A trouble-making imp who is known to Superman.
Description[]
Mister Mxyzptlk is a small caricature of an old man - like a gnome or dwarf but called an 'imp' - with a head that is relatively bigger than his tiny body and limbs. He wears an orange suit with blue-purple boots, gloves and bowler hat, and his head is almost bald with a long nose and jug ears. What is left of his hair sticks out from behind his ears like two small wings. He speaks with a broad New York accent and is aggressive and loud, and, although he does not seem to have malicious intent, his purpose is to cause mischief for his own amusement. He will burst out laughing at the sight of the mayhem that he has caused for other people, and enjoys exploiting the gullible (like Uncle Dudley). However, as he is also impulsive by nature, he is easily frustrated and will lose his temper when others interfere to spoil his fun. He is usually seen in stories where Superman is present and is particuarly contemptuous of him, calling him a "self-righteous bumpkin".
Mxyzptlk is said to be from the "fifth dimension" and will suddenly appear from nowhere to cause his chaos. Although he seems to practise magic and there appears to be no limit to what he can do, Batman tells us that his powers are "beyond human understanding" which would suggest it is just the way things are done in the fifth dimension. Mxyzptlk can fly, create objects from nothing, cause large objects to move, make personalities move from one person to another, grant super-powers to a person, and even change history. Any of these can be done with a snap of his fingers. Also, to assist in his attempts to hoodwink his victims, he will sometimes appear in disguise.
Superman, Supergirl and Shazam all tell us that, if he says his name backwards ("kltpzyxm"), he will disappear. This will cause all his mischievous works to be undone and is easily achieved by getting him angry enough to act without thinking.
Appearances[]
Links[]
- Mister Mxyzptlk at Wikipedia
Notes[]
- Mr. Mxyzptlk is voiced by Gilbert Gottfried who previously voiced him in Superman: The Animated Series and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Interestingly, in the former, Mxyzptlk was designed to match his Golden Age counterpart while in both the latter and this, his design is closer to his Silver Age design.
- Gilbert Gottfried did Mr. Mxyzptlk in the Superman animated series, but when he says his name backwards, it's pronounced Kl-Tp-Zy-Xm. But in this version it's pronounced Kl-Tp-"Zyx"-M. Possibly because since it's difficult to say his name correctly, they often change his pronunciation.