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Possible Jimmy Olsen Gender Swap in 'Man of Steel'

There are often changes when adapting comics but will Jimmy now be a 'she'?

We've seen many changes when comic books get adapted for the big screen. Sometimes it's race such as when Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin in Daredevil. You could even point out a red-headed Amy Adams cast as the traditionally brunette Lois Lane in Man of Steel. Now it looks like Lois' hair color isn't the only change that we might see in the film.

Digital Spy caught the possibility that Jimmy Olsen could be seeing a gender change for the movie.

No Caption Provided

Where this comes from is on IMDB, Rebecca Buller is listed as playing Jenny Olsen. It could be easy to dismiss this as simply the possibility that we'll see Jimmy's sister on screen but there is an absence of an actor listed as playing Jimmy. There is also a scene in the trailer where Perry White is running from destruction along with Buller.

No Caption Provided

Watching the scene again, she's not carrying a camera around her neck but instead what appears to be an office badge of some sort. It's possible it could be a press badge. Why would Jimmy's sister be running from chaos with Perry unless she was either visiting the Daily Planet or working there.

Digital Spy also reports that Buller's role hasn't been confirmed by Warner Bros. and we know IMDB sometimes contains errors, especially in early production.

Does Jimmy Olsen's gender matter? It would add a possible different dynamic to being "Superman's Pal" and could also be competition for Lois. All we can do is wait to see what develops from this.

122 Comments

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GodDamnIronMan

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Edited By GodDamnIronMan

No big deal, they always like to their own modifications on characters...

As long as Clark is Clark, not Chloe.....

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vance_astro

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Edited By vance_astro  Moderator
@Lvenger said:

To be fair to Elba I liked his performence of Heimdall. But yeah it made no sense for him to be black for racial diversity. Didn't an asian actor play Heimdall? I prefer him to be bearded and more grumpy than he was in Thor.

An asian actor played Hogun the Grim. Elba was Heimdall. Heimdall is the Guardian of the Bifrost.
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NerdofPrey

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Edited By NerdofPrey

Who cares?

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sentryman555

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Edited By sentryman555

Maybe this is to throw people off and she'll actually be revealed to be Lana Lang? I'm really hoping she's just jimmy's sister or cousin or something and they're planning to use her to introduce jimmy in a sequel, even though that doesn't make much sense........

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LenSnart

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Edited By LenSnart

Noooooo! They should get Micheal Cera to play Jimmy

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queenfrost_

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Edited By queenfrost_

anyone who questions this/hates on this is an idiot. go back 2 the oppressed 20th century. who cares, really? i only hope this isn't for a love triangle. cos after all, u can change a FICTIONAL character's gender without it being a plot device...right?

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JLDoom

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Edited By JLDoom

I still think this would be too random...

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JamDamage

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Edited By JamDamage

why? just stupid

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EisforExtinction

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Edited By EisforExtinction

@Jonny_Anonymous: I would argue both of those are more significant changes. In the movies anyways Jimmy doesn't see to be that big of a player.

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Edited By Jonny_Anonymous

@queenfrost_ said:

anyone who questions this/hates on this is an idiot. go back 2 the oppressed 20th century. who cares, really? i only hope this isn't for a love triangle. cos after all, u can change a FICTIONAL character's gender without it being a plot device...right?

Really? So when we get a Wonder Woman movie it'll be totally ok to make her friend Eddie Candy then?

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TheAmazingImmortalMan

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hmmm as long as the movie is good I don't mind but I would prefer for Jimmy to be a guy rather than a girl just because that's how it is in the Superman mythos.

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bloggerboy

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Edited By bloggerboy

@StMichalofWilson said:

By the way, I'm just going to put this out there: Why Jenny Olsen when there can be a Chloe Sullivan in the movie?

I'm just saying...

Chloe doesn't have the name recognition that Jimmy Olsen does. And Chloe is in many ways much like a female Jimmy when you think about it.

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Lvenger

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Edited By Lvenger

@queenfrost_ said:

anyone who questions this/hates on this is an idiot. go back 2 the oppressed 20th century. who cares, really? i only hope this isn't for a love triangle. cos after all, u can change a FICTIONAL character's gender without it being a plot device...right?

