One of the most exciting parts of DC and Marvel's Elseworlds-style stories is the reinterpretations of classic characters. One of the most prominent in recent years, Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri's Dark Knights of Steel, has introduced reinterpreted characters for its sword-and-sorcery world from Etrigan/Ra's Al Ghul to a warped crossover of Joker, Green Lantern, and Lex Luthor. Among Dc's Elseworlds, Dark Knights of Steel's breakneck pace allows for few characters to make an appearance, but their significant reinterpretations are front and center when they do.
This makes the relatively slow pace of a reinterpreted Jimmy Olsen's story both shocking and sweet as revealed in the long-awaited Dark Knights of Steel anthology prequel comic, Dark Knights of Steel: Tales From The Three Kingdoms #1. The first story in the comic (by Tom Taylor, Caspar Wijngaard, and Wes Abbot), not only revises the story of "James" Olsen, notably absent in the present timeline of Dark Knights of Steel but manages to keep his character's famous pastime and job relevant. The story not only reinterprets it but by uses it to lay out a brilliant metaphor for what the characters in the story go through as it goes on.
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The very first panel of the story subtly introduces James' new obsession by using a simple establishing shot that feels incorrectly framed at first. There are only two notable features: a road sign indicating where the story will begin and a set of castellated walls barely visible against a bright purple and blue sky. When readers first meet the reinterpreted Jimmy Olsen, they are told that he is "always looking to the stars," setting up the child's gift from Perry White, a reinterpreted version of his boss at the daily planet in DC's main continuity. Upon settling James' adoption, Perry gives him not a camera, but a telescope. Much like Jimmy's classic look, James always has this looking glass held to his eye, looking beyond what can be seen by the naked eye.
Likewise, James' story becomes about just that. As he says goodbye to a pair of fellow orphans named Oswald Cobblepot and Harvey Dent, readers begin to have the expectation subtly sewn that not all is as it appears in this story. Jimmy's first friend among the main cast of Dark Knights of Steel is Superman, about whom fans also are wondering if there is something beyond what his actions indicate in the modern Dark Knights of Steel timeline. When James allows Superman a look through his spyglass and asks what he sees, Clark simply replies "everything," using his now-amplified supervision to see a nebula in the depths of space. The characters are repeatedly using Jimmy's new upgrade to "see beyond" what they'd originally believed.
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The appearance of the main "villain" of the story, Kirk Langstrom/Man-Bat confirms just that theme. The three main characters of the Dark Knights of Steel contemporary timeline who appear in this story are child versions of Superman, Batman, and Supergirl. These three, upon encountering a gigantic bat whom they believe to be terrorizing the local citizens and kidnapping children, begin to fight the creature. After landing a few damaging blows, James, accompanied by other orphans, points out that they need to look beyond his monstrous appearance and realize that he is another child simply trying to defend them.
The true villain in the story does not look villainous, but the keen observations of the protagonists lead to identifying the true kidnapper. The Dark Knights of Steel series is quickly becoming a truly unique entry into DC's multiverse, as its Dungeons and Dragons aesthetic and political plays quickly make it resemble HBO's Game of Thrones. In spite of the deeply interesting story at its base, one of the best parts of Dark Knights of Steel remains its interesting takes on well-known characters. With Jimmy Olsen finally receiving the Swords and Sorcery treatment, it once again proves the ability of this particular universe to seamlessly blend the darkness of its world with bright and brilliant stories.