Joey Zarick

**Joey Zarick** was a minor character in The CW and DC Universe series, *Stargirl*.

He was the son of Blue Valley councilman and secret ISA member, William Zarick. He shared an affinity for card tricks with his father.

## Biography

Joey was born to Denise Zarick and William Zarick and raised in Blue Valley, Nebraska. He had a reputation as being a sweet yet nerdy kid who didn't bother anyone. He enjoyed magic tricks and wanted to be a magician, something he practiced with his father.

In August of 2020, Joey participated in the Blue Valley High School student council presidential election. He listened to Yolanda Montez's speech when the entire auditorium, students and parents alike, received Yolanda's intimate photos.

## Series

### Season 1

Joey is first seen in a cameo playing a magic trick with cards in the hallway on Courtney's first day at Blue Valley High School.

A few days later in the middle of the night, Joey frantically wakes his father and mother up, claiming he heard something downstairs. His father dismisses it as the cat, telling his family this is Blue Valley but heads to investigate nonetheless.

Joey formally introduces himself to Courtney later on, asks her to pick a card. He explains it's for Regional Talent Competition and how Cindy Burman always wins before going back to the deck and pulling up the wrong card. Courtney, noting the small crowd around them and not wanting to embarrass Joey, exclaims it is the right one to a wave of applause for Joey.

On the bus ride back from the competition, Beth Chapel tells him he should have won first place, but Joey is happy with third noting to Beth that he feels his magic becoming stronger. Their conversation is cut short as the bus swerves under the frozen-over ground in the bridge, sending the bus over the side and tipping at its halfway point. He falls to the back of the bus and sees a giant robot's head before he's blinded by a bright light. After the bus is safely brought onto the bridge, the students file out and a shocked Joey stumbles and falls to the slide, trying to catch his breath. Unaware he's being watched by afar, a cold breeze rips through him and sends his cards flying in the air. He runs to the middle of the road to catch and collect them and fails to notice an oncoming car before it's too late. He dies from the head-on collision, witnessed by his classmates there and far away.

After learning the devastating news of his son's fate, William deduces the true culprit behind the circumstances that led to Joey's accident. He runs to confront his son's killer to get answers and revenge, only for himself to be killed from induced hypothermia only mere hours after Joey's death.

### Season 2

While trapped in The Shadowlands, Courtney is presented with versions of terrible things she's done and people she's lost during her short time as a superhero. She sees Joey Zarick and his family in Richie Rock's Diner laughing and enjoying their time together. The Zarick family welcomes her to Blue Valley, with Joey revealing he wants to be a famous magician one day. He has Courtney pull a card in the exact same recall to their first meeting in the hall. She pulls the same card as before, but before she can lie again that he got it right, Joey asks if she's planning to lie again. He realizes he'll never be a talented magician and knows he messed up the trick. Things begin to take a turn in the diner as the patrons advance toward Courtney while Joey and the Zarick's throw insults. Courtney quickly runs out of the diner and into the next illusion.

## Personality

Joey was the eccentric and nerdy son of William and Denise Zarick. He loved card tricks, magic and making people smile. He enjoyed putting on a show for people and found joy in his performances. He was one of the few people who greeted Courtney Whitmore and was kind to her when she arrived at Blue Valley High. He was well-liked by nearly everyone, especially Beth Chapel and Courtney mentioning Joey to Henry Jr. led to the latter contemplating the "ugliness" that everyone supposedly have within them as revealed by his fledgling telepathy, even musing that Joey was a notable exception.

## Physical Appearance

Joey was a pale teenager with a skinny build and a slightly shorter-than-average stature. Dirty blond hair was a sharp jawline and nose, he was bespectacled with round glasses. Of his notable clothing, he was smartly dressed in a cardigan and khakis or wore a magician's outfit alluding to his father's secret alias for the talent show.

## Appearances

*Additional Season 2 appearances include a hallucination in "*Summer School: Chapter Eleven*".*

## Notes and Trivia

* Joey is the first character to die in the present-day.
* Joey is the only child of a member of the Injustice Society of America to not find out about the truth of his parent.

## References

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