Jimmy Olsen

James Bartholomew Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the "Daily Planet". He is close friends with Lois Lane and Superman, and has a good working relationship with his boss Perry White. Olsen looks up to his coworkers as role models and parent figures. In the Silver Age, he appeared in the comic book series "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen".
The character has appeared in most other media adaptations of Superman. He was portrayed by Tommy Bond in the two Superman film serials, "Superman" (1948) and "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950). Jack Larson played the character on the "Adventures of Superman" television show. Marc McClure in the "Superman" films of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1984 film "Supergirl". Michael Landes in the first season of ' and Justin Whalin in the subsequent three seasons. Sam Huntington in the 2006 film "Superman Returns", Aaron Ashmore in The CW's "Smallville" and Michael Cassidy in the 2016 film '. In the series "Supergirl", he was portrayed by Mehcad Brooks.
Publication history.
An unnamed "office boy" with a bow tie makes a brief appearance in the story "Superman's Phony Manager" published in "Action Comics" No. 6 (November 1938), which is claimed to be Jimmy Olsen's first appearance by several reference sources. The character was first introduced as Jimmy Olsen in the radio show "The Adventures of Superman" on April 15, 1940 in the episode "Donelli's Protection Racket", mainly "so the Man of Steel would have someone to talk to". With Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster creating and drawing the physical appearance and giving him a bigger personality, the character moved from the radio show back into the comics in 1941, first appearing as a named character in the story "Superman versus The Archer" in "Superman" No. 13 (November–December 1941). But after a handful of appearances, he disappeared again. In late 1953, while Jack Larson was playing the character on the "Adventures of Superman" television show where he was referred to as "Jim Olsen", the character was revived in the Superman comics after a 10-year absence and then given his own title.
Jimmy is traditionally depicted as a bow tie-wearing, red-haired young man who works as a cub reporter and photographer for "The Daily Planet", alongside Lois Lane and Clark Kent, whom he idolizes as career role models. In most depictions of the character, he has a strong friendship with Superman. As Superman's friend, Jimmy has special access to the Man of Steel, thanks to Superman's gift to Jimmy of a "signal watch", a wristwatch which, with the press of a button, emits a special ultrasonic frequency signal that Superman can hear anywhere on Earth. (In Post-Crisis continuity Jimmy invented the watch himself, and Superman briefly considered confiscating it. In New Earth continuity, the watch was designed by Superman based on a larger signaling device Jimmy created.)
Silver Age.
In many Silver Age of Comic Books, Jimmy was often seen sharing adventures with Superman, who saved him from various predicaments ranging from dangerous to merely embarrassing. Beginning in 1954, Jimmy stars in his own comic book, "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen", published from 1954 to 1974, which saw Olsen in a variety of slapstick adventures and strange transformations, with and without Superman. The stories in the title would often feature particularly outlandish situations, ranging from Jimmy being hurled back in time to Krypton before its destruction in issue No. 36 to dealing frequently with gorillas of all sorts. This version of Jimmy Olsen even had his own (in-story) fan club.
Jack Kirby's Fourth World.
Jack Kirby took over the Jimmy Olsen comic with issue No. 134. He began by introducing a secret "D.N.A. Project" to create Mutated Humans for Good, adding "the Hairies" (a group of technology-equipped hippies), superbeings from other planets (proto-New Gods), Intergang, and Morgan Edge... and reintroduced his 1940s Newsboy Legion characters. About halfway through his run, Kirby introduced vampires, the Loch Ness Monster, and Victor Volcanum, the fire-eating archcriminal. Readership quickly dropped back to its pre-Kirby levels.
Kirby's tenure on the series ended with issue #148; and with issue No. 164 (April–May 1974) Jimmy's book was folded into the anthology title "The Superman Family". In that series, Olsen became a more serious character who battled criminals as an investigative reporter known as "Mr. Action" in urban crime stories that rarely involved Superman. Jimmy Olsen appeared in new stories in "The Superman Family" No. 164, 167, 170, 173, 176, 179, and 182–222.
Modern adventures.
"The Man of Steel".
