Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen #[nn]
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThis 2007 collection from DC Comics reprints a series of stories centered on Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen, and his bizarre, often humorous transformations. The volume features classic Silver Age tales where Jimmy gains strange powers or changes form, encountering a wide array of characters from the Superman mythos and the Legion of Super-Heroes. It highlights the whimsical, experimental side of the Superman family of titles during that era.
In "The Super-Brain of Jimmy Olsen," Jimmy Olsen takes on a bizarre week-long experiment with alien scientists from Jupiter, gaining mind-reading powers and transforming into a green, scaly Jovian—though he keeps his new form hidden while competing for Newsman of the Year. Written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Curt Swan with inks by Ray Burnley and colors by Drew Moore, the story sees Jimmy grappling with Clark Kent’s secret thoughts and facing a rival’s attempt to expose him, all before his alien transformation naturally fades. Brian Bolland’s striking cover captures the surreal twist of Jimmy’s transformation.
In "The Super-Brain of Jimmy Olsen," Jimmy Olsen’s curiosity leads him to volunteer for Professor Potter’s evolution accelerator, transforming him into the enigmatic Cosmic Brain from a distant future. As this futuristic version of Jimmy, he tasks Superman with a mysterious mission in the Antarctic, demanding the creation of a massive crater filled with heavy materials—without revealing why. Only after the transformation ends does Superman begin to grasp the gravity of the Cosmic Brain’s foresight, hinting at a dire planetary threat tied to Earth’s ancient geography.
When Jimmy Olsen accidentally absorbs a green alien substance, he gains the ability to stretch and contort like rubber—turning him into Elastic Lad. Hiding out in a traveling freak show, he’s drawn into a criminal scheme by a man known as "Silky" Smith, who also goes by the name Professor Bolton. As Jimmy uses his new powers to outwit his captors, he must find a way to reclaim his normal self before the transformation fades.
In "The Jimmy Olsen from Jupiter," Jimmy Olsen volunteers for a bizarre experiment that grants him mind-reading powers and transforms him into a green, scaly being from Jupiter—just in time to race against his rival Vince Regan for Newsman of the Year. Though he hides his alien appearance, Jimmy’s new abilities let him hear Clark Kent’s thoughts, revealing a secret he never expected. With only five Earth days to prove himself, Jimmy must navigate the chaos of the press and a looming betrayal—before the Jovians’ experiment ends and he reverts to normal.
When an experiment gone wrong gives Jimmy Olsen the power to breathe fire, he tries to make amends after accidentally burning a charity donation. But when "Hot Shot" Holton exploits his new ability for crime, Jimmy must find a way to reclaim control—using his fiery gift to call for help before it's too late.
In "The Wolf-Man of Metropolis!", Jimmy Olsen finds himself transformed into a werewolf every night after drinking a potion left by Merlin, with only a kiss from a beautiful maiden able to break the spell. As he struggles to keep his secret from Lucy Lane, Jimmy teams up with Superman to find a willing heart before the curse takes hold for good.
In "The Fat Boy of Metropolis!", Jimmy Olsen finds himself transformed into a giant by the cunning Dr. Rance, who’s using the disguise to sneak priceless jewels into Metropolis. As the impostor Maharajah of Bohali, Dr. Rance’s scheme unravels when his true identity is exposed—leaving Superman to step in and bring the fraud to justice.
In "The Giant Turtle Man!", Jimmy Olsen accidentally transforms into a towering turtle-man after firing an enlarging ray through a turtle. As he begins hauling massive amounts of steel to a volcanic island, Superman is summoned to stop him—only to learn from Lori Lemaris that the Atlantean criminal Goxo manipulated Jimmy telepathically, using the ray-gun to safeguard buried pirate treasure.
In "The Human Porcupine!", Jimmy Olsen finds himself transformed into a spiky, walking oddity after rejecting Miss Gzptlsnz, who demands he reverse the spell by making her say her name backward—before he can return to normal, he’ll need to outwit her in the most absurd way possible. With help from Guy Blade, Torchy Cinders, Kim Loo, and Arnie Needles, Jimmy must navigate a series of increasingly ridiculous challenges, all while trying to keep his newfound quills from poking everyone he meets.
