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Jimmy Olsen is the starry-eyed photographer at the Daily Planet, and a good one at that. He's always seen as the 'Kid' no matter his age, and is often seen as on the goofy side. Still, his photos are top notch, and he is rumored to be a pal of Superman.
Eternally clueless, with a well deserved reputation for attracting absurd amounts of nonsense and always seeming to go through it with Clousseau levels of obliviousness. An excellent photographer, but Jimmy's persona seems perpetually set in a 1950s mentality.
Background
Jimmy was born in Yonkers, in upstate New York. His father was in the military, and died when he was young, leaving him to be raised by his fiercely overprotective mother. As a young boy, Jimmy grew up reading pulp adventures and watching old serials. He had an immense, some might say obsessive fondness for old style sitcoms and things from the Silver Age. He grew up on the Three Stooges, Archie Bunker, Father Knows Best, Archie and Jughead, and many other sorts of laugh track oriented things ("Golly Gee!" "Shazam!"). A regular Gomer Pyle, he was a bright child and very polite, eternally clueless and a walking disaster area, he started out working in a newsstand in his teens as one of the last paperboys, shilling copies of the town paper on the streets. A bright child, Jimmy adopted a relaxed persona, modeling himself after proper children in sitcoms from the era he adored, and seeming to be quite like Archie Andrews.
When he was sixteen, he met Clark Kent while on vacation in Metropolis. There, Clark took a fondness for the boy and got him a position in the Planet mailroom working as a copy boy and gopher, and learning what it was like to be at the Planet. In turn, Jimmy soaked things up like a sponge and idolized Clark. He developed a passing crush on both Lois Lane and Lana Lang while working there, but nothing ever came to remote fruition and he eventually moved beyond.
At the Daily Planet, Jimmy developed a.. To put it frankly, reputation for being a walking magnet for absurdities. Totally nonsensical things always occurred to him, whether involving supervillains, aliens from other dimensions, time traveling gods, and gorillas. ESPECIALLY gorillas. Working in the newsroom eventually he got to work with a camera, and began to demonstrate quite competent skills with it. His idolization of Clark turned to sort of a 'big brother' bond, and Clark was always patient with him. Jimmy also encountered Superman numerous times, always impressing 'Big Blue' with his steadfast loyalty to both Clark and Kal-El, and his almost youthful naïve and idealism. After several absurd incidents, culminating in one where the Planet staff was held hostage and Jimmy rigged together some spare electronics equipment to send a summons to Superman to save them, Superman gave him a Super Signal, his Signal Watch, so in times of crisis Jimmy could summon Superman for help. Jimmy has used it sparingly, trusting Superman to only need to be there when necessary, and has rarely used it in recent years.
Eventually Jimmy impressed Perry enough to be given a position as a staff photographer who worked with virtually everyone in the Planet newsroom, from large scale events and crisises, to working on the city beat, and covering fashion shows. Jimmy had a reputation of calmness and competence and familiarity with virtually any setup, always being ready to take pictures.
But also the nonsense. What has marked Jimmy more than anything else is his capacity for always having nonsense going around. He's had numerous encounters with the time traveling Legion of Superheroes in more casual setups, has been captured by virtually every single adversary of the Super-Family to ever exist as well as numerous other villains, and for whatever reason has a predilection for peril. He's had an off-again, on-again thing with the Gorilla followers of Grodd to the point the two are considered an 'item' when out of earshot to Jimmy's eternal consternation. He's on a first name basis with Irwin Schwabb, all incarnations of Bizarro, Mister Mxyztplk ("Sucks to be you kid. And I don't say that to just anyone."), and most of Batman's less threatening Rogues (Humbug has to get out sometime!). He has encountered virtually every villain within his universe, and has probably been captured or put in traps by most C and D listers to the point one wonders if he has Princess Peach syndrome. Somehow, he mostly excels at getting into acts of total nonsense with the Z-Listers of the villain world, always remaining apologetic and polite. Jimmy has a reputation for competence, calmness, and obliviousness to everything going on about him to rival Inspector Clousseau, wearing the outfits he's seen in his old sitcoms, avoiding cussing, and always trying to be polite. No matter how many times he's put in a bridal gown.
Personality
Jimmy is very much a relic of the Silver Age in mentality and behavior. Put in a cycle of eternal obliviousness and reset, he might as well be a character from a fifties sitcom. He is clueless around women, fashion, and eternally has no sense of whatever is going on around him. He is steadfastly loyal to his friends and his job, always polite regardless of circumstances, with few vices and relatively mild mannered.
What truly is Jimmy's defining feature is his capacity to attract nonsense, and his general unflappability about it long term. No one is quite sure where it comes from, but Jimmy is not cynical, not belittling, and not acerbic to anyone unless they try and hurt his friends. He is defined by nonsense and his clueless mentality, but he perseveres throughout all of it, doing his job and being there for his friends. Even though they're not sure whatever to make of him. Especially with Grodd. Poor Gorilla.
Logs
- 2011-12-18 - Bullets and Bombsticks: Hostages at the Daily Planet! - Arsenal and Starfire rush to the scene of a terrorist target, only to find out they have an inside agent. Or rather more than one when you include the brave rag tag team called the Daily Planet Staff! (DP: 2011-12-19 - Gang Hostages Rescued)
- (DP: 2012-05-29 - New Earth: Villains at their Worse)
- (DP: 2012-06-11 - The Heroes Return)
- 2012-10-24 - Attack of the Giant Robot Gorilla - Jimmy gets kidnapped by a Robo Kong and put in a dress and wig. Superman to the rescue? It must be Tuesday.
- 2013-01-08 - Monkey Go Pew - Monkey based shenanigans are inflicted upon the good citizens of Metropolis as the apes make their escape and Grodd's latest plan for control of the city runs fist into face first with the Superfamily and a group of intrepid Metropolis reporters. Oh, and She-Hulk. (DP: 2013-01-07 - Monkey Lasering Around)