The character of Jimmy from Halloween II returned in a comic book continuation of the film, though as might be expected, this did not go well for him, as he suffered a far more brutal fate than in the 1981 film. Jimmy’s fate is left ambiguous in the movie’s theatrical cut, though a comic book follow-up confirmed the character’s survival – before ruthlessly, and definitively, dispatching him.
Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode #2 – by Stefan Hutchinson, Jeff Zornow, Nick Filardi, Ed Dukeshire – features the return, and death, of the lovelorn ambulance driver. The oft-forgotten three-issue comic book miniseries is set in the Halloween franchise’s H20 continuity, filling in the gap between 1981’s H2 and the 1998 reboot, which erased the intervening films from canon.
More than definitively clarifying whether Jimmy lived or died, the comic corrects a death that’s frequently ridiculous by fans of the original sequel. What was once an underwhelming ending for the character became far more impactful, as The First Death of Laurie Strode revealed.
There’s No More Room To Debate Jimmy The EMT’s Fate
Halloween fans will remember Jimmy as an EMT who takes a liking to Laurie Strode while caring after her at the hospital in 1981’s Halloween II, the first sequel to the original 1978 film. Upon finding the body of the facility’s head nurse, he slips in her blood and hits his head. He’s last seen in the film’s theatrical cut attempting to drive away with Laurie, before his concussion forces him to pass out on the horn, loudly signaling their location. The First Death of Laurie Strode clarifies that the character is alive a year later; he and Laurie are still friends, but Jimmy isn’t the same as he once was.
The First Death of Laurie Strode establishes that Jimmy survived, though far from unscathed. A year after the events at the hospital, suffers from seizures, struggles to remember things, never sleeps, and is now wheelchair-bound. Combined with Laurie’s PTSD, this makes it difficult for their friendship, and potential romance, to blossom. Their last conversation is a despondent Laurie yelling at Jimmy not to draw attention to them. Michael Myers eventually returns on the night of a costume party, chasing after Laurie, but suddenly changes course to Jimmy’s house. Laurie peers through the window, witnessing Jimmy being stabbed by Michael repeatedly, and tossed through a glass table, mangling his body and finishing him off for good.
Michael Myers Fixes A Missed Opportunity From Halloween II
Notably, a television cut of Halloween II confirmed Jimmy’s survival prior to the First Death of Laurie Strode comic. First Death, however, is the first time the franchise made use of the character since his initial appearance nearly thirty years earlier. More notably, it gave franchise centerpiece Michael Myers the opportunity to correct a missed opportunity from Halloween II. It often perplexed fans why Jimmy’s “death” in the film was a near-comedic pratfall, rather than at the hands of Michael Myers. The comic miniseries gives Michael the kill, and makes Jimmy’s death a pivotal part of what led Laurie Strode to fake her death and escape Haddonfield, setting up the events of Halloween H20.
