Earlier this week, we got word that Supergirl would be taking an expected – but not unwelcome – turn by choosing to have their version of James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) evolve into the superhero known as The Guardian. What we didn’t expect, however, was that the transition will likely happen this early in the show’s second season, given the fact that a crisp promo photo of Brooks suited up was just released by The CW. Let it be known that the network has a history of releasing such images only when the relevant character’s onscreen debut in that costume is imminent.
As we can see from the image above, James Olsen is heavily armored and looking a bit futuristic, to say the least. I guess that one would want to properly protect themselves if they’re going toe-to-toe with the same threats as Supergirl. I’m just wondering how he will move well with all of that armor.
Plus, the color scheme is a bit different from what we’re used to seeing in comics and animation; the costume kind of looks like a mashup of The Guardian we all know and Lock-Up, a lesser known Batman villain. If you’re wondering why Olsen is taking up shield, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg had this to say (via IGN):
“James is going to decide that he can no longer sit back and be a sidekick, so he’s going to decide to become a vigilante, and he’s going to become Guardian, complete with the shield.”
Right now, it remains unclear which episode will see the introduction of the Guardian persona, but like I said, the first half of the season seems like a solid bet. And let’s again thank our lucky stars the producers elected not to turn him into Turtle Boy.
Supergirl airs on Mondays on The CW.
