"Mister Mxyztplk" [məksɪzpʌtlk] (as his name was originally spelled, originally pronounced mux-IZ-puh-tulk [məksɪtzpətlk] according to the title Superman Family, or mix-yez-pittle-ik on the 1967 FilmationCBS-TVSuperman animated series) was introduced as an imp from the "fifth dimension". Not being bound by our physical laws, he can do things that seem to be magical. In his first appearance, Mxyztplk wreaks havoc across Metropolis by using his powers to pull all manner of pranks. What's more, he destroys Superman's worldview of himself. Mxyztplk jumps out a window, fooling Superman into thinking Mxyztplk is committing suicide. When he appears unharmed, an astonished Superman exclaims "I — I thought I was the only man who could fly!!" Mxyztplk soon tells Superman that he is a jester in his home dimension, explaining why he uses his powers to play practical jokes.
Originally, Mxyztplk has designs on conquering the planet for himself, but soon settles for tormenting Superman whenever he gets the opportunity. His only weaknesses are that he can not stand being ridiculed and if he says or spells his name backwards, Kltpzyxm (kil-tip-zee-zim [kɪltɪpzizɪm]), he is involuntarily sent back to his home dimension for a minimum of 90 days. Mxyztplk often looks for ways to counter the latter weakness, but he always proves gullible enough for Superman to trick him time and time again. In the Golden Age, saying "Kltpzyxm" will not only bring Mxyztplk back to the fifth dimension, but would bring anyone else saying it to the fifth dimension. To return back to his/her home dimension, one has to say his/her name backward.
Mxyztplk originally appeared as a small bald man in a purple suit, green bow tie, and purple derby hat. This was changed to a futuristic looking orange outfit with purple trim in the mid-1950s, although the hat remains. At around this time, the spelling of Mxyztplk's name changed (by mistake) to "Mxyzptlk".
Superman himself decides to turn the tables and visit the 5th dimension, making trouble for the imp, who is running for mayor. When Myxzptlk furnishes a huge supply of food for prospective voters, he says, "Eat up, folks, the food's on me!" Superman uses super-breath to blow the food all over the imp and then chortles to the voters, "Like he said, folks--the food is on him!" The imp tries to get the Man of Steel to say "Namrepus," but that doesn't work; Superman banishes himself back to Earth by saying "Le-Lak"--his Kryptonian name backwards.
Multiverse
After the establishment of DC Comics' multiverse in the 1960s, it was later explained that the purple-suited Mxyztplk lives in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-Two and the orange-costumed Mxyzptlk in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-One. The Earth-One version is also retconned into Superboy stories as Master Mxyzptlk.
A 30th-century descendant of Mxyzptlk appeared in Adventure Comics #310 (July 1963) with similar abilities. Much crueler than his ancestor, this version kills most of the Legion of Super-Heroes until Superboy tricks him into falling victim to the same "Kltpzyxm" weakness, reversing the effects of his magic.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Mister Mxyzptlk continued to be a thorn in Superman's side for many years. Alan Moore offered a radically different interpretation of the character in Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?. Mr. Mxyzptlk (appearing in darker colors, and looking more sinister than in the past) explains that the big problem with immortality is finding ways to spend the time. He spent his first 2000 years without moving, the next 2000 years doing only good deeds, and the following 2000 years being the mischievous character that he is normally portrayed as. He has now decided to try being evil, and is responsible for all of the nightmarish events in the story. Before attacking Superman, he remarks, "Did you honestly believe a fifth-dimensional sorcerer would resemble a funny little man in a derby hat?" His true form is described by Lois Lane as having "height, width, breadth, and a couple of other things." He is killed by Superman who sends him to the Phantom Zone at the same time that Mr. Mxyzpltlk tries to escape to the Fifth dimension. Remorse over this act of killing leads Superman to drain his powers with gold kryptonite.
