Supergirl has found her pal, Jimmy Olsen, but this Jimmy will be like none you’ve ever seen before.  In the comics, Jimmy has been a caveman, a giant turtle monster, a stretchy super hero, a human porcupine and let’s not forget, Clark Kent’s wide-eyed, dorky photographer sidekick.  But get ready for Jimmy Olsen… ladies man?!

This Jimmy is still a photographer, but since this is ‘Supergirl’ not ‘Superman’ or even ‘Smallville,’ he won’t work for the Daily Planet, but will instead work for Cat Grant’s CatCo, which brings him into contact with the titular heroine, Kara Danvers, who works as Cat’s assistant and will be played by ‘Glee’ alum Melissa Benoist.  This Jimmy is described as an Alpha Male with a heart of gold, but with a mysterious past, having recently moved to National City for unknown reasons.  He befriends Kara at CatCo and as Kara becomes more and more public with her super abilities, the pair grow closer.  But does he have ulterior motives?

An enigmatic, sexy Jimmy Olsen who might have a dark side?  I might buy a lot of changes made for the sake of adaptations, but this one might be one foot over the line!

Landing the iconic, normally bow tie-wearing role is Mehcad Brooks a familiar face, having appeared on a number of shows including ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘The Game’, ‘The Deep End’ and most recently ‘Necessary Roughness’.  But to genre fans, he is most likely remembered as Eggs, Tara’s guitar-strumming boyfriend on ‘True Blood’.  (Oh and he was an underwear model for Calvin Klein.)

As one of the most famous supporting characters in the world of comics, Jimmy Olsen has appeared in nearly every adaptation of Superman in radio, film and television.  In the past, Jimmy Olsen has been portrayed in live action by Tommy Bond (‘Superman’ 1948, ‘Atom Man Vs. Superman’ 1950), Jack Larson (‘The Adventures of Superman’ 1952-58), Marc McClure (All four Christopher Reeve movies from ‘Superman: The Movie’ 1978-‘Superman IV: The Quest For Peace’ 1987, ‘Supergirl’ 1984), Michael Landes (‘Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’ Season One 1993-94), Justin Whalen (‘Lois & Clark’ Seasons Two-Four 1994-97), Sam Huntington (‘Superman Returns’ 2006) and finally Aaron Ashmore (‘Smallville’ Seasons Six-Ten  2006-11).  The character did not appear in 2013’s ‘Man of Steel’, but there was some confusion concerning a female character named Jenny, but her surname has since been revealed to be Jurwich, not Olsen.  Tim Burton planned to include the character in the aborted ‘Superman Lives’ and was to have used Chris Rock in the role.

Both Cat Grant and Jimmy Olsen are traditionally part of Superman’s supporting cast, but since Supergirl has never really had a very stable supporting cast or rogue’s gallery, I expect they won’t be the only elements taken from Kara’s cousin’s world.

‘Supergirl’ will air this fall on CBS.

What do you think of this re-purposing of Jimmy Olsen?  Is he Jimmy in name only?  Would you rather they have made up their own character, or are you happy with the idea of an edgier take?  What do you think of the casting of suave Mehcad Brooks?  Comment below!

Source: Cinema Blend