Review: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #2 (2009)

One thing that has been very good about the super-titles in the past year or so is the effort the creators have put in to have the stories really mesh, taking place in one super-universe. Each story organically feels like an extension of the other.

Part of that has been over-arching stories of New Krypton and Project 7734. But the other part is having a consistent vision of characters so that the Lois in Action acts like the Lois in Superman and acts like the Lois in Supergirl. I know 'continuity' sometimes sounds like a curse word but for a family of titles like Superman, I think it is crucial. It is more than just slapping a red numbered triangle on the cover. It is making sure everyone is on the same page.

When stand alone issues like Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #2 (or Superman Secret Files) come out, I have felt like I should purchase them knowing that commitment to the larger picture currently exists. These specials have been like another domino in a long storyline rather than a completely seperate and disconnected story.

This story seems to ask as many questions as it answers. And it focuses on a place in the DCU I know little about and so I felt a bit lost. There is no doubt however, given the ending of the issue, that it did impact the super-family.

We have seen Jimmy doing his best investigative reporting to crack open the Project 7734 story. 7734 is aware of his digging and in the past Agent Assassin has surfaced to put a little scare into Jimmy.

That cloying fear and very real threat has been on Jimmy's mind for a while. Whether or not these visions of Assassin are real or imaginary, Jimmy is kicking over a few too many stones, upsetting a few too many bad guys. With Superman out of town, Mon-El has been put in charge of keeping Jimmy alive. The Daxamite is attuned to the signal watch and ready to swoop in and save the day.

I do like how whenever Agent Assassin is shown, he is 'blipping' in and out of sight. We often see the same panel - one with Assassin and one without. It really shows just how unnerving that would be to the target... how maddening and terrifying that would be.

Despite feeling marked for death, Jimmy continues investigating 7734. He is an investigative reporter and nothing will stop him from that duty.

Of all the things that have come from the two Jimmy Olsen specials, this is the thing I like the most. We are seeing Jimmy transform into a more formidable character in the DCU, more like the Mr. Action of the later Silver Age.

His efforts pay off. He gets contacted by someone on-line named Eternity-7734 who seems to know a lot about the project. The informant talks about 'Project Breach' a planet-killer that 7734 has under its control. Jimmy agrees to meet this person to gather more information.

Unfortunately, that conversation is discovered by General Lane. It is time for Agent Assassin to clean up the Jimmy Olsen mess.

When Jimmy pulls up to the arranged meeting place, he finds the house on fire.

Risking his life, Jimmy runs in and carries out his informant. It does not escape Jimmy that this fire is both good and bad news. It is good because it means that Eternity 7734 probably knows something. It is bad because 7734 tried to kill him for that knowledge. Someone set that fire, maybe someone nearby.

And here is where I may need some help.

Turns out the informant is someone named Fury, a shape-changer from Infinity Inc. a comic I know almost nithing about. It seems that each form has its own personality. The male Erik is insane and seems like a paranoid schizophrenic. The female Erika is stronger and more lucid.

It was Agent Assassin who torched the house after he tortured Erik. But Erik didn't know the secrets about 7734. It was Erika.

And so it is Erika who is able to give Jimmy the next number he needs to call. She also whispers something into Jimmy's ear that we are not privy to.

That number leads Jimmy to none other than Natasha Irons, Steel's niece and member of Infinity Inc.

Natasha is also investigating Project 7734 but from the inside. She was brought into the fold by an army officer named Zanetti who was trying to find out about the Breach project. Turns out Zanetti was the son of the actual character Breach. (Breach was an underappreciated short lived series from 2005. Any fan of Marcos Martin art should scour back issue bins for the book.)

But 7734's Breach actually refers to Captain Atom. Breach and Atom's origins are very similar. So General Lane named the Captain Atom project Breach as a sort of joke.

The information about the Breach project is worrisome. A mind-wiped Captain Atom was found by 7734 and is currently being programmed to carry out their bidding. Hmmm ... maybe that is why I am finding the current Captain Atom feature so confusing. He is in some fugue state.

If General Lane has Captain Atom in his arsenal then things just got a little hairier for Superman.

When Erik/Erika proved to be too unstable a mole for Zanetti, he contacted and recruited Natasha to be his double agent. She has a rank and a new name ... Jenny Blake.

The only Jenny Blake I know is from The Rocketeer comic. Has Natasha's Jenny appeared anywhere?

But then Natasha unloads the big secret.

Project 7734 is led by General Lane ... the General Lane with his xenophobic ways and hatred of Superman.

Natasha tells Jimmy she is in too deep to even warn Steel in case he gets threatened (a little late I think). She suddenly hears something and disappears leaving Jimmy on his own.

I have sung the praises of the widescreen format of comics when it is used appropriately.

Here is another excellent use.

As Jimmy walks out of the library he met Natasha in, he sees Agent Assassin floating down the street.

This is such a wonderful suspense-building panel. Jimmy is in the foreground looking down the narrow channel of the street. Agent Assassin is close enough to be a real threat. But he is far enough away that escape is possible. The fact that he is so visible means that he wants Jimmy to see him. Jimmy has to realize that Assassin being so up front means that the agent is not their for reconnaissance. He is there for wetworks.

There is no choice. Jimmy has to turn and run.

Jimmy keeps slamming the signal watch but this takes place after Mon-El has been beaten by Mirabai over in Superman. Mon-El can't respond.

After a few pages of the chase, Assassin catches up with Jimmy and puts two rounds into his chest. Jimmy falls into the river and sinks. We are then shown the title of the issue ... 'The Death of Jimmy Olsen'.

Now there are innumerable ways that Jimmy survives this. Kevlar vest with blood packets? Nearby superhero (maybe Natasha) pulling him from the river? Turtle boy transformation?

So I think the title is more of a symbolic death of Jimmy. Since 7734 believes Jimmy is dead, when he ends up surviving he will have a bit more freedom to investigate.

I have to say that much of the finer points of Erika and Natasha's dialogue was lost on me. There is a lot more mystery there. But the broad points were made adding to the threat of Project 7734.

And as I said, I like this maturation of Jimmy's character into an intelligent and hard-headed investigator.

Bernard Chang's art was fine here although I enjoyed his recent work on Wonder Woman more.

I rarely talk about the price of comics (it is such a downer topic) but this issue was a hefty $4.99. I wonder if that alone would turn people away. I think the story could have been compressed a bit (there were 7 pages of the burning house!) to get the page count down into the $3.99 range.

Overall grade: B+