By Ben “Zombie” Bedgood
Hello ComicsOnline readers! This is a new series I will be writing called “Comics Spotlight.” It will be focusing on some really awesome comic characters and series that are sometimes lost in the shuffle. Our first entry: Mister Mxyzptlk.
Mister Mxyzptlk is a villain or anti-hero depends on the day you are unfortunate enough to catch him on. Mxyzptlk is a creature of infinite power that has battled Superman primarily. Along with other heroes over the years.
Let’s start things off with some simplification of things, his name. Mister Mxyzptlk is pronounced Miks-yez-pit-lik. The pronunciation of his name is a heavily contested subject. It is also debated across many forums far and wide. In the comics he occasionally went by Mxy so I am going to use that for the rest of the article if that’s ok with you all? If it isn’t too bad, I’m the writer and I say it’s Mxy!
Throughout his history, Mxy tends to act as a trickster pulling pranks on Superman. Many of these seem to be cruel in nature but in actuality are true trickster mentality. In the sense of the ancient trickster gods. Residing in what is known as the 5th dimension he is not bound by our normal laws of physics, gravity, or other earth norm standards. It is these abilities that give him what is perceived as magical like abilities.
Mxy has used his abundance of powers for mainly practical jokes that do occasionally turn harmful. His pranks have ranged, from terrifying Superman by pretending to be dead when hit by a truck. Only return unharmed moments later. Turning the voice of Metropolis’s mayor into that of a donkey. Even once animated the Daily planet building into humanoid form. This was one of his more harmful pranks, injuring hundreds. When the building was walking around the city. The staff of the Daily Planet was being violently thrown against the walls inside.
By far, the prank that went the worst was when visiting Gotham. Mxy became interested in how a 3rd dimensional lifeform would handle his powers. He attempted to give some of his power to Joker as an experiment. His intention was to bestow only 1% of his power to Joker. However Joker managed to trick Mxy and managed to take 99% of Mxy’s power. This incident spawned the Emperor Joker storyline. This event left the world transformed by Joker into a paradise only 69 seconds after gaining Mxy’s power. Superman was imprisoned in Arkham Asylum by Bizarro and left helpless. Batman was killed repeatedly by Emperor Joker only to be resurrected each time. Upon his death, Joker realized he was bound to Batman emotionally. Most terrifyingly, Darkseid admits that Joker gained access to the Anti-Life Equation. It was during this storyline that we see Mxy in a more Anti-hero role, working to restore Superman and save the world.
From the time of his introduction into comics in 1944, Mxy’s story and powers have remained largely unchained. Over the course of 40 years from 1944 – 1985. The only real way to defeat him was for someone to trick him into saying his name backwards. The already strange name backwards appeared as Kltpzyxm pronounced Kel-tip-zix-um. If this was accomplished it would send Mxy back to his home in the 5th dimension for a limited time. After this timeframe expired he could return whenever he felt the desire to do so. The first and only real change to take place was in 1985 during the Crisis on Infinite Earths story line. It was here that instead of being forced to say his name backwards he would only leave when he decided to. This was usually accomplished by some form of humiliation being inflicted on Mxy.
Over the progression of 72 years since we were first introduced to Mxy, he has been referenced repeatedly as one of the most powerful beings in the DC Comics universe. We really don’t know how powerful Mxy is because his full power is never truly reveled. One this we do know, unlike the homicidal maniacs that other villains portray, Mxy is truly a prankster. He has a strange care and protectiveness over Superman, never really wanting to hurt him or kill him. He actually seems to think of it as his responsibility to lighten Superman’s mood, and crack the stern almost cold exterior. I mean what kind of true villain drops in to congratulate Superman, on his wedding day in Superman: The Wedding Album Comic?
If you are interested in learning more about the mischievous little man from the 5th dimension, I recommend checking out these comics to get you started!
Superman #30 (1944) – Mxyzptlk first appearance
Superman: The Man of Steel #75 – Mxyzptlk creates Doomday (January 1998)
Emperor Joker Storyline (September-October 2000) Follow reading order
1) Superman #160
2) Adventures of Superman #582
3) Superman: The Man of Steel #104
4) Action Comics #769
5) Superman: Emperor Joker #1
6) Superman #161
7) Adventures of Superman #583
8) Superman: The Man of Steel #105
9) Action Comics #770
