Thursday, March 30, 2006

WTF?



The character of Jumbo Jones is jumping into the fight on Jimmy's signal and yelling something stupid. Jimmy compliments him about how he can always count on him in a fight. He has a useful transportation job (pilots the Daily Planet's Helicopter).

I've read six stories of Showcase Presents: Superman Family and he's in three of them.

How in the hell did Jimmy Firkin' Olsen get a sidekick?

7 comments:

  1. It's silver-age Metropolis. I'm convinced they didn't regulate the chlorine going into the water supply.

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  2. You see, when a hero is lower level than another hero, the lower level hero can 'sidekick' up to just below the higher level hero's level. This allows heroes of all levels to work together on missions. This is how Jimmy Olsen can sidekick to Superman and allegedly be useful.

    At least that's how it works in City of Heroes.

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  3. I think it's just Superman's way of not having to watch out for Jimmy all the time.

    Superman:"Jimmy, This is Jumbo. He's going to be your sidekick on your madcap adventures."

    Olsen:"Wow, thanks Superman! It's great to meet you Jimbo!"

    Superman:"Remember what I told you Jimbo. Keep this twit out of trouble so he doesn't have to use that damn signal watch. Otherwise, I'll introduce your two best friends two my heat vision, understand?"

    Because, as we all know, Superman was a real jerk back then.

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  4. So if Jimmy has a sidekick, does that mean Lois has a girlfriend?

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  5. If you believe a lot of fan fiction...

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  6. Kids today don't know from Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy Olsen had his own fan club. Jimmy Olsen had an alien fan club. An adult Jimmy Olsen had the Newsboy Legion as his sidekicks and a few hundred clones of Jimmy were security guards at the DNA Project -- both courtesy of Jack Kirby, who saw Jimmy as a lead character rather than a sidekick. After Kirby, Jimmy became investigative reporter "Mr. Action" and, well, after that...

    ...after that, John Byrne and Marv Wolfman decided to just throw out all the development behind the character and make him the annoying kid he hadn't been for years, but which you kids probably think of as "Jimmy Olsen." I've never forgiven them for that.

    Go read the first Kirby Jimmy Olsen collection and then we'll talk.

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  7. In a way wasn't Marsha Mallow the Lois equivalent of Jumbo Jones?

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