William Zarick

* William
* Wizard

**William Zarick** was a minor antagonist in The CW and DC Universe series, *Stargirl*.

He was a councilman for Blue Valley, Nebraska. In secret, he was a member of the Injustice Society of America and the villain known as **The Wizard**. He was murdered by Jordan Mahkent after William discovered Jordan was responsible for the death of his son, Joey.

## Biography

William Zarick was a naturally powered human who, according to Jordan Mahkent, stumbled into his powers and killed his master before his lessons were complete. Despite his shortened lessens, Zarick proved a formidable foe and wielded a wand that demonstrated great power. He earned the alias "The Wizard". He was recruited by Jordan to join the Injustice Society of America, so they could work to create a better America.

In 2010, William fought alongside his fellow ISA members in an epic battle against the Justice Society of America. The Wizard successfully incapacitated Hourman, though the latter managed to survive the encounter. The ISA defeated the JSA by killing nearly every member. Those who survived were presumed deceased or went hiding. The ISA, however, seemingly disbanded in the eyes of the public.

In reality, they hunkered down in Blue Valley, Nebraska, where they began the next stages of Jordan's plan, Project: New America. In 2016, William became a councilman of Blue Valley and lived a seemingly normal and mundane life with his wife Denise and son Joey. When Jordan left Blue Valley to continue his philanthropic travels, he put William in charge of operations for both the ISA and The American Dream.

## Series

### Season 1

In the year 2010, The Wizard and the Injustice Society of America enter a battle like no other at a mansion in Los Angeles, California. They battle their heroic counterparts, the Justice Society of America, who reconnect for the occasion. The Wizard, wielding his signature wand and costume, sends electricity through the building at his enemies. He sees a fight between his teammate Tigress and foe Hourman. Using the wand, he levitates Hourman and throws him across the room. He notices Stripesy enter and welcomes him to the show. He points his wand at the sidekick, only to be blasted to the side by Starman. While Wizard remains incapacitated for the remainder of the fight, the ISA do ultimately win as only Stripesy seemingly survives.

Ten years later, The Wizard is living in Blue Valley under his civilian name William Zarick, where he is an esteemed councilman. He's sound asleep in his bed next to his wife Denise, when his son Joey frantically awakens them. He swears to hearing a noise downstairs, though William dismisses it as being the cat. This is Blue Valley, after all. Denise insists so he goes downstairs to investigate. Once in the hallway, he opens a secret safe behind a portrait, where his wand rests perfectly inside. He takes it and progresses downstairs. He rounds the corner to the living room to find Brainwave staring out a window. William sighs as he could have killed the stoic intruder. He asks Henry why he's wearing his costume. Henry alerts him of a problem, that a girl has Starman's staff and passes him a half-charred school ID. William asks him where she got the staff but Henry doesn't know; Brainwave opines that they must warn the rest of their team this development, but William disagrees, as it was too early to jump into conclusions. Henry's already called Jordan, an admission that angers William. He was the one in charge and, therefore, the one whom Henry should have informed first. Henry mentally tells him he's too eager to take his family and run at the first sign of potent danger, abandoning the ISA in the process. William tells his visitor to leave his head. Henry understands his concern, but the work they've been doing on Blue Valley is perfect for Jordan's master plan, Project: New America, for their respective families and their legacy. Henry vows to find the girl, interrogate her, and kill her. He leaves just as Denise goes downstairs, asking her husband who he was talking to. William insists it was no one, and it's his business. She goes back upstairs, with William looking down at his electric lit wand, and then the family cat.

The next morning, William ignores a phone call from Jordan, opting to help Joey perfect his magic trick instead. He advises the boy to distract the audience by talking, so he can continue the trick without anyone seeing how it's done. Joey thanks his father and heads off to school, where he plans to attend the school talent show. As Joey leaves with his magicians hat courtesy of Denise, William ignores another phone call. She asks if everything is alright. He pops a rose from his sleeve and presents it, kissing her goodbye.

William returns home and finds Jordan waiting for him with news that Brainwave is in a coma. William tells him that Brainwave's son was attacked by someone using Starman's staff, which is why he tried to call. Jordan wonders why William didn't call him, telling his friend to have a seat. William reluctantly listens as he confesses that it was just a girl and thought Henry would take care of it. Jordan reiterates that William was supposed to take care of things in his absence, but Brainwave was insistent, unlike William who was hesitant. William fires back that he was the one who cleaned everything up, who found Brainwave and came up with the story. Jordan disapprovingly reflects on William's story, then pressing how he killed his master before his lessons were completed, and never thinks big, continuing to perform the small show. As a politician, he makes promises he can't keep, just as he did with Jordan. Jordan lectures that power doesn't come from one's perception of you but from within. He explains how he hunted everyone responsible for his wife's toxic exposure and subsequent death. He did it to fulfill Christine's dying wish to combat injustice. William agrees, and Jordan stands, ensuing a pregnant moment of silence before praising him. Project New America is Jordan's destiny, and he wants it for William's too, but he's in charge now and will take care of Stargirl.