Following "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the entire Superman mythos was rebooted from scratch in the limited series "The Man of Steel". Despite recent modernization efforts on Superman and his supporting characters, Jimmy Olsen has not been significantly changed in the Modern Age. He is still a cub reporter working for "The Daily Planet", and is still friends with Superman. His look was made over as he stopped wearing bowties, and started wearing casual clothing (though this trend started in 1970s comics). An interesting alteration to the relationship was that Jimmy designed the signal watch himself, leading to his first meeting with Superman. Superman briefly considered confiscating the watch, but decided to trust Jimmy to use it responsibly.
While Jimmy's transformations no longer occur as regularly as they did in the Silver Age, Jimmy once became a type of "Elastic Lad" on contact with the Eradicator; this transformation, however, was extremely painful for Jimmy and has not appeared since. He also took the identity of "Turtle Boy" in a series of pizza commercials, made when he was temporarily laid off from the "Planet".
In the 1990s, Jimmy quit the "Planet" in a dispute over a story and went to Metropolis broadcaster Galaxy Broadcasting, where he worked as an on-air investigative reporter. This change matured Jimmy somewhat, but he became more ambitious, as well as more brash and arrogant. He still stayed on good terms with both Clark and Lois, to the point where Jimmy was best man at their wedding. This period ended when he believed (wrongly) that he had discovered Superman's secret identity and said he would announce it live on air. He reconsidered his actions, but lost his job for wasting the timeslot. He was again rehired by the "Planet".
Jimmy later came under the angry hand of the Alpha Centurion, an alternate universe dictator with a deep-seated hatred for Superman and eyes for Lois Lane. It was Jimmy who first uncovered his secret plot to control the world's finances through his company Aelius Industries, Inc.
"Superman: Metropolis".
Olsen is a central character in the twelve-part miniseries "Superman: Metropolis" (beginning June 2003). Written by Chuck Austen and illustrated by Danijel Zezelj, the series focuses on the futuristic technology unleashed in Metropolis by Brainiac in a previous storyline and how it affects the everyday lives of Metropolis citizens.
Jimmy takes a position as a regular star reporter for "The Daily Planet", replacing the recently demoted Clark Kent. This caused a strain at the " Planet".
"Countdown".
Jimmy's story in the 2007–08 weekly series "Countdown to Final Crisis" begins with an investigation into the death of Duela Dent. Tying into the "Death of the New Gods" storyline, Jimmy starts to develop many superpowers, which he first discovers when he is attacked by Killer Croc while gathering information on Duela's death. As the story progresses he tries to uncover the origin of these powers and starts to discover their potential limitlessness in stories which mimic the Silver Age "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" adventures. Briefly operating as the superhero Mr. Action, Jimmy is unable to command the respect of established superheroes in the Justice League and Teen Titans. He gives up on this particular avenue. One of these powers allows Jimmy to realize the identities of some superheroes, such as Robin and Superman, who requests that he take care of Krypto.
Jimmy is eventually tracked down by the New God Forager, with whom he begins a romantic relationship. Forager informs him that Jimmy has become a soulcatcher for the spirits of dying New Gods. The Monitor known as Solomon later tells him that his new powers are the consequence of Darkseid using Jimmy as a host for powers he wishes to use to recreate the universe in his image, knowing that "Superman's pal" is one of the world's most well-protected citizens. Later, as the events of "Countdown" begin to come to their close, Jimmy becomes a more confidently powerful character and is reunited with the series' other cast members on a mission to stop Karate Kid's disease from becoming a pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. Unfortunately, they fail, and the Morticoccus virus devastates an alternate Earth. Upon return to their Earth, Jimmy is captured by Mary Marvel, who had been manipulated towards evil by Darkseid. When Superman comes to save Jimmy, Darkseid takes control of the powers within him, causing Jimmy to radiate Kryptonite radiation, until Ray Palmer manages to rewire Darkseid's control from inside of Jimmy. Jimmy then transforms into a giant turtle-like creature, and prepares to take on Darkseid himself. Darkseid overcomes Jimmy, and prepares to kill him. Ray Palmer then comes out of Jimmy with the New God soul battery, and destroys it, returning Jimmy to normal.
"Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special".
During Superman's fight with Atlas, Jimmy witnesses a hovering over the fight. After some encouraging words from Clark Kent, he decides to take two weeks off to investigate.
