Krypton is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , most commonly appearing or mentioned in stories starring the superhero Superman as the world from whence he came. The planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , and was named after the chemical element krypton . The planet was first mentioned in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and made its first appearance in Superman #1 (1939).
153-537: Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet . He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent , and has a good working relationship with his boss Perry White . Olsen looks up to his coworkers as role models and parent figures . From 1954 to 1982, Olsen appeared in 222 issues of
306-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
459-472: A lead shield that protected their city from the kryptonite radiation of the asteroid. The protective shield was destroyed in a meteor storm, exposing the inhabitants to the deadly radiation. The sole survivor of Argo City, Kara Zor-El , was sent to Earth by her scientist father to live with her cousin Kal-El, who had become known as Superman. Kara adjusted to her new life on Earth and became known as Supergirl. It
612-402: A mysterious figure hovering over the fight. After some encouraging words from Clark Kent, he decides to take two weeks off to investigate. He tracks down a figure connected with the past of Jonathan Drew and is told the story of how Jonathan became Codename: Assassin. His informant is quickly executed by Codename: Assassin, who then tries to kill Jimmy. Jimmy is able to avoid being killed and
765-488: A script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have the final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors ,
918-493: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
1071-471: A 2010 story, he claimed it stopped working some time in the past, never worked particularly well in the first place, and contacted Superman through Morse code now, anyway, but still wore it for show. Mostly during the Silver Age of Comic Books , Jimmy would find himself temporarily transformed, for better or worse, or undergo a disguise for various purposes. The variety of transformations Jimmy received during
1224-561: A 29th-century descendant of Olsen became Superwoman . Following Crisis on Infinite Earths , Jimmy's prior history as a character was erased. Despite recent modernization efforts on Superman and his supporting characters, Jimmy Olsen has not been significantly changed in the Modern Age. He is still a cub reporter working for The Daily Planet , and is still friends with Superman. His look was made over as he stopped wearing bowties, and started wearing casual clothing (though this trend started in
1377-455: A 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in the red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch
1530-660: A Kryptonian actress named Lyla Lerrol . A Superman "imaginary story" entitled "What If Krypton Had Not Exploded?" (reprinted in the trade paperback The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told ) gave more insight into Krypton's society. This era also established that the Guardians of the Universe , the administrators of the interstellar police force, the Green Lantern Corps , were themselves aware of Krypton's pending destruction and assigned Green Lantern Tomar-Re to avert it, but he
1683-491: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
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#17328525045911836-475: A bursting mortar shell could penetrate his skin). Thus, it was explained by the early 1950s that Kryptonians were powerless on their own planet and would gain superpowers only within a lower gravity environment. This matched the correct theories being published that when man reaches the Moon (a lighter gravity environment) he will be able to lift great masses and leap great distances. In the early 1960s, added to this
1989-622: A cover date of September 2019, DC Comics published a 12-part comedic miniseries that restored some elements of the 1954 series to the main DC Comics timeline. Jimmy was once again shown as Turtle Boy and Elastic Lad, and his antics, glamorous lifestyle as Superman's pal, and strange transformations were depicted as a source of streaming-media ad revenue that was keeping the Daily Planet afloat. The series explored Jimmy's siblings Janie and Julian, his family's historic relations with Lex Luthor 's family,
2142-488: A deep-seated hatred for Superman and eyes for Lois Lane. It was Jimmy who first uncovered his secret plot to control the world's finances through his company Aelius Industries, Inc. Olsen is a central character in the 12-part miniseries Superman: Metropolis (beginning June 2003). Written by Chuck Austen and illustrated by Danijel Zezelj, the series focuses on the futuristic technology unleashed in Metropolis by Brainiac in
2295-414: A faction within the U.S. military is actively plotting to kill Superman. Willing to do anything to uncover the conspiracy behind Project 7734 , Jimmy uses an anonymous chat server and gets in contact with Erik/Amazing Woman from Infinity Inc. , who claims to have information useful to Jimmy. Despite being actively pursued by Codename: Assassin, who goes so far as to place bugs in his house, Jimmy goes to
2448-546: A flashback sequence. Following Crisis on Infinite Earths , which rebooted the history of the DC Universe and retroactively eliminated the existence of the Golden and Silver Age versions of Krypton, writer/artist John Byrne was given the task of recreating the entire Superman mythos. This rewrite was started in the 1986 Man of Steel miniseries, which addressed Krypton in both its opening and closing chapters. Krypton itself
2601-425: A human mutated in some manner and launched as part of an Earth space program - when a holographic program encoded into the craft which brought him to Earth uploaded the information into his brain (although Lex Luthor had earlier discovered his alien heritage when his attempts to create a clone of Superman were complicated by the unexpected x-factor of Superman's alien DNA). In Action Comics #600 (May 1988), Krypton
2754-504: A major cultural celebration, and the introduction of Chloe Sullivan (from the Smallville television series) to the DCU proper. In the latest arc, he goes on a charity date with a girl named Maggie, only to discover that she somehow has ties to Mr. Mxyzptlk , and that she wants to marry him. The last three chapters of the story are told in the self-titled one-shot Jimmy Olsen . Beginning with