Modern Mxyzptlk
Despite his odd story, Mxyzptlk made it through the Crisis on Infinite Earths relatively unchanged, although the unpleasant nature of his pranks and the psychological effects they had on others were played up more, at least initially. In early post-Crisis stories the "condition" that would send him back to the fifth dimension is anything he wanted it to be, but since Lex Luthor taught him how to lie, making this meaningless, the stories have reverted to Mxyzptlk saying his name backwards. One of his most prominent storylines in this new continuity was the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite", when he provided Lex Luthor with a sample of red kryptonite that took away Superman's powers so long as Luthor never revealed that Mxyzptlk was involved. Despite Superman's lack of powers, he still risked his life to battle Mammoth and the evil Thaddeus Killgrave, although he also called in the latest Starman to impersonate him for a time. Eventually, the spell was lifted when Luthor told Clark Kent where the red kryptonite had come from, believing that he wouldn't be breaking Mxyzptlk's rule about not letting Superman know the truth if he told Kent and Kent told Superman.
Many of Mxyzptlk's later stories have a post-modern feel to them, similar to Ambush Bug, as he comments on editorial decisions, clichés of the genre, etc. This was most obvious in Superman: The Man of Steel #75, a pastiche of Superman's death in Superman volume 2 #75, where Mxyzptlk creates a duplicate of Doomsday. The confrontation culminates with Mxyzptlk meeting the Supreme Being who turns out to be Mike Carlin, the then-editor of the Superman titles, who promptly brings him back to life. Although Mxyzptlk does not appear in Grant Morrison's JLA, Morrison took advantage of certain similarities to tie Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt and Aquaman's character Qwsp to the fifth dimension, implying the dimension may be the origin for legends of djinn. This story also saw the first (and so far only) post-Crisis appearance of Mxyzptlk's Earth-One girlfriend, Ms. Gsptlsnz (described as his "quinto-partner").
Secret origin
In Young Justice #3, Peter David showed Mxyzptlk's origins as a serious-minded researcher, who travels through time to investigate the behavior of teenagers. He chooses to examine a Halloween party in Happy Harbor, causing many bizarre manifestations and changes among the teenagers at the party. What Mxyzptlk doesn't know was that Robin, Superboy, and Impulse were hired by the town's adults to chaperone the party. When the boys confront Mxyzptlk, they realize that this was not the same Mxyzptlk whom Superman had regularly faced; indeed, he appears to not have even assumed the name 'Mxyzptlk' at this point, regarding it as sounding like something somebody randomly typed. Upon discovering the chaotic future that awaits him, Mxyzptlk declares that he would dedicate his life to learning and knowledge. However, those words led to a shift in time, creating an apocalyptic world everywhere but outside the building where the Halloween party is being held. This is because Mxyzptlk was not left to annoy Superman. In order to avoid this, Robin, Superboy, and Impulse realize that they need to instill Mxyzptlk with his trademark wacky sense of humor by forcing him to watch hours of Three Stooges films. This leads Mxyzptlk to become the wacky imp that he is destined to be, and his leaving the boys with the promise that when it was time, he would follow through on his duty to become Superman's nemesis.
However it appears that Mxyzptlk has forgotten this incident as the years have passed. When confronted by Superboy later on, the imp declares that he had no knowledge of his adventure with Young Justice. Whether or not this is true, or Mxyzptlk merely playing a trick on the Boy of Steel, is never revealed.
Improper use of power
In Emperor Joker, a multipart story throughout the Superman titles, he has his powers temporarily stolen by the Joker; interested in seeing how somebody else would do at his job, Mxyzptlk intends to give the Joker only 1% of his power, but the Joker tricks Mxyzptlk into revealing his secret imp name and thus acquires 99% of Mxyzptlk's power. Fortunately, Mxyzptlk is able to reveal the truth about the world to Superman, who, despite his current lack of faith in himself —- caused mainly by the fact that not even Lois Lane believes in him in this world -—manages to find the power to defeat the Joker. Superman realizes that, for all his power, the Joker still cannot erase Batman, as he defined himself by his constant opposition to the Dark Knight, Superman manages to shatter the Joker's control of reality. However, Mxyzptlk saves some of the Joker's creations and transfers them into the 'real' world, including Ignition and the new Bizarro.