In "The World of Doomed Olsens!", Jimmy Olsen finds himself transported to the bizarre world of Gion-El, where he encounters countless versions of himself transformed into strange, past incarnations. As the illusion unravels, the Legionnaires reveal the truth: this surreal trial was his test, and he’s now set to become an honorary member of the 30th-century Legion of Super-Heroes.
When Prof. Potter invents a normalizer ray to turn the Bizarros human, Jimmy Olsen tricks him into zapping Jimmy instead—only to find himself transformed into a full-fledged Bizarro. Now stuck in a world of reversed logic and upside-down antics, Jimmy must navigate the chaos of Bizarro behavior before Bizarro-Superman arrives to take him to Bizarro World.
Jimmy Olsen finds himself stranded on Bizarro World, where everything is backwards—but he fits in perfectly… until Bizarro-Lex Luthor unleashes a twisted twist of blue kryptonite that snaps him back to his true self. Now the only one who sees things upside down, Jimmy must craft a Bizarro-Prof. Potter to build a Bizarro-normalizer ray before he’s truly lost in a world of inverted logic. The Bizarro Beetle-Bugs hum along, unaware of the chaos brewing beneath their catchy tunes.
When a bounty is placed on his head by the Anti-Superman Gang, Jimmy Olsen takes a partial dose of a serum from Chameleon Boy, gaining the ability to change only the appearance of his head—just enough to stay one step ahead of danger. With his head shifting forms to outwit pursuers, he must rely on his wits and quick thinking until Superman returns from space to finally come to his aid.
In "The World of 1,000 Olsens! [Part 1]," Jimmy Olsen finds himself stranded on an asteroid where every inhabitant is a duplicate of himself—down to past transformations like Giant Turtle Man and Elastic Lad. But instead of celebration, he’s immediately arrested by his doppelgängers, leaving him bewildered and trapped in a society that mirrors his every form, yet rejects his identity.
In a twist of cosmic mischief, Jimmy Olsen finds himself on the run from a prison of his own making—only to uncover that the countless Olsens he’s been encountering are not real, but androids built by the time-bending villain Tempus. With the help of a few loyal duplicates, including the stretchy Elastic Lad android, Jimmy must outwit Tempus before the rogue asteroid he’s manipulating crashes into Earth.
In "Menace of the Micro-Monster [Prologue]," Jimmy Olsen joins Superman on a mission in Kandor, where they're drawn into a crisis when Dev-Re pleads for help finding his daughter, Sarna, who's gone rogue with a violent radical faction. As a mysterious space-germ spreads chaos through the city, turning the Kandorians against the heroes, Sarna seizes the moment to disable Jimmy—only for him to outwit her with a clever plan involving her group’s explosives and the bottle-city’s fragile structure.
In "Prisoners under Glass," Jimmy Olsen joins Superman on a mission to Kandor to aid Dev-Re, but their journey takes an unexpected turn when an uninvited guest—Mr. Crenshaw—unexpectedly tags along, turning the rescue into a tense, high-stakes puzzle. With the fate of Kandor hanging in the balance, Jimmy must navigate the strange dynamics between the enigmatic Dev-Re, the cautious Matt Moran, and the mysterious Sarna, all while the Fortress of Solitude's secrets begin to reveal themselves.
In "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor," Dev-Re enlists Jimmy Olsen and Superman—disguised as Nightwing and Flamebird—to locate his daughter Sarna, who’s gone rogue with a militant faction in the bottled city of Kandor. As a mysterious space-germ spreads chaos, turning the Kandorians against the heroes, Jimmy must outwit Sarna and use her own explosives to shatter the bottle’s dome—unlocking a desperate, unforeseen solution.
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↩ Reprints Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #22 (1957), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #28 (1958), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #31 (1958), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #32 (1958), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #33 (1958), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #41 (1959), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #42 (1960), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #44 (1960), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #49 (1960), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #53 (1961), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #59 (1962), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #65 (1962), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #72 (1963), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #77 (1964), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #80 (1964), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #85 (1965), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #104 (1967), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #105 (1967), The Superman Family #173 (1975)
Reprinted in Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland #[nn] (2011)
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