2907-405: A matter of selecting compatible genetic material to be placed within an artificial womb called a "birthing matrix"; the parents almost never met in person and never touched one another. The planetary government was deeply isolationist and forbade space exploration and communication with other worlds. The young scientist Jor-El was born into this world. By his adult years, a mysterious "Green Plague"
3060-596: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
3213-499: A more confidently powerful character and is reunited with the series' other cast members on a mission to stop Karate Kid 's disease from becoming a pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. Unfortunately, they fail, and the Morticoccus virus devastates an alternate Earth. Upon return to their Earth, Jimmy is captured by Mary Marvel , who had been manipulated towards evil by Darkseid. When Superman comes to save Jimmy, Darkseid takes control of
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#17328525045913366-459: A new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
3519-431: A non-sentient device, and shown to be self-aware in 1991 ), but more recent accounts have restored Supergirl, Krypto, and Kandor and introduced another newly discovered survivor, Karsta Wor-Ul . Kryptonian civilization's reported level of technological advancement has also varied. Some works, such as Kevin J. Anderson 's novel The Last Days of Krypton , describe it as a few centuries ahead of Earth, while others, such as
3672-432: A panel drawn by artist Sal Amendola described a "Vathlo Island" in the "Old World" hemisphere of Krypton as being populated by a "highly developed black race". DC generally lagged behind its competitor Marvel Comics , and Superman comics generally more so than other DC titles, in depicting characters of color, and there were few previous appearances of black characters in the series, mostly stereotypical "natives". It
3825-483: A plot involving the attempted murder and faked death of Olsen, and a marriage in Gorilla City that Jimmy subsequently forgot to annul. The series poked fun at DC Comics' own history, including a sequence in which Jimmy angered Batman by suggesting a phone-in campaign to decide whether Robin lived or died . By the end of the series, Jimmy received a new Signal Watch and became the publisher of the Daily Planet. The series
3978-495: A previous storyline and how it affects the everyday lives of Metropolis citizens. Jimmy takes a position as a regular star reporter for The Daily Planet , replacing the recently demoted Clark Kent. This caused a strain at the Planet . Jimmy's story in the 2007–08 weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis begins with an investigation into the death of Duela Dent . Tying into the Death of
4131-500: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
4284-467: A romantic relationship. Forager informs him that Jimmy has become a soulcatcher for the spirits of dying New Gods. The Monitor known as Solomon later tells him that his new powers are the consequence of Darkseid using Jimmy as a host for powers he wishes to use to recreate the universe in his image, knowing that "Superman's pal" is one of the world's most well-protected citizens. Later, as the events of Countdown begin to come to their close, Jimmy becomes
4437-419: A separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books, the art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with
4590-451: A stand-in for different non white diaspora communities, such Hispanic and Latino Americans . In issue #234 of Superman (February 1971), the first apparently dark-skinned Kryptonian was featured, and described as being employed at "Vathlo Station", but the origin of this previously unseen Kryptonian ethnicity otherwise went uncommented on. Half a year later, in Superman #239 (June 1971),
4743-441: A success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish the 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of
Jimmy Olsen - Misplaced Pages Continue
4896-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
5049-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
5202-504: A variety of slapstick adventures and strange transformations, such as Jimmy transforming into the giant "Turtle Boy" in issue #53. The stories in the title often featured particularly outlandish situations, ranging from Jimmy being hurled back in time to Krypton before its destruction in issue #36 to dealing frequently with gorillas of all sorts. During this period, Jimmy Olsen lived a glamorous life as "Superman's Pal" and even had his own (in-story) fan club. Beginning in 1958, Olsen gained
5355-431: A villain inside of a virtual reality simulator. Jimmy's home life and background is described in some detail throughout the course of the show. Although we never see her, some references are made to Jimmy's mother who is described as being overweight and having allergies. Jimmy's father Jack Olsen is a James Bond-like secret agent for the fictional National Intelligence Agency (N.I.A.) and the episode 'The Dad who Came in from
5508-451: A way to conquer disease and aging by perfecting cloning ; vast banks of clones, kept in stasis, held multiple copies of each living Kryptonian so that replacement parts were always available in the event of injury. All Kryptonians were now effectively immortal , "with all the strength and vigor of youth maintained", and for millennia they enjoyed an idyllic, sensual existence in an Arcadian paradise. 100,000 years later Kryptonian society
5661-487: A way with unintended implications. However, other writers have pointed out that DC would go on to re-use this as a rationale to explain the non-presence of black skinned characters in other contexts, as with the Tyroc character. Vathlo was rarely if ever referenced beyond these few issues, although a black Kryptonian named "Iph-Ro of Vathlo" appeared in the more recent Superman: The Man of Steel #111. An offhand reference to
5814-528: Is a hacktivist who later fuses with a Mother Box , becoming a New God with intangibility and technology-manipulating abilities. Jimmy Olsen appears in The Adventures of Superman , voiced initially by Jackie Kelk and subsequently by Jack Grimes . Jimmy Olsen appears in Adventures of Superman , portrayed by Jack Larson . On TV, he lived at 360 Appletree Lane Apartment #3 in Metropolis. This version of