It has also been implied that Mxyzptlk sees himself as serving an important purpose, in teaching Superman not to take everything seriously.
In Adventures of Superman #617 (2003), Mxyzptlk is reinvented as different-sex twins with an intense hatred for Superman. Amongst other things, they claim responsibility for the creation of the present-day Persuader. A year later, in Superman Secret Files and Origins 2004 (2004), he returns to his usual self following a fellow imp in the fifth dimension combining the twins with the classic Mxyzptlk, resulting in his normal form and personality.
Mxyzptlk formed a significant part of Greg Rucka's "Ruin" storyline in Adventures of Superman. His appearance here is similar to his Golden Age look, with the addition of a single lock of hair, resembling Superman's spit curl. This version of Mxyzptlk is less abrasive than he had been previously, and is portrayed as basically on Superman's side. The metafictional aspects of the character were also played up, as he visits the DC Comics offices in the real world, presented as fumetti.
At the same time, Mxyzptlk appeared in Superman/Batman #23. During this time, his appearance and costume are different from his most recent adventures with Superman. His appearance is similar to the more typical "modern" version of the character. He is trying to prepare Batman and Superman for the upcoming Infinite Crisis (while chronologically taking place before Infinite Crisis, the issue itself came out afterwards). The incident features alternate universe versions of Superman, Batman, and Deathstroke and implies much chaos that was not shown, such as the planet Mogo visiting Earth to reclaim an old land mass.
A weakened Mxyzptlk is seemingly killed by Ruin while protecting Superman. Art by Karl Kerschl.
After the fallout of the events of Day of Vengeance (and, while not mentioned, the corruption of the Fifth Dimension as seen in JSA), the removal of magic from the Earth leaves Mxyzptlk nearly powerless, wandering the streets of Metropolis and unable to remember how to pronounce the inverse of his name to return him home. Superman attempts to help him, but the two are then attacked by the villain Ruin. Ruin attempts to assassinate Superman with Kryptonite-based weaponry, but Mxyzptlk pushes Superman out of the way, taking a Kryptonite spear to the heart and vanishing. Right before he vanishes, he seems to whisper 'kltpzyxm'.
One Year Later
Action Comics Annual #10 states that Mister Mxyzptlk was last seen 190 days ago and that the pronunciation of his name is Mix-Yez-Pittle-Ick (as it was in the 1960s Superman CBS-TV cartoon show, mentioned previously).
Powers and abilities
Mr. Mxyzptlk has access to fifth-dimensional technology that to third-dimensional beings may as well be magic. He can perform any feat imaginable. If he wanted to turn Superman into dust by snapping his fingers, it would happen. However, he's not actually malevolent like most villains, so he uses his powers doing things that are more annoying than anything else.
Though the exact limits of Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers are unknown, he's notable for being vastly more powerful than cosmic beings; During Grant Morrison'sJustice League run, the higher-dimensional nature of Mxyzptlk's fellow genies was played to its logical conclusion of possessing power 'two degrees of infinity' higher than any 3-d beings, Qwsp referring himself as encompassing both time and hypertime in addition to our spatial dimensions, and another genie named Lkz overcame and imprisoned the fully-powered unbound Spectre without apparent trouble.
Later, during the Emperor Joker storyline, this is expanded upon, as Mxyzptlk reveals that he does indeed possess unlimited power, but never uses it since he would risk destroying reality and have nothing to do the next day. The Joker had no such qualms, and employed it to unweave the very fabric and laws of the cosmos, and to render the less powerful than normal Hal Jordan Spectre into a deranged puppet.
