Solomon Grundy

**Solomon Grundy** is a character in *The CW* and *DC Universe* series *Stargirl*.

Solomon was once a wealthy merchant named **"Cyrus Gold"**, who was murdered in the 19th century. Fifty years later, he is reanimated to serve a new leader. His imprisonment at the hands of the ISA forced him to commit several murders, including that of Rex and Wendi Tyler. He was finally let loose upon the JSA where he battled Hourman. Hourman ultimately allowed Solomon to escape with the threat that he should never return to Blue Valley, though the pair formed an unlikely friendship in the months after the battle.

## Biography

Born in the 19th century as a wealthy merchant, Cyrus Gold lived a life shrouded in mystery. He was brutally murdered during the 19th century, but reanimated over fifty years later. After his death, Cyrus became the undead supervillain, Solomon Grundy. It was after this that he joined the Injustice Society of America. Pat Dugan alluded to Grundy being controlled by the ISA to do their bidding.

After the battle against the ISA in 2010, Grundy was detained in a reinforced cell in Blue Valley, underneath The American Dream. He was released in 2011 so he could kill a fleeing Rex and Wendi Tyler. Grundy was then detained in a cell under the Blue Valley, within tunnel near the Injustice Society's headquarters.

## Series

### Season 1

On Christmas Eve 2010, Grundy fought alongside the ISA in a battle against the JSA. Icicle commanded him after a fleeing Stripsey and Starman. Grundy only managed to damage the car which ultimately allowed the heroes to escape.

Jordan Mahkent returns to Blue Valley after ten years and stops by a reinforced cell in the hallway of the ISA's underground headquarters. Growling can be heard from behind the cell and a distorted face barely seen. Jordan says hello to his old friend before walking away.

During a flashback to 2011, Solomon was unleashed and killed Rex Tyler and his wife by slamming the front end of their car. The car then swerved into a tree and the impact killed the couple. The incident was ruled an "accident" by the police. His hologram was later projected by Dr. Mid-Nite's goggles during a holographic recreation of the murder. Beth remarks that Chuck calls the monster Solomon Grundy.

In the present day, Cindy is walking through the underground tunnels of Blue Valley when she ventures past Grundy's holding cell. He growls at her and she snaps at him to shut up and he obliges. Later, during a training session, Pat Dugan attempts to teach the newly assembled JSA about the Injustice Society. He tells Courtney that she has no idea the danger she faces if the ISA still controls Grundy. His picture is on the bulletin board of ISA members, however, there is a red question mark next to his name alluding to the fact that Pat doesn't know Grundy is still a captive of the ISA.

With time to complete Project New America, the ISA was forced into a battle against the JSA which they almost lost. Grundy was released from his prison by The Gambler in the hopes he could help the ISA. Grundy punched STRIPE away from a depleted Icicle and managed to create a distraction long enough for Icicle to escape. Hourman tried to attack Grundy to avenge his parents but Grundy flung him aside. STRIPE and Grundy had a drawn-out fight throughout the tunnels where STRIPE was bested. Grundy pulled the robot's limbs off and beat the robot with his limb. He mangled the robot and was about to beat Pat Dugan, the operator of STRIPE when Hourman intervened and stopped him. Overcome with rage and wanting to avenge his parents, Hourman spent his final minutes under the effects of his Hourglass to pummel the beast. He was about to drop a large pile of debris on the beast when he noticed Grundy's fear. He spared the beast, who rose to his feet and lumbered out of the room. Hourman warned him to never come back to Blue Valley. Grundy disappeared into the tunnels.

### Season 2

Grundy keeps to his promise by staying on the outskirts of Blue Valley, only breaking the treaty to rob empty stores and businesses for food. He broke into the Taco Whiz and ate 200 pounds of nacho chips, then Waffle World a few days later, as management found every jug of syrup missing. Rick Tyler tracks the creature into the woods where he finds broken-down trees and empty bottles of syrup. He finds a large footprint by the lake, which is where the trails goes cold. The next day, Rick delivers three buckets of fried chicken to the riverside that he suspects Grundy frequents.

In the coming days, Rick continues to feed Grundy under the pretense that he has a new dog that he needs to feed. When Beth questions what kind of dog Rick got, he only said that it was a big one.

While investigating Mr. Deisinger, Hourman is infected by Eclipso and haunted by images of Grundy. He angrily lashes out at the photos, punching the lockets that he hallucinates Grundy's image on.

Rick brings Grundy a sack full of apples but has an emotional outburst when he arrives, as he's tired of giving everything he has to others yet getting nothing in return. He begins to cry as he shouts into the forest. He sits on a log as he stews, but the ground begins to shake and when Rick looks up, Grundy is standing over him in a non-menacing way. The two sit on the log side-by-side while Rick vents about his life and his emotions. He looks up at Grundy who is burping as he eats the apples. The creature bites into an apple and send small flecks flying about, one of which lands on Rick's cheek. He chuckles at the gesture but also realizes that Grundy doesn't understand anything that he's saying. Grundy is silent as he eats but then, rather gently, he places his hand on Rick's back as if comforting the boy. He then offers Rick one of the apples. Rick realizes that Grundy understands more than he realized, and accepts the apple. The pair sit on the log as they eat in silence.

When Rick leaves the forest he is happy, until he is infected by Eclipso and made to believe that Grundy is being hunted by a group of angry hunters. He learns that a child has gone missing and finds her body with Grundy, throwing him into a fit of rage. By the time Courtney and Pat arrive, they are barely able to stop Rick in time for Eclipso's control to break. Rick realizes everything he saw that day after leaving Grundy at the log was an illusion crafted by Eclipso. The person Rick was actually beating up was his uncle, Matt Harris, and the teen is arrested for the assault. As he's escorted away by police, Grundy emerges from his hiding spot behind the silos to slowly say, "Friend" as Rick is taken.

