@RodimusConvoy said:

And he's not a "bigger badass than Batman." He has a black belt in some martial art, I forget which, but that's it. They actually make it a point to show James hurt after his nightly activities. That's the opposite of a badass OR Batman. He struggles but prevails against regular mooks, that's not even Robin level. He actually needs more training and it would make sense for him to join the DEO as a new recruit or cadet to hone his fighting. If they need a link to the paper, Kara still works there and Snapper Carr seems to be her superior, so him being some sort of regent to Cat is kinda of redundant.

Not only that, when I read the synopsis for some of the future shows, they bypass anything about James and go right to Snapper. It's like he isn't on the show half the time. James should be training with the DEO to improve his skills. If anything, I would think the DEO would want to see the suit in action. Honestly, the US Military would want to see that suit in action. I would think a lot of people around the world would want to see what that suit can do.

@RodimusConvoy said:

@shenandoahok said:

Ya know this has stuck with me for days because its true and I never thought of it like that. If they wanted to end the James/Kara relationship, fine (not fine, but you know) but they could have done it in a way that didn't make them both look bad. And I don't think seeing James hurt would have made him seem weak, it would have made him seem human. Or, they could have wrapped his decision to become Guardian around that. Without someone he pined for he's rudderless and saw Guardian as something to give him direction. Then it could have become something more than that, but it could have been borne out of this rejection.

Could you imagine the show being that deep? That would be "The Flash" level of writing right there.

@shenandoahok said:

@RodimusConvoy said:

And he's not a "bigger badass than Batman." He has a black belt in some martial art, I forget which, but that's it. They actually make it a point to show James hurt after his nightly activities. That's the opposite of a badass OR Batman. He struggles but prevails against regular mooks, that's not even Robin level. He actually needs more training and it would make sense for him to join the DEO as a new recruit or cadet to hone his fighting. If they need a link to the paper, Kara still works there and Snapper Carr seems to be her superior, so him being some sort of regent to Cat is kinda of redundant.

Not only that, when I read the synopsis for some of the future shows, they bypass anything about James and go right to Snapper. It's like he isn't on the show half the time. James should be training with the DEO to improve his skills. If anything, I would think the DEO would want to see the suit in action. Honestly, the US Military would want to see that suit in action. I would think a lot of people around the world would want to see what that suit can do.

IMO, once the DEO discovered the Guardian's identity and that Winn was helping him, they actually should have used the threat of firing Winn as leverage to get James to train if he doesn't see the value of it himself. Dirty, perhaps, but it would be better in the long run, James would have access to more equipment, mobile procurement teams whenever he goes down, etc. Honestly why James and Winn haven't been kidnapped by someone already when they're out in the field is just dumb luck.

As for James's dad, that's a story in and of itself. The parent the child thought was dead is old hat but why not? Once thing they could do is say he was off somewhere as a Guardian himself, and he's back to train James. To make it interesting, his outfit would look similar to James, only with the comics' Jim Harper Guardian's color (maybe muted since that's a lot of yellow). And I still feel James needs a love interest.

Oh I wish I was on Supergirl's writing team so bad...but I get the feeling any ideas that improves James's standing on the show would get vetoed.

@RodimusConvoy said:

@shenandoahok said:

@RodimusConvoy said:

And he's not a "bigger badass than Batman." He has a black belt in some martial art, I forget which, but that's it. They actually make it a point to show James hurt after his nightly activities. That's the opposite of a badass OR Batman. He struggles but prevails against regular mooks, that's not even Robin level. He actually needs more training and it would make sense for him to join the DEO as a new recruit or cadet to hone his fighting. If they need a link to the paper, Kara still works there and Snapper Carr seems to be her superior, so him being some sort of regent to Cat is kinda of redundant.

Not only that, when I read the synopsis for some of the future shows, they bypass anything about James and go right to Snapper. It's like he isn't on the show half the time. James should be training with the DEO to improve his skills. If anything, I would think the DEO would want to see the suit in action. Honestly, the US Military would want to see that suit in action. I would think a lot of people around the world would want to see what that suit can do.

IMO, once the DEO discovered the Guardian's identity and that Winn was helping him, they actually should have used the threat of firing Winn as leverage to get James to train if he doesn't see the value of it himself. Dirty, perhaps, but it would be better in the long run, James would have access to more equipment, mobile procurement teams whenever he goes down, etc. Honestly why James and Winn haven't been kidnapped by someone already when they're out in the field is just dumb luck.

As for James's dad, that's a story in and of itself. The parent the child thought was dead is old hat but why not? Once thing they could do is say he was off somewhere as a Guardian himself, and he's back to train James. To make it interesting, his outfit would look similar to James, only with the comics' Jim Harper Guardian's color (maybe muted since that's a lot of yellow). And I still feel James needs a love interest.

Oh I wish I was on Supergirl's writing team so bad...but I get the feeling any ideas that improves James's standing on the show would get vetoed.

I think a stepdad who was an elite soldier or in the CIA could have trained him to fight. That would clear up so much stuff. Oh. If you were on the writing team, I wouldn't be complaining. I can see that now.

He takes on multiple people at once and kicks everybody's ass

@shenandoahok said: I think a stepdad who was an elite soldier or in the CIA could have trained him to fight. That would clear up so much stuff. Oh. If you were on the writing team, I wouldn't be complaining. I can see that now.

I know I'm preaching to the choir ( for that) but there's so much they can do with James that wouldn't make him overshadow Kara since it's her show. I keep seeing beats they could use but then they don't and its so frustrating.

