History: Jimmy Olsen took pains for many years to tell people he came from a family of investment bankers and attended Metropolis High, but the truth is that his father was an alcoholic mechanic and Jimmy’s earliest years were spent in Oklahoma City. Jimmy was confident that he could make a name for himself and advance his career by becoming a photographer and moving to Metropolis. He was an intern at the Daily Planet for one summer, where he met and had a steamy fling with Chloe Sullivan. Later, after the event known as Dark Thursday, Jimmy scored a full-time job as a news photographer at the Planet and joined Chloe’s circle of friends, including Clark and Lois. Jimmy ran afoul of a number of powerful metahumans and masterminds, notably Lex Luthor— Jimmy suspected Lex was involved in numerous conspiracies. Jimmy wound up working in the basement archives as a result of poking his nose around, but he kept working hard and partnered frequently with “C.K.” and Lois to uncover the truth.
Current Events: Although he had a romance with Clark’s cousin Kara for a while, Jimmy’s true love was Chloe. After a troubled engagement, they were married, only to have Chloe swept away by the monstrous Doomsday. Doomsday’s human alter-ego, Davis Bloome, had been trying to get between the couple for months. Even after Chloe was rescued, their marriage was on the rocks; after Jimmy accused Davis of being a serial killer, and Chloe of keeping secrets, the couple divorced. Jimmy was ultimately proven right when Davis’ transformations into Doomsday became uncontrollable. Using black kryptonite, Davis was separated from Doomsday and left alone while Clark and Oliver’s team took care of the monster. However, the all-toohuman Davis was just as capable of monstrous acts, and he ran Jimmy through with a pipe in front of Chloe. Jimmy responded in kind, but his injuries were too severe; he died in Chloe’s arms.
Classified: Jimmy left Chloe the Watchtower penthouse as a wedding gift, something he never revealed until the last day of his life. Jimmy’s legacy may live on in his younger brother, James Bartholomew Olsen. Chloe gave the younger Olsen his brother’s camera at Jimmy’s funeral.