The exact reason that Mxyzptlk is sent back to the fifth dimension when he says his name backwards is unknown, but it's his only weakness beyond being easy to trick.
Marvel Comics'Impossible Man seems to have been modelled after Mxyzptlk, and writers at DC have suggested that the two characters are one and the same: in Superman vol. 2, #50, Mxyzptlk mentions that he's been "having fun with my new fantastic friends" and later mentions getting "back to my four new friends", referring presumably to the Fantastic Four; he also uses the expression "it's blubbering time" (a play on the Thing's standard battle-cry "it's clobbering time"), and says that he's been having "a backlog of mayhem in another dimension", probably referring to the Marvel Universe. Mxyzptlk keeps altering his form constantly in this issue, and also changes into a form similar to that of the Impossible Man, with inverted colors, and says "Sometimes it's just impossible to remember what I look like from world to world." Writers at Marvel, however, clarified this in the Impossible Man's entry in the 2006 edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, noting that Mxyzptlk was merely impersonating Impy.
Later on, in 1996, the Impossible Man and Mxyzptlk teamed up in the DC/Marvel crossover story Silver Surfer vs. Superman, in which the two imps combined their powers to swap universes for the Silver Surfer and Superman. Here the power of Impossible Man was more like Mxyzptlk's own reality-warping powers, rather than just shapeshifting. In this comic, Mxyzptlk and Impossible Man have a fight where they keep changing into various characters from their respective universe, for instance The Incredible Hulk and Doomsday. The differences are profoundly displayed between the two characters - chiefly, in that Impossible Man's motive is pure fun and he abhorrs true violence, while Mxyzptlk is darker and more interested in destructive chaos, and to Impossible Man's astonishment and anger, is prone to lying.
Mxyzptlk first appeared in animated form in the Filmation series The Adventures of Superman in 1967 on CBS-TV, matching his comics depiction. Filmation also used the official DC Comics pronunciation of his name.
Mr. Mxyzptlk appeared in the Super Friendsanimated series, voiced by Frank Welker. In that series, Mxyzptlk's name is pronounced as Miks-ill-plik (backwards, Kilp-ill-skim) and he takes to tormenting all the members of the team, even when Superman is absent. In one episode,[episode needed] Mr. Kltpzyxm, a Bizarro Mxyzptlk is created, who promptly speeds off to turn Bizarro world into a beautiful planet like Earth.
Howie Mandel played Mxyzptlk in the 1990s live-action series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "Twas the Night Before Mxymas". Mxyzptlk is said to have a long history of earlier pre-Superman visits to Earth, being the source of stories regarding imps, genies, and leprechauns. This version of Mr. Mxyzptlk is very similar to the comics version; he is a native of the fifth dimension and the only way to get rid of him was to get him to say his name backwards.
In the 1990s animated series, Superman: The Animated Series, Mr. Mxyzptlk (pronounced in this version "mix-yes-spit-lick" and demonstrating this pronunciation himself by turning into a mixer, an album cover of the group Yes, back into himself while spitting at Superman, and then a dog that licked him) was voiced by comedian Gilbert Gottfried and his design was closer to the Golden Age version. In a nod to "Lois & Clark", Mxyzptlk at one point tells Superman that he is responsible for Earth legends about imps, genies, and leprechauns. In this incarnation he appears as a comical annoyance rather than a threatening villain, and at one point teams up with Bizarro. This series also featured Sandra Bernhard as his girlfriend Ms. Gsptlsnz. They only appeared in episodes "Mxyzpixilated" and "Little Big Head Man". According to the commentary for "Mxyzpixilated", there were plans for him to star in a Justice League episode, but neither writer Paul Dini (a huge fan of the character, who wrote "Mxyzpixilated") nor series creator Bruce Timm could figure out a story that would be suitable. He did make a "cameo" as a cardboard cutout used in a training exercise in the episode "Secret Society - Part 1,", however.