He tracks down a figure connected with the past of and is told the story of how Jonathan became Codename: Assassin. His informant is quickly executed by Codename: Assassin who then tries to kill Jimmy. Jimmy is able to avoid being killed and is apparently shielded from Codename: Assassin's telepathy due to his own many physical transformations over the years.
Jimmy goes to Project Cadmus and speaks to Dubbilex, who tells him the story about the death of the original Guardian at the hands of Codename: Assassin and how cloning is such an imperfect science that the only viable clone alive went into hiding in the desert. Dubbilex then dies from injuries sustained in an earlier conflict with Codename: Assassin. Jimmy heads south to the town of Warpath, AZ, managing to avoid conflict with Codename: Assassin on the way.
Upon arriving in Warpath, Jimmy interviews the sheriff, Greg Saunders, who evades his questions. Jimmy follows him after dark and sees Saunders working with the last Guardian clone. He then confronts the clone at his home and the two speak.
With his two weeks up, Jimmy returns to Metropolis horrified from learning that a faction within the U.S. military is actively plotting to kill Superman.
Willing to do anything to uncover the conspiracy behind Project 7734, Jimmy uses an anonymous chat server and gets in contact with Erik/Amazing Woman from Infinity Inc., who claims to have informations useful to help Jimmy. Despite being actively pursued by Codename: Assassin, who goes so far to place bugs in his house, Jimmy goes to the appointment, only to find Erik's house burned to the ground.
Jimmy pulls Erik out, who with his dying breath, shifts to his more reliable and powerful Erika form. Erik gives him Natasha Irons' number. Natasha contacts then Jimmy, telling him about the plans of General Sam Lane, his outworldly fortress and his capture, and use of a "Planet Breaker" weapon of Captain Atom, now codenamed "Project Breach" (due to his similarity to Tim Zanetti's fate).
Finally ready to uncover the truth, Jimmy is openly confronted by Codename: Assassin, who until that point had merely followed him closely. Jimmy uses his signal watch to call Mon-El. Jimmy is shot twice in the chest by Codename: Assassin, and sinks into the ocean. Despite surviving his assassination attempt, Jimmy decides to fake his death, having his documents planted on a heavily disfigured corpse. With no one knowing about his survival, Jimmy moves into the old Pemberton Camera Factory, sharing the results of his now-unhindered investigations with Perry and Mon-El.
"Action Comics" backup and "Jimmy Olsen".
DC Comics has reported in solicits that Nick Spencer and R.B. Silva will be producing a monthly 10-page backup feature in "Action Comics" chronicling the adventures of Jimmy Olsen in Metropolis. Reported story topics include an alien civilization choosing Metropolis as the base of a major cultural celebration, and the introduction of Chloe Sullivan (from the "Smallville" television series) to the DCU proper. In the latest arc, he goes on a charity date with a girl named Maggie, only to discover that she somehow has ties to Mr. Mxyzptlk, and that she wants to marry him.
The last three chapters of the story are told in the self-titled one-shot, "Jimmy Olsen".
Powers, abilities, and equipment.
Jimmy possesses a watch which emits a high-pitched signal only Superman can hear. In a 2010 story, he claimed it stopped working some time in the past, never worked particularly well in the first place, and contacted Superman through Morse code now, anyway, but still wore it for show.
Mostly during the Silver Age of Comic Books, Jimmy would find himself temporarily transformed, for better or worse, or undergo a disguise for various purposes. The variety of transformations Jimmy received during the Silver Age is often homaged or parodied in later comics and adaptations featuring the character – for instance, in "", Jimmy cites three of these transformations as his motivations behind backing Luthor's bill to outlaw metahumans and in "Countdown", Jimmy is used as a spirit container for the deceased New Gods, causing him to exhibit strange powers, albeit uncontrollably, with other stories simply making passing references.
Other versions.
"JLA: The Nail".
