Over the years, the young reporter Jimmy Olsen has had a career almost as illustrious as his pal Superman. Throughout their time together working at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent, his heroic alter ego, and his friend Jimmy Olsen have reported their fair share of pivotal stories and stopped innumerable criminals in their tracks. Over the years, the talented young reporter has proved himself to be more than just a sidekick. In fact, he was once even more powerful than Superman.
In "Superman versus Ultra-Olsen" by E. Nelson Bridwell and Murphy Anderson, first published in 1970's Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #129, Jimmy's father gives him half of an ancient Mayan medallion. Mark Olsen explains to Jimmy that the medallion was intended to give tremendous power to whoever wore it, but that an ancient family conflict lead to it being broken into two pieces. Jimmy then realizes that he and Superman were given the other half of the medallion while assisting an anthropologist in South America. When he joins the two pieces together, he is suddenly able to fly.
As Jimmy Olsen explores his new powers, he learns that the powers of the medallion are recharged every time a person or object attempts to hit him. He is impervious to all attacks and quickly becomes a hero powerful enough to rival his idol, Superman. Unfortunately for the Olsen family, some criminals recognize Jimmy while he is out helping people and hatch a plan to exploit his newfound powers. They kidnap his father and force Jimmy to rob banks for them. Superman tries to stop Jimmy but finds that even he is unable to beat the powerful Ultra-Olsen.
Luckily, Jimmy is able to explain his situation to Superman, and the two rescue the elder Olsen and make short work of his kidnappers.
After his brief tenure as the super-powered criminal Ultra-Olsen, Jimmy went back to being a reporter. But his days of dealing with the Mayan medallion were not quite over. In Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger's "Jaws of the Jaguar," which appeared in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #158, Olsen's father is attacked by the Jaguars, descendants of the Mayan people, who are looking to reclaim the medallion and harness its power to enact vengeance against American colonialism. Jimmy takes the medallion from his father and uses it to help Superman protect his father and keep the Jaguars from hurting anyone. After their confrontation, the Jaguars realize that the medallion would be better served helping people rather than seeking vengeance. However, Jimmy still uses his lightning vision to melt the medallion.
The destruction of the medallion protected innocent people from becoming the victims of its power, but also prevented Jimmy Olsen from becoming the hero he has always yearned to be. Jimmy's lack of experience proved to be a major hurdle for him in his brief tenure as Ultra-Olsen - but he made up for his inexperience with raw power and good intentions.
0 Comments