Does anyone have a favorite canonical love interest for Jimmy?

[witchboy]

With Jack Larson and Marc McClure playing his two most well known versions, plus all the cross-dressing, it kinda makes sense

Is Marc McClure gay? I had never heard that, but I can see it.
I do agree that Jimmy loves Superman more than any of his girlfriends.
I've been reading a lot of Silver Age Superman books lately and the bromance is real. They act more like a couple than he ever does with Lois. Jealousy, spats, make ups, lavish gifts.
Lucy and Jimmy do have a really fun dsyfunctional relationship. She treats him horribly, quick to ditch him if someone better comes along, and Jimmy keeps pursuing her anyways.

[Tzigone]

Jimmy is an idiot--he's the George Costanza of the Daily Planet--he goes after women he can't have. And Lucy isn't much better. She'll dump Jimmy if she gets a better offer. But they are both so inept that they can never do better than each other. And yet when they do get married (a few times), that can't last either.

Ah, I hate those versions of both Lucy and Jimmy. Especially Jimmy. I do not like him as the universe's buttmonkey, either. So there are huge swaths of Jimmy I can't stand to read - they are as abominable to me as the trap-Superman-into-marriage silver-age Lois Lane. I really liked radio show Jimmy. A clever, capable kid who grew and learned and became a very good and capable cub reporter. I don't need him to be Mr. Action, but he should be good and smart and capable and not a loser. I've certainly realized that I'm not int he majority there, but I can handle that.

And I feel like Lucy got put down to make Lois look better at times (and that's even before she went evil). That's not okay with me, either. I didn't even like the 1980s "Sam was rough on Lois, but not Lucy" bit because I felt like it deliberately made Lucy's life easier to make Lois look more impressive (and by extension, Lucy not). I don't mind her struggling to find her own path, but setting her up as explicitly the always-less (and getting worse later, as mentioned) to Lois even though she never had Lois' struggles...not cool.

[Frontier]

And I feel like Lucy got put down to make Lois look better at times (and that's even before she went evil). That's not okay with me, either. I didn't even like the 1980s "Sam was rough on Lois, but not Lucy" bit because I felt like it deliberately made Lucy's life easier to make Lois look more impressive (and by extension, Lucy not). I don't mind her struggling to find her own path, but setting her up as explicitly the always-less (and getting worse later, as mentioned) to Lois even though she never had Lois' struggles...not cool.

Maybe this was more of a late Post-Crisis thing, but I was always under the impression Sam was hard on both girls, which led to how strained the Lane family dynamic is.

[Tzigone]

Maybe this was more of a late Post-Crisis thing, but I was always under the impression Sam was hard on both girls, which led to how strained the Lane family dynamic is.

Maybe. But in early post-COIE, they explicitly said that Sam wanted and boy and that impacted how he treated Lois, but that by time Lucy came around, he was better with her. It sort sets up that no matter what Lucy achieves, it means less because she didn't have the same obstacles/difficulties from Dad. I prefer them being treated similarly, whether that treatment was good or bad. The changing perception of flight attendants probably doesn't help either (and may explain why she didn't keep the job). Used to be considered glamorous, once upon a time.

[seismic-2]

I like the current series where he's trying to get his alien marriage annulled.

[Jim Kelly]

I'd go with Jimmy and Lucy from Pre-Crisis, but the Imaginary Tale that had Linda Danvers marrying Jimmy while she had amnesia was one I'd have preferred if it had been more than a one-shot.

That was one of the earliest Jimmy Olsen-Supergirl stories that I had the chance to read, when it was reprinted as a Supergirl back-up in two parts, in ACTION COMICS 351 and 352 (June and July 1967 cover dates), from SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN 57 (December 1961). "Jimmy Olsen Marries Supergirl" was written by Jerry Siegel with beautiful artwork by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

I just love that story. Swan and Kaye's Linda Danvers looked like Shelley Fabares on THE DONNA REED SHOW--I instantly had a crush. And I could understand why Jimmy would fall in love with her.

But, in the second part, it takes a weird turn. Linda married Jimmy when she had forgotten she was Supergirl, but then she remembers she is Supergirl and so she sets out to make her husband fall in love with her as Supergirl--even though that would mean he'd be cheating on his wife, Linda. Jimmy being Jimmy does fall in love with Supergirl--although he at least feels morally wrong to having feelings for another woman--but Linda/Supergirl is fine with this and they lived happily ever after.