"" is set in an alternate reality in which a nail punctures a tire on the Kents' car, preventing them from finding the spaceship containing a baby Kal-El; subsequently, Kal-El never becomes Superman. Jimmy Olsen, an aide to Metropolis Mayor Lex Luthor, is revealed to be the primary villain. Having discovered Superman's spaceship and using DNA samples to create numerous Bizarro clones, Luthor grafts Kryptonian DNA onto subjects who either die instantly or mutate before death, except Olsen. The graft gives Olsen superpowers, but also drives him insane, mentally transforming him into a Kryptonian determined to replace human life with Kryptonian life. Olsen plays up the public's fear of superheroes via propaganda, encouraging the popular view of them as alien invaders rather than the enhanced humans of the Justice Society, hoping to have them imprisoned so he can use their DNA as well in an attempt to create a stable template to create other new Kryptonians.
When his secret identity is revealed, he engages in a fight with the Justice League that spills into the local countryside. An Amish farmer attempts to stop Olsen but is blasted by his heat vision—which reveals that the farmer is the (now adult) Kal-El. In this reality, an Amish couple had raised Kal-El as a pacifist encouraged to ignore worldly affairs so that he could walk in righteousness. Olsen asks Kal-El to join him, claiming that they are virtually brothers with the same DNA. When Kal-El refuses, Olsen kills Kal-El's foster parents. During the subsequent battle, Jimmy's body rejects the Kryptonian DNA, causing him to disintegrate. His last words to Kal-El are: "We should have been friends". The Justice League asks Kal-El to join them, recognising that his DNA had just been a contributing factor to a chain of events that had driven Jimmy insane rather than bringing out something that was not there before.
Frank Miller's Batman titles.
In Frank Miller's 1986 graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns", an older Jimmy Olsen (James, as he is now called) is featured as the writer of "Truth to Power", a "Daily Planet" article that recalls the age of heroes. In the 2001 sequel "", Olsen appears on various TV shows, where he attempts to reveal that the current President is a holographic projection. His attempts to publicize the truth are halted by Lex Luthor as Metropolis is destroyed (killing hundreds, including Jimmy, Lois, and Perry) by BrainIAC.
A young Jimmy Olsen makes an appearance in "All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder" No. 6. He helps Vicki Vale, whom he appears to be attracted to, escape from a hospital and giving her files on Batman and the Flying Graysons. This incarnation is described as a cub reporter for the "Gotham Gazette" as opposed to his regular position at the "Daily Planet" and as 'Superman's pal'.
"Superman: Red Son".
In "", written by Mark Millar, Jimmy is depicted as an agent of the CIA, eventually becoming the director. He joins Dr. Lex Luthor in his Presidential bid and becomes Vice President. 
"Superman: Kal".
In "Superman: Kal", Jamie Olsen of the Middle Ages is an early alchemist, working with blacksmith's apprentice Kal to forge a suit of armor for Baron Luthor using metal acquired from a 'silver egg' that fell from the sky years ago. Kal is killed in his final effort to slay Luthor. In the epilogue, Olsen tells his apprentice Merlin of his friendship with Kal, noting that Kal's last action was to hide away his indestructible sword until it would be needed.
"Superman: Emperor Joker".
In the alternate timeline created by Joker, Jimmy serves in Joker's imperial court as "Gravedigger Lad", a cheerful and happy-go-lucky young man of clearly limited intelligence, armed with an overlarge shovel (to dig graves). He humorously says, at one point, "I'm happy to be here ... I'm happy to be anywhere." He also attempts to invoke the powers of Shazam at one point, but this fails.
"All-Star Superman".
In Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's "All-Star Superman" series, Jimmy is a successful reporter for the "Daily Planet". He has a regular column in which he takes on unusual jobs for a day. Issue No. 4 of the series focuses on Jimmy and his adventures as the one-day director of the DNA P.R.O.J.E.C.T., a reference to the Jack Kirby-era "Jimmy Olsen" series. After Superman is temporarily turned evil by black kryptonite, Jimmy saves him by injecting himself with a drug that briefly turns him into a version of Doomsday. In the final issue, Jimmy manages to stop Lex Luthor's deranged niece from destroying Metropolis by giving her the one thing she really wants: free publicity.
"Flashpoint".
In the alternate timeline of the "Flashpoint" event, Jimmy Olsen is an agent of Cyborg sent to spy on the Amazons.
He is with Lois Lane reporting on a fashion show in Montmartre when the Atlanteans flooded Europe. Jimmy is one of the thousands to perish in Western Europe. He tries to save an old man; Lois survives by getting into a church steeple. Jimmy's place at the Resistance was then taken by Lois, after she got his camera, revealed to be a communications device that can transform into different forms for concealment.