5967-576: Is also the native world of Supergirl , Krypto the Superdog , Beppo the Super-Monkey , Power Girl (in her case, an alternate-universe version designated "Krypton-Two"), and the supervillain General Zod . It has been consistently described as having been destroyed shortly after Superman's escape from the planet, although the exact details of its destruction vary by time period and writers. Kryptonians were
6120-645: Is an assistant to Lex Luthor who was genetically modified to gain Kryptonian superpowers. However, this eventually causes his body to destabilize and die. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen appears in The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again . An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen who became a reporter for the Gotham Gazette appears in All Star Batman & Robin,
6273-502: Is apparently shielded from Codename: Assassin's telepathy due to his own many physical transformations over the years. Jimmy goes to Project Cadmus and speaks to Dubbilex , who tells him the story about the death of the original Guardian at the hands of Codename: Assassin and how cloning is such an imperfect science that the only viable clone alive went into hiding in the desert. Dubbilex then dies from injuries sustained in an earlier conflict with Codename: Assassin. Jimmy heads south to
Jimmy Olsen - Misplaced Pages Continue
6426-499: Is established that Vathlo Islanders settled in Kandor prior to the destruction of Krypton. In Final Crisis #7 a black version of Superman is shown to reside on the alternate universe of Earth-23. This Superman, whose given name is Kalel but adopts the human alias of Calvin Ellis, is shown to originate from Vathlo Island of his reality's Krypton. While the island itself did not appear and
6579-567: Is not mentioned. Characters in Eric Jerome Dickey 's novel The Son of Mr. Suleman discuss Vathlo Island and react with derision to the idea that there was segregation on Krypton. After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths , the Silver Age version of Krypton was replaced by a newer version. The Silver Age Krypton made a rare Post- Crisis appearance in The Sandman #48, during
6732-460: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
6885-408: Is the brother of Janet Olsen and headed up the Daily Planet's baseball game. His friendship with Clark is semi-strained when he suspected that Clark Kent is Superman which would also explain why he showed up late to the different baseball games. By the present day after Clark revealed in an interview with Janet that he's Superman, Jimmy visits Smallville at Janet's suggestion and catches up with Clark at
7038-607: Is unknown who exactly was responsible for introducing these first nonwhite races to Krypton's demographic makeup, but Mark Waid has speculated that it was E. Nelson Bridwell , editorial assistant on the Superman books at the time. The commentary on the Vathlorians being "highly developed" (as if it were peculiar and noteworthy that people with dark skin might be developed) is generally seen by modern commentators as being well-intended but "cringeworthy". Other commentators have noted that
7191-412: Is usually portrayed in comics as the home of a fantastically advanced civilization, which is destroyed when the planet explodes. As originally depicted, all the civilizations and races of Krypton perished in the explosion, with one exception: the baby Kal-El who was placed in an escape rocket by his father, Jor-El , and sent to the planet Earth , where he grew up to become Superman. In some versions of
7344-594: The Arrowverse series Supergirl , he was portrayed by Mehcad Brooks . Douglas Smith portrays the character in Superman & Lois . He will be portrayed by Skyler Gisondo in Superman (2025). An unnamed "office boy" with a bow tie appeared in the story "Superman's Phony Manager," published in Action Comics No. 6 (November 1938); it was retroactively considered to be Jimmy Olsen's first appearance. The character
7497-632: The Arrowverse , portrayed by Mehcad Brooks . Introduced in Supergirl , this version is African-American and a former Daily Planet photographer who joins CatCo as an art director in the pilot episode . Additionally, he is aware of Superman and Supergirl 's secret identities and lost his father to criminals when he was a child, leading him to become the vigilante Guardian . Later in the series, Olsen becomes head of CatCo in National City after Cat Grant moves to Metropolis, and quits after Andrea Rojas buys
7650-679: The Eradicator ; this transformation, however, was extremely painful for Jimmy and has not appeared since. He also took the identity of "Turtle Boy" in a series of pizza commercials , made when he was temporarily laid off from the Planet . In the 1990s, Jimmy quit the Planet in a dispute over a story and went to Metropolis broadcaster Galaxy Broadcasting, where he worked as an on-air investigative reporter. This change matured Jimmy somewhat, but he became more ambitious, as well as more brash and arrogant. He still stayed on good terms with both Clark and Lois to
7803-649: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
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#17328525045917956-601: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
8109-671: The Joker appears in the Emperor Joker storyline. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen appears in All-Star Superman . An alternate timeline variant of Jimmy Olsen appears in Flashpoint . This version is a secret agent working for Cyborg before being killed in action and replaced by Lois Lane. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen from Earth-2 appears in Earth 2 . This version
8262-614: The Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than a true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of
8415-703: The McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as a promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved
8568-733: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
8721-446: The Superman film series and Man of Steel , describe it as thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years more advanced. In its first appearance, Krypton was only depicted at the moment of its destruction. Beginning in the Superman comic strip , Krypton was shown to have been a planet similar to Earth, only older by eons and possessed of all the progress that implied. It is suggested that Krypton exploded due mainly to old age and
8874-451: The Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as a way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from
