"Supergirl" To Include New Versions Of Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant And More

[Robotman]

Huge missed opportunity. In our current culture nerds have become cool. classic Jimmy Olsen would be great. Not necessarily a "hipster" but someone who is comfortable being different. I think Grant had a great Jimmy Olsen in All Star.

[Iopy]

I don't know why everyone is making a big fuss out of this jimmy Olsen thing. They've already tried doing that in ame comi girls series to pretty good success. Honestly, I kinda like the suave jimmy Olsen like in ame comic girls. The point was to make Jimmy this cool war photo journalist that is brave and adventurous and does his best to get the story. Basically in a universe without Lois lane, they need jimmy Olsen to take her place.

Yep. Jimmy Olsen, more than most, has often been tied to Supergirl. One of the first versions of Supergirl as the product of a magic totem, written to see if readers would like a super female character, was a Jimmy Olsen story. Supergirl has married Jimmy in Silver Age imaginary stories. Jimmy in the Silver and Bronze age wasn't depicted as weak or stupid, he was an active character with adventures and friends of his own.

And honestly, the writers of the Superman books and mythos aren't all that interested in writing stories about a lot of their traditional cast anymore. I'd rather have a successful and interesting Jimmy in a Supergirl story than an incompetent one failing at the Planet or stealing a quickie in Clark's bath tub in a Superman book.

[Jim Kelly]

I suppose Jimmy will be used as a news photographer--or maybe a videographer. This seems to be an invention of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE. Before that Jimmy was always a cub reporter. Making him a news photographer makes him even more like Peter Parker. Of course, Jimmy came first and Peter should be the Marvel counterpart of Jimmy. Perry yells at Jimmy, J. Jonah yells at Peter. Jimmy has troubles with his girl friends, Peter has troubles with his girl friends. Jimmy has an accident and gets strange powers, Peter has an accident and gets strange powers. Bad luck and money problems plague Jimmy, bad luck and money problems plague Peter.

[Iopy]

Maybe you missed that multi-million dollar movie he had out last year?

Seriously Superman fans, you have nothing to complain about when it comes to exposure. Superman has had six studio films and multiple TV shows, the most recent of which lasted a DECADE. Complaining about them using Supergirl on TV while Superman is in WB's burgeoning film universe just makes you sound really petty.

That's something I'll never understand about some Superman fans. Batman fans love seeing their franchise expand, they don't get angry if a Batman villain is used in a Batgirl book, Robin is in a Teen Titans cartoon show that doesn't center around Batman, or Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn go off and have success on their own in books that don't feature Bats. They nod their heads and point to it as a success. And the Bat universe continues to expand, the fans welcome it instead of resisting.

I wish Superman fans could look at something like this and see it in the same way, as evidence that the Superman family and characters are big enough and iconic enough that they can stand on their own.

[nightrider]

That's something I'll never understand about some Superman fans. Batman fans love seeing their franchise expand, they don't get angry if a Batman villain is used in a Batgirl book, Robin is in a Teen Titans cartoon show that doesn't center around Batman, or Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn go off and have success on their own in books that don't feature Bats. They nod their heads and point to it as a success. And the Bat universe continues to expand, the fans welcome it instead of resisting.

I wish Superman fans could look at something like this and see it in the same way, as evidence that the Superman family and characters are big enough and iconic enough that they can stand on their own.

That's one thing I don't understand about superman fans. Is this why batman is the more successful franchise?

[hunter_peterson]

I hate it when Jimmy Olsen is made out to be some pathetic moron. He supported his own book for twenty years and then continued on in SUPERMAN FAMILY for another ten. During that time he fought a lot of villains, kissed a lot of women and travelled a lot of places.

Yes he had flaws--which is why he was so interesting--but that doesn't make him a worthless so-and-so. I don't know why people only want to see Jimmy Olsen used as a punching bag. In his glory days he was so much more than that--and he could be again!

This is why I loved Jimmy in All-Star Superman. He felt like someone who had had all of his adventures, yet retained the same core character traits. He was more confident and stuff, but he's done tons of awesome stuff, so why not? I hope that it's more along the lines of that.

[Jim Kelly]

On top of that you have Kirby's Jimmy Olsen. The vibe for that Olsen was a little different from what other writers had done with him--I thought Kirby's Jimmy was a bit too competent and hard-edged. My reservations aside, given that Kirby can do no wrong, I would think everyone would be on board for that alpha-male type of Olsen. Especially as along with that comes the Guardian, the Newsboy Legion, Suicide Slum, the Project, Inter-gang, the Boom Tube and--a certain guy with chiselled features.

