Jimmy Olsen is a major staple of Superman’s mythology, going back to his earliest years at DC Comics. He’s been around almost as long as Lois Lane and Perry White, Clark Kent’s other closest confidantes at the Daily Planet. He’ll appear on screen again, played by Skyler Gisondo, in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman. Here’s everything you need to know about the Man of Steel’s longtime pal of 86 years, Jimmy Olsen.
Who Is Jimmy Olsen in Superman Lore?
James Bartholomew “Jimmy” Olsen is a pop culture icon. He’s alternately portrayed as a photographer for the biggest newspaper in Metropolis, the Daily Planet, a cub reporter for the same publication, or both. Originally portrayed as a teenager, he’s since grown up in the comics. But he’s always been a close friend and ally to fellow Daily Planet employees Clark Kent and Lois Lane. They usually depict him as Clark’s best friend, despite being several years his junior. Sometimes he’s even been Clark’s roommate. Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White famously barks orders at him in the office, but loves him like a son. His wholesome, positive demeanor has been a staple of Superman lore for decades. To this day, most non-comics Superman media features Jimmy Olsen in some form.
Jimmy Olsen in DC Comics’ Golden Age
Jimmy Olsen first appeared, in a way, as an unnamed office boy in 1938’s Action Comics #6, only six months after Superman first appeared. The traditional hallmarks of Jimmy Olsen were there from the get-go, including the bowtie and the overeager attitude. Although, in that first appearance, he was blonde and not ginger. It was in The Adventures of Superman radio serials where they gave the character a personality as well as a name, finally calling him Jimmy Olsen. He would finally appear in comics with that name in 1941’s Superman #13. Without his popularity as a character in the radio show, who knows if that “unnamed office boy” would have ever become Jimmy Olsen.
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen
Thanks to an increased presence in the Superman comics, Jimmy would get a bigger role in the mega-popular Adventures of Superman TV series. In 1954, DC capitalized on Jimmy’s newfound prominence by giving him his own series: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. It was during these Silver Age adventures that Jimmy would receive a special signal watch to alert Superman whenever he was in danger, and even gained powers. In fact, this happened many, many times. Jimmy became a werewolf and a mummy. He could later breathe fire, and gained octopus limbs. Jimmy would even gain stretching powers, becoming Elastic Lad. He famously became the giant kaiju-like Turtle Boy as well. He’d also go undercover as a woman at least five times. All of that just scratches the surface of Olsen’s wilder transformations in this era. Jimmy Olsen’s series ran from 1954-1982, with the series eventually renamed Superman Family.
Nightwing and Flamebird: Superman and Jimmy Olsen Become Like Batman and Robin
There was a period of time when Jimmy was the Robin to Superman’s Batman. Inside the shrunken bottle city of Kandor, a slice of Krypton lived on in miniature form. Whenever Superman went inside, he lost his powers and became a regular Kandorian. But he was still a non-powered superhero, similar to his friend Batman. Kal-El took on the masked identity of Nightwing, and his crime-fighting partner was his buddy Jimmy Olsen, using the name Flamebird. The pair had many adventures together in Kandor, and eventually the name Nightwing was adopted by Batman’s first Robin, Dick Grayson, when he became an adult hero. The original Bat-Girl, Bette Kane, then took the name Flamebird.
Jimmy Olsen in DC Comics’ Modern Age
In DC Comics’ post-Crisis on Infinite Earths reality-rewriting reboot, Jimmy would stick around as a major part of Superman’s mythology. However, most references to his having powers or any of his more wild adventures were erased from continuity. Modern creators would reference some of those older, wackier stories in a tongue-in-cheek way. Now back as an ordinary guy with a job at the Daily Planet, he’d remain important to Superman lore, as he took the prize-winning photo of Superman’s death in the ‘90s. He’d also seriously date Lois Lane’s sister, Lucy Lane, something he also did more casually in the classic Silver Age comics.
Jimmy Olsen in Live-Action
In live-action, Jimmy Olsen first appeared in the Superman serial in 1948, played by Tommy Bond. Since then, he has appeared in most Superman-related on-screen material in one form or another. Jack Larson played him in the ‘50s TV classic Adventures of Superman TV series, which caused a spike in his popularity, leading to headlining his own comic book series. He then appeared in 1978’s Superman: The Movie, played by actor Mark McClure, who also played him in three sequels and 1984’s Supergirl, and also in several Super Powers action figure commercials. The ’90s saw two different actors portray Jimmy on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Michael Landes played Jimmy in season one, and then the more teen-looking Justin Whalin took on the role in seasons 2-4.
Smallville and Superman Returns
Jimmy played a major role in the TV series Smallville in the 2000s, played by Aaron Ashmore. Smallville’s producers eventually killed off this version of Jimmy, with his younger brother taking on the role of Daily Planet reporter alongside Clark and Lois in the series finale. In 2006, actor Sam Huntington played the character in Superman Returns. Interestingly, producers asked Aaron Ashmore’s identical twin brother Shawn to play Jimmy in Superman Returns, but had to bow out due to his role as Iceman in the X-Men films.
Supergirl and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
In the CW’s Arrowverse, actor Mehcad Brooks played the older James Olsen, becoming the first African-American actor to ever play the character. He appeared in five seasons of Supergirl starting in 2015, as the Editor-in-Chief of Catco, and Supergirl’s boss. During this same time, the character was all but removed from the Superman mythology in the DCEU. He didn’t appear in Man of Steel, and Zack Snyder only used the character in Batman v. Superman in a notorious cameo. In that film, released in 2016, Jimmy Olsen was a CIA agent who went undercover as a photojournalist. A terrorist shoots him in the head, killing him. Jimmy’s legacy was reduced to a shock value moment.
Jimmy Olsen in Animation
In animation, Jimmy first appeared in the 1941 Fleischer Studios animated shorts. That marked his first-ever appearance on screen. He later appears as a major supporting player in the 1966 New Adventures of Superman, the 1988 Superman Saturday morning cartoon, and in the ‘90s in Superman: The Animated Series. They always portrayed Jimmy as Superman’s best buddy, and almost his sidekick in these shows. In this 21st century, Jimmy has made appearances in The Batman, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, DC Superhero Girls, Justice League Action, and currently, in My Adventures with Superman. That series is the first animated show to portray an African-American Jimmy, and also depict him as knowing Clark Kent’s true identity early on in the narrative. The character has made cameos in multiple DTV animated films as well.
Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn’s Superman
We’re not sure what role Jimmy Olsen will play in James Gunn’s Superman, but actor Skyler Gisondo looks like he stepped right out of a Silver Age comic book. We can guess he’ll be a photojournalist for the Daily Planet, and be friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent. It’s fair to conclude he won’t be killed in under two minutes of screen time, like his previous DCEU iteration. We certainly wish this version of James Olsen a long and fruitful life on the big screen.