Jimmy Olsen
From DC Database
This is the Jimmy Olsen disambiguation page.
It serves to clarify the difference between several closely named or closely related articles.
A = Appearances · CA = Chronological Appearances · G = Gallery · Q = Quotes
James Olsen • Jimmy Olsen
 Earth-Smallville A · CA · G · Q |
Publishing History
Despite recent modernization efforts, Jimmy Olsen has not been significantly changed in the Modern Age. He is still a cub reporter working for The Daily Planet, and is still friends with Superman. His look was made over as he stopped wearing bow ties, and started wearing casual clothing (though this trend started in 1970s comics).
While weird transformations no longer occur as regularly as they did in the Silver Age, Jimmy did become Elastic Lad on contact with the Eradicator. He has also taken the identity of "Giant Turtle Boy" in a series of pizza commercials, made when he was temporarily laid off from the Planet.
In the late 1990s, Jimmy moved to Metropolis broadcaster Galaxy Broadcasting, where he became more brash and arrogant. This came to an end when he thought (wrongly) he had discovered Superman's secret identity and said he would announce it live on air. He reconsidered his actions, but lost his job for wasting the timeslot. He was again rehired by the Planet.
June 2003 saw Jimmy Olsen as the focus of a twelve-part miniseries entitled Superman: Metropolis. Written by Chuck Austen and illustrated by Danijel Zezelj, the series focused on the futuristic technology unleashed in Metropolis by Brainiac in a previous storyline, and how it affected the everyday lives of Metropolis citizens.
Alternate Versions
- In Frank Miller's 1986 graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Jimmy Olsen is featured as the writer of a Daily Planet article entitled "Truth to Power."
- In JLA: The Nail, an alternate reality in which a nail punctured the Kents' car, preventing them from finding the spaceship containing a baby Superman, Jimmy Olsen is revealed as the one behind all the other superheroes' troubles. Jimmy had served as an aide to Lex Luthor. Luthor grafted Kryptonian DNA onto Jimmy causing him to go insane and possess superpowers similar to Superman's. Jimmy played up the public's fear of superheroes via propaganda, hoping to have them imprisoned so he could use their DNA as well. When Jimmy attacked an Amish couple and their son during a battle with the JLA, the couple was killed, but the son was revealed to be Superman. In this alternate reality, the Amish couple had raised Superman, and brought him up as a pacifist, so he had never used his powers in conflict. Jimmy asked Superman to join him and when Superman refused, the two battled. During the battle, Jimmy's body started to refuse the Kryptonian DNA, causing him to disintegrate. The JLA then asked Superman to join them.
- In Superman: Red Son, Jimmy is depicted as an agent of the CIA, eventually becoming the director, and soon joins Luthor in his Presidential bid and becomes Vice-President.
- In Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman series, Jimmy shows up briefly in the Daily Planet offices in argyle socks; this Jimmy seems to be a refined version of the Silver Age vintage, with a signal watch halfway between McDonalds happy meal toy and haute couture. He's also shown with something that may be a jetpack. #4 of the series focuses on Jimmy and his adventures as the one-day director of the DNA P.R.O.J.E.C.T., a leftover from the Kirby-era Jimmy Olsen series.
Other Media
- Jimmy Olsen has appeared in every major filmed adaptation of Superman. The first actor to portray Jimmy Olsen in live-action was Tommy Bond in the serials starring Kirk Alyn.
- On the Adventures of Superman television series starring George Reeves, Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Jack Larson. Larson also portrayed an unnaturally aged Jimmy Olsen in an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
- In the four motion pictures starring Christopher Reeve beginning with Superman: The Movie, Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Marc McClure. McClure also played Jimmy Olsen in the 1984 spin-off movie Supergirl.
- On the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Michael Landes in the first season and Justin Whalin for the rest of the series' run. The reason cited behind the change is that Landes looked too much like Dean Cain as well as to emphasize Jimmy's youth.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, Jimmy was voiced by David Kaufman.
- In the television series Smallville, the character of Chloe Sullivan mentioned losing her virginity to a Daily Planet staffer named Jimmy who was "cute, in a bowtie sort of way." an obvious reference to Jimmy Olsen. It has been revealed that actor Aaron Ashmore will be starring as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and that he will be romantically linked with Chloe. He is probably the same Jimmy that had an interaction with Chloe
- In Bryan Singer's 2006 movie Superman Returns, Jimmy Olsen is portrayed by Sam Huntington.
- Actor Tommy Bond, more famously known as Butch from The Little Rascals, is the first actor to play the part of the Earth-One, Jimmy Olsen. He starred opposite Kirk Alyn in the 1948, movie-serial, Superman. He later reprised the role of Jimmy Olsen in 1950's, Atom Man vs. Superman.
- Actor Jack Larson played the role of the Earth-One, Jimmy Olsen in the 1958 television series, The Adventures of Superman.
- Actor Jack Grimes provided the voice for Jimmy Olsen in the 1966 animated television series, The New Adventures of Superman, as well as the 1967 series, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.
- Actor Marc McClure played the role of the Earth-One, Jimmy Olsen in Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, and Supergirl: The Movie.
