Last Updated on Sunday, February 08, 2004

Jim Harper was a police man during 1930s and 1940s in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis. His best friend had turned to a life of crime and was gunned down before Harper's eyes. Shortly afterwards the rookie police cadet was attacked and severely beaten by a gang. Determined to fight back but feeling constrained by law he created the identity of the Guardian by using his skills as a protégé of Joe Morgan (the same boxer who trained Atom I and Wildcat I). The Guardian was a success and became a fixture in Metropolis and in the All-Star Squadron. As Jim Harper he was responsible for keeping the Newsboy Legion out of trouble and became their legal guardian. After the war the Guardian retired and Harper became a detective.

Years later the children who had been the Newsboy Legion had become the leaders in each of their respective fields and banded together once more to create the super-secret Cadmus Project. When Harper was fatality wounded by a gunman they decided to try and save him. They cloned his body and transplanted his memories into it. In gratitude Harper took up the identity of the Guardian again and became head of security for Cadmus. Harper with the telepath Dubbliex has become the moral watchdog of Cadmus and one of the people charged with watching over Superboy.