Superman's Jimmy Olsen Spin-Off Series Will Introduce A Major DC Comics Villain

Jimmy Olsen was the clear standout character in "Superman," a new take on the classic character that fits with James Gunn's new vision for the DC Universe. No longer just Superman's best friend, Jimmy is now a man who saves the world by being a sex machine.

Of course, it wasn't going to take long before Gunn and DC Studios responded to the overwhelmingly positive reactions to Olsen's reinvention, because we now know a Jimmy Olsen spin-off series is in the works by the creators of the fantastic Netflix series "American Vandal" and the criminally underseen Paramount+ e-sports mockumentary "Players," and Skyler Gisondo is returning to play Jimmy Olsen.

Though we know next to nothing about the Olsen show, we do know that it will follow Olsen and other non-Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) or Clark Kent (David Corenswet) reporters at the Daily Planet as they tackle cases involving supervillains. The first season villain will reportedly be the classic DC Comics character Gorilla Grodd, the super intelligent and telepathic ape created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino who becomes the ruler of a secret city he names Gorilla City. The character is primarily a villain for the speedster hero The Flash, but has also been a part of the Legion of Doom and the Secret Society of Super Villains.

This is a character that feels tailor-made for James Gunn's brand of comic book weirdness, a character that's simultaneously threatening but mostly goofy as hell. After all, he is a talking gorilla with psychic powers. This is why Gorilla Grodd has mostly been portrayed in animation — with one very notable live-action exception.

We have seen Gorilla Grodd in live-action before, in the Arrowverse. As voiced by David Sobolov, the character first appeared in The CW's "The Flash," where he tried to enslave humanity several times, using the army of Gorilla City and a telepathy crown that enhanced his powers.

Most notably, however, Grodd appeared in that same universe's "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," also known as the best superhero TV show of all time. This was a show that featured historical figures fighting to the sweet tunes of Sisqó's "Thong Song," and in the third season, featured a time-displaced Gorilla Grodd sent to 1979 by the Legion of Doom in order to "make America Grodd again" by assassinating Barack Obama in college. That's right, this was a show that once showed a talking telepathic gorilla trying to kill future president Barack Obama in his dorm room — and somehow that's not even the weirdest thing that actually happened on "Legends of Tomorrow."

It's doubtful that a Jimmy Olsen TV show could actually have a Gorilla Grodd portrayal half as good as "Legends of Tomorrow," but who knows? Maybe Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda will give us something different, something we have never seen on the screen before: Jimmy's wife. In an issue of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" from 1966, Jimmy marries a gorilla inside Gorilla City, with Superman himself officiating the ceremony. Given Gisondo's portrayal of Olsen in "Superman," this storyline wouldn't be that far-fetched.

In any case, properly bringing Gorilla Grodd into the DC Universe (he already had an animated cameo in "Creature Commandos") is exciting news that shows James Gunn and company are devoted to exploring the weirder corners of comic book history. Bring it on.