Jimmy Olsen is a well-known photographer and cub reporter for the Daily Planet. Despite this designation, he is an award-winning journalist and even has something of a following. He's also Superman's best friend.
Personality
Jimmy is a typically optimistic, hopeful type, who is a humanitarian at heart. He possesses an ultimately heroic soul, even though he has no regular special powers. Perhaps that's why, when he does gain superhuman abilities, he adapts to them so easily and so well. He tends to believe the best of people in general, and he works hard to try and build up the good and the right; he is willing to give everything to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and his most profound belief is in the fundamental goodness of people.
Even though he sometimes can be tempted towards egotism or even narcissism, it never lasts since his deeper nature is to be selfless and self-sacrificing for the greater good. He might be caught up in the situation, but sooner or later he will come to his senses; he has good, down-to-earth sensibilities.
Background
James Bartholomew Olsen was born to Jake and Sarah Olsen in Yonkers, New York. His father was declared missing in action in southeast Asia before Jimmy was even born, leaving his mother to fend for herself; she ran a newsstand, and in his early years, he would get up early and collect stories about Metropolis from the paper for his scrapbook.
A bright child, Jimmy soon distinguished himself and sometimes cut class to attend lectures of higher education. He remarkably got a job as an intern at the Daily Planet while still attending junior high school and, upon his graduation, became a primary photographer, though his position in journalism remained "cub reporter".
SKILLS
BRAWLING - Novice: Jimmy is able to throw down in a fistfight and stands a good chance of coming out on top. He can account for himself in a brawl, but he's best when it's one on one and not when he's outnumbered or outpowered...which is most of the time. Still, he's no creampuff when the chips are down, even if he's nowhere near as effective in a fight as, say, Superman, or on the more mundane side of things, Bibbo. He can surely outdo Perry White though.
DISGUISE - Expert: Jimmy is a master at disguise, even able to disguise himself as a woman flawlessly. Drag queens wish they had the skill and talent Jimmy has.
IMPROVISATION - Competent: Jimmy is good at making the best out of what he has on hand and thinking fast. It's saved him and his friends on a number of occasions. Sometimes, it's even proven an invaluable help to Superman!
INVESTIGATION - Competent: Highly able with logical progression and extrapolation from assorted clues and pieces of information, Jimmy is a competent detective. He can reason out fairly complicated situations accurately, with a high degree of success, and he can follow a trail of data very well. He can also make reasonable conclusions with missing information and is generally very good at applying intuition and hunches to great effect. He's also good at bluffing, because he can add together real facts and steer people into revealing what he's missing or even couldn't know.
JOURNALISM - Competent: Jimmy is a very able journalist, although he does not always spellcheck his work. He is better at photography than writing, but as long as someone performs editorial duties ably, he does very well. If not...headlines can become awkward.
PHOTOGRAPHY - Expert: Jimmy is an award-winning photographer, one of the greatest in the world.
SCIENCE - Competent: Sometimes Jimmy will surprise and astound with his ability to pick up on advanced scientific concepts. He mostly considers himself a tinkerer, but he possesses the inherent ability to comprehend even some super-science.
POWERS
SERENDIPITY - Basic: Somehow, Jimmy finds himself repeatedly in situations where he may gain superhuman powers (and then promptly thereafter lose them) which pertain specifically to his situation and needs. It isn't a conscious ability that he exercises, but it's too recurrent to be coincidental.
ADVANTAGES
CELEBRITY Jimmy Olsen is a well-known celebrity in some circles, most notably journalism and photography (as well as, of course, photojournalism), and he can exercise immense influence in those circles. Even outside of them, his influence as a world-class and award-winning photographer pulls significant weight.
DAILY PLANET Jimmy has friends and connections at the Daily Planet, which is one of the most highly-respected news sources in the world.
RESILIENCE No matter what happens to him or what super powers he's saddled with, Jimmy takes it in stride and is able to return to status quo when the problem has passed. It takes a very special echelon of willpower and self-acceptance to pick back up so effortlessly.
SIGNAL WATCH Jimmy possesses a signal watch that he can use to alert Superman to his distress, no matter where in the world he is.
SUPERMAN'S PAL Jimmy is Superman's best friend, and as such can rely on being rescued and helped in a wide variety of ways, if he should ever need the assistance.
WEAKNESSES
CELEBRITY Jimmy Olsen is well-known...to people that like him, and people who feel otherwise. He's well-known as a photographer of Superman's exploits, which can make him a target of anyone attempting to strike out at the Man of Steel.
ONLY HUMAN Jimmy is, alas, only human and never seems to retain his super powers for very long. While he can deal with them and adapt to them incredibly well, they just don't seem to stick. Most of the time, he's a regular human who puts himself in dangerous situations.
SUPERMAN'S PAL As Superman's best friend, Jimmy is constantly placed in danger by any of the Man of Steel's villains who wish to strike out against him. He can be victimized by any of them, in an attempt to affect Superman.
