Mister Mxyzptlk (Earth-One)

According to some texts, Mxyzptlk does not have a true physical presence in his native dimension. Mxyzptlk is depicted as a short male human with exaggerated facial and physical features (large head with very thin elongated limbs).

Status

Marital Status

Divorced

Origin

Often Discribed as an 'imp' or an 'elf' Mr Mxyzptlk hails from the 5th dimension. His usual reason for visiting earth is to annoy Superman, something he does merely for entertainment.

First appearance

Last appearance

Action Comics #208

DC Comics Presents #97

History

Mxyzptlk was born into the fifth dimension and lived there until he became bored with his relatively uneventful life. Seeking exploration and entertainment, Mxyzptlk left and began to explore other realities. Unfamiliar with so-called "lower lifeforms" of other dimensions, Mxyzptlk began experimenting with some of them, testing them in many different ways, some of which were later shown not to have survived Mxyzptlk's tests. Upon one of his trips to the third dimension, Mxyzptlk met his match in Superman. Frustrated that he could not enrage Superman and make him suffer, Mxyzptlk would return many times trying to engage Superman in ever more dangerous and destructive traps. He would continue to do this until the ruling members of his home dimension decided to curb his powers as Mxyzptlk had exceeded even their tolerable levels by engaging in "pranksterism exceeding the bounds of art". ^[2]

Over the years, Mxyzptlk returned to the third dimension mostly in his attempts to prove his superiority over Superman and defeat him. It was in his last return to the third dimension that Mxyzptlk decided to prove his superiority over Superman indirectly, by deciding to punish Kryptonian criminals from the Phanton Zone who thought to overwhelm Mxyzptlk and take over his seemingly infinite powers and escape. Mxyzptlk ultimately defeats them and decides to spend eternity teaching the Phantom Zone criminals "how to have fun", after absorbing them into himself so that he can torment them and make them miserable for the rest of infinitely. He tells Superman that he is finished with him, because he'll never be able to have quite the same amount of fun with him as he will with these other Kryptonians, and leaves Superman standing there, who finally realizes the true depth of sadistic evil and power that Mxyzptlk truly has.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Hailing from the 5th Dimension Mxyzptlk can manipulate reality and the laws of this universe in such a way as to appear magical. Supposedly the powers of Mxyptlk are based on some form of mental super-science that has literally almost infinite reserves and is thus not effected by true magick forms unlike the Earth-Two Mxytplk

Abilities

None known.

Strength level

Unrevealed

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.

Notes

The Earth-One incarnation of Mxyzptlk could be temporarily depowered and forced back to his original dimension for a minimum of 90 days if he was able to be fooled into saying his name backwards (Klptzyxm).

Trivia

Mxyzptlk was the ultimate villain in Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?. It was revealed that he was motivated purely by boredom and had spent the first 2 millenia of his existence not moving, the second 2 millenia being saintly and good and the third two millenia being mischievous, he would spend the next two millenia being evil and the two millenia after that being guilty. Given that this story is not part of cannon it is uncertain if this is true.

The character was originally introduced as Mister Mxyztplk; Pre-Crisis they were indicated by personal nature and powers to be two seperate beings

Links and References

at Wikipedia.org
None.

Footnotes

[1]

[2]

Mister Mxyzptlk (Earth-One)

From DC Database

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