Supergirl is back after a brief hiatus, and the return brings a comic book character that has been hinted from the beginning. How will Supergirl incorporate Toyman? Winslow Schott has been a character from the beginning, played by Jeremy Jordan, but the CBS series is planning something a little different.
According to CBS' official description of "Childish Things," Monday night's episode which will debut the character, "Kara does her best to support Winn when his father, the supervillain Toyman, breaks out of prison and seeks out his son for unknown reasons." So it's almost definitely not Winn now. My worries that his seemingly unrequited crush on Kara would drive him to villainy appear to be, for the moment, unfounded. Phew! While Kara's coworker shares a name with the DC villain Winslow Schott (who, I might add, killed Cat Grant's son Adam in the comics), this is a separate character. That isn't to say we shouldn't be worried forever — Anton Schott, Winslow's son in the comics, becomes the equally menacing Dollmaker.
This description of the character also makes it seem as if the way Supergirl is handling Toyman is primarily through past events. This makes sense with Toyman's DC origins — a lot of his arc in the comics takes place after he has escaped from prison as well. Still, I like the idea that supervillains have existed in National City longer than Supergirl. It gives the show a cool sense of depth and history.
“It parallels Kara’s relationship [with Alura] a bit, because she feels abandoned even though they had to do what they had to do,” Jeremy Jordan said in an interview about the episode with TVLine. “For Winn, it was abandonment without a reason and without understanding. We’ll learn a little more about why and what that was. He’s definitely holding on to some deep, dark emotions when it comes to confronting his dad that are brought to the surface very quickly.”
So, Supergirl is taking what could be a cheesy villain (he's a toymaker... come on) and turning him into a character who could have major repercussions on the series.
Image: Robert Voets; Monty Brinton/CBS
