Superman 2025's Jimmy Olsen, Skyler Gisondo |
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On August 25th, writer and director of Superman, James Gunn, celebrated the creation of James Bartholomew Olsen with a picture of actor Skyler Gisondo in costume, playing Superman's Pal. He also included an image that is very, very early Jimmy Olsen, written by Siegel, drawn by Shuster.
Jimmy really existed as a background character, mostly nameless, at the Daily Star and Planet (so I don't really know how they came up with the specific "first appearance" but whatever). It would be the radio show that pushed Jimmy as a featured player in Superman's world.
Actor Jackie Kelk would provide the first voice for Jimmy, making sure that Clark/ Superman would have a conversationalist who wasn't his boss or Lois. On the show, Jimmy cemented his role as the eager kid on the learning curve who, like Lois, was constantly stumbling into danger.
Tommy Bond played Jimmy in the original serials, but the one who kind of *made* Jimmy was Jack Larson. His Jimmy was an eternal 18 year old who acted 10, making the bow tie and a sweater vest or jacket his signature look - something Jimmy still sports these days as a sort of hipster.
The character was so popular with kids, we wound up with a comic series that ran for 20 years, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. And if you want to see how a comic book series can change drastically over two decades, check in with that comic and Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane. (Especially Lois Lane, to see the changes in attitudes about women and their place in culture and the newsroom.)