9027-497: The dominant species on Krypton. Krypton also makes an appearance in several television series such as Adventures of Superman , Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , Superman: The Animated Series , Smallville , Supergirl , and Krypton . Krypton appears in the 1978 film Superman , the 2006 film Superman Returns , and the 2013 film Man of Steel , set in the DC Extended Universe . Krypton
9180-467: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
9333-508: The 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1984 film Supergirl ; Michael Landes in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Justin Whalin in the subsequent three seasons; Sam Huntington in the 2006 film Superman Returns ; Aaron Ashmore in The CW 's Smallville ; and Michael Cassidy in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . In
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#17328525045919486-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
9639-410: The 1970s comics). An interesting alteration to the relationship was that Jimmy designed the signal watch himself, leading to his first meeting with Superman. Superman briefly considered confiscating the watch, but decided to trust Jimmy to use it responsibly. While Jimmy's transformations no longer occur as regularly as they did in the Silver Age, Jimmy once became a type of "Elastic Lad" on contact with
9792-658: The Boy Wonder #6. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen from Earth-30 appears in Superman: Red Son . This version is a CIA agent who later becomes Vice President of the United States under Lex Luthor. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen from Earth-395 appears in Superman: Kal . This version is Jamie Ollson , an alchemist and teacher to Merlin. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen who serves
9945-675: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
10098-630: The Cleric , who carried "the Eradicator". Eventually this disagreement led to open violent conflict. A woman named Nyra, seeking what she considered a suitable mate for her son, Kan-Z, had one of her younger clones removed from stasis. The clone gained full sentience and was presented to society as a normal woman. When Kan-Z discovered that his fiancée was in fact his mother's clone, he killed the clone, then publicly killed his mother and also attempted his own suicide before being stopped. Kan-Z also publicly broadcast
10251-449: The Cold' is entirely devoted to this character. Jimmy Olsen appears in Smallville , portrayed by Aaron Ashmore . This version prefers to be called James, is in a relationship with series-original character Chloe Sullivan , and is ultimately killed by the titular villain in the eighth season finale "Doomsday". Chloe entrusts his camera to his younger brother (portrayed by Ryan Harder). In
10404-517: The Destroyer eliminated the Post- Crisis city of Kandor in a fiery nuclear explosion, but it was believed at the time that the device had been stopped before it could achieve planetary destruction. Centuries later, Jor-El himself would discover that the reaction had only been slowed to a nearly imperceptible rate and it would eventually destroy the planet as intended. Though it survived the war, Krypton
10557-522: The Eradicator's planetary binding genes from his unborn son Kal-El's genetic pattern, took Kal-El's birthing matrix and attached a prototype interstellar propulsion system to the vessel. Just as the planet began to shake apart and massive, exploding streams of green energy erupted through the surface of Krypton, Jor-El launched the matrix towards Earth, where it would open and give birth to the infant upon landing (the Post- Crisis Superman therefore
10710-507: The Golden Age, Superman was initially unaware of his true origins; in Superman #61, Superman discovered the existence of Krypton for the first time and learned of his Kryptonian heritage. He later encountered other survivors prior to Kara's arrival in the form of three criminals, U-Ban, Kizo, and Mala , who were exiled by Superman's father before Krypton's destruction. Over the course of the 1940s and 1950s, various alterations and additions to
10863-587: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
11016-512: The New Gods storyline, Jimmy starts to develop many superpowers, which he first discovers when he is attacked by Killer Croc while gathering information on Duela's death. As the story progresses he tries to uncover the origin of these powers and starts to discover their potential limitlessness in stories which mimic the Silver Age Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen adventures. Briefly operating as
11169-455: The Signal Watch, a high-frequency supersonic device that allowed Jimmy to contact Superman in case of emergency. Lucy Lane debuted as Jimmy's off-again, on-again love interest in issue #36. Jimmy and Lucy were occasionally married in "imaginary stories" such as " The Wedding of Jimmy Olsen" (issue #38) and The Amazing Story of Superman Red and Superman Blue! Early adventures saw Olsen in
11322-659: The Silver Age is often homaged or parodied in later comics and adaptations featuring the character – for instance, in JLA: The Nail , Jimmy cites three of these transformations as his motivations behind backing Luthor's bill to outlaw metahumans and in Countdown , Jimmy is used as a spirit container for the deceased New Gods, causing him to exhibit strange powers, albeit uncontrollably, with other stories simply making passing references. An alternate universe variant of Jimmy Olsen from Earth-898 appears in JLA: The Nail . This version
11475-640: The WGBS media executive Morgan Edge . Kirby also used the series as a vehicle to reintroduce Golden Age characters that he previously created at DC Comics, such as the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion . Before the end of his run, Kirby wrote stories involving vampires , the Loch Ness Monster , Victor Volcanum, a fire-eating archcriminal, as well as a two-part story that featured the comedian Don Rickles . Kirby left
11628-531: The ability to temporarily transform into the superhero Elastic Lad by drinking a serum, becoming an honorary member of the Legion of Super-Heroes . When traveling to the Bottle City of Kandor , Superman and Jimmy donned the secret identities of Nightwing and Flamebird , respectively. He was promoted by editor Perry White to the status of "full-fledged reporter" in issue #124 (October 1969). Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