During the final battle against Eclipso, Grundy was recruited by Rick to stop the demon from destroying the world. Grundy died in the process crushing Rick. He then buried Grundy as the Shade told him it’s possible to bring Grundy back to life.

### Season 3

Rick follows The Shade's advice to resurrect Grundy, burying him in the woods around Blue Valley in varying circumstances - a clear field under a full moon, between two oak trees, but nothing ever happens. Yolanda thinks The Shade is lying, and that Grundy is never coming back.

A day later, The Gambler is murdered and his trailer destroyed. The JSA considers Grundy a suspect because of his strength. To make sure Grundy's innocent, Rick goes to Grundy's burial site and finds it untouched, ruling him out as a suspect. Shade visits Rick to apologize that he couldn't help Rick with Grundy's return. He tells him not to give up.

After the Battle of Blue Valley, Rick walks into the woods, stopping at Grundy's grave. He lists Brainwave, Dragon King, and Icicle. It seems like everyone else got to come back for a second chance except him. He kneels on the ground. He misses his pal. He stands and takes a step back, just when the ground begins to rumble. A hand shoots through the dirt, splaying debris everywhere. Grundy groans as he comes back to life. Rick chuckles and grins at the sight.

Ten years later, Shade gives a tour of the JSA museum to a group of patrons. He mentions Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite's impending nuptials. With those two, come their loyal if somewhat foul-smelling and simple-minded friend, Solomon Grundy.

## Personality

Solomon Grundy is best described as deranged with an uncontrollable temper and answers everything with violence, perhaps stemming from an unstable mindset caused by his reincarnation that failed to bring back a civilized, developed adult mentality. As such, he acts and is generally treated more as a beast than the human he was once, as he has seemingly been kept locked away for the past decade since the destruction of the Justice Society. From what little was seen of Grundy, he is seemingly loyal to the Injustice Society, as he follows their orders without question or complaint.

During his fight with Hourman, the creature proved he is capable of vulnerable human emotions like fear and terror, responding in a child-like manner like tearing up when he was about to be hurt and putting his arms out as a defense mechanism. He appeared to understand his opponent was in a pain that wasn't physical and looked confused when Hourman refused to fight him any further. When Hourman yelled at him to leave and never return, Solomon, scared with the emotional hero, obediently did so with minimal hesitation and looked back to give one final, defeatist growl.

## Physical Appearance

Grundy is a massive hulking being, comparable only in size to S.T.R.I.P.E., with an unnaturally large upper body and extremely muscular build. Befitting his undead nature, his skin along with his hair is pale white, while his face is sunken in, almost resembling that of a skull. In terms of attire, Grundy wears ragged clothing, including a jacket, pants, and shoes.

## Powers

* **Mystical-Zombie Physiology:** Grundy is essentially a living corpse brought to life by magic and therefore his body acts differently than a human's body. To that end, he can survive for decades without any type of degradation or the need for food or oxygen.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** Grundy is stronger than a normal human being. He was able to hold Pat Dugan's Car with his bare hands, regularly knock cars off the road, and even tear Pat's STRIPE armor apart with his bare hands.
	+ **Superhuman Speed:** Thanks in part to his massive size, Grundy can move much faster than an average human, having no difficulty keeping up with a moving car.
	+ **Superhuman Durability:** Due to his size and strength, Grundy is able to take heavy amounts of punishment without slowing down, being repeatedly pummeled by both STRIPE and Hourman yet still able to keep fighting.
	+ **Self-Resurrection:** As evidenced by the Shade, even though Grundy is dead for the time being, he may have the ability to resurrect himself sometime after his death. This is proven true when after several months, Grundy comes back to life.

## Weaknesses

* **Diminished Intellect:** Grundy's below-average intellect makes him susceptible to manipulation by stronger minded individuals.
* **Intimidation:** Likely due to his limited mental capacity making him more akin to an animal than a man, Grundy is capable of being intimidated to the point of submission best seen when Rick was able to scare him enough into retreating despite the fact Grundy by that point could've killed him thanks to Rick's hour of power running out.

## Notes and Trivia

* Grundy was created using special effects.
* According to Pat Dugan, Grundy was controlled by the Injustice Society which is what makes him so dangerous.
	+ This is further proven when Grundy shows himself to be a rather kind creature to Rick Tyler, who takes care of the creature following his initial banishment.
* Grundy speaks for the first time in "*Summer School: Chapter Eight*", though his voice actor is not credited for the singular word line.
* Grundy's actual name, Cyrus Gold has not been said on screen.
* Grundy is the first ISA villain to be redeemed, though he was forced into be controlled by the ISA.
* Grundy was the second ally of the JSA to die. The first was Henry King Jr. However, Shade states to Rick that Grundy could come back.

## References

1. ↑ In "*Icicle*", Jordan greets Grundy as "old friend"
2. ↑ "Stargirl Creator Confirms Solomon Grundy is One of the Show's Villains" - CBR
3. ↑ "*Stargirl*"
4. ↑ "*Icicle*"
5. ↑ "*Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite*"
6. ↑ "*Shiv Part One*"
7. ↑ "*Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two*"
8. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter One*"
9. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Three*"
10. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Four*"
11. ↑ ""
12. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Eight*"
13. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Thirteen*"
14. ↑ "*Chapter One: The Murder*"
15. ↑ "*Chapter Two: The Suspects*"
16. ↑ "*Chapter Thirteen: The Reckoning*"