A character from the old DC Superman comics. While he's certainly an antagonist it's hard to call him a super villain. He was more mischievous than malicious, but the trouble he caused was real enough.

Most of what I know about this guy I learned from his appearances in the Superfriends Saturday morning cartoon where he appeared as a wiry old guy in an icky, mauve jumpsuit, usually levitating and spewing next-to-impossible riddles. He comes from the 5th dimension and is essentially omnipotent - now that I think of it, he sort of foreshadows Q. But that's another node entirely.

In the Super Friends series the only way to get rid of him was to say his name backward. That's a tall order as nobody could really say it forward (sounds like "mix-el-plik"). Superman did it once but I totally call bullshit - what he said was "slif-el-skim" - not remotely accurate, but the whiney twerp went mewling back to the 5th dimension anyway.

I hear that he also appears in the latest Superman cartoon incarnation (The New Batman/Superman Adventures) but I haven't been keeping track of that series. Perhaps someone who has can add a writeup...

The The New Batman/Superman Adventures cartoon version of Mxyzptlk hails from the 5th Dimension. He has extraordinary powers that appear godlike or like magic. However, as powerful as his abilities are, his acts could be considered pranks on a grand scale. These pranks often result in trouble and pose a genuine threat. He knows of Superman's secret identity but only threatens to reveal it. He takes particular interest in Superman because the Man of Steel is a unique and more powerful creature than most creatures on earth. Mxyzptlk seems to think Superman enjoys his games.

When Mxyzptlk returns home to his 5th Dimension, he either devises another way to defeat Superman or spends time with his lover, Gsptlsnz. In his first appearance, it seems they are the only two inhabitants, but in his second appearance (Little Big Head Man), it is evident there is a whole planet full of beings like him.

One major difference between this and the comic version is that to get rid of him, you have to make him render his name backwards, which seems to be a harder feat.

In the old DC comics, Mr. Mxyzptlk was the court jester for the King of the 5th Dimension or something. He befriended the court scientist and then stole his dimensional transporter to break into this dimension.

His name comes from the magic word used activate the thing, which was, oddly enough, mxyzptlk.

He'd crop up from time to time and pull some pranks, like make the mayor lose his voice right before a big press conference or muck up Superman's super-hair.

Superman would always catch him and trick him into saying the magic word which would take him back to his own dimension, which of course was kltpzyxM. ("What, you think you can trick me into saying kltpzyxM again? D'oh." Poof!)

A nemesis of Superman created by Jerry Siegel and published by DC Comics. Mr. Mxyzptlk first appeared in Superman #30 in 1944.

Amidst all of the world saving and high adventure that is the trademark of superhero comics, writers occasionally take a moment to insert a bit of lighthearted fun. To this end, a number of comic book characters have sprung up over the years to confound our most beloved heroes with their antics. The Fantastic Four and other members of the Marvel Universe have had to deal with the Impossible Man. Batman for years was plagued by the efforts of his "number one fan" Bat-Mite. During the 1980's, Superman battled the teleporting menace of the Ambush Bug. But one of the earliest examples of this type of character was another Superman villain, the imp from the 5th Dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk.

In his first appearance, Mxyzptlk was actually named Mr. Mxyztplk. He appeared as short man with white hair, dressed in a sleeveless orange jumpsuit with purple trimming and sporting an orange bowler. He caused widespread havoc about Metropolis and when confronted by Superman, revealed that he was from the 5th Dimension (though he was unfamiliar with Marilyn McCoo) where he was a court jester. He also revealed that he could only be made to return to his home by saying "Klptzyxm" and in saying that, he disappeared. Mr. Mxyzptlk was said to be able to return every ninety days during which he would cause havoc in the life of Superman, but his method of return was always the same: saying his name backwards. After his initial appearance however, the name of the character changed to his present name switching the "p" and the "t" in his name.

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths and the reboot of the DC Universe, Mr. Mxyzptlk was reintroduced by John Byrne into the Superman mythos. Appearing very similar to his Silver Age look, Mxyzptlk began to wreak havoc in Metropolis until he agreed that with Superman that he would return if Superman could get him to say his name backward. Superman tricked him into doing this, but unlike before in subsequent appearances, Mxyzptlk was able to set the conditions of his return which have varied from having Superman get the imp to paint his face blue to having Superman hit Lex Luthor. Mr. Mxyzptlk was responsible as well for the reintroduction of red kryptonite to the rebooted universe.

Mr. Mxyzptlk used his powers to give a portion of his abilities to Batman's archvillain, the Joker allowing the Joker to rework reality with him as emperor for a time. Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-mite ended up in 1999's World's Finest #6 getting into a heated argument over who was better, Superman or Batman, and laying waste to this and many other dimensions. In a crossover with Warner Brothers, Mr. Mxyzptlk and the WB character Do-Do switch dimensions bringing about a meeting of two cultural icons in the four issue series Superman & Bugs Bunny in 2000.

When a new animated series was produced by Warner Brothers starring the Man of Steel, Mr. Mxyzptlk became a character as well. Voiced by Gilbert Godfried, Mr. Mxyzptlk was portrayed very similar to his comic book character. He was also portrayed in by a real life actor in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Mr. Mxyzptlk was played by Howie Mandel.

Source of Some Facts from http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=special-reports/mxyzptlk


My thanks to a noder who will remain nameless for the info on Howie Mandel's link to Mxyzptlk. Their identity will be withheld rather than brand them with knowing such info.

Howie Mandel... shudder

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