I've spent a lot of time talking about #SupermanAnalogue characters: thinly veiled copies, distaff counterparts, rivals, and funny animal versions, but what about his best pal? Jimmy Olsen doesn't normally have superpowers, but there have been times when he's rivaled Superman! 
Jimmy Olsen was introduced officially in the Superman radio show, as an audience viewpoint character who could react to Superman's deeds. He was a cub reporter and photographer and like many elements of the radio show he quickly migrated over to the comics.
Jimmy got his own book and a frequent trope was short brushes with superpowers. (Superdickery.com had a drinking game for this: superdickery.com/the-jimmy-olse…) The 2 most famous were probably his Elastic Lad and Turtle Boy identities.
And while I'm about to talk about a particular story from the 90s, I shouldn't have been surprised to find a silver age story that showed him gaining Superman's powers.
There was this series called "The Nail". The idea was that the Kents had a flat tire and thus weren't driving on that road when Superman's rocket crash landed. As a result, he never appears on the scene and superheroes aren't as warmly received by the public.
Then things get scarier. Villains start showing up with advanced "alien" technology enabling more horrendous crimes.
Then artificial sentinels start being deployed to round up potential extraterrestrial threats. These things far outstrip even the mightiest heroes, eventually being revealed to be remote controlled Bizarros.
Strange alien/canine hybrids show up...
Eventually Olsen is revealed to be behind it all. He was a test subject, experimenting on grafted Kryptonian tissue discovered in an abandoned rocket. Due to his myriad dalliances with powers, Olsen was the lone survivor, empowered, but was driven insane.
He effortlessly trounces the League, only to have the battle travel to a nearby Amish Farm. One of the Farmers intervenes and...uh... Things get interesting...
The farmer was Kal-El, living a life removed from the outside world. The two battle, but Olsen can't match the endurance of a real Kryptonian. The output causes his body to burn up. He dies musing that he and Superman should have been friends.
In this story, Olsen wears the more active version of the Byrne era Kryptonian outfit, first introduced in the Eradicator story arc. I dig it! Looks delightfully alien but slick!
Anyway, The Nail was a fun book with a lot of love for the Silver Age. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen has his own book again and it is a fucking blast. Definitely a hilarious and worthwhile read (though a bit discontinuous)!
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