Jimmy Olsen
	Super-Hero Name: Elastic Lad Home Planet: Earth (of the 20th century) Super-Power: Super-elasticity Member Since: 2963

Origin | Super-Power | Personal Data | Membership Record

Honorary Members | Membership

Honorary members are not required to have super-powers or be under the age of 18, just to be of good character. Jimmy Olsen was made an honoray member of the Legion for all the help he has given the team over the years. That said, Jimmy still has a super-identity that is most associated with the Legion: Elastic Lad.

Jimmy originally acquired his Elastic Lad powers when Superman - thinking it might give his cub reporter friend a scoop - brought him an abandoned leaden chest he found floating in space near another world. After an emergency called Superman away, Jimmy opened the chest with the intention of only photographing its contents in the Man of Steel's absence. When he discovered a bottle containing a green glowing fluid, Jimmy feared it might be liquid kryptonite. In his haste to dispose of the dangerous bottle, Jimmy tripped over a phone cord and the bottle fell out of his hands, shattering on the corner of a desk. Splashed with the contents, his skin absorbed the fluid and to Jimmy's surprise he discovered that it turned his whole body elastic, giving him the ability to stretch it like rubber.

The effects of the fluid were only temporary, perhaps due to the presence of special radiations from Professor Bolton's altered kryptonite - a result of his Experiment #43 to find an anditote for Superman's weakness (Jimmy Olsen No. 31/1).

Some time later, Professor Potter recreated the elastic serum (in Jimmy Olsen No. 37/3) and Jimmy went on to have a number of solo adventures as Elastic Lad (Jimmy Olsen No. 46/3, 54/1, and others).

It is worth nothing that before Jimmy became a member of the Legion, he met Mon-El, who would also become a member of that team one day. When rainmaking chemicals and a severe electrical storm had torn open a tiny hole leading to the Phanton Zone, Elastic Lad squeezed through into the invisible dimension where time and space are meaningless. Some criminals of the zone tried to tempt Jimmy into spying on Superman as he changed back to his true identity, and Mon-El came forward from the mists to offer support and advice (Jimmy Olsen No. 62/1).

First Appearance (of Elastic Lad): Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 31/1 (written by Jerry Siegel, drawn by Curt Swan). Note: Originally, Elastic Lad's costume was green and yellow; in subsequent appearances it is the more familiar purple and green.

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As Elastic Lad, Jimmy can stretch, contract, contort, and distort his rubber-like body to extreme degrees.

He can twist himself into a "human pretzel", stretch himself so thin that he can squeeze through a keyhole, or flatten himself thinner than a pancake and slip under a door (Jimmy Olsen No. 31/1). He can wind himself inside a coil of boiler pipe or use his body to tie up criminals (62/1). He can stretch or reshape parts of his body, as when he made his fingers into an ever-changing maze to confuse opponents (76/1).

Elastic Lad once entered into the Phantom Zone by squeezing through a minute hole that had opened into the invisible dimension after a freak storm (Jimmy Olsen No. 62/1).

In elastic form, Jimmy can bounce like a rubber ball without harm (Jimmy Olsen No. 37/3), is resistant to being crushed - as when he was once flattened by a steamroller (62/1) - and bullets will rebound off his body if he stretches it tight (99).

Jimmy can cover great distances in shorter time by running with his legs at elongated length (Jimmy Olsen No. 37/3)

Jimmy keeps a spare Elastic Lad costume and bottle of Prof. Potter's elastic serum in a locker at the Legion clubhouse in the 30th century (Adventure Comics No. 323).

Limitations and Weaknesses: The effects of Prof. Potter's serum are only temporary. If he swallows three drops he can turn his body plastic for three minutes (Jimmy Olsen No. 72/1). Even inhaling the vapors of the serum's bottle can trigger a change, once turning him into Elastic Lad for a 24-hour period (62/1).

Elastic Lad is not invulnerable to harm from acid or flame.

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Full Name: James Bartholomew Olsen

Physical Description: Jimmy has red hair, brushed back from the forehead. Although a man over the age of 21, Jimmy retains his boyish features, including a number of freckles across his cheeks. In 1959 Jimmy weighed 145 pounds (Jimmy Olsen No. 41/1) but gained ten pounds in the next couple of years; currently he is 155 lbs. (58/1).

Personality: Jimmy is eager, often boastful, and inquisitive. He is also fun-loving, loyal to his friends - particularly Superman - and always determined to do his best. Jimmy is quick-thinking and clever, often getting out of trouble on his own and without Superman's help. He is not above lying (41/2) or concealing the truth (39/3) to keep from getting into trouble.

Skills: Besides being a talented journalist, Jimmy can pilot a helicopter (Action Comics No. 290/1) and speak fluent Kryptonese (Superman No. 158).

Interests: Jimmy is an avid bowler (Action Comics No. 317), loves to date girls, likes to listen to popular music, and is the president of the Superman Fan Club (Lois Lane No. **)

Previous Occupations: Jimmy started out as a cub reporter for the Metropolis Daily Planet, and is currently a full-fledged reporter.

Relationships: Jimmy was infatuated with Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's blonde younger sister, although she often snubbed his affections and dated other men who were more "mature". The two did marry for a period of about a week but due to the constant interruptions of Jimmy's past girlfriends, many of which he had almost married in the past, the two decided it was best to have their marriage annulled. The two remain good friends and Jimmy continues to be free to date other women (Jimmy Olsen No. 100).

