Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #8 is an issue of the series Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1955.
Synopsis for "The Betrayal of Superman"
When Jimmy Olsen goes to visit private detective Dick Crane, he finds Crane is falling ill because he has been putting off an operation for too long. Needing the money from his current case in order to pay for the operation, and not wanting to ruin his record of never failing at a case, Dick asks Jimmy to finish his current case on his behalf. Jimmy is shocked that Dick had been hired to learn what Superman's secret identity really is.
Deciding to honor Dick's request, Jimmy decides that Dick's employer wouldn't be interested in hiring on a cub reporter and so he disguises himself as "Junior Inspector Cedric of the Scotland Yard" and gets hired on by the man seeking to get Superman's true identity. Jimmy signs a contract promising to show the man Superman in his civilian identity without any trickery. Jimmy goes out on his quest collecting evidence such as Superman's foot and fingerprints, his height and other distinguishing characteristics. However when he's finally amassed the information and tacked their "Mr. X" to a glass house, the man goes to check it out.
When he shoots Clark Kent (who has his back towards the man) in the back he is convinced he is dealing with Superman and calls him out on it. Superman doesn't deny it, but without turning around flies out of the room and changes into his costumed identity before the man can see his face. Superman then forces the man to pay Jimmy the promise fee of $1000.00 because the contract Jimmy had signed said that all Jimmy had to do was show him Superman in his civilian identity and did not state that Superman's face had to be seen. With the money turned over, Jimmy brings it to Dick who is happy to have the money to get the medical treatment that he truly needs.
Appearing in "The Betrayal of Superman"
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Synopsis for "Superboy for a Day"
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are sent on assignment to cover Superboy Day in Smallville. When Jimmy comes to realize that the people of Smallville miss having Superboy around, Jimmy decides to cheer them up by dressing up in a Superboy costume and surprising everyone when Superman shows up for the festivities.
This at first upsets Superman, however when he hears out Jimmy's idea of having "Superboy" perform super-stunts it would make everyone happy. Superman and Jimmy work together to pull off the illusion that Jimmy is Superboy and is capable of pulling off super-feats.
When Jimmy's recreation of Superboy's various super-feats leads the curator of the Superboy museum to suspect that Superboy was really Harry Crane, who mysteriously disappeared right after Superboy left Smallville, however this theory is quickly dispelled when the Cranes learn that their son had suffered amnesia over the convening years and his memory had recently been restored.
Appearing in "Superboy for a Day"
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- Superboy (Flashback only)
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Synopsis for "Jimmy Olsen, Crooner"
Being sent out to find a lead on Charles Gordon, a former banker who embezzled money, Jimmy canvasses the many boarding houses in the city to try and find him. All this gains Jimmy is a hoarse voice, and when Jimmy joins Clark to the Scoop Coop, a popular meeting place for reporters, Jimmy learns that his husky voice makes him a pretty good Crooner when Clark convinces him to go on stage to sing.
Jimmy becomes an instant sensation, driving young girls wild with his singing voice. Eventually, Jimmy has been spending more time with his singing that he's neglecting the story he's working on. When Perry scolds him for not getting any leads on the embezzler story, Jimmy promptly quits his job at the Daily Planet to focus on his singing.
This soon becomes more than it was cut out to be and Jimmy soon finds himself being chased and savaged by woman whenever he appears in public. After being saved by a pack of star-struck girls by Superman, Jimmy realizes that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be and begins to miss the simple life when he was merely a cub reporter. While out getting a paper, he spots Charles Gordon in disguise. When Gordon tries to kill Jimmy, Superman arrives to save Jimmy's life and capture Gordon. Jimmy takes the story to Perry who gives him his job back after helping in capturing the embezzler.
Jimmy's voice returns to normal, and decides to put on one last performance, as expected without his crooner's voice he is booed off the stage, putting a thankful end to his short lived music career.
Appearing in "Jimmy Olsen, Crooner"
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Notes
- This issue is reprinted in its entirety in Showcase Presents: Superman Family Vol. 1.
- "Jimmy Olsen, Crooner" marks the first time Perry White uses his catchphrase "Don't call me Chief!" in the comics. He had already been using it for a while on the Adventures of Superman TV series.[1]
See Also