[Meeting…] Mr. Mxyzptlk

Superman is a well-known character in our society, almost everyone knows that he is a hero with many powers and few specific weaknesses, which makes him almost indestructible.

There are many enemies who have faced Superman in combat and few or almost none who have clearly defeated him, which demonstrates the know-how of the Kryptonian superhero and the problem that it represents for scriptwriters to write or create new enemies that are interesting or novel from that perspective.

However, in the distant 40s, the creators of Superman decided to do something different than usual, creating a new enemy, one tremendously powerful, immortal, with great magical powers and owner of an entire dimension, which would be enough to put Superman on the ropes without too much effort.

The Man of Steel's most powerful enemy

And what would this new and deadly enemy look like for the man of steel? What will be his evil plans? Well... let's say that He looks like a tiny little man with a hat and his plans are to bother Superman. to get him mad and have a laugh. I'm sure it's not what you expected, but seen in perspective, we are looking at a tremendously original character for what is an enemy of superhero stories, right?

Like many other DC Comics characters, Mr. Mxyzptlk has had several different versions, on the one hand we have the original from the 40s (called Mxyztplk), where he is represented as a small man with a lilac suit and bowler hat and on the other we have the one from the 60s, where his design was updated to change his clothes to orange ones, hair and a cigar were added, giving him a stranger appearance if possible, this version is the one that has lasted for the longest time and is the most recognizable.

Leaving aside their appearance, both versions are practically identical, except for the fact that the one from the 60s is usually accompanied from time to time by Bat-Mite, a little pixie who is a fan of Batman and always tries to help the Gotham hero by causing unintentional disasters.

The art of annoying

One day Mr. Mxyzptlk (pronounced Mix-yez-pi-tlik) was bored and decided to go to another dimension to see what he found, with the bad luck that he ended up in Metropolis facing the Man of Steel, whom he decided to torment in a constant and childish way just for fun. His immortality and almost unlimited magical powers saved this little pixie from any retaliation taken by the Kryptonian, so he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and however he wanted, which is much more fun than being bored in his dimension.

However, Superman is not as stupid as he seems, and he discovered that if this character says his name backwards, he automatically returns to his dimension, from which he will not be able to leave until 3 months have passed. This strange rule then becomes Superman's only weapon to deal with the uncomfortable antics of the powerful pixie.

Thus, Mr. Mxyzptlk is not a direct threat to the world, however we must not forget that he is a tremendously powerful being who, fortunately, just wants to have fun, because if he used those powers for more evil purposes, he would be almost unstoppable, as has been shown on some occasions.

Conclusion and recommendations:

I have to admit that the first time I saw this character I thought he was extremely childish even for his time. However, over time I have come to the conclusion that He is an original and very charismatic character which brings a much-needed variety to the stories of the hero of Metropolis.

Unfortunately, his status as a rare and laughable character makes him one of Superman's enemies with the least chance of appearing in any Man of Steel movie, but hey, at least in the 90s animated series they did dedicate some chapters to him.

Did you find the lord and master of the Fifth Dimension interesting? In that case, I recommend you read the following stories in which it plays an important role:

Emperor Joker / Emperor Joker (2006)

This saga was published in the different Superman collections, but was later compiled in one volume. In this story the Joker obtains 99% of Mxyzptlk's power, which has dire consequences for the entire universe. If you want to know more about this story, you can read this comment that I wrote about her.

Superman: What happened to the man of tomorrow? / Superman: Whatever happened to the man of tomorrow? (1986)

This story by Alan Moore is considered the end of the Superman collection of that time, showing almost all of the Man of Steel's friends and enemies in a particular story with a surprising ending, obviously Mr. Mxyzptlk could not stay away and has one of his most important appearances. It can be found in various compilations.

You will also find this character in the different Superman collections from almost all eras, and if you don't feel like reading you can look for Mr. Mxyzptlk in the different Superman series, especially in the animated one from the 90s, although you can also see representations of this character in the late 80s series of superboy in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and even in Smallville (where he was portrayed as the character Mikhail Mxyzptlk).