Jimmy's closest friends in the Legion are Duo Damsel, Light Lass, and Saturn Girl, each of whom secretly pretend to be in love with him and jealous of Lucy's attentions (Jimmy Olsen No. 76, 100).

Chameleon Boy is particularly grateful to Jimmy for having thwarted Chameleon Chief (Jimmy Olsen No. 63/1), which may have explained why he was such a big supporter of him during his initiation test (72/1).

Known Relatives: Jimmy's father, Dr. Mark Olsen, was an archaeologist and former curator of the Natural History Museum in Smallville (Adventure Comics No. 216); he is currently living in Metropolis (Jimmy Olsen No. 128). Mrs. Olsen, Jimmy's mother (Superman No. 131/2) died in a train accident when Jimmy was ten (Jimmy Olsen No. 75/1), the same accident that he thought had claimed his father (124). Jimmy's cousin, Jerry Olsen, is a rock-and-roll star (32/2). Jimmy looks upon archaeologist Hal Rand as a father (124, 128), and from May 17th to June 16th, 1958, Superman was Jimmy's legally adoptive father (30/1).

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Application: Jimmy did not apply for membership in the Legion. As a reward for helping them in the past, the Legionnaires went back to the 20th century and "kidnapped" Jimmy as part of a surprise initiation test that involved him facing all of his other weird Olsen forms.

Induction: When Jimmy correctly guessed that the "Collector" was really Mon-El - and that Colossal Boy was the Giant Turtle Man, Chameleon Boy was Elastic Lad, Proty (II) was Wolf Boy, Cosmic Boy was the Human Porcupine, and Bouncing Boy was Fat Boy - Jimmy was taken by Superman into the future and, in a televised ceremony, was made an honorary member of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Jimmy Olsen No. 72/1).

Positions Held: Reporter for the Legion Bulletin

Aliases Used: None in the Legion

Legion Career Highlights:

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 76 (Apr. 1964) "Elastic Lad Jimmy and His Legion Romances"

To make Lucy Lane jealous and appreciate Jimmy more, Saturn Girl, Triplicate Girl and Light Lass staged a series of planned emergencies and fawned over Elastic Lad, knowing that Lucy would be watching on the time-monitor back in Jimmy's apartment. After making Jimmy believe that the trio of Legion girls desired him, they found out that Lucy had fallen asleep at the monitor and missed the whole thing!

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 77 (June 1964) "The Colossus of Metropolis"

Jimmy used an enlarging compound given to him by Colossal Boy to mimic the Legionnaire's super-power. Wearing a Colossal Boy costume, he battled Titano, the giant ape.

Adventure Comics No. 323 (Aug. 1964) "The Eight Impossible Missions"

Jimmy took part in the "Great Proty Puzzle" - a contest designed to pick the Legion's leader for the 3rd term. Jimmy put on a puppet show for the Legionnaires, but failed to guess the solution.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 79 (Sept. 1964) "The Red-Headed Beatle of 1,000 B.C."

When the villain Kasmir from the 30th century stole one of the Legion's time-bubbles but was unable to work the controls, he managed to trick Jimmy into taking him to escape in the far distant past. Jimmy foiled Kasmir with a clever plan.

Superman No. 172 (Oct. 1964) "The New Superman"

When Superman lost his powers, his successor from Kandor turned out to be more interested in helping himself than Superman's friends. Jimmy contacted the Legion and had the members present temporarily imbue Superman with their powers so he could save them himself. Jimmy also gave him some of his "Elastic Lad" serum to drink.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 85 (June 1965) "The Adventures of the Chameleon-Head Olsen"

When Jimmy visited his Legion friends in the 30th century, Chameleon Boy gave him a serum that would temporarily allow Jimmy to duplicate his powers. Back in the 20th century, however, most of the serum spilled so Jimmy was only able to change the shape of his head while trying to outwit the Anti-Superman Gang.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 88 (Oct. 1965) "Jimmy Olsen, World's 'Heavyweight' Champ"

Professor Potter tried to create a serum that would give Jimmy the same powers as Legionnaire Star Boy, but instead it only made him super-heavy.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 99 (Jan. 1967) "The One-Man Legion"

For his birthday, the Legion gave Jimmy power-duplicating costumes of Lightning Lad, Element Lad, and Sun Boy, which Jimmy used to fight the Weapons Wizard. When the costumes were damaged, Jimmy managed to save the day as Elastic Lad.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 100 (Mar. 1967) "Jimmy Olsen's Weirdo Wedding"

Jimmy attended a Legion meeting, where he told his old "girlfriends" Saturn Girl, Duo Damsel, and Light Lass that he was going to marry Lucy Lane. The three girls feigned jealousy, having previously pretended to have fallen for him.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen No. 106 (Oct. 1967) "The Lone Wolf Legionnaire Reporter"

The Legion recruited Jimmy to help them meet the deadline for the Bulletin by "nosing around" for stories. After three days, Jimmy believed he'd failed but as it turned out, his "misadventures" as Elastic Lad were really important scoops.

For more information about Jimmy Olsen, click here.

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Honorary Members | Membership