James Olsen

"*I'm Jimmy Olsen – photojournalist for the Metropolis Daily Planet – and this is where I shine.*"
―James Olsen
**James Olsen** is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *Action Comics* #6 (November 1938), but his first appearance in *Swamp Thing* comics was in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #79 (December 1988). He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

## History

### Origins

James Bartholomew Olsen was born to Jake and Sarah Olsen in Yonkers, New York. His father was in the military and was declared missing in Southeast Asia before Jimmy was born. In the absence of a father figure, Sarah Olsen became extremely protective of her son. His mother ran a newsagents, and he would get up early and collect stories about Metropolis from the paper for a scrapbook.

Jimmy was a very bright child, but sometimes grew bored with his schoolwork. Often, he would cut classes to attend lectures. He got a job as an intern at the Daily Planet while still a junior high school student.

### Superman

Jimmy first meets reporter Clark Kent while working at the Daily Planet, when Kent is hired after beating Lois Lane to the first interview with Superman. When one of his friend's life was in jeopardy, Jimmy jury-rigged some spare electronic parts to produce a hypersonic sound and attract the attention of Superman. His plan was successful, and Superman arrived to save the day. This led to the invention of his signal watch.

### Death of Superman

Jimmy's success grew at the Planet, rising up from a gopher to becoming a photographer and occasional reporter. Shortly before Superman's demise at the hands of Doomsday, Jimmy began freelancing for rival media magnate Collin Thornton of Newstime Magazine. When Superman was killed by Doomsday, it was Jimmy who took the infamous photograph of Superman's ragged cape, fluttering in the wind. This photograph was used as the frontspiece for a special Superman retrospective published by Newstime.

### Up, Up and Away

Jimmy ultimately returned to the Daily Planet and took a position as a regular star reporter, replacing the demoted Clark Kent. This caused a strain in the relationship between Clark and Jimmy. In the year following the Infinite Crisis, Clark regained his original role as the Daily Planet's star reporter, and Jimmy returned to being a photographer, winning the Pulitzer Prize for his photographic efforts.

### Countdown

Some time after that, Jimmy discovered that he had become a repository for the ambient power of New Gods who had fallen in battle. This caused Jimmy to spontaneously develop super-powers. Each power was drastically different from the other and only manifested at times when Jimmy's life was threatened.

### New Krypton

During Superman's prolonged battle against the god-like Atlas, Jimmy witnessed a mysterious individual present at the scene. Investigating further, he discovered that this man was actually Codename: Assassin who had been responsible for murdering Dubbilex and the original Newsboy Legion.

Faking his death with the help of Natasha Irons, he went undercover to find information about the mysterious organization known only as Project 7734.

## Powers and Abilities

### Abilities

* **Photography:** Jimmy is an ace photographer and an accomplished, though amateur, investigative reporter. He has been awarded the Pulitizer Prize for photography.
* **Journalism**

### Weaknesses

Jimmy has an uncanny knack for getting himself into trouble. This often leads to Superman being forced to divert his attention from another crisis in order to rescue Jimmy. Over time however, Jimmy has become more responsible and Superman has learned that Jimmy can often take care of himself.

## In other media

*Main article: James Olsen in other media*