Really? So I'm an idiot then? It makes no sense to change the gender of an established member of Superman's supporting cast when he has plenty of female supporting characters already. Try coming up with a better argument and less downplaying of people who share my view.

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Lvenger

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Edited By Lvenger

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@queenfrost_ said:

anyone who questions this/hates on this is an idiot. go back 2 the oppressed 20th century. who cares, really? i only hope this isn't for a love triangle. cos after all, u can change a FICTIONAL character's gender without it being a plot device...right?

Really? So when we get a Wonder Woman movie it'll be totally ok to make her friend Eddie Candy then?

Or maybe the Batman reboot will star Batman's butler Alfreda?

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deactivated-5a4e0e8ea3dfb

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I don't see why this change is a bad thing for a few reasons:

1) A lot of people (at least that I know) have a very good friend and confidant of the opposite gender that does not descend into a sexual relationship. If you think its strange for two adults, a man and woman, to hang out in a bar after work and talk about their lives, relationships, and sex without being in a sexual relationship themselves than I suggest you stop watching crap films like "Friends with Benefits".

2) You'll also notice that there is no Cat Grant listed at IMDB and she's been a huge part of the Superman supporting cast for decades as well as in tv adaptations. This is a good thing though. Rather than introduce too many characters into an origin film, which we all hate and slows down the plot, wouldn't it be perfect to combine some characters into a new one? Thus we get Jenny Olsen, who instead of being a photographer can fill the Cat Grant role on the Social Desk with Jenny and Lois having a friendly rivalry due to their differing opinion of news/reporting and both being considered the best in their fields. That tension and teasing, I thought, was one of the better points of the Lois and Clark series because it introduced a competition not just between Lois and Clark in the first season but gave Lois a female rival. Yes, that Cat Grant was attracted to Clark and tried to seduce him in the early episodes, but that element is not necessary to have a healthy professional rivalry between Lois and Jenny while still allowing them to be friends.

3) Without Jimmy Olsen the new film can increase the role and support of Steve Lombard within the Daily Planet and to Clark. Its not known yet if Clark will be portrayed as "meek and mild" or will have a more outgoing personality (similar to the way Dean Cain played the character and Tom Welling did till season 10 of Smallville) and if the later (outgoing) is the direction of the film than Steve would be a perfect friend for Clark. Tweak his character a bit to not make him the extremely annoying, stereotypical ex-jock and you have the perfect guy friend and drinking buddy for Clark.

4) Part of Superman's character is the idea of balance. Balancing being Clark Kent and being Kal-El/Superman. Balancing embracing his human upbringing with his Kryptonian heritage. Balancing wielding great power while working within the confines of Earth's laws. If we look at the IMDB credits some more we see a balance of male and female in various parts of Clark's life. Jor-El with Lara -> Jonathan with Martha and Whitney (vice Pete) with Lana -> Perry and Steve with Lois and Jenny -> Zod with Faora. So by replacing Jimmy with Jenny the Snyder-Nolan team are able to move a concept of balance through more aspects of the film than just Clark's character.

So long as the film doesn't use this new character to create the overused "one woman loves Superman and one woman loves Clark Kent" I see only positives in this change but at the end of the day its going to come down to the performance of the actress (who from her IMDB page does not have an long background in acting) and her chemistry with the others.

I will also be disappointed if they go the way of Smallville and have Jenny die simply to introduce her younger sibling Jimmy who goes to work at the Daily Planet at the end of the film. It was a horrible move in Smallville because it ruined the great impact that death generated simply to maintain the comic book status quo. Let's hope Snyder and Nolan don't pull the same crap.

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kid Apollo

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Edited By kid Apollo

hes the ginger Olsen twin!

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Miss_Garrick

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Edited By Miss_Garrick

EW! NO, NO, NO!! YOU KEEP THAT LOSER AWAY FROM MY GENDER!!

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Mbecks14

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Edited By Mbecks14

Groan. Why not just include Chloe Sullivan or something? There are plenty of other female characters to use. I'm fine with Perry White being played by a black actor, but this is just silly.

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SandMan_

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Edited By SandMan_

Um...Whatever...never really cared about Olson. At least now I have something to look at.
 
Just watch the movie for Superman...jeez..Comic Book fans are so jaded...

