Olsen family

The Olsen family includes several people, including two brothers who both go by the personal name "Jimmy Olsen" and both became close friends of Clark Kent.

Known Members[]

Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen was the older brother of James Bartholomew Olsen.
James Bartholomew "Jimmy" Olsen is the younger brother of Henry James Olsen.
An unnamed man is the father of the Olsen brothers. Inconsistent claims were made about him (see Inconsistencies).
An unnamed woman who attended Henry James' funeral. The woman appears be the spouse of the Olsen brothers' father (who wears a wedding ring). It is unknown if she is the biological mother of one or both of his sons, or merely their stepmother.

Extended families[]

Chloe Sullivan, who hails from the Sullivan family, married Henry James Olsen in 2008, but their marriage ended in divorce within a few months.^[1] Even though they later reconciled, Jimmy died before they could plan living together again.

Other Realities[]

Hank Olsen was a native of Earth-Majestic.

History[]

Little is known about the history of the Olsen family, due to inconsistent claims made by Henry James Olsen. Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen worked at the Daily Planet until 2009, when he quitted and was later murdered by Davis Bloome. The young James Bartholomew Olsen, together with their apparent parents, attended his funeral. Around 2013, James Bartholomew came to walk in his brother's footsteps and became a photographer for the Daily Planet.

Inconsistencies[]

Throughout the show's run, there were inconsistencies in the life story of Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen (and that of his family).

In Heat and Unsafe, Jimmy Olsen is said to be a high school student in Metropolis.
In Rage, Chloe Sullivan mentions that Jimmy is spending Thanksgiving with his mother.
In Static, Jimmy's father is indicated to be a Metropolis resident. Jimmy mentions that he has dusted off his dad's old ham radio equipment.
In Committed, Jimmy is said to have grown up in Oklahoma City, and did not come to Metropolis, until he was an adult. His father's a part-time mechanic, and a full-time alcoholic, in Oklahoma City. His mother either split or died, before he could know her.
In Abyss, Jimmy (a newspaper photographer, alleged to be the son of an alcoholic, part-time mechanic) is able to, on short notice, make an appointment for Chloe with one of the best neurologists in Metropolis (a feat previously reserved on the show for wealthy characters like the Luthors). When Chloe vanishes from Metropolis General Hospital, an angry Jimmy talks to a representative from the hospital and says: "Lawyer? You're not gonna be hearing from any lawyer. You're gonna hear from an entire law firm." (though, it is unknown if he was being serious).
In Beast, Oliver Queen mentions that he has done a background check on Jimmy, and indicates that Jimmy has been lying about his background, while Jimmy insists that he is just a mediocre photographer-turned-bartender.
In Doomsday, Jimmy's younger brother (who had never been mentioned prior to this) attends his funeral. A man, presumed to be his father, is a well-kept man, who wears an expensive-looking suit. His father is also shown to be married to an unnamed woman. Jimmy is also shown to have, at the time of his wedding, had access to funds to purchase a Metropolis loft apartment, in a building that dwarfs LuthorCorp Plaza.

Notes[]

It is possible that James Bartholomew and Henry James Olsen have different mothers, making them half-brothers. In the episode Committed, the older Olsen brother states that he never really met his mom.^[2] Indicating that she either died, or abandoned the family, when Henry James was very little (before James Bartholomew Olsen would have been born). If they do indeed have different mothers, it would potentially explain away the inconsistency between Committed and the Season Six episode Rage, where Henry James is said to be spending Thanksgiving with his mother.^[3] Making it possible that the mother mentioned in Rage is actually Henry James' stepmother (and James Bartholomew's birth mother).

In the Comics[]

In the Silver Age comics, Jimmy Olsen's father was an archeologist named Mark Olsen, who first appeared in Adventure Comics #216 (September, 1955). In Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #21 (June, 1957), the Olsens are shown to be descendants of a pirate (secretly a government agent) called Greenbeard Olsen. The Olsen family tree also included a future descendent, from the 29th Century, named Kristin Wells. Wells traveled back in time and became Superwoman in DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (July, 1983).

Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, the entire DC universe was rebooted. In this new continuity Jimmy Olsen's parents were James Jacob "Jake" Olsen (a government agent) and Sarah Olsen.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Vol 2 #1 (September, 2019) introduced a brother for Jimmy Olsen named Julian Olsen. This was followed by the introduction of Jimmy's sister, Janie Olsen, in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Vol 2 #5 (January, 2020).