"DC Universe Online: Legends".
In the limited series "", Jimmy Olsen is captured (alongside Lois Lane and Perry White) at the "Daily Planet" by Brainiac but is saved by Superman, with Lex Luthor in possession of the canister containing them. Later, Jimmy becomes one of the people who have gained metahuman abilities from Braniac's Exobytes, transforming his body into a large being with reptile-like skin.
"Superman Beyond".
Taking place decades after Jimmy's final appearance in "Justice League Unlimited", the "Superman Beyond" one-shot features an elderly version of the character. It is revealed that Jimmy purchased the "Daily Planet" after Perry White's death, and he runs a successful media empire.
"Injustice: Gods Among Us".
Jimmy appears in the comic book prequel to "". He is killed by the Joker while on a stakeout with Lois Lane, who is subsequently kidnapped by the Joker.
"Earth 2".
Jimmy Olsen is a hyper-intelligent knowledge-assimilator known as Accountable in the "Earth 2" series.
He would later take on the alias of Doctor Impossible.
In other media.
Radio.
On the Superman radio series, Jack Kelk and Jack Grimes portrayed Jimmy Olsen.
Television.
"Adventures of Superman".
On the "Adventures of Superman" television series (starring George Reeves), Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Jack Larson, who appeared as the cub reporter from 1952 to 1958. Largely because of the popularity of Larson and his portrayal of the character, National Comics Publications (DC Comics) decided in 1954 to create "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen", a regular title featuring Jimmy as the leading character. Decades later in 1996, Larson portrayed an unnaturally aged Jimmy Olsen in an episode of "".
"Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman".
On the television series "", Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Michael Landes in the first season and Justin Whalin for the rest of the series' run. The reason cited behind the change is that Landes looked too much like Dean Cain as well as to emphasize Jimmy's youth. Landes played Olsen as a cocksure, sarcastic Generation X character, who often seemed like he was very sure of himself although usually, the opposite was true. Whalin gave a portrayal closer to previous incarnations of the character, playing Jimmy as a lovably naive rookie. When Whalin took over the role, more emphasis was placed on Jimmy's love-life and he would frequently seek out Lois, Clark and Perry's advice on these matters. Whalin's Olsen was described as being a computer whiz and these talents often came in useful to Lois and Clark/Superman, particularly in the episode 'Virtually Destroyed' where Jimmy's computing abilities come in handy as Lois and Superman battle a villain inside of a virtual reality simulator. Jimmy's home life and background is described in some detail throughout the course of the show. Although we never see her, some references are made to Jimmy's mother who is described as being overweight and having allergies. Jimmy's father Jack Olsen is a James Bond-like secret agent for the fictional National Intelligence Agency (N.I.A.) and the episode 'The Dad who Came in from the Cold' is entirely devoted to this character.
"Smallville".
In "Smallville", the series incarnation of Jimmy Olsen is first referenced in Season 2 by Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), when she refers to a "cute boy" who's "name is Jimmy", whom she met in Metropolis that made her forget all about Smallville for the summer. His name is first given in Season 4 when Chloe confides to Lana Lang that he was her "first time". In Season 6's premiere "Zod", Jimmy appears in person (portrayed by Aaron Ashmore) on the staff of the "Daily Planet" and prefers to be called "James", and frequently addresses Clark Kent as "CK". As Season 6 progresses, Jimmy and Chloe rekindles their old romance again. At first Jimmy is jealous of Clark but their relationship becomes friendly after Clark reunites him with Chloe in the Season 6 episode "Trespass".
In Season 7, Jimmy is still at the "Daily Planet" working as a budding news photographer, his relationship with Chloe is going through a rough phase due to Chloe's secret new-found ability caused by an amount of Kryptonite meteor in her blood stream. They broke up in a very emotional scene in the episode "Cure" since Chloe was unable to share her secret with him. Meanwhile, Kara Zor-El (Laura Vandervoort), daughter of Zor-El and Clark's cousin, has developed a crush on Jimmy and they become friends. Jimmy is smitten by her and teams up with her in episodes such as "Cure" and "Lara". They are in a relationship briefly, but they break up and Jimmy is shown to be in a relationship again with Chloe in the episode "Sleeper". In the season finale, he proposed to her, but she was arrested before she had the time to answer.
