How Old Is Jimmy Olsen Supposed To Be?

[phonogram12]

I remember reading somewhere on here, that Superman was eternally 29 years old, pre-crisis. DC and Marvel should do this. Just slap an age on everyone and keep them there until a writer decides to age a character up. But, not by much! So twenty-years down the road, Damian will go from 14 to 15. No weird big aging up like Damian going from 10 to 14. That just makes no sense on Bruce's end. Especially when Dick is now depicted as being a teenager as Robin.

It ideally would be this way. Maybe it's the Bat fan in me, but the problem arises every time someone new becomes Robin. That ages every Robin, everyone in their respective age groups, then Bruce, then everyone else in the DCU by extension.

[Jon Clark]

It ideally would be this way. Maybe it's the Bat fan in me, but the problem arises every time someone new becomes Robin. That ages every Robin, everyone in their respective age groups, then Bruce, then everyone else in the DCU by extension.

It was probably the Robins that started it, but now you'd need to account for Wally and Wallace in regards to the Flash and regardless of rapod aging you still have Jon and the marriage to account for with Superman. That is just a moments thought, there are probably a few others with only a little more thought.

With Wally and Wallace you have to allow enough time for Wally to establish himself before becoming Flash (which has to give Barry some time as the main Flash) then you need enough time for Wallace to have becme at least familiar with being Kid Flash.

Clark, Lois and Jon require enough time for an established Superman to date then marry Lois before we get at least a year of pregnancy and then however long Jon took to reach his current age. Based on the history as stated there is about 15 years (3 pre-marriage at least, Jon was 10, and he's been aged up at least a year). Kind of hard to fit in all that and still have the Kents not mid 30's at least.

[bat39]

It was probably the Robins that started it, but now you'd need to account for Wally and Wallace in regards to the Flash and regardless of rapod aging you still have Jon and the marriage to account for with Superman. That is just a moments thought, there are probably a few others with only a little more thought.

With Wally and Wallace you have to allow enough time for Wally to establish himself before becoming Flash (which has to give Barry some time as the main Flash) then you need enough time for Wallace to have becme at least familiar with being Kid Flash.

Clark, Lois and Jon require enough time for an established Superman to date then marry Lois before we get at least a year of pregnancy and then however long Jon took to reach his current age. Based on the history as stated there is about 15 years (3 pre-marriage at least, Jon was 10, and he's been aged up at least a year). Kind of hard to fit in all that and still have the Kents not mid 30's at least.

Oh, Clark and Lois are well past 40 by this point, and I don't think there's anything to be gained from denying that. Yeah, 40 is the new 30 and all that so they can still be drawn young-ish, but let's not pretend like they are 30-somethings anymore.

In the case of Clark and Lois its not just a question of a few years before they get married and have a kid. Most Post-COIE Superman continuity has been restored, which is largely in sync with the Post-COIE DC continuity which has been restored. Which means that a whole lot of stuff had to happen in the DCU before Lois and Clark tied the knot and before Jon's birth. Off the top of my head that includes multiple iterations of the Justice League forming, the Teen Titans and New Teen Titans, Doomsday and the Death and Return of Superman, COIE, Legends...probably a few other things I'm missing.

[Jim Kelly]

I like Jimmy to be Clark’s actual friend and for them to treat each other as equals. When Clark is so much older than Jimmy it can come across as more Clark/Supes playing the role of father figure to Jimmy (which is what the relationship was Pre-Crisis).

Even post-Crisis, I think there's been a gap in age between Clark and Jim. Maybe in New 52 that wasn't the case, but I haven't read that to any great extent. Also in some movies and T.V. shows, they are about the same age.

As far as friends the same age as Clark, wouldn't he have other peers he could be friends with? Is Kent doomed to only know three people--Perry, Jimmy and Lois? Couldn't the cast be expanded to include more diverse characters?

But it's all relative. A gap in age is not significant when you get older. I've had friends much younger and much older than me. Since we were grown up adults, we were equals. It's only when one is really young--let's say under the age of 22--that there's a sense of imbalance if there's a gap of ten or more years between two people. Then it's more like a mentor and apprentice relationship.

The thing is, in the current comics, Clark and Lois are long in the tooth--which means all their supporting cast have also aged up. So even if there's a fifteen year age difference, Jim and Clark are equals, because Olsen has been a functioning adult for most of his life. And Kent wouldn't look down at him as this green kid anymore.

One can still imagine that when they first met, even if there was only a five year difference between C.K. and J.O., that would still be enough for Clark to be Jim's senior. But it's probably Lois who was more antagonistic toward Jimmy when he was starting out--since she's a tough reporter who considers everyone else inferior to her and Olsen would have to work hard to impress her.

Given Lois and Clark are practically grandparents by now, why would you want Jimmy to be that old?

As long as this is the status quo, the idea that Jimmy is so young isn't going to be important. But if they wanted to publish a comic book that I might actually want to read, they could do one set in the past, where everyone is young. Maybe an in-between years type comic.

[DABellWrites]

It was probably the Robins that started it, but now you'd need to account for Wally and Wallace in regards to the Flash and regardless of rapod aging you still have Jon and the marriage to account for with Superman. That is just a moments thought, there are probably a few others with only a little more thought.

With Wally and Wallace you have to allow enough time for Wally to establish himself before becoming Flash (which has to give Barry some time as the main Flash) then you need enough time for Wallace to have becme at least familiar with being Kid Flash.

Clark, Lois and Jon require enough time for an established Superman to date then marry Lois before we get at least a year of pregnancy and then however long Jon took to reach his current age. Based on the history as stated there is about 15 years (3 pre-marriage at least, Jon was 10, and he's been aged up at least a year). Kind of hard to fit in all that and still have the Kents not mid 30's at least.

