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| “ | Ulp! If Supie bites the dust... I won't have the greatest-all-time-sap to kick around anymore! What a horrible thought! | „ |
| ~ Mr. Mxyzptlk speaking about his relationship with Superman. |
| “ | Mxyzptlk: I don't understand... I was part of it from the beginning. Well, almost the beginning. The comics, the toys... I was on the cartoon show... Jon Kent: The cartoon show? |
„ |
| ~ Mxy's motivations, as well as the revelation that he's really the same person across adaptations. |
Mr. Mxyzptlk is a major antagonist in the Superman franchise.
He is a classic example of a trickster villain, as unlike many of Superman's enemies, he does not seek conquest or ruin. Rather, he just wants to mess with Superman for amusement as well as teach lessons to others, albeit in the manner of a trickster-god. He served as the main antagonist in What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade.
Portrayals[]
- In The New Adventures of Superman, he was voiced by the late Gilbert Mack.
- In the Super Friends series, he was voiced by Frank Welker.
- In Superboy, he was played by the late Michael J. Pollard.
- In Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, he was played by Howie Mandel.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Justice League Action and LEGO DC Super-Villains, he was voiced by the late Gilbert Gottfried.
- In Smallville, he was played by Trent Ford.
- In the Superman Returns video game, he was voiced by Dwight Schultz.
- In DC Universe Online, he was voiced by Shanon Weaver.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, he was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- In Supergirl, he was played by Peter Gadiot in the second season and by Thomas Lennon in the fifth and sixth seasons.
- In Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, he was voiced by Dana Snyder.
- In My Adventures with Superman, he was voiced by David Errigo Jr.
Overview[]
Mr. Mxyzptlk has plagued Superman as far back as the Golden Age of Comics, though his name was originally spelled Mxyztplk. A classic member of Superman's Rogues Gallery, Mxy originally faced Superman as a cartoony bald man in a purple suit who would return to harass the Man of Steel every 90 days, only leaving Superman's reality when he was tricked into saying his own name backwards.
By Superman (Vol. 1) #131 (Aug. 1959), the mischievous Mr. Mxyzptlk's name gained its modern spelling, and he was sporting his trademark orange suit and white hair. In a story set before the reality-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths, Mxy showed his true colors when he transformed from prankster to murderous villain in a possible future for Superman.
Biography[]
Modern Age[]
Mr. Mxyzptlk is a trouble-making imp from the Fifth Dimension who has been harassing Superman since the early days for no reason other than boredom and slight malice - his actions often get him arrested and sent to trial in his own dimension, but he continues to return since punishment doesn't really affect a being like Mxyzptlk - who can just as easily escape any imprisonment or sentence he may have had imposed on himself.
Superman first met Mxyzptlk when he appeared in Metropolis as the charismatic Ben DeRoy. Mr. Mxyzptlk once forced Superman and The Flash (Wally West) into a race that The Flash won. Mr. Mxyzptlk encountered Lex Luthor and learned the concept of how to lie. Later, Mr. Mxyzptlk supplied Luthor with red kryptonite which made Superman's powers disappear, but Luthor violated Mr. Mxyzptlk's conditions, so Superman regained his powers. Mxyzptlk appeared in Metropolis and tried granting a wish to everybody in the city. He even tried, albeit unsuccessful at the time, to reunite Superman and Lois Lane.
There is a time when even a trickster is out-tricked. Mxyzptlk paid a visit to the insane Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker, at his cell in Arkham Asylum. He toyed with the notion of setting the Joker free with 1% of his power and watch Superman and Batman dance to his tune. Smarter than he may have seemed to Mxyzptlk, the Joker tricked Mxyzptlk into revealing his imp name and gained power over him. He took 99% of Mxzyptlk's power and used it to proclaim himself Emperor of a world he reshaped in his image. Superman, finding the flaw in his twisted logic realized that to the Joker, his existence is nothing without Batman. He couldn't even erase his own memories of the Dark Knight, and therefore, his reality was thwarted and Mxyzptlk was able to reign his powers back in and return to the 5th Dimension.
Mxy has done many other things, but he got bored of tormenting humans and other beings weaker than him, so when he found Superman, he was thrilled.
The New 52[]
Mr. Mxyzptlk comes from the 5th dimension and has pestered Superman in every reality. When Clark Kent's landlady, Mrs. Nyxly, first mentioned her husband, she referred to him as stage conjurer Mystic Mr. Triple X, adding that a rival magician’s interference with one of his tricks had left him in a coma for seven years. In reality, Mrs. Nyxly was a 5th-dimensional princess named Gsptlnz. Mxyzptlk had become her royal father's sorcerer, edging out former court magician, Lord Vyndktvx. Vyndktvx swore revenge, but killed Gsptlnz's father by mistake.
Fearing for her life, Gsptlnz fled to Earth, leaving her beloved Mr. Mxyzptlk in the 5th dimension. His frequent visits to Earth were him having fun while searching for her. Post Rebirth, the imp was imprisoned for millennia by Mister Oz, but escaped and hid as a perfect duplicate of Clark Kent. When trapped by the Justice League, Mxyzptlk revealed the nature of 6th-dimensional reality and the threat of Source Wall escapee Perpetua. By battling fellow imp Bat-Mite, Mxyzptlk preserved his 3rd-dimensional playground from eradication.