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munkieKONG

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Edited By munkieKONG

what about this didn't work last time?

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Anthonypilone01

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Edited By Anthonypilone01

WHAT?!!! WTF?!!! I knew this new 52 was so alienating. But this is another reason why I hate it so much. Another screw up move by current DC.

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dondave

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Edited By dondave

@StMichalofWilson said:

By the way, I'm just going to put this out there: Why Jenny Olsen when there can be a Chloe Sullivan in the movie?

I'm just saying...

QFT

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Stormbox

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Edited By Stormbox

@Anthonypilone01 said:

WHAT?!!! WTF?!!! I knew this new 52 was so alienating. But this is another reason why I hate it so much. Another screw up move by current DC.

Ugh, im so tired of saying this

Dc has little control over these things

And what does the new 52 have to do with this lol, this is a movie completely different things, jimmy isnt even a woman in the new 52

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TheMess1428

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Edited By TheMess1428

I think the gender swap does matter because Jimmy was meant to be an exact opposite to Lois in how someone would react to Superman and be in his life at the same time. Jimmy and Lois both were attracted to Superman in a way and admire him in a way. Jimmy is meant to represent the male side of that coin where he admires Superman as his hero and wants to be his pal. Lois is meant to represent the female side of that coin where she admires Superman as her hero and wants to his girlfriend. If you replace Jimmy with Jenny, you lose that dynamic that Jimmy holds and make her just like Lois. But if you just make her a carbon copy and Jimmy but as a girl, it would be lame and annoying for the average Superman fan. And if that was the case, it would be just easier to use Jimmy in the first place.

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Blizaga101

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Edited By Blizaga101

Buller looks so happy running from that crashing building... i like her, she can smile during a crisis :P

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Teerack

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Edited By Teerack

I'd hit it.

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monitor_earthprime

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So we have a different shade of Pery White and now a different gender Olsen. I will wait and see the movie when it gets released to cable. So much wrong with this movie they may as well call it "Loosely based on Superman".

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Samimista

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Edited By Samimista

@CaioTrubat said:

Ummm... WHYYYYYYYY?!?!?!?

This time a million. I hope the writers don't try doing a love triangle with Lois, Clark and Jenny. It's like Elementary with the female Watson.

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RedOwl_1

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Edited By RedOwl_1

@Samimista said:

@CaioTrubat said:

Ummm... WHYYYYYYYY?!?!?!?

This time a million. I hope the writers don't try doing a love triangle with Lois, Clark and Jenny. It's like Elementary with the female Watson.

IKR? my first thought was "Dammit Elementary all over again"

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Samimista

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Edited By Samimista

@RedOwl_1 said:

@Samimista said:

@CaioTrubat said:

Ummm... WHYYYYYYYY?!?!?!?

This time a million. I hope the writers don't try doing a love triangle with Lois, Clark and Jenny. It's like Elementary with the female Watson.

IKR? my first thought was "Dammit Elementary all over again"

Lol! See, I would of been okay with a female Watson as long as it was platonic but it wasn't from what I saw. It just bothered me since I'm a fan of the older Sherlock Holmes so I find it kinda disturbing lol.

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ScreamingGhost

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Edited By ScreamingGhost

If there going to fundamentally change Jimmys character why bother just changing the first name. Just by being a woman it changes the dynamic between them in more ways then one. Which could be both a positive or a negative. I would have preferred a new character(Or another one of Supermans female cast members take Jimmys place) instead but if this rumor is true it still won't make or break the film. I'm all for more diversity in comics but swapping characters genders just feels weird.

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mk111

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Edited By mk111

A female Jimmy Olsen sounds like the dumbest thing ever! This had better be a fake rumor!

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amazing_webhead

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Edited By amazing_webhead

That might be going a bit too far. Possibly. I dunno, I'll still be psyched to see the movie.

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nappystr8

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Edited By nappystr8

I think that Jimmy Olsen being female could be an interesting twist. I don't see anything about that character that defines him as needing to be male. But Jimmi or Jimi would be a fine name change, you don't have to change it to Jenny Olsen. And on top of that this girl doesn't look anything like what a female version of Jimmy Olsen would look like either. They have changed so much about the the character that they should have just gone with a completely new character altogether. And Jimmy doesn't need a sister in an origin movie, because they already have a huge cast of characters that need to be introduced to the audience as it is. This really better be a rumor, misdirection, or an error of some kind.