It's virtually impossible to fit it all in. Clark will have to be well into his fifties.

[Jim Kelly]

Blame it on Jolax of Thraxx.

[Filbert]

If DC had a floating timescale like Marvel's (four years out, one year in), character ages would probably be something like
Jonathan and Martha Kent 70s (or having died in their seventies when Clark graduated high school. See other threads)
Perry White 55
Bruce Wayne 44
Clark Kent 43
Lois Lane 41
Lana Lang 41 (Clark started school late)
Jimmy Olsen 36
Supergirl 31
Dick Grayson 28
Damien and Jon 9 (the latter 19 due to shenanigans)
I have no idea if this is borne out in current continuity.

[bat39]

If DC had a floating timescale like Marvel's (four years out, one year in), character ages would probably be something like
Jonathan and Martha Kent 70s (or having died in their seventies when Clark graduated high school. See other threads)
Perry White 55
Bruce Wayne 44
Clark Kent 43
Lois Lane 41
Lana Lang 41 (Clark started school late)
Jimmy Olsen 36
Supergirl 31
Dick Grayson 28
Jon 9 (19 due to shenanigans)
I have no idea if this is borne out in current continuity.

Well, I do think Clark and Bruce are currently in their mid-40's. Probably the rest of the original JLA too. And Dick, IMO, is almost certainly past 30 (with Tim being past 20). Though all this is really more a consequence of Damian/Jon's generation existing than anything else.

At DC, the passage of time really began with the ageing of the sidekicks. The first real sign that Batman had been around for years and had aged was the fact that Dick had aged to his late teens and was now a college-student striking out on his own. With the New Teen Titans and the original sidekicks now being in their late teens/early twenties, it logically followed that the Justice Leaguers were now in their thirties and it had been a decade (or close enough) since they first started out.

The existence of actual biological kids who are now pre-teens/early teens and who could only have been born during their careers as superheroes further ages the JLA generation.

Marvel Time is an interesting concept, and I guess in the current MU, it does feel like its been a little over 15 years since the FF first went on their space-flight. But its not as though Marvel applied Marvel Time consistently throughout its existence. In fact, Marvel was the opposite of DC - for the first few years the MU operated in real-life and then started slowing things down. DC started with things being static and then aged up everyone when they wanted new generations of heroes.

[yolo_dude]

Older than Kara and younger than Clark.

[witchboy]

Jon was supposed to be born sometime not too long after Clark returned from dying, and then Jon aged up so much out of synch with his timeline. I think you can just about justify Lois and Clark being in their late 30s. Very late even.

[Jon Clark]

Jon was supposed to be born sometime not too long after Clark returned from dying, and then Jon aged up so much out of synch with his timeline. I think you can just about justify Lois and Clark being in their late 30s. Very late even.

I thought the current take was that Jon aged normally fir the first 10 years and then between the space trip with Gramp-El and his time with the Legion he came back his current age. That puts the minimum age of Clark at 29 (he debuted at 18 and Jon was born 9 months latter). Realkstically you have to add a few years of courtship before the Supr-couple marry pushing it closer to mid 30;s and possibly 40 if Clark doesn't meet Lois untilaround 25 (to allow for college and any tranping the globe

[witchboy]

I thought the current take was that Jon aged normally fir the first 10 years and then between the space trip with Gramp-El and his time with the Legion he came back his current age. That puts the minimum age of Clark at 29 (he debuted at 18 and Jon was born 9 months latter). Realkstically you have to add a few years of courtship before the Supr-couple marry pushing it closer to mid 30;s and possibly 40 if Clark doesn't meet Lois untilaround 25 (to allow for college and any tranping the globe

That sounds right to me, that Jon aged in normal time for the first 10 years. I'm sure where the minimum age of Clark at 29 comes from or when you're saying he was 29. I figured Clark could've been 29 ish when Jon was born.

[Jon Clark]

I'm sure where the minimum age of Clark at 29 comes from or when you're saying he was 29. I figured Clark could've been 29 ish when Jon was born.

I was saying that the absolute youngest Clark could be today would be 29 and that would require Clark and Lois to concieve Jon when Clark was 18. No one is arguing that Clark was that young, but the point was that the more events that have to occur between Clark's 18th birthday and the point he becomes a dad, the farther you get from the Kents being 30. His age today is 29 plus however many years you think it took past 18 for him to establish himself in Metropolis and get a relationship with Lois to a point they would have a kid.

[daredevil1]

The post-crisis DCU was around 18 years give or take from start to end. Jimmy was at absolute youngest in my mind 15 when it started, so he was well into his 30s by the end. If the logic we're going by now is that Dr. Manhattan stole ten years, then I guess he'd be 24 or so. But who knows what's going on now with Clark looking geriatric, and the editors just winging it if there's a story that contradicts everything.

[daredevil1]

If DC had a floating timescale like Marvel's (four years out, one year in), character ages would probably be something like
Jonathan and Martha Kent 70s (or having died in their seventies when Clark graduated high school. See other threads)
Perry White 55
Bruce Wayne 44
Clark Kent 43
Lois Lane 41
Lana Lang 41 (Clark started school late)
Jimmy Olsen 36
Supergirl 31
Dick Grayson 28
Jon 9 (19 due to shenanigans)
I have no idea if this is borne out in current continuity.

This is what I would go with if we were still in post-crisis, pretty much on the nose (I think they even said somewhere that Bruce was 42 when he died in Final Crisis), but remember that Dr. Manhattan stole ten years off the timeline so it'd be -10 from everything. Even if Doomsday Clock is off as a What If, they still de-aged everyone by ten years with N52 and there was no reboot since then technically.