@RodimusConvoy said:

@shenandoahok said: I think a stepdad who was an elite soldier or in the CIA could have trained him to fight. That would clear up so much stuff. Oh. If you were on the writing team, I wouldn't be complaining. I can see that now.

I know I'm preaching to the choir ( for that) but there's so much they can do with James that wouldn't make him overshadow Kara since it's her show. I keep seeing beats they could use but then they don't and its so frustrating.

I think Jayhn1111 might have a point about this version of James. If he took his shirt off in the alien bar, sang a heart throbbing song on an acoustic guitar, and had all the alien ladies falling all over him, he would steal the show. If he showed up in a corvette, with his shaved head, and sunglasses with two chicks on his arms, and said, "I'm CEO." They might have to keep him quiet.

@Jayhn1111 said:

He takes on multiple people at once and kicks everybody's ass

Barely. He's been shot and stabbed and so forth afterwards. Bruised. Batman should only struggle against supervillains, and even then its a toss up depending on who it is. Multiple people, as in regular goons, wouldn't make Batman break a sweat.

Again, James struggles with goons, thugs, hoodlums, mooks, etc. One tier above those, just one, and its "fight like a greased weasel" time. Batman would have had a way better showing against Metallo, too.

@Jayhn1111 said:

He takes on multiple people at once and kicks everybody's ass

Batman studies his enemies. Batman might be human, but he's not the average crime fighter. He knows the weaknesses and strengths of just about every superhero and bad guy out there.

Yeah but c'mon, you have to admit at the very least he fights like the star in a major action film. He is far from just the average joe who can handle himself in a fight. He's wayy beyond that.

@Jayhn1111 said:

Yeah but c'mon, you have to admit at the very least he fights like the star in a major action film. He is far from just the average joe who can handle himself in a fight. He's wayy beyond that.

James' ability to kick butt like a major pro and Winn's ability to amass knowledge from one day to the next is indicative of not having the resources, the time, and so on. I’d love for them to show us how James came to acquire his kick-butt skills, but we may never know. There won’t be any character growth with black characters most of the time. Token characters, black, gay, or whatever, are used to bolster the characterization of the mainstream characters, and some kind of comical relief—or in James’ case, a nonsensical job to keep them out of the way of the action. It’s just the way it is. And if black people don’t produce, write, and direct their own television series and moves, they will always be represented negatively.

Ok why are you both now echoing the "James is a badass" sentiment? What we have seen has not been badass. Barely taking out low level crooks and sustaining injuries 9 times out of 10 when you do is not badass. His showings are actually horrible and he lets his suit take the brunt for a lot of things. Heck he struggled against crooks with high powered weapons. He needs training otherwise he wouldn't have gotten himself nearly killed. How did Kara finally find out James's identity since he's so badass? Remember that ep? Cause I do.

This is a weird turn to take but I'm game. Which eps showed his "badass"ness? No lets not just simply say that he is, which ep? I'm whittling it down to one just to help out, since I can name the eps that show the exact opposite. But I want to know where you two are getting this from so which ep? Thanks in advance.

Waiting on you two, here's my go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjcVRa9bojs Yay he bagged two crooks Batman style! Which is the only thing even remotely similar to Batman. Badass James enters the van super sore and hurt (grazed by a bullet). Are we lowering the bar for what a "badass" is?

Ah wait maybe its this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBp9VHqoVuE Greased weasel fighting (i.e. stay moving and on the defensive as much as possible), talk him down to distract him, make a move. Similar to his fight with Metallo minus successfully talking him down. That's one of Batman's move, but typically a last resort move and not his ace in the hole. If you mean this that's reeeaaallly iffy and stretching what a "badass" means but ok.

Not including Parasite nor Dr. Hampton cause like I said he's virtually useless against metas and wasn't the crux of my argument.

Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxAdBulQ998 Two runaway crooks, one got away and almost killed Winn, Guardian bops him from behind. Badass?

@RodimusConvoy

This is a weird turn to take but I'm game. Which eps showed his "badass"ness? No lets not just simply say that he is, which ep? I'm whittling it down to one just to help out, since I can name the eps that show the exact opposite. But I want to know where you two are getting this from so which ep? Thanks in advance.

In several episodes, the Guardian left bruised and battered criminals for the police to retrieve the next morning. When he’s actually on the screen fighting, he has some nice moves, but because of his position on the totem pole, he’s going to be on his back. In the episode where Kara discovers his identity, I can blame his misstep on Mon-El; however, when he ended up tied up by the crazy doctor, I blame that on his hubris because Kara told him he was going to get himself killed. He went out without knowing the situation because he wanted to prove Kara wrong. The Guardian—when on screen—ends up on his back, and that kind of makes him the faux action hero. So, is James a badass? No. James has the ability to move like a pro, and if it's the suit giving him those abilities, then that should be emphasized, but because of certain factors, he will never stay on his feet during a fight.

That was my point all along. He's not a badass, and he does have "nice moves" as you put it, but to do what he does he needs training otherwise its only a matter of time before he's killed, even with Winn helping him out. The writers, consciously or unconsciously, have made it a point to show this in nearly every one of his showings, if he's not on his back its a win by a hair.

Here's the irony though: if James is damned either way, relegated to being the sexless (notice everyone is seeing someone now even Winn BUT James), token black guy, I'd have rather they went the other direction and actually made him one tier or two below Batman in terms of fighting. People would scream bloody murder but they're doing it anyway so might as well make it fun.

But for all the good the Berlanti shows do, management of black males is not one of them, Flash notwithstanding.