So often people dump on the old stories for being overly silly, as if the writers didn't know what they were doing, but that weird psychology tells me that the writers did know what they were doing. Of course, this would go over the heads of the target audience, but I imagine that the editor and the writers were doing this for themselves. They got it, even if we didn't.

Apparently Grant Morrison said that a lot of this psychology came from Mort Weisinger's therapy sessions with his psychiatrist. But I only know this from having read it on the message boards.

That "Jimmy Olsen was . . . an idiot" is something Cary Bates said in "The Men Behind the Super Typewriter" (Guy H. Lillian III interviews Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin), THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS 2 (September 1974):

G.H.L. III: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE "WEISINGER PLOT?"

BATES: He chose to concentrate on the vast SUPERMAN mythology he created. When he ran the SUPERMAN books, he built up this family, but seldom got into Clark's personality or Lois'... there were standard bits, Lois was curious, Clark was always meek and mild, Jimmy was always an idiot, and this is how the readers identified them for many years. But single-handedly Mort kept SUPE going strong in no less than seven books for several decades. His track record was amazing.

When I read that it turned around my perception of the old Jimmy Olsen stories and they made a lot more sense to me.

However, I'd say this depended on the type of story. A given issue would have three different stories. In one story Jimmy could be an idiot, chasing after women, and losing in the end. In another story, he could be the heroic friend of Superman, selflessly putting himself in danger for his pal. And, in yet another story, he could dress up as a beautiful woman and glory in the attentions he received from male admirers.

[Will Evans]

Forager.

Let’s him keep his Bronze Age New Gods connection.

[manwhohaseverything]

Maybe. But in early post-COIE, they explicitly said that Sam wanted and boy and that impacted how he treated Lois, but that by time Lucy came around, he was better with her. It sort sets up that no matter what Lucy achieves, it means less because she didn't have the same obstacles/difficulties from Dad. I prefer them being treated similarly, whether that treatment was good or bad. The changing perception of flight attendants probably doesn't help either (and may explain why she didn't keep the job). Used to be considered glamorous, once upon a time.

That just put's him in niether here nor there situation. And most often than not, stories with such characters come of bland.

[Tzigone]

That just put's him in niether here nor there situation. And most often than not, stories with such characters come of bland.

I don't see how Sam treating both is daughters the same (whether good or bad) puts him in "neither here not there" territory. At all.

Also, I most enjoyed Sam when he was the non-evil military man who taught his daughters to take care of themselves, but had a fundamental disagreement on the trustworthiness of Superman and was not evil or murderous, but that has nothing to do with what was quoted or you reply.

[daBronzeBomma]

How dare you?

Jimmy is still married.


And Superman presided over the whole thing.

Now, apologize for this thread before Mrs. Olsen comes down here and rampages over everybody!

[daBronzeBomma]

but seriously, it's Kara Zor-El or bust for Jimmy IMO.

[manwhohaseverything]

I don't see how Sam treating both is daughters the same (whether good or bad) puts him in "neither here not there" territory. At all.

Also, I most enjoyed Sam when he was the non-evil military man who taught his daughters to take care of themselves, but had a fundamental disagreement on the trustworthiness of Superman and was not evil or murderous, but that has nothing to do with what was quoted or you reply.

I was talking about jimmy being an idiot and jimmy being Mr. Action

[Robanker]

Not canon, but I remember that when Melody Moore appeared, a few people here were saying "go get her, Jimmy" and I think he does need someone a bit brave who's seen it all given all the hijinx he gets into...

But canonically, yeah, Lucy is the usual go-to.

[Jim Kelly]

I do like the pairing of Linda and Jimmy, because of that what-if story when they were married, and also another story where Linda worked at the Daily Planet. But Supergirl has so many other options--Brainiac 5 for instance--and Jimmy shouldn't be her ball and chain. However, Lucy and Supergirl did look alike back in the day. And Jimmy did wish Supergirl into existence. So maybe he has a type. Has he ever met Power Girl?

[Restingvoice]

Speaking of Lucy isn't she lesbian in New 52? Well, they can always make her bi.