published in 1953. Beth teases that he's old but laughs at something he responds with, saying that he's wise, not old. She has never read it but agrees to watch the movie, something that he finds great offense in, humorously replying that she should just go ahead and burn the book already. She laughs at the joke as it correlates with the plot of the book. Their relationship seems to be close, with Beth telling Courtney that Chuck is becoming her best friend. Chuck later tells Beth that The Gambler is hacking into Empire Enterprises, bitterly telling her that Gambler was his arch-enemy and mocks Gambler's hacking style. That night, Beth witnesses a fight between Wildcat and Tigress and begs Chuck to tell her what to do as she isn't a fighter. He identifies a fire extinguisher that she uses to attack Tigress with so she and Yolanda can escape.
Beth, now fully accustomed to the goggles, bonds more with Chuck by using their Karaoke mode to sing together as she gets ready for school. She now commonly refers to Chuck as her "best pal" while he cares for her well-being and tries his best to advise her and the JSA.
Beth later wears the goggles while analyzing the Burman household, and they run a facial recognition scan on Bobbie Burman. Chuck is surprised when the goggles aren't able to identify Bobbie. When Beth looks at Pat, Chuck remarks that this is the first time he's seen Pat since that night. He determines Pat's height, weight, and resting heart rate. Chuck casually states that Pat is fourteen pounds heavier since their last encounter. Later, when Beth explores a secret passageway in the Burman household the goggles cease to work and show static interference. Chuck heavily advises Beth against going any further, and later, tries to convince her not to go into Cindy's room. She insists that she can't leave without finding something to help her team. He is able to identify Shiro Ito off of a picture in Cindy's room, though he believes Dr. Ito to have died.
As time passes, Charles becomes close to each member of the JSA as they refer to him as "Chuck" as well, but the bond he shares with Beth is beyond that of anyone else. He shows sympathy for her loss after the death of Henry King Jr., acknowledging that his death has been hard on her and everyone. He then assists Beth in hacking into the ISA's database and faces off with The Gambler once more. Gambler is proud of his ability to hack the goggles, asking whom he has the pleasure of speaking with. Chuck proudly states that Beth is Dr. Mid-Nite.
In the meantime, the mental reprogramming of the adults in Blue Valley has begun leaving Barbara, Pat, and Justin vulnerable. Beth begins to freak out as she is confused about why the bad guys aren't being affected by the mental wave. Chuck theorizes that they are wearing a protective earpiece to block the frequencies. Beth wonders if they can mimic the signal but Chuck needs to examine the earpiece in order to remake it. Hourman thinks they need help, but then Beth realizes she can hear them despite having previously encountered problems communicating in the tunnels. Chuck discovers several low-frequency blockers in the tunnels, which have been turned off. Beth realizes the ISA knows that the JSA's in the tunnels, which is why the blockers are off. She thinks they can turn them back on. Steve dares her to hack into his systems. Chuck continues to try and beat Gambler at his game but every firewall he breaks through Gambler puts another one up, resulting in a stalemate. Beth wants to make a distraction causing Chuck to realize they should hack into something he really cares about. Gambler is curious about this and Chuck coyly states that Gambler only cares about his money. Suddenly concerned, Gambler witnesses Chuck and Beth drain all his accounts into various charity donations. With Gambler distracted, Chuck is able to turn the blockers back on, but not for long. However, the temporary interruption should be enough to break Pat and Justin free for good. The plan works and the adults are freed once more. Hourman thanks Beth for her great work, but Beth congratulates her best pal Chuck who did the work. He responds that it was a team effort, referring to her as his "best pal" much to her joy.

When Stargirl succeeds in destroying the ISA's machine, Chuck, Barbara, and Beth celebrate happily. But moments later, Icicle bursts through the door and snarls that Beth has caused a lot of problems for him. But he's not going to let her stop him. He holds out his hand and uses his ice powers to freeze Dr. Mid-Nite's goggles, causing Beth pain as she clutches at the goggles. The vision begins to short circuit and the glass fractures. Chuck panics telling her that something is wrong and begins to beg for Beth to help him, as he is dying. He screams loudly as he is destroyed. Beth is forced to rip the goggles off and they fall to the ground, the glass fracturing. Icicle then throws Beth into a wall.

When she awakens, she cradles the goggles in her hands, mourning the loss of her friend. She tells Wildcat and Stargirl that Chuck is dead - Icicle killed him. Once the battle is over, Beth solemnly stores the goggles in a cardboard box. Rick and Courtney try to assure her that they'll fix the goggles, but she tearfully admits that it isn't the goggles she's sad about. It's him, it's Chuck, he's what made the goggles special. Rick assures her that they'll find a way to fix him, to which Yolanda agrees.

### Season 2

Beth works tirelessly to fix the broken goggles to regain her lost friend. Her attempts to reboot his artificial intelligence fail repeatedly, but she refuses to give up and tries to reboot him again. Instead of reconnecting with Chuck, she hears the voice of Charles McNider, who is alive but trapped in The Shadowlands. Ultimately, Beth and the JSA freed Charles, who reminds Beth she doesn't need the AI to be Dr. Mid-Nite.

## Abilities

* **Coding:**
* **Dr. Mid-Nite's Goggles:**
* **High Level Intellect:**
* **Hacking:**

## Notes and Trivia

* Charles is the first, and only, AI to be introduced in the series.
* Chuck and Courtney Whitmore are the were first characters to refer to Beth as "Dr. Mid-Nite".

## References

1. ↑ "*Icicle*"
2. ↑ "*Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite*"
3. ↑ "*The Justice Society*"
4. ↑ "*Shiv Part One*"
5. ↑ "*Shiv Part Two*"
6. ↑ "*Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One*"
7. ↑ "*Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two*"
8. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter One*"
9. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Two*"
10. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Four*"
11. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Thirteen*"