Trent Ford (right) as Mikail Mxyzptlk in Smallville Season 4 episode JinxIn the 2000s television series Smallville, a character named "Mikail Mxyzptlk" was seen in the episode "Jinx" in Season 4. Mxyzptlk, played by Trent Ford, was a young foreign exchange student sponsored by LuthorCorp who started an underground gambling ring at Smallville High School. In this series, Mxyzptlk is from a line of people that lived near the Balkans and possess the power to influence the mind of anyone he can see. Thus he is able to control the outcome of sports events by making players on the field fumble or trip at pivotal moments without their realizing he is the cause (a boon to anyone running a gambling ring). His power is apparently permanently nullified by a high frequency sound assault arranged by Chloe Sullivan, although Lex Luthor implies that he would be able to restore the power Mikail had lost. It is revealed in Smallville: The Visual Guide that Mikhail Mxyzptlk's powers eventually returned. In the online spin-off series Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom he is mentioned in relation to Lex Luthor's 33.1 project.
The Legion of Super Heroes episode "Child's Play" features a trouble-making Zerokian child named Zyx who was probably based on Mxyzptlk, including a similar outfit.
Cultural references
In the 1987 cartoon series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, an entity inspired by Mr. Mxyzptlk appears in episode 60, "Mr. Ogg Goes to Town" (originally aired on November 1, 1989). Called by the much simpler name of Mr. Ogg, he is (supposedly) an inhabitant of Dimension Z. Like Mr. Mxyzptlk, he is capable of transforming things around him, with his pranks including shrinking Bebop and Rocksteady to the height of two inches, turning the Technodrome into a giant pumpkin on tracks, and turning the Statue of Liberty into a cheap souvenir. Mr. Ogg's one weakness is a craving for porcelain, considering ancient antiques the best tasting. Mr. Ogg makes a weird trilling sound whenever he uses his power. After he eats Shredder's collection of 1000-year-old Hu-Yoo dynasty vases, Krang tricks him into giving them a chemical that transforms crude oil into liquid hydrogen (which turns out to be a fake) and sets him upon the surface with tales of how the surface-dwellers — especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — persecuted them and drove them underground. Mr. Ogg's laugh sounds like that of Pee Wee Herman (aka Paul Reubens). Mr. Ogg was voiced by Rob Paulsen.
In the 2004 episode of the Teen Titans cartoon, "Fractured", an impish, other-dimensional, Robin fanboy named Larry the Titan (resembling Bat-Mite more than Mr. Mxyzptlk) shows up after Robin breaks his arm, in an attempt to use his magic to fix Robin's ailments. Of course, his reality altering powers result in various problems, thus setting up much of the action for the rest of story.
Alan Moore's Supreme includes a version of Mxyzptlk called Szasz, the Sprite Supreme from the 19th dimension.
In a 1980sSpider-Man comic,[volume & issue needed] Peter Parker mumbled "Mxjzptlk" in his sleep. Similarly, his daughter from the MC2 Universe, Spider-Girl mutters "Kltpzyxm" as she's roused from her sleep in the 14th issue of her series.
A joke reference on sending Mxyzptlk home by saying his name backwards is made in the Marvel ComicsNightcrawler mini-series, in which the hero is whipped from one weird dimension to another.
The Mask animated series featured a parody named Skillit, also partially based on Peter Pan (hence the name), who was much more malevolent in nature.
The superhero-focused resource magazine Wizard, in a Superman special, gave Mxyzptlk the dubious title "pain in the ass of Superman."
A magical elf named Rumplestilkin appears in "King's Quest" who disappears after he gives Sir Graham a valuable object when he says his name backwards.
In the Family Guy episode "I Take Thee Quagmire," Adam West tricks Alex Trebek into saying his own name backwards, sending him back to the fifth dimension. On the June 15, 2007 airing of the Jeopardy! game show, contestant Jared Cohen wrote Trebek's name backwards as the response to Final Jeopardy, so that Trebek would say it aloud. Cohen says that he had heard that this would cause Trebek to return to his own dimension. (SeeYouTube clip of incident, and text version of the incident.)
