James Olsen (New Earth)
From DC Database
Contents |
History
James Bartholomew Olsen was born to Jake and Sarah Olsen in Bakerline, a borough of Metropolis. 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.
Jimmy was a very bright child, but sometimes grew bored with his schoolwork. Often, he would cut classes to attend lectures at the University of Metropolis. When he was fourteen-years-old, he got a job as an intern at the Daily Planet while still a junior high school student.
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. [1] The Man of Steel encouraged Jimmy to adapt his circuitry into a wristwatch and use it to contact him in emergencies. This became Jimmy's signal watch, and Jimmy became "Superman's Pal". Over the years however, Jimmy tended to use the watch to summon Superman for mundane reasons, often diverting the Man of Steel from responding to true disasters. After several such incidents, Superman warned Jimmy about abusing the signal watch.
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.
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.
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. [2]
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. [3]Powers and Abilities
Powers
New God Power Repository: Typically, Jimmy Olsen does not possess any superhuman capabilities. Darkseid during the events of "Countdown started using Jimmy as a repository for the powers of fallen New Gods that he believed he would need in his plan to remake the universe in his image. The powers were different each time, and were specifically suited for each particular circumstance. These abilities included:
- Stretching: Jimmy used this power to avoid being killed by Killer Croc. [4]
- Super-Speed: Jimmy gained super-speed to save the life of an innocent pedestrian. [5]
- Projectile Spikes: Jimmy generated spikes that he used to fend off several attackers in Suicide Slum. [6]
- Boom-Tube: Jimmy possesses the power to create boom tubes by force of will, by simply thinking about where he wants to go he can open interdimensional portals.
Abilities
Strength level
Average: Jimmy Olsen possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engages in moderate regular exercise.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.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Trivia
- During the Reign Of The Supermen storyline, Jimmy wore a Spin Doctors T-shirt -- the name of the band that performed "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" from their Pocket Full Of Kryptonite album.
Recommended Reading
See Also
- Discuss James Olsen (New Earth) on the forums
- Appearances of James Olsen (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: James Olsen (New Earth)
- Quotations by James Olsen (New Earth)
- Images featuring James Olsen (New Earth)
