Mehcad Brooks is getting an upgrade in Supergirl Season 2. James Olsen won’t just be Kara’s best friend and love interest – he’ll be joining her in the field as well. Taking on the mantle of The Guardian, James Olsen is National City’s newest vigilante. Take a look at him all suited up below.
James Olsen’s version of Guardian has stainless steel armor, unlike in the comics and Young Justice where his helmet and shield are golden. James Olsen’s transformation to Guardian came out of left field for Supergir l fans who were not expecting any changes to Olsen’s character this season.
CW released a suspicious clip earlier this week where Brooks alluded to the fact he could develop powers at some point. Though the Guardian is a superpowerless hero, it wouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise since he had many absurd, short term transformations in the comics. Brooks named characters like Turtle Boy and Elastic Lad in the video, but hoped for someone with a cooler name. It appears his dream came true because Guardian is pretty damn awesome, even without the iconic gold helmet.
Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg gave some insight into Olsen’s new character at a press Q&A earlier this week. Guardian will recruit Winn as his sidekick and keep his alter-ego a secret from Supergirl and The DEO.
“James has a pretty big turn coming up. These next few episodes are going to make him realize that being a photographer…is not enough for him, so he’s going to go on a pretty exciting career trajectory that we’re pretty pumped by. James is going to decide that he can no longer sit back and be a sidekick, so he’s going to become a vigilante. He’s going to become Guardian, complete with the shield, which is going to cause a massive problem in his relationship with Kara, because he’s not going to tell her.”
There have been many incarnations of Guardian over the years, one of which is Jim Harper, who actually appears in Supergirl Season 1. In “Manhunter,” Harper is portrayed by Eddie McClintock. He’s a colonel in the marines and came to the DEO to investigate the disappearance of Hank Henshaw. It turns out, he had ulterior motives. Martian Manhunter ends up erasing his memory. That’s how Jon'z finds out Jeremiah Danvers is actually still alive and being held at project cadmus. Guardian was also thought to be the alter-ego of Diggle until he was officially named Spartan.
The break-up with Kara in the premiere episode of Supergirl Season 2 could be the reason James Olsen has decided to take his life in a different direction. Part of the reason Kara ended things with James was because she felt like she had too many things going on in her life. Maybe Guardian and Supergirl can make it work now that they are on the same page.
What do you think of James Olsen as Guardian? Let us know in the comments below! Supergirl airs Mondays at 8pm on The CW.