In Season 8's premiere "Odyssey", Jimmy is seen waiting for Chloe at the Talon. Chloe arrives and Jimmy tells her that he is taking his proposal back because it might risk what they have between them. But Chloe disagrees, and reveals that she does love Jimmy and she will gladly be his wife. She kisses Jimmy passionately afterwards. In "Committed", Jimmy admits to Chloe that he lied about his father being a Manhattan investment banker — his father is "a part-time mechanic and full-time alcoholic in Oklahoma City", and he has never even met his mother. He apologizes to Chloe for lying, feeling unworthy of her, but she easily forgives him and they kiss. In "Bride", Jimmy marries Chloe in the Kent barn, but the wedding reception is interrupted by Doomsday, who nearly kills Jimmy and kidnaps Chloe. Jimmy's injury is so critical that he must be taken to a hospital in Star City. In "Turbulence", Jimmy sees Davis Bloome (Doomsday's human form) murder a drunk driver and becomes almost violently obsessed with proving it. Davis convinces Chloe that Jimmy is hallucinating from high doses of painkillers, ultimately destroying Chloe and Jimmy's marriage and leaving Jimmy addicted to his pain medication. In Season 8's finale "Doomsday", Jimmy finally reconcile with Chloe after learning Clark's secret and understanding that Chloe only stayed with Davis to calm the beast within and protect Clark. As Chloe gives Jimmy a passionate kiss, Jimmy is mortally wounded by a jealous Davis, who overhears their conversation and flies into a murderous rage despite being already stripped of the Doomsday persona. Jimmy manages to pushes Davis into a spike and kills him, and reaffirms love to Chloe before succumbing to injury. At his funeral, his full name is revealed to be Henry James Olsen. Chloe entrusts his camera to his underage younger brother (portrayed by Ryan Harder). While the younger Olsen's name is not mentioned, the boy is wearing a bow tie, leading to the possibility that "this" is the actual comic book Jimmy Olsen (James Bartholomew Olsen), who will befriend Superman.
In Season 9 finale, Clark has a premonition about the future in 2013 where Lois Lane calls out to an "Olsen", likely calling the younger brother Olsen. In the Season 10 episode "Homecoming", Clark accidentally time-travels to the future in 2017 (thanks to Brainiac 5) and reads a "Daily Planet" article that listed "Jimmy Olsen". In the ending scene of the series finale set seven years into the future, the adult version of the younger Olsen (also portrayed by Aaron Ashmore) makes an appearance as a fresh news photographer working with Lois and Clark at the "Daily Planet", wearing a flat cap, sweater vest, and bow tie.
The 2008 DVD box set for the seventh season of "Smallville" includes a 22-minute featurette, entitled "Jimmy on Jimmy", which is a round-table discussion featuring four of the six surviving actors at the time who had portrayed Jimmy Olsen in live action: Jack Larson ("Adventures of Superman"), Marc McClure ("Superman" film series, "Supergirl" film), Sam Huntington ("Superman Returns"), and Aaron Ashmore ("Smallville"). Michael Landes and Justin Whalin (both from "") did not participate.
Arrowverse.
Jimmy Olsen appears in the TV series set in the Arrowverse portrayed by Mehcad Brooks. Olsen appears in the series "Supergirl" as a former "Daily Planet" photographer who becomes the new art director at CatCo in the first episode. This depiction of the character is African-American and calls himself "James" rather than "Jimmy". Also unlike most versions of him, he is shown to be more confident, independent, and take-charge. In the pilot, Olsen reveals that he knows Kara's secret, and knows that she is Superman's cousin. Superman actually suggested that Olsen move to National City to keep an eye on her. Unlike his comic-book counterpart for most of his history, Olsen also knows Clark's secret. Olsen also revealed to have a tragic past; he lost his father to criminals when he was a child. Due to Olsen's repressed anger towards crimes because of his father's death and because his father was a war hero, he becomes the vigilante called Guardian. James is appointed head of CatCo in National City when Cat Grant moves to Metropolis.