In the novel Super-Folks by Robert Mayer, the imp from the 5th dimension is named Pxyzsyzygy, foe of the novel's Superman analogue, David Brinkley. His face is revealed to be that of the smiley face.
Detroit Techno artist Der Zyklus released an EP entitled Mxyzptlk, with vocoder vocals spoken as the character: "I am Mix-ul-plik, coming from the black hole, on the other side of the gamma quadrant.."
Brooklyn-based band, Mixel Pixel, often credits Mxyzptlk as the source of their name.
In the Homestar Runner internet cartoon series, there was a Strong Bad E-Mail in which Strong Bad tricked Bubs into saying his name backwards minus the first 'b' -- "Sbu" -- on the pretense that doing this would force Bubs to give him a free lunch special. Bubs told him that doing this only made him lose his superpower (allegedly being able to fly).
In Simpsons Comics, Bart is being stalked by Sideshow Bob, when talking to Lisa, he compares himself to Superman and compares Bob to Mxyzptlk, when Lisa tries to correct the pronunciation, Comic Book guy appears out of nowhere and admits that both were correct. When asked why he's here, he simply said "I Would answer any comic book trivia if there is one in need."
In the 'Trippiest Games of All Time' episode of X-Play, Mr. Mxyzptlk appeared on the set. However, neither Adam nor Morgan knew who he was, or how to properly pronounce his name when he told them what it was (eg: Adam called him 'Mr. Zibbledick'). They called Blair Butler about how to stop him, but couldn't even pronounce his name backwards (eg: Rama-Lama-ding-dong, Kltpzymoose). Then, in annoyance, Mr. Mxyzptlk pronounced his name backwards for him, sending him back to the 5th dimension. During his visit to the X-Play set, Mr. Mxyzptlk explained that he was wearing a yellow and purple suit because they prescribed heroin for headaches back in the 40s, which he said "explained a lot".
Pronunciation
Due to the phonetic difficulties in pronouncing a name such as Mxyzptlk, it has been pronounced in various ways by various sources over the past four decades. On the 1967 FilmationCBS-TVSuperman animated series, it was pronounced as mix-yez-PITTLE-ik; sources indicate that was the official DC Comics version of the time, furnished to the show's writers through DC Comics editor/writer E. Nelson Bridwell. During the 1980s, on the Super Friends cartoon, produced by Hanna-Barbera, it was approximated as Mix-Ill-Plick. Miks-yez-pit-lik is actually a general translation and other variations have included mix-yez-PIT-lek, mix-yez-PIT-ul-ick, and mix-yez-pittle-ik. To further complicate matters, Mxyzptlk says himself in the 1990sanimated series of Superman, that his name is pronounced the same as saying the words "mix, yaz, spit, lick," even transforming himself into the appropriate illustrations for the words. Clark had pronounced his name as Mix-Ill-Plick before Mxyzptlk popped out of the comic and proceeded to correct him. In his appearance in Superman Returns video game, Mxyzptlk proudly refers to himself as "the one and only Mr. Mix-yiz-SPIT-Lik!, straight from the fifth dimension!" Miks-il-piti-lik (with the i 's pronounced only lightly) was used on Smallville, all while the original spelling of his name was pronounced mix-pit-tulk. This has created great confusion and even debate as to how his name is actually to be spoken.
In the recently released Action Comics Annual #10 (2007), "Superman's Top 10 Most Wanted" describes Mr. Mxyzptlk and provides the pronunciation as mix-yez-pittle-ik, exactly like the 1967 animated series. So, phonetically, the pronunciation backwards would be "kell-tipp-ZEY-skim." Confusingly, the 1967 animated series used the backwards pronunciation "kulp-ti-Mix-im." It's fair to say that producers were free to interpret the name any way they wanted, just as they routinely changed other elements of comic lore to suit their various series.
