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I didn't become a big Jimmy Olsen fan until I was in my 20s, but his aspirational role for kids is definitely one I can relate to. Surprising no one, Batman was my hero when I was a kid, but as I've mentioned before, I never really wanted to be Batman. I wanted to be Robin, because that's who gets to hang out with Batman. It wasn't until I got closer to my teens that I really started to identify with the heroes -- mainly Spider-Man and the X-Men, which are almost scientifically designed to appeal to the melodrama of your teenage years. As those characters show us, being the hero comes with a lot of responsibility. You're always having to go and fight crime and use your abilities to help others, and even at the best of times, that can be a real drag. The sidekick, though? That's just far enough on the sidelines that you get all the fun and none of the worry. Sometimes you get beaten to death with a crowbar, yes, but for most of it, the responsibility lies with someone else, and you just get the benefits.
Which is exactly how Jimmy Olsen works. He has adventures. He's been to space. He occasionally gets super-powers, but only long enough to have fun with before they fade away. He has his own fan club, which is a pretty amazing example of his status as an aspirational character. Hell, he went back in time and brought down the Nazis from the inside!
[ Page 1 of JIMMY OLSEN story "Jimmy's D-Day adventure", where "Von Olsen" is meeting with Adolf Hitler, and is promoted to Field Marshal. ]
