Before becoming the antagonist in “Elseworlds,” the DC/CW crossover event that will launch tomorrow night, Designated Survivor star LaMonica Garrett was a fan of the comics — and so one of the perks of his role as The Monitor was getting to hear that the character’s co-creator, Marv Wolfman, was impressed by Garrett’s look.
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Garrett’s take on The Monitor will be inspired by the character’s earliest appearances, so it had to be particularly rewarding for the writer who worked on those stories to come out as a fan.
“Where The Monitor, I think, first made his first appearance, was The New Teen Titans, back in the day,” said Garrett. “And now that Titans is on, Marv Wolfman, he’s having a great go of it. He tweeted out something about when the first appearance, the first look came out of The Monitor, he was like, ‘I never imagined this character would ever make it to TV, it looks spot on.’ So that was great to hear him say that, that’s like half the battle.”
In reference to the tweet in question, “Elseworlds” showrunner Marc Guggenheim replied that Wolfman’s approval made his year, so Garrett is not alone.
We had heard that The Monitor’s armor was something less than fully comfortable, so besides looking spot-on, we asked Garrett whether it was a challenge actually performing in the costume. He said that while it was uncomfortable, the way the costume made him feel offset any distractions.
“Yeah, it’s not comfortable, it really, it gets in your business,” he admitted. “But, I can say, putting it on, it puts you in a different mindset. I’m not a method actor, but when you have that gear on, that armor, you just have this regal feel to you, walking around and communicating with people, and it’s hard not to stay in character when you have all that on. It looks incredible.”
Fans have already seen a snippet of the look in action in the episode tag that ended this week’s Supergirl, Arrow, and The Flash. Garrett will have a much bigger role beginning tomorrow night, when The Flash airs at a special time and kicks off the crossover.
The “Elseworlds” crossover will begin on Sunday, December 9th with The Flash at 8/7c, followed by Arrow on December 10th at 8/7c, and Supergirl on December 11th at 8/7c.