[Doctor Cosmic]

Maybe you missed that multi-million dollar movie he had out last year?

Seriously Superman fans, you have nothing to complain about when it comes to exposure. Superman has had six studio films and multiple TV shows, the most recent of which lasted a DECADE. Complaining about them using Supergirl on TV while Superman is in WB's burgeoning film universe just makes you sound really petty.

I didn't miss it. It just wasn't a Superman film.

That's something I'll never understand about some Superman fans. Batman fans love seeing their franchise expand, they don't get angry if a Batman villain is used in a Batgirl book, Robin is in a Teen Titans cartoon show that doesn't center around Batman, or Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn go off and have success on their own in books that don't feature Bats. They nod their heads and point to it as a success. And the Bat universe continues to expand, the fans welcome it instead of resisting.

I wish Superman fans could look at something like this and see it in the same way, as evidence that the Superman family and characters are big enough and iconic enough that they can stand on their own.

You miss a core difference: The Batman, which is my other favorite character next to Superman, survived the translation to film more than less intact with regards to the core of the character. Same is true with the New 52 reboot. Superman was diminished (less so in The New 52) and the heart of his character changed, especially in Hobo of Steel. He was petty, selfish, negligent, not particularly intelligent, and had no real direction of his own. He wandered to hide his powers (at the behest of his coward father who he also let die) instead of traveling the world to help others and entering journalism to be close to people in need. He listened to other people (his two dads, Lois Lane) instead of having his own inner sense of purpose and direction. He allowed thousands to die through neglect and murdered his last living kinsman. I admit this was the fault of the writer/director, but the point is, Superman fans have seen the character diluted and altered to the point of almost being unrecognizable. Batman has fared better, though to be fair, Goyer and Nolan made Bruce Wayne an aimless wandered instead of the driven crusader who made a vow at the graves of his parents at the age of 10 to rid Gotham of the crime that took their lives. He also had everything handed to him on a silver platter: suit, car, gadgets. The Batman can survive the heavy dose of realism Goyer and Nolan mixed with his lore, but Superman is not about realism at all.

That's one thing I don't understand about superman fans. Is this why batman is the more successful franchise?

No, Batman is the more successful franchise because DC has more faith in it and because DC understands The Batman character to sufficient extent to make successful media about the character. No one at the WB and very few at DC really understand or respect the character of Superman, which is why we had Hobo of Steel and will now have a Supergirl series that will inexplicably crib the elements of Superman's cast and story that could have worked for him because the execs at the WB don't respect the Girl of Steel's history, either.

[Crimson Knight]

Sounds interesting. Hopefully having Supergirl as the supposedly central hero in their lives'll affect, or change things, and make them all the more interesting.

Wonder is the Cyborg Superman part of Hank Henshaws' story still intact here, or something else altogether?

Would suggest Cyborg Supergirl, but can't change that he's a man, sooo... Still'd be a nice, twisted mirror image, all the same, I think.

And, last I saw Cat Grant, other than Superman: BRAINIAC, the Geoff Johns story, was in Season 10 of Smallville. Bit annoying, in anti-Blur, anti-vigilante thing, but nice, emotional backstory, and not one dimsional, evil, or anything.

Yeah, it does seem a bit odd about the Jimmy Olsen thing. Seeing him in comics, films, animated series, shows, he never really, for the most part, came across as a fella you'd classify as an Alpha Male, for the most part.

But, hopefully they cast well with him, as they often have, and he fits what the show has.

Excited to hear Toyman'll be in it, even if he does indeed differer in age to his Smallville self, or gimmick, look, in Superman: The Animated Series.

Who knows how the crush thing goes, but the next door neighbour thing could be interesting.

All in all, some interesting list of characters, character descriptions all that. So hopefully works out well there.

[Supergirl's Pal]

Excited to hear Toyman'll be in it, even if he does indeed differer in age to his Smallville self, or gimmick, look, in Superman: The Animated Series.

Who knows how the crush thing goes, but the next door neighbour thing could be interesting.

That is going to be tricky. A lot of fans are going to relate with the "Comic-Con Fan" nature of Toyman's character and may not like it if Supergirl just keeps brushing him off and/or strings him along, i.e. says that they will go out for coffee but then keeps making excuses why she couldn't make it. Toyman's descent into evil (if that will indeed happen) can be interesting if its done well. We'll see.