SUPERGIRL Casts Brit Morgan as Livewire

I'm sure she has an electric personality.

Late yesterday, Variety revealed that the upcoming CBS series Supergirl has cast Brit Morgan as Leslie Willis, better known as DC Comics supervillain Livewire.

Livewire is described in the article as "a confident, abrasive and funny shock-jock who works for CatCo Media, the conglomerate owned by Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart).  When an accident makes her as dangerous and shocking as her words, Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) must stop her."

Morgan, 27, is best known as Debbie Pelt on the HBO series True Blood.  She's also appeared in the films She Wants Me and Freeloaders, and on the television series The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Graceland, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case, The Middleman, Greek, and CSI: NY.

Created in 1997 by Bruce Timm, Livewire first appeared in Superman Adventures #5 and on Superman: The Animated Series six months later.  Leslie Willis was a popular and controversial radio shock jock in Metropolis with a cynical dislike of Superman.  One evening during a severe thunderstorm, Willis hosted a rock concert in honor of her anniversary working at the radio station in Centennial Park.  Ignoring her producer's warnings about the storm and the public safety concerns by Metropolis authorities, Willis demanded that the show go on.

Superman showed up to help the police, when suddenly, lightning struck the stage, setting it on fire. Superman pushed Willis to safety, but was struck in the process.  The lightning ran through a wire on stage which Willis then stepped on, shocking Willis and transforming her into a ghostly-white being that could manipulate electricity.

The character was brought into the mainstream DC Comics Universe in 2006's Action Comics (vol.1) #835 by Gail Simone and John Byrne.  In the current New 52 continuity, Livewire was once a popular vlogger known for her pranks and makeup tutorials.  During a stunt where she tried to reroute all the power in the city in order to spell out a dirty message that would be visible from space, she was accidentally electrocuted, granting her superhuman abilities.

Morgan will be the second actress to portray the character in live action, after Anna Mae Routledge on the CW series Smallville.  The character was first voiced by Lori Petty on Superman: The Animated Series and appears in the animated movie Justice League: Gods and Monsters (voiced by Kari Wahlgren).

Supergirl will premiere on CBS on October 26, 2015.