The Case for a Jimmy Olsen Solo Project
Now hear me out. Ask yourself....
1 - Who Doesn't Love Jimmy Olsen?
For nearly two decades between 1954 and 1974, DC Comics had a very successful run with 163 issues of a Superman spin-off title called Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen.
From Wikipedia:
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen was a best-seller throughout the 1960s; at its peak it was the #4 best-selling comic book with an estimated 520,000 copies sold each month.
It was inspired of course by the nationwide success of TV’s The Adventures of Superman (52-58), starring George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman, Phyllis Coates and later Noel Neil as Clark’s fellow reporter at the “great Metropolitan newspaper", the Daily Planet, Lois Lane — along with a young Jack Larson as Jimmy.
With Larson’s performance and in nearly every media adaptation of Jimmy since his named debut on radio in 1940, the cub reporter/photojournalist is consistently likeable, energetic, resourceful, optimistic and obviously dedicated to being Superman’s best friend.
As an example of how well-loved the character is, take the case of Jack Larson. He played Jimmy from the ages of 26 to 32. I recently saw a YouTube video of an appearance Jack did on David Letterman’s NBC show in 1982, at the age of 54. (Letterman was obviously a big fan.)
Larson talked wistfully about getting typecast after his role as Jimmy, but then expressed gratitude for all the love and thanks he had received from so many fans over the years.
Larson passed away 33 years later, in 2015, at the age of 87 - with that love and appreciation only compounding with each new generation discovering this wonderful series.
2 - Multi-generational Fan Base
In addition to Larson fans, you also have fans of several other actors who have played the part. (This can also be considered a list of potential fun guest stars, or at least cameos.)
- Marc McClure - Christopher Reeve’s 1978 Superman The Movie and it’s three sequels (of varying quality), and Helen Slater’s Supergirl
- Michael Landis and Justin Whalin - both appeared on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, with Dean Cain
- Aaron Ashmore - Smallville, with Tom Welling's Clark
- Mehcad Brooks - Supergirl, starring alongside Melissa Benoist
- and then there’s that poor guy who played Jimmy all-too-briefly in the Zach Snyder universe. No wait, you don’t know his name? Well neither did I. (It’s Michael Cassidy.)
Which leads us to the main reason Jimmy Olsen deserves a solo project....
3 - Jimmy Got the Shaft From Zach Snyder
The less said the better about Snyder leading Jimmy Olsen on the cutting room floor — disappointing MULTIPLE generations of fans. I’d rather focus on the future for this fun and inspirational character. After all, who hasn’t dreamed of being pals with Superman?
4 - Road Map Already Exists
As many people have detailed, Jimmy’s solo adventures in the comics often took wacky turns during the Silver Age - as did several titles at DC - with Jimmy transforming into another weird form or developing strange powers in practically every other issue.
In fact, by issue #105 of his solo title (Sept 67), they even had accumulated enough alter egos for Jimmy to publish a story called literally, "The World of 1,000 Olsens!"
(If a creative screenwriter in LA can’t mine a 13-part Peacemaker-level Jimmy Olsen series for MAX using that single story - and those that inspired it - as a road map, I hereby volunteer to give it a try. 😊)
Just go through all of Jimmy’s various personas, mutations, super-powers, etc., tailor-made for a wacky world-spanning adventure set in the new DC Universe:
- Elastic Lad - CGI ready hero. Opportunity for guest stars from the Legion of Superheroes, where he is an honorary member
- Porcupine Man
- Wolfman of Metropolis
- Bizarro Jimmy
- Super-brain Jimmy
- The Giant Turtle Man
- The Human Octopus - (who oddly only had six arms, not eight)
- Genie Olsen
- Flame-boy
- Invisible, radioactive, alien, fat and super-speed Jimmies (you get the idea)
Not to mention, even without a transformation, Jimmy frequently put on disguises to go undercover on a story or a mission. Lots of potential stories here.
5 - Ready Made Supporting Cast
Among DC Comics' roster, Superman is second only to Batman in having a solid stable of supporting characters who could show up on Jimmy’s series:
- Lois Lane - clearly deserves a MAX series of her own - although the generally superb Superman and Lois is filling that role for now. But a guest spot or even cameo from the next movie Lois in Jimmy’s series would serve as both great fan service and solid universe-building going forward
- Perry White - we’ve had some great Perry’s over the decades, but it’s been too long - we need to hear another great take on "Don’t call me 'chief’!!!" 😊
- Lucy Lane - Lucy's sister and Jimmy's semi-regular girlfriend. Featured in Helen Slater's Supergirl movie, used pretty extensively on the second season of Superman and Lois, but underused on Supergirl
- Steve Lombard - an irritant for Jimmy at the planet, maybe even a rival for Lucy's attentions?
- Cat Grant - a major force in the earlier years of Benoist 's Supergirl of course, so already familiar to modern audiences, could flirt with Jimmy to make Lucy jealous?
- Pete Ross - well done on Smallville, due for a revival. And as one of the few characters who knows Superman’s secret identity, he could help protect it from Jimmy and/or a snooping Lois
- Inspector Henderson - a nice throwback to Reeves' TV show, gives the series a law enforcement contact
- General Sam Lane - a military contact and a protector of Lucy, although he’s recently had a strong, multi-layered representation on Superman and Lois by Dylan Walsh
6 - Ready Made Villains
There are a whole raft of second-tier Superman foes that Jimmy could take on, especially if he acquires super-powers. I’m talking interesting and underused characters with potential for a live-action appearance, but not necessarily strong enough to carry a tent-pole feature.
- Toyman - one of Superman’s earliest villains, done well on Lois and Clark & Supergirl, but still has lots of potential
- LiveWire - powerful but a super-powered Jimmy could handle her
- Intergang - done well this season on Superman and Lois, so not sure it needs another version so soon
- Insect Queen - a chance to showcase another great Superman character, Lana Lang, and have some cool effects sequences
- Mister Mxyzptlk - more of a first-tier villain to me, but probably better suited for episodic TV than the big screen
- They could even consider an appearance by a Krypto who has been affected by red kryptonite. Either played for comedy (Krypto develops the ability to speak - and happens to be a foul-mouthed motor-mouth) or taken more seriously. The sky’s the limit with red kryptonite
6 - Classic Signal Watch
“ZEE-ZEE-ZEE!”
I haven’t even mentioned the super-sonic signal watch Superman gave Jimmy for emergencies in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 (Oct 54). Have we EVER seen that in live-action? It’s about time, even as a long-overdue Easter egg.
Of course the iconic signal watch would include updates for the new century such as video calling and an alert to let Jimmy know when Superman is off-world or otherwise unavailable.
It could also have whatever Kryptonian technology is needed by the script. Think of it as a smartwatch on Kryptonian steroids.
If other secondary DC Comics characters are deserving of their own TV series - like Gotham and Pennyworth (both of which I loved) and Penguin (which I’m looking forward to) - then surely so does Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, after a rich and varied 80-year history in print, radio, television, and on the big screen.