That evening, William and Denise get heartbreaking news that Joey has died in a freak bus accident on the highway. A patch of unexpected ice made a truck skid across the road, slamming into an exposed Joey whose school bus nearly crashed only moments earlier. Seeing his devastated face, the two break down in a heart wrenching hug until William pushes her away, racing upstairs and ignoring his wife's grieving protests. He opens the secret safe behind the portrait, grabs his wand, and rushes out the door.

He arrives at the Mahkent Residence, banging on the door incessantly until Jordan opens it. William grabs Jordan and demands to know if it was an accident, that he didn't mean to kill Joey. Before Jordan can lie, William pushes him away and raises his wand, demand answers, and ready to kill the man for murdering his son. Jordan raisers his hands, telling William to calm down. He reaches out and touches the tip of the wand. Ice races through the wand and up William's arm. Jordan soothes his dying friend, telling him he wishes William understood he was doing it for his own son, and for him. The ice envelops William, who freezes to death, turning into a frozen corpse of ice. Jordan's parents assure their son they'll take care of the mess. The official story released to Denise and the public, is that William Zarick suffered a fatal heart attack after learning about his son's fatal accident.

### Season 2

Courtney is sent to The Shadowlands by the demon Eclipso, who torments her with illusions of those she's lost in her journey as Stargirl. She sees Richie Rock's Diner and enters, finding the Zarick family alive as they welcome her to Blue Valley. The all-too kind gesture turns wicked as the diner patrons advanced on Courtney, as the Zaricks hurl insults at her over their deaths.

## Personality

William was calm yet an eerily normal man who exudes political energy in every action. Unlike his fellow ISA members, William wasn't as eager to pounce on possible threats. He didn't think that the Stargirl issue was of dire importance like Henry King Sr. or Jordan Mahkent did. He was more cautious when it came to foes unless they could potentially harm his family, in which case, he didn't hesitate to use his powerful wand, or go on the run. His love for his son was a driving force in his actions, and ultimately, led him to his death at the hands of Icicle. William also showed an apparent love for stage magic, actively encouraging his son's use of it and even offering him advice on how to improve his tricks. Curiously enough, William seemed to have an antagonistic relationship with fellow member Dragon King, though the exact reason is unknown.

## Physical Appearance

William was a middle-aged man with a slim build, tall stature, and medium skin complexion. Dark brown hair with grey streaks on the sides and with receding hairline, he had a sharp nose and jawline. As a politician, he usually donned fitted suits with ties.

While fronting as the villain The Wizard, William donned a black tuxedo with a white shirt, a black bow tie, and a black top hat. He also had a dark mustache and trimmed beard.

## Powers

* **Abilities via Wand:** When wielding the wand, William was granted powers. As revealed by Icicle, William’s wand is capable of so much more than what he typically uses it for; indicating he can have all the powers of a real wizard.
	+ **Energy Projection**: William could create and manipulate unknown energy generated by his wand to use against his opponents. He can use this energy to blast opponents away or manipulate them as he pleases. Its power was such that Icicle quickly backed away when it was pointed at him; and before that, William notes that he could have easily killed Brainwave if they weren't careful when the former found the latter in the Zarick residence.

## Equipment

* **Magical Wand:** The Wizard's wand was a long white object that was used to generate powers. It served as a conduit for the wielders intentions and the powers within the object. William used this wand to become the villain known as The Wizard. He was only partially trained in how to utilize his powers before he accidentally killed his master. Since William's death in 2020 at the hands of Icicle, the wand became defunct, and its whereabouts were never investigated by the JSA.
* **Wizard Suit:** William wore this suit as his alter-ego, The Wizard.

## Appearances

*His appearance in Summer School: Chapter Eleven is a hallucination.*

## Notes and Trivia

* William was the first ISA member to die on-screen.
* it is unknown if his mustache and beard he had in his time as The Wizard were real or fake, as in his family photographs he is not shown with it even in photos were Joey was younger.

## Comic Comparisons

* In the comics, the Wizard's real name is William Zard.

## References

1. ↑ "*Stargirl*"
2. ↑ "*S.T.R.I.P.E.*"
3. ↑ "*Icicle*"
4. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Eleven*"