11781-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
11934-539: The appointment, only to find Erik's house burned to the ground. Jimmy pulls Erik out who, with his dying breath, shifts to his more reliable and powerful Erika form. Erik gives him Natasha Irons ' number. Natasha then contacts Jimmy, telling him about the plans of General Sam Lane , his outworldly fortress and his capture, and use of a Planet Breaker weapon of Captain Atom , now codenamed Project Breach (due to his similarity to Tim Zanetti 's fate). Finally ready to uncover
12087-473: The back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted a year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by
12240-471: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
12393-450: The character was largely popular, leading DC Comics to create the series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen , a regular title with him as the protagonist. Decades later in 1996, Larson portrayed an unnaturally aged Jimmy Olsen in an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . Jimmy Olsen appears in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , portrayed by Michael Landes in
12546-462: The character, playing Jimmy as a lovably naive rookie. When Whalin took over the role, more emphasis was placed on Jimmy's love-life and he would frequently seek out Lois, Clark and Perry's advice on these matters. Whalin's Olsen was described as being a computer whiz and these talents often came in useful to Lois and Clark/Superman, particularly in the episode 'Virtually Destroyed' where Jimmy's computing abilities come in handy as Lois and Superman battle
12699-399: The comic series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Superman Family , in addition to the main Superman titles. The character has appeared in most other media adaptations of Superman. He was portrayed by Tommy Bond in the two Superman film serials , Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950); Jack Larson in Adventures of Superman ; Marc McClure in the Superman films of
12852-529: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
13005-445: The company and forces him to report on stories based on profitability as opposed to truth. Although his contract forbids him from working at another newspaper after quitting, he finds a loophole by becoming the editor of his hometown paper, The Calvintown Gazette , as the contract doesn't stop him owning another paper. Jimmy Olsen appears in the Superman & Lois episode "A Regular Guy", portrayed by Douglas Smith . This version
13158-477: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
13311-459: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
13464-531: The creation of Vathlo Island inspired a whole host of other questions, such as 'If there are black Kryptonians, why are they so seldom seen, and why do they appear to live only on one island?' Gizmodo noted that a Krypton structured this way seems "segregated as hell", while Gene Demby observed that this was an example of "segregation in everything". DC Comics writer Mark Waid called this an "error of omission" coming from DC's desire to represent people of darker skin as living on Krypton, but implementing this in
13617-564: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
13770-483: The diner Victoria May's. American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until
13923-490: The dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect the comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of
14076-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
14229-554: The emergence of Earth-Two as a differentiated alternate universe within the DC Multiverse, Power Girl (Kara Zor-El) was introduced as Krypton-Two's alternate Supergirl in 1976. Kal-El and Kara Zor-El were the only known survivors of Krypton-Two, unlike the Silver Age analogue. Earth-Two's universe lacked its own Brainiac , so its Kandor was never abducted from Krypton Two before its destruction, nor did Kal-El have his own version of Krypton as an infant and toddler on this world. In
14382-422: The end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained
14535-876: The ending scene of the series finale set seven years in the future, the adult version of the younger Olsen (also portrayed by Ashmore) appears working with Lois and Clark at the Daily Planet . The 2008 DVD box set for the seventh season of Smallville includes a 22-minute featurette, entitled Jimmy on Jimmy , which features four of the six surviving actors at the time who had portrayed Jimmy Olsen in live-action: Jack Larson ( Adventures of Superman ), Marc McClure ( Superman film series , Supergirl film ), Sam Huntington ( Superman Returns ), and Aaron Ashmore ( Smallville ). Michael Landes and Justin Whalin (both from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman ) did not participate. Jimmy Olsen appears in TV series set in
14688-549: The entirety of his discovered findings as to what his mother had done across the entire planet. This key incident ignited the Clone Wars which lasted for 1,000 years, during which Kryptonian science was turned to warfare and several superweapons were developed and used. Among them was the device known as the Destroyer. Although the Eradicator's effects (altering the DNA of all Kryptonian lifeforms so that they would instantly die upon leaving
14841-460: The first capital of Krypton, is miniaturized by Brainiac , but is eventually recovered by Superman and subsequently housed in the Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping. Soon afterward, Kryptonopolis becomes the second capital of Krypton. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, the number of survivors was reduced to Superman himself in the comic book stories (the Eradicator was added in 1989 as
14994-734: The first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring the Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on
15147-412: The first season and Justin Whalin for the rest of the series' run. The reason cited behind the change is that Landes looked too much like Dean Cain as well as to emphasize Jimmy's youth. Landes played Olsen as a cocksure, sarcastic Generation X character, who often seemed like he was very sure of himself although usually, the opposite was true. Whalin gave a portrayal closer to previous incarnations of
15300-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
