SUPERGIRL Casts Jeremy Jordan as The Toyman

Time for a new toy story.

TheWrap has revealed that the upcoming CBS series Supergirl has cast Jeremy Jordan in the role of Winslow "Winn" Schott, better known to DC Comics fans as Superman villain The Toyman.  Jordan will guest start in the pilot episode, with the potential to recur on the series.

Schott is described in the article as "a tech genius and superstar IT whiz who works alongside Kara (Melissa Benoist) at Cat Grant’s (Calista Flockhart) company, CatCo."

Although primarily a Broadway actor, Jordan has appeared in the movies The Last Five Years and Joyful Noise.  In addition, he has had roles on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Elementary and Smash.

Created in 1943 by Don Cameron and Ed Dobrotka, The Toyman first appeared in Action Comics (vol.1) #64 as Winslow Percival Schott, a criminal who used various toy-themed devices and gimmicks when committing crimes. After Superman's continuity was relaunched following the Crisis on Infinite Earths event miniseries and John Byrne's The Man of Steel miniseries, The Toyman was reimagined in Superman (vol.2) #13 as an unemployed British toymaker who blames Lex Luthor for being fired from a toy company.

Years later, The Toyman became a darker, more sinister character who abducted and murdered Adam Morgan, the son of Cat Grant.  The character was reimagined once again in Action Comics (vol.1) #865 as a toymaker who lived with his wife Mary and agrees to sell his shop after Mary is killed in a car accident.  After learning that the buyer lied to him, Schott proceeds to bomb the business with an explosive teddy bear and Mary is revealed as one of his first robotic creations.

Jordan will be the third actor to portray the character in live action, after Sherman Hemsley on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Chris Gauthier on the series Smallville.  The Toyman has also appeared in various animated projects, including Challenge of the Super Friends (voiced by Frank Welker), Superman: The Animated Series (voiced by Bud Cort), Justice League (voiced by Corey Burton), The Batman (voiced by Richard Green), Young Justice (voiced by Cameron Bowen), and Superman: Doomsday (voiced by John DiMaggio).

Supergirl will presumably debut on CBS sometime this fall.