Mr Mxyzptlk

1. Superman 30


Mxyzptlk's first appearance would still be a classic had it also been his only appearance.  Like the issue of Superman where Lois and Clark go to the theatre in their world to watch one of the Superman Fleischer cartoons from ours forcing the Man of Steel to wonder why he'd never heard of National Periodical and their line of Superman and Action Comics, humour was not a foreign concept to either Superman the character or the title.  In some ways, I think this issue can be regarded as a follow up to that classic tale but it goes further than its predecessor.  

Mxyzptlk can do anything and in his debut appearance he does it all.  Fake his death on a crowded street just to get a laugh; bring a statue to life and chastise him for lounging about while their dates are kept waiting; demand bandages to save the life of a choking man, wrap said choking man from head to toe, and then respond to the accusation that he's behaving very oddly for a doctor with "Who said I was a doctor?"  Salvador Dali Meets The Simpsons Meets Superman.

It's great - no one operating according to the laws of the physical world can ever better Superman so why not introduce someone who exists outside of them?  

Although it's all there in this first appearance (outfit aside) there is a feature of these early stories which would eventually be done away with.  Even after Superman had tricked Mxyzptlk into returning to his home dimension, he would leave a parting gift of sorts to Metropolis - some reminder that he had been there.  In this appearance, it's a story in The Daily Planet under Clark Kent's byline about how ridiculous Lois Lane's hat looked.    

And is it just me or does this guy



sort of look like an adult version of this guy


?

2. Superman 150



Though he could hardly be called subtle in most appearances, in "When the World Forgot Superman" Mxyzptlk was quite content to disrupt Superman's life from behind the scenes.  In fact, he doesn't really do much of anything here other than wipe the knowledge of Superman's existence from the world's memory.  It's significant that once Mxyzptlk has accomplished this, he doesn't do anything that should prevent Superman from simply displaying his abilities to the world to prove "Look, I'm not a nut in a strange costume who thinks he has powers - I really do have them!"  There's a fairness to how Mxyzptlk operates though it's not always easy to spot.  A lesser magical being would swipe the Action Ace's powers and make it impossible for him to fight back - here however, Superman gets to retain his powers as he attempts to prove to Metropolis that he does, in fact, possess them.  Of course, because this is Mxyzptlk, there's a catch.  For every display of Superman's abilities, Mxyzptlk materializes some explanation for how an ordinary man could have accomplished what this seemingly all powerful being could.  Flight?  A jet pack that wasn't there a moment ago is suddenly spotted by a man in the crowd?  Catching the falling cornice off a building?  Simple paper mache.

A nice reminder that Mxyzptlk is more than just a prankster - he's a manipulator of reality.

3. World's Finest 113



This one should speak for itself and it does - Bat-Mite Meets Mr Mxyzptlk!  A nice little reminder of where the line is drawn when it comes to Mxzptlk - Bat-Mite wants to help Batman, Mxyzptlk doesn't want to help anyone - his interest is being an irritant (he chides Bat-Mite for not being "half the pest I am") and his singular passion in life is annoying Superman.  You might think these two characters are too similar to be unique when paired up like this, but you get a really interesting perspective on the two imps here - Bat-Mite really, is a magical goody two-shoes when it comes right down to it whereas Mxyzptlk delights in being as obnoxious as can.  He would be horrified if anyone thought he would use his magic out of some sense of decency and so goes out of his way to do stuff like this



Good Lord - those two panels above look how I imagine the cornfield Bill Mumy keeps sending people to in The Twilight Zone's It's a Good Life looks.

4.  Superman 135 "The Trio of Steel"

What's worse than having Mxyzptlk playing tricks on the citizens of Metropolis?  How about having Superman do it for him?






These little scenes serve only as an introduction to a tale about Mxyzptlk wanting a Superman robot to give to his girlfriend back in the fifth dimension.  A fairly scary little teaser for what Mxyzptlk could really do to Superman's life if he were that malicious.  Needless to say, Superman outsmarts Mxyzptlk but he still has to answer for the above.  Mxyzptlk can be quite tasteless when it comes down to it.


5.  Superman 174 "Super-Mxyzptlk - Hero!"



Mxyzptlk becomes a good guy because by doing so, he can drive Superman crazy in a new, original way.  This what I like about Mxyzptlk - he doesn't care about style or decorum or adjusting his garishness to accommodate what might be a serious or sombre situation - in his mind, he is always the ring leader at some out of control circus.  How he looks above is how he'd probably dress for a funeral.  In fact, that's how he'd probably announce himself as well.  Nothing ever deters him from his single minded devotion to the pursuit of annoying Superman.  Even when he becomes a hero - as he does in this story - the public's love for him is something he appreciates only in the sense that he gets to rub it in Superman's face.  Even when he saves peoples lives he does so only so he can do this


There's no hidden layers to the guy - he isn't the bad guy who became bad because he couldn't win the world's respect - what you see is all there is and he wears that superficiality proudly emblazoned on his chest in the form of a giant 'M'.  Mxyzptlk could be loved and adored, but he only yearns to be groaned at and to pester Superman.  He's probably forgotten all about that time he was a superhero, but returns to Superman's exasperated expression in this tale over and over and laughed himself to sleep about it a million times over.

dahC!