15453-713: The island was made in Alan Moore 's story " For the Man Who Has Everything ", where "racial trouble with the Vathlo Island immigrants" are mentioned in a dream-world Krypton that had avoided destruction. It is believed, based on the appearances of black Kryptonians in recent Superman issues, that the Vathlonians eventually were integrated into Krypton proper, although there has been no canonical statement about this from DC Comics. In Superman: World of New Krypton #4, it
15606-486: The largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of the process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in
15759-623: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
15912-451: The limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in the 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than
16065-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
16218-471: The makeup of Krypton were made in the comics. Among them was an explanation of why the natives of Krypton perished if they had possessed superpowers on their native world (as was the case in the earliest versions of Krypton outlined above, although this only became a problem once Superman — and by extension anyone from Krypton — was portrayed as increasingly powerful, able to withstand nuclear explosions, contrasted with his original power level in which
16371-438: The massive use of electricity Kryptonians used for their technology. The debut of the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939 delved into further details about Krypton, introducing the idea that all Kryptonians possessed a level of heightened physical abilities, including super-strength and super-speed. In the early comics' version of Krypton, Superman 's parents were named "Jor-L" and "Lora", though their names were changed to
16524-451: The mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in the tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from
16677-540: The more familiar " Jor-El " and " Lara " by the end of the 1940s. The Golden Age Krypton would be revised into another form almost as soon as it was defined, and very few stories were initially written about it. After the introduction of DC 's multiverse in the 1960s, this version of Krypton was declared to be the Krypton of the Earth-Two universe; the native dimension of DC's Golden Age characters and its Superman. After
16830-463: The most dangerous organisms in the universe. It was for this reason that 250,000 years ago, Krypton was chosen as the place to create Doomsday through forced evolution. Until its destruction, many dangerous animals, including ferrophage moles, still existed on Krypton. Kryptonians had to use their advanced technology to survive. Over 200,000 years ago, Krypton had developed scientific advancements far beyond those of present-day Earth, and had discovered
16983-569: The most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking a ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934),
17136-607: The next decade, and he made a notable appearance as the manager of a community baseball team in the 1946 radio serial Clan of the Fiery Cross . The first long story featuring the character, "King Jimmy Olsen," ran in the daily Superman newspaper strips from July 20-October 28, 1944. Following Jack Larson's portrayal on The Adventures of Superman TV series, Olsen was promoted from office boy to "cub reporter" beginning in Superman #86. Later in 1954, Olsen received his own series, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen . The first issue introduced
17289-402: The old Pemberton Camera Factory, sharing the results of his now-unhindered investigations with Perry and Mon-El. DC Comics has reported in solicits that Nick Spencer and R. B. Silva will be producing a monthly 10-page backup feature in Action Comics chronicling the adventures of Jimmy Olsen in Metropolis. Reported story topics include an alien civilization choosing Metropolis as the base of
17442-531: The page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of the American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be
17595-564: The planet) were felt immediately, the Destroyer's effects were possibly more significant: by the time the Kryptonian government admitted defeat and abolished the clone banks, a pro-clone rights terrorist faction known as Black Zero had started the Destroyer (activated by Kan-Z himself), a device which functioned as a giant atomic energy gun, projecting massive streams of nuclear energy into the core of Krypton, intended to trigger an explosive chain reaction within Krypton's core almost immediately. The destruction (by Van-L, an ancestor of Jor-El ) of
17748-462: The point where Jimmy was best man at their wedding. This period ended when he believed (wrongly) that he had discovered Superman's secret identity and said he would announce it live on air. He reconsidered his actions, but lost his job for wasting the time slot. He was again rehired by the Planet . Jimmy later came under the angry hand of the Alpha Centurion , an alternate universe dictator with
17901-514: The powers within him, causing Jimmy to radiate Kryptonite radiation, until Ray Palmer manages to rewire Darkseid's control from inside of Jimmy. Jimmy then transforms into a giant turtle-like creature, and prepares to take on Darkseid himself. Darkseid overcomes Jimmy, and prepares to kill him. Ray Palmer then comes out of Jimmy with the New God soul battery, and destroys it, returning Jimmy to normal. During Superman's fight with Atlas , Jimmy witnesses
18054-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
18207-414: The ruling body of Krypton named the "Science Council". Several stories featured characters traveling back in time to visit Krypton before its destruction; one example is the 1960 story "Superman's Return to Krypton", in which Superman is swept back in time to Krypton some years before its destruction. Powerless, he spends some time on the planet, where he meets his future parents-to-be and falls in love with
18360-620: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
18513-698: The second series, Jimmy Olsen became an investigative reporter for WGBS-TV nicknamed "Mr. Action," featuring in urban crime stories that less frequently involved Superman. Olsen appeared in new stories in The Superman Family #164, 167, 170, 173, 176, 179, and 182–222. A number of Superman writers including Leo Dorfman and Cary Bates contributed scripts for the stories, and they were most often pencilled by Kurt Schaffenberger . The series ended with issue #222 (September 1982). Afterwards, Jimmy Olsen continued to appear in issues of Superman , Action Comics , World's Finest Comics , and DC Comics Presents , where