Powers and Abilities[]
Mxyzptlk is a virtually omnipotent reality warper due to extremely advanced "Super-Science" that works like magic, allowing him to perform virtually anything imaginable - though he has not killed Superman and has a weakness in the form of whenever someone tricks him into speaking, writing, spelling, or otherwise revealing his name backwards, in which case, he will be banished to the Fifth Dimension for a short while. This weakness is self-imposed and only valid if Mxy allows it - in other words he has control over his own weaknesses, showing that he is even more powerful than he lets himself be seen, likely deliberately lowering his powers for sheer "fun".
A mischievous being from another dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk possesses powers so advanced they can only be described as magic, which makes him a dangerous foe for Superman, as Superman's invulnerability doesn't work on magical attacks, meaning Mxyzptylk's attacks can actually hurt Superman. He's a prankster, a troublemaker and a genuine threat. He knows Superman's double identity but would never tell, fearing it would lessen the control he'd have over the Man of Steel. Besides, threatening to reveal Superman's secret is much more fun than actually doing it. If he wanted to, Mxyzptlk could kill Superman outright by simply rearranging the Man of Steel's molecules, but again, where is the fun in that? In some weird way, Mr. Mxyzptlk considers himself Superman's "pal", always showing up when least expected to throw a surprise into "the big boy scout's" life. Mxy thinks Superman actually looks forward to their running duel of wits as much as he does. Boy, is he wrong. When Mxy's not out trying to destroy Superman, he goes home to the 5th dimension where he enjoys long walks in the park, rock climbing and snuggling with his main squeeze Gsptlsnz.
Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers have been confirmed for some time now to come from imagination itself, which is in turn connected to a concept in DC known as the Collective Consciousness - in short Mxy has as much power as he (or those around him) imagines.
Mxy is not, however, completely invincible and is below the level of beings who scale to the Over-Void, such as Mandrakk or other Monitors. He is also significantly below Perpetua, and fears other beings like Doctor Manhattan.
Other Media[]
Live-action[]
- Main article: Mikhail Mxyzptlk
- Main article: Mxyzptlk (Supergirl)
Mikhail Mxyzptlk in the Smallville
Mr. Mxyzptlk in Supergirl (second season)
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in the Superboy live-action series, portrayed by Michael J. Pollard.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "Twas the Night Before Mxymas", portrayed by Howie Mandel. This version is said to have inspired real historic events such as the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
- A character based on Mr. Mxyzptlk named Mikhail Mxyzptlk appears in the Smallville episode "Jinx", portrayed by Trent Ford. This version is a metahuman descended from a line of people from the "Kltpzyxm" family, whose powers allow him to manipulate probability.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in the Arrowverse series Supergirl, portrayed by Peter Gadiot in season 2 and by Thomas Lennon in seasons 5 and 6. This version is an old friend of Nyxlygsptlnz and the Hat, who derives his power from Mxy's magical artifact.
Animation[]
Mr. Mxyzptlk in Superman: The Animated Series
Mr. Mxyzptlk in My Adventures with Superman
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Imp-Practical Joker", voiced by Gilbert Mack.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in several series set in the Super Friends universe, voiced by Frank Welker.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in Superman: The Animated Series, set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by the late Gilbert Gottfried. This version was inspired on his Golden Age incarnation. An animatronic toy based on the Bronze Age version of Mxy previously appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Deep Freeze". DCAU's Mxyzptlk also makes a cameo appearance in Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans as a prisoner of Trigon.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Battle of the Superheroes!", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in Justice League Action, voiced again by Gilbert Gottfried.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in the Adult Swim series My Adventures with Superman, voiced by David Errigo Jr. This version self-proclaims himself as a chaos god and has blue skin, taking cues from impish anime characters. Although he has only appeared in one episode of the first season, his actions have had a profound effect on the following ones.
Videogames[]
Mr. Mxyzptlk also appeared in several DC games as;
- Superman Returns (the game), voiced by Dwight Schultz.
- DC Universe Online, voiced by Shanon Weaver.
- Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
- Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Gilbert Gottfried.
- A supporting antagonist in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic. After Jim Corrigan was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, Mr. Mxyzptlk assumes his form as the Spectre and joins Superman's Regime to bring "order to the world".
Trivia[]
- His name's pronunciation varies from adaptation to adaptation. In the earliest adaptations it was pronounced "Mixeplick", but for Superman: The Animated Series (where Superman even initially uses the previous pronunciation), Mxy himself says it is properly pronounced: "Mix-yes-spit-lick".
- The Impossible Man from the Marvel Comics is normally seen as Marvel's equivalent to the Mr Mxyzptlk. In the Superman story "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite", it was even implied the two were one and the same. Despite this easter egg however, the Impossible Man hasn't been depicted as dangerous or as powerful as Mr Mxyzptlk (the two also don't share the exact same personality), so this bit in the story isn't taken seriously by most, especially since it was just a reference/tribute to Marvel, and little else.
- Similarly, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, Mxyzptlk took on a human disguise in his first appearance and went by the name Ben DeRoy, an anagram for Beyonder, a Marvel character whose favourite form Mxyzptlk's human guise greatly resembled.
- His true name is so long and unpronounceable, that even Bat-Mite couldn't care enough to listen to it.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk named himself such because he believed Superman would never be able to say or type it backwards (his one original weakness). Other versions have it that his name is the closest he can get to one the viewers can ever understand.
- His infamous weakness is actually self-made and it only works because he allows it to work. In short, he functions much like a Q from Star Trek; his weakness is as he decides. However, as an Imp, he must pick a weakness (this prevents Imps from destroying the multiverse with their tricks).
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