Jimmy Olsen was an aide to Metropolis' mayor Lex Luthor.
History
After a period working for the Daily Planet and a series of short-lived attempts at heroism when his DNA was temporarily altered by various outside sources, Jimmy went on to serve as an aide to Lex Luthor, the mayor of Metropolis thanks to his efforts to provide Metropolis with a technologically advanced police force to battle various threats in the absence of a superpowered defender.
Having discovered Superman's spaceship and using DNA samples to create numerous Bizarro clones, Luthor grafted Kryptonian DNA onto various other subjects in an attempt to artificially duplicate the Bizarros' powers, but he was apparently unaware that the 'graft' was successful on Jimmy and only Jimmy, with all other subjects either dying instantly or mutating before death. However, this graft caused Jimmy to go insane, acquiring superhuman strength, speed, stamina, heat vision and flight, while also mentally transforming him into a Kryptonian determined to replace human life with Kryptonian life. Using his position as Luthor's aide, Jimmy played up the public's fear of superheroes via propaganda, encouraging the possibility of them as alien invaders rather than the enhanced humans of the Justice League, hoping to have them imprisoned so he could use their DNA as well in an attempt to create a stable template to create other new Kryptonians. To this end, he arranged for various attacks to take place that would further color the public's' negative view of their heroes, such as providing the Joker with Kryptonian weaponry or having Count Vertigo and Major Disaster frame Green Lantern for major property damage.
Although the League were eventually able to find Jimmy's base and turn the tables on his forces, they were virtually powerless against Jimmy in a direct confrontation, with Jimmy tearing through the various heroes with relative ease. When the fight moved into an Amish village, Jimmy fired his heat vision at a young Amish man, who was revealed to be none other than Kal-El, the true last son of Krypton, taken in by the Amish when his ship crashed and raised as a pacifist who was encouraged to ignore worldly affairs so that he could walk in righteousness. Jimmy asked Kal-El to join him, claiming that they were virtually brothers as they shared the same DNA and were destined to rule Earth, but when Kal-El refused, Jimmy incinerated his parents to try and prove the inferiority of the species, prompting the two to engage in a final battle. Although Kal-El was relatively inexperienced in the use of his powers, during the battle, Jimmy's body finally started to reject the Kryptonian DNA, causing him to disintegrate. His last, almost prophetic words were directed at Superman: "We should have been friends". The Justice League then asked Kal-El to join them, recognising that his DNA had only given Jimmy an opportunity to vent his pre-existing frustrations rather than bringing out something that was not there before.
Related
- 4 Appearances of James Olsen (The Nail)
- 3 Images featuring James Olsen (The Nail)
- Quotations by or about James Olsen (The Nail)
- Character Gallery: James Olsen (The Nail)
Footnotes
  Daily Planet Staff member |
  This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains." |
 This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |