3. Jimmy Olsen (DC Comics)
Jimmy Olsen is easily the most under-appreciated DC Comics character of all time. Superman’s Pal was an iconic part of the DCU for decades yet today he’s always viewed as a joke. Heck, Jimmy had his own comic book back in the day which ran over a hundred issues and gave birth to many incredible successful DC characters and concepts.
You ever hear of Darkseid? He first appeared in an issue of Jimmy Olsen. Part of Olsen’s success was due to Jack Kirby’s tenure on the series, but Jimmy kind of embodies the fun side of the DCU. Jimmy’s been more than just Superman’s Pal on many an occasion, taking up the identities of Turtle Boy and Elastic Lad among others whenever he’s granted with superhuman abilities.
Jimmy’s constant ability to get himself in and out of scrapes really made him a lovable supporting character and his classic silver age team-ups with Robin are fun reads if you can track them down. If there is a single character who represents the silver age as a whole and all the wacky fun it contained, it’s Jimmy Olsen.
