Announced yesterday, with “Supergirl” getting comfortable in its new home at The CW (after a first season on CBS, where it struggled to attract the kind of viewership that other CBS primetime series enjoy), some new key developments are coming to the series this season (its second); of note, with respect to this blog’s interests, Mehcad Brooks, who plays James (“Jimmy”) Olsen will soon be suiting up as the DC Comics character named Guardian, “Supergirl” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg announced Tuesday to the press.
“James is going to decide that he can no longer sit back and be a sidekick,” Kreisberg said. “He’s going to decide to become a vigilante. He’s going to become Guardian, complete with the shield.”
In the comics, Guardian is a police officer in Metropolis’ Suicide Slum who becomes a vigilante to catch crooks that the law can’t prosecute, describing himself as guarding society from criminals. While he has no superpowers, the character carried an indestructable shield, somewhat like Captain America. The Guardian has exceptional combat and tactical skills. He was trained in many forms of fighting, and excelled at gymnastics, thinking quickly on his feet, and deduction.
In the series, Supergirl/Kara doesn’t know about James Olsen’s vigilante alter ego, although she’ll likely find out.
“It’s going to cause a massive problem in his relationship with Kara,” says Kreisberg. “She has her own feelings about vigilantes. It becomes a push and pull of who gets to decide who gets to be the hero.”
This hopefully means that Mehcad Brooks will be given more to do in the series.
This evening, on social media, the actor shared a first-look image of his character, in his Guardian suit. Check it out below, and compare it with the comic book version underneath it.
“Supergirl” airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.