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KINCART

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Edited By KINCART

Has anyone thought that this is Jimmy's older sister who in this film worked for the planet before Jimmy? Maybe Jimmy isn't in this movie because he is still too young to work for the Daily Planet. This is Superman's origin story after all. Come to think of it do we even know for sure that Clark will be working for the DP in this film?

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SmashBrawler

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Edited By SmashBrawler

This is dumb.

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MadeinBangladesh

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Edited By MadeinBangladesh

-_- Gender Swaps and Race swaps

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Jenkale

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Edited By Jenkale

@Vance Astro:

they did it in wanted as well which is an image property. fox is black in the comic but angelina played her. but the only thing the movie and book have in common is name so i dont know if it really counts

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chunkypack87

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Edited By chunkypack87

This film has bigger things to conquer - this change, if it is a change, will be an extremely minor issue if they don't get Superman right again, and I haven't liked a superman film since 2, and even then I'm not its biggest fan.

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Kal'smahboi

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Edited By Kal'smahboi

This seems like an unnecessary change, and one that would change the dynamic of the relationship. It's probably not true.

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the_stegman

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Edited By the_stegman  Moderator

Ehhh, I don't know about this...race change is one thing, but to change a gender...what, so he's gonna be "Jenny Olsen" now?

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V_Scarlotte_Rose

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Edited By V_Scarlotte_Rose

@G-Man said:

No Caption Provided

I'll start by saying I know nothing about Jimmy Olsen.

But from this image alone does this suggest he's maybe transgendered?^ Is this a common character trait?

If that's the case, maybe the filmmakers decided to have Jimmy transition and become Jenny. That'd be bold, but probably a good thing, having a trans character in a high profile film, as long as thery're not just used for disrespectful jokes.

By the way, if Jimmy isn't trans, what's the context of this panel? Undercover work of some sort?

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SmashBrawler

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@V_Scarlotte_Rose said:

Undercover work of some sort?

Yeah, that's pretty much the context. It's from All-Star Superman.

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V_Scarlotte_Rose

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Edited By V_Scarlotte_Rose

@SmashBrawler said:

@V_Scarlotte_Rose said:

Undercover work of some sort?

Yeah, that's pretty much the context. It's from All-Star Superman.

Fair enough.

That article and that one picture is literally my entire knowledge of the character. No-one had mentioned a trans aspect, so I thought I'd come at it from a different angle.

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FatFriar_16

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Edited By FatFriar_16

It would be good to see Lois having plenty of competition. But, not like this... =\

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Omega-Man

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Edited By Omega-Man

Don't like this, it seens un needed and I can see ALOT of bad jokes coming from if Jimmy Olsen is being gender bended into Jenny Olsen. I do see this as it's own universe this isn't the Superman in the 52 Superman comics. Buuuttt...still not a fan of Jenny Olsen and Lois Lane. Clark can be friends with Lois before anything happends so why is there a Jenny Olsen? Jimmy often represents a guy friend who goes out and has beers with etc.

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SmashBrawler

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Edited By SmashBrawler

@V_Scarlotte_Rose said:

@SmashBrawler said:

@V_Scarlotte_Rose said:

Undercover work of some sort?

Yeah, that's pretty much the context. It's from All-Star Superman.

Fair enough.

That article and that one picture is literally my entire knowledge of the character. No-one had mentioned a trans aspect, so I thought I'd come at it from a different angle.

Nah, it's just a quick gag based on the fact Jimmy dressed up as a woman quite a few times during the Silver Age.

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MyComicStoreDotNET

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@KindleClay: I don't think so. A sex-change is not equivalent to a personality change. Jimmy's often seen as a eager, bright eyed & bushy tailed younger brother to Clark. I would love to see them try and keep those traits if Jimmy becomes Jenny!

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entropy_aegis

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Edited By entropy_aegis

Ouch.

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BoyWander

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ahahahahahahahahahahhahhahahahahahahahahhahahaahhhaahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahaha… Ok, whatever, moving on.