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Jimmy Olsen is "[[Superman]]'s best friend" and the second best known character from the hero's [[Regular Character|supporting cast]]. He was created for the [[The Adventures of Superman (radio)|Superman radio show]] in 1940, mainly as someone for Superman to talk with (besides [[Lois Lane]], who was both a woman/LoveInterest and [[Straw Feminist|sometimes rather contrary]]) so he could [[The Watson|explain things to the audience indirectly]]. Jimmy was [[Canon Immigrant|later introduced in the comics themselves]].
An anonymous character who looked like Jimmy turned up as early as ''
Jimmy works as a photographer for the ''Daily Planet'', which is an excuse for him to accompany the [[Intrepid Reporter|intrepid reporters]] Lois and Clark in their adventures without being one himself. However, he has absolutely no problem getting into far more trouble and sent on far more bizarre adventures than he seeks out, and his unique status, which since ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' has almost taken the form of a [[Running Gag]], is the fact that he is possibly the single most powerful [[Weirdness Magnet]] in the entire DC Universe (and in this respect is often compared to [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]' ally Rick Jones from [[Marvel]]).
Jimmy became so popular he actually starred in his own comic book series, the humorous ''Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen''
The description of the [[Superpower Silly Putty]] trope features [[Jimmy Olsen]], and for a reason! That trope could have perfectly be changed to
Jimmy owned a supersonic wristwatch that he used to summon Superman whenever he wanted (only Superman could hear its
Jimmy's series lasted into the [[The Seventies|1970s]], when, as with Lois, DC tried to make him a more modern, believable character. He got a new set of clothes (loooong after Archie had stopped using his own similar set) and had adventures that didn't involve Superman or zany plots. He even picked up the nickname "Mister Action" (despite not starring in DC's ''Action Comics''). Ironically, the weirdness came back with a vengeance when, of all people, [[Jack Kirby]] came along to write and draw the series. Kirby, fresh off [[Marvel Comics]], decided to take this series as there was no assigned staff at the time, so he wouldn't cost anyone his job. With the clean slate, Kirby used the series to launch his [[New Gods]] saga (which means that, yes, [[Darkseid]] debuted in ''this'' title!) Kirby also used the series to bring back his own, older creations, the Newsboy Legion (both as adult scientists AND as their teenage clones) and the superhero The Guardian. On top of that, he also invented the DNA Project (known now as Cadmus) that would later have an impact on characters such as [[Superboy]] with their cloning techniques. Oh, and in case you think he forgot about Jimmy, he added one more transformation to the character's collection: "Homo Tremendus", i.e. Jimmy as a berserking caveman!▼
▲Jimmy's series lasted into the [[The Seventies|1970s]], when, as with Lois, DC tried to make him a more modern, believable character. He got a new set of clothes (loooong after Archie had stopped using his own similar set) and had adventures that didn't involve Superman or zany plots. He even picked up the nickname "Mister Action" (despite not starring in DC's Action Comics). Ironically, the weirdness came back with a vengeance when, of all people, [[Jack Kirby]] came along to write and draw the series. Kirby, fresh off [[Marvel Comics]], decided to take this series as there was no assigned staff at the time, so he wouldn't cost anyone his job. With the clean slate, Kirby used the series to launch his [[New Gods]] saga (which means that, yes, [[Darkseid]] debuted in ''this'' title!) Kirby also used the series to bring back his own, older creations, the Newsboy Legion (both as adult scientists AND as their teenage clones) and the superhero The Guardian. On top of that, he also invented the DNA Project (known now as Cadmus) that would later have an impact on characters such as [[Superboy]] with their cloning techniques. Oh, and in case you think he forgot about Jimmy, he added one more transformation to the character's collection: "Homo Tremendus", i.e. Jimmy as a berserking caveman!
After Kirby's departure, Jimmy's title was combined with Lois' to create ''Superman Family'' in which Jimmy's stories became more realistic urban crime adventures. In them, the crooks are usually [[Genre Savvy]] enough to remove his signal-watch, forcing him to rely more on his own wits. Fortunately, Jimmy is more than up to the task as a two-fisted [[Intrepid Reporter]].
Jimmy's role has since waned over the decades; while he still appears in most versions of Superman, his role as best friend has effectively been taken over by Lois, as she not only is more agreeable, but is now *married* to Superman. Besides, most writers seem to recall Jimmy more for his silly adventures than for his serious ones. His last major story arc (which took place in the much-maligned ''[[Countdown to Final Crisis]]'' series) had him apparently gaining all the powers he had during his Silver Age series, but out of his control; it was eventually revealed that the reason was because
However, Jimmy recently got his own mini-series, starting as a co-feature in ''Action Comics'', before getting canceled, and later reprinted with the storyline complete. In fact, it was praised as one of the best series' of the year, and deeper delving into Jimmy's character, particularly his Genre Savviness about his cosmic plaything status, has yielded surprisingly solid results.
This storyline also finally introduced the popular [[Smallville]] character Chloe Sullivan into official DC Comics continuity, and paired the two fellow [[Canon Immigrant|Canon Immigrants]] (Chloe from ''[[Smallville]]'', Jimmy from the radio serials) together.
This renewed interest in the character just goes to show
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=== Jimmy Olsen provides examples of the following tropes: ===
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