18666-432: The series following issue #148. With issue #164 (April–May 1974) the series was renamed The Superman Family . An anthology title that incorporated the recently cancelled series Supergirl and Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane , Superman Family initially featured one new story about Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, or Supergirl, with the featured character in each issue narrating reprints of the other characters' stories. By
18819-460: The small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck , a collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published
18972-515: The story, additional survivors were later discovered, such as Supergirl , her parents (kept alive in the "Survival Zone", a similar parallel "dimension" to the Phantom Zone ), the criminal inhabitants of the Phantom Zone, Dev-Em , the residents of the bottled city of Kandor , the real parents of both Superman and Supergirl, and their pets Krypto the Superdog , and Beppo the Super-Monkey . Kandor,
19125-729: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
19278-520: The superhero Mr. Action, Jimmy is unable to command the respect of established superheroes in the Justice League and Teen Titans . He gives up on this particular avenue. One of these powers allows Jimmy to realize the identities of some superheroes, such as Robin and Superman, who requests that he take care of Krypto . Jimmy is eventually tracked down by the New God Forager , with whom he begins
19431-579: The three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically, the size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that
19584-466: The town of Warpath, AZ, managing to avoid conflict with Codename: Assassin on the way. Upon arriving in Warpath, Jimmy interviews the sheriff, Greg Saunders , who evades his questions. Jimmy follows him after dark and sees Saunders working with the last Guardian clone . He then confronts the clone at his home and the two speak. With his two weeks up, Jimmy returns to Metropolis horrified from learning that
19737-437: The truth, Jimmy is openly confronted by Codename: Assassin, who until that point had merely followed him closely. Jimmy uses his signal watch to call Mon-El . Jimmy is shot twice in the chest by Codename: Assassin and sinks into the ocean. Despite surviving his assassination attempt, Jimmy decides to fake his death, having his documents planted on a heavily disfigured corpse. With no one knowing about his survival, Jimmy moves into
19890-471: The universe (in post- Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the Eradicator , an artificial lifeform programmed to preserve all Kryptonian culture, altered the birthing matrices ("artificial wombs") that the explorers took with them so that all newborns would be fatally vulnerable to lead and other materials such as greenhouse gases and certain rocks). Thus, if they persisted in their anti-Kryptonian wanderlust, they would all die from it. One Daxamite, Mon-El ,
20043-454: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Krypton (planet) Krypton
20196-660: Was a best seller throughout the 1960s; at its peak it was the #4 best-selling comic book with an estimated 520,000 copies sold each month. Reprints from the magazine were also featured in 80-Page Giant #2 and 13 (1964–65). Jack Kirby 's Fourth World storyline began in Jimmy Olsen comics in 1970, with issue #134. Kirby began by introducing a secret " D.N.A. Project " to create Mutated Humans for Good, adding "the Hairies" (a group of technology-equipped hippies), superbeings from other planets (proto- New Gods ), Intergang , Darkseid , and
20349-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
20502-680: Was a frequent factor in Silver Age Superman comic storylines, as he was fully aware of his origins from an early age. Superman would use this knowledge for such tasks as constructing advanced Kryptonian technology or observing some of Krypton's traditions. Kryptonians made use of their advanced science to create a world where scientific inventions and research influenced much of daily life. Robots and computers were used for many tasks on Krypton, even for determining what career paths young Kryptonians would take as they grew up. Scientific and technological research were highly valued on Krypton, with
20655-474: Was accidentally destroyed by the Kryptonian scientist Jax-Ur , who was experimenting with a nuclear missile that was diverted from its intended destination. The disaster killed 500 inhabitants of the moon and Jax-Ur became the first and only criminal to be banished eternally to the Phantom Zone . This disaster also prompted the Science Council of Krypton to ban space flight completely. A Silver Age Superman
20808-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
20961-684: Was assigned to write an article about Superman's family by an assignment editor impressed with the television miniseries Roots . To do so, he and Supergirl travel to Kandor, where they learn the history of the El family. In 1985, writer Alan Moore gave a somewhat darker glimpse into the world of Krypton in his story " For the Man Who Has Everything " (in Superman Annual #11), the premise being an elaborate dream of Superman's in which Krypton had not exploded and he had grown to adulthood there. Background details are culled from other Krypton stories. This same story
21114-640: Was considered to be technically "born" on Earth). Jor-El was not only determined that his son would survive the death of his birthworld, but that he would grow up on a world that vibrantly embraced living, as his forebears once did. A central theme of this version of the Superman mythos was that the character was to remain the last surviving remnant of Krypton. Thus, Silver Age elements such as Supergirl , Krypto , Beppo , and Kandor had never existed in this version (though Post- Crisis versions of these elements were eventually reintroduced). The supervillain Doomsday
21267-406: Was discovered that they actually died from lethal radiation. When the planet exploded, one entire city of Krypton, Argo City , survived the cataclysm. Argo City drifted through space on an asteroid -sized fragment of Krypton, which had been transformed into kryptonite by the explosion. The super-advanced technology of its Kryptonian inhabitants allowed them to construct a life-sustaining dome and
21420-505: Was introduced as Jimmy Olsen by producer Bob Maxwell on The Adventures of Superman radio show on April 15, 1940. After eight early unnamed appearances in comics, Olsen first appeared as a named character in a story by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster titled "Superman versus The Archer" in Superman No. 13 (November–December 1941). He occasionally appeared as an office boy in Action Comics , Superman , and World's Finest Comics throughout
21573-411: Was killing Kryptonians by the thousands, and upon researching the matter, Jor-El discovered that its cause was growing radiation produced by Krypton's increasingly unstable core. This process was going to cause the planet to explode. Unable to convince his associates to abandon tradition and consider escape, and reasoning that modern Kryptonian society had grown cold, unfeeling and sterile, Jor-El removed
21726-527: Was later discovered that Supergirl's parents had survived in the Survival Zone, a parallel dimension similar to the Phantom Zone, from which she released them. When the bottle city of Kandor was finally enlarged on a new planet that was similar to Krypton, Supergirl's parents joined its inhabitants to live there. The people now known as the Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld to explore
21879-457: Was not alone in the survival of Krypton's destruction, being joined by his cousin Supergirl , the Phantom Zone criminals, Krypto the Superdog , Beppo the Super-Monkey , a juvenile delinquent named Dev-Em , the entire population of the city of Kandor , Supergirl's biological parents, and even Superman's biological parents (in hibernation on a space ship - Superboy #158 (July 1969)), although it
22032-513: Was not referenced in the television series Smallville , African -looking/dark-skinned Kryptonians have been featured. One was a disciple of Zod , who goes by the name Nam-Ek (portrayed by Leonard Roberts ). Another was named Basqat (played by Adrian Holmes). Dark-skinned Kryptonians have also appeared in the SyFy television series Krypton , including Lyta-Zod, one of the series' main characters, and General Zod himself. In this version, Vathlo Island
22185-409: Was poisoned by lead and preserved in the Phantom Zone until Brainiac 5 found a cure in the 30th century, whereafter Mon-El became a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes . Vathlo Island is a fictional location on Krypton, notable as an early attempt to explain in-universe the seeming non-presence of black people throughout the universe. Other scholars have called Vathlo Island out more broadly as
22338-1117: Was retold in the animated series Justice League Unlimited in an episode by the same name and several elements were used in the Supergirl series episode " For the Girl Who Has Everything ". The story was also an inspiration for Krypton episode "Mercy". Krypton has a vast number of flora and fauna, both wild and domesticated. Some of them look very similar to Earth's animals, due to parallel evolution , e.g., birds , felids , canids , simians , etc., as seen in Krypto and Beppo ; while others look very different, due to divergent evolution , e.g., fish / snake / eel-like hybrid creatures called " fish-snakes ", goat-like creatures called " Zuurt ", bovine-like creatures called " Rondor ", rhino / ceratopsian-like hybrid creatures called " Thought-Beasts ", dragon-like creatures called " H'Raka ", gigantic, one-horned snake-like creatures called " Drang ", and jellyfish-like invertebrate creatures called " Shoggoth ". One of Krypton's moons, Wegthor,
22491-418: Was revealed in the 1990s as a being genetically engineered by Bertron, an alien scientist, on an ancient Krypton. Doomsday left the planet after killing Bertron and Krypton's natives found the remains of Bertron's lab, thus obtaining the knowledge of cloning. In the newer continuity, Superman also became aware of his alien heritage only sometime after his debut as a superhero - initially assuming himself to be
22644-413: Was scarred deeply by it. The formerly lush garden world was burned and blasted to a desert, and a sterile society—emotionally unlike its predecessor—emerged. The population lived isolated from one another in widely separated technological citadels, shunning all physical and personal contact, to the point that even family members would only interact with each other via communication devices. Procreation became
22797-554: Was the main subject of the late 1980s The World of Krypton miniseries (not to be confused with the 1979 miniseries of the same name). This miniseries was written by Byrne and illustrated by Mike Mignola , and filled in much of Krypton's new history. The new Krypton was approximately one-and-a-half times larger than the Earth and orbited a red sun called Rao fifty light-years from the Solar System . Krypton's primordial era produced some of
22950-502: Was the need to be exposed to the rays of a yellow sun (versus Krypton's red sun, Rao, which was older and cooler, or put out less energy) to gain superpowers, with the yellow sun aspect soon gaining the much greater emphasis. Other changes to the concept of Krypton and its culture were introduced, many of which were stylistic. By the late 1950s, Krypton played an increasing role in various Superman stories, with greater detail provided about Krypton's makeup. Superman's Kryptonian heritage
23103-430: Was tipping toward decadence and eventually political strife resulted from the debate about the use of clones (three by each Kryptonian; one child, one teen and one adult, perfectly preserved in stasis in large clone banks) to repair any hurt and avoiding death, if they were sentient beings and should have rights to be awakened to live as any other Kryptonian, sparked in addition by the presence of an alien missionary known as
23256-406: Was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt. In 1980, a three-issue miniseries titled World of Krypton was published, providing a great amount of detail into Krypton's history just before its destruction, along with the life story of Jor-El himself. A three-issue miniseries entitled The Krypton Chronicles , published in 1981, tells of Superman researching his roots when, as Clark Kent , he
23409-512: Was written by Matt Fraction, drawn by Steve Lieber, colored by Nathan Fairbairn, and lettered by Clayton Cowles. A collected edition titled Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? was published in September 2020, and it received an "honorable mention" in Publishers Weekly's year-end critics poll. Jimmy possesses a watch which emits a high-pitched signal only Superman can hear. In
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