- For other uses of Superman, see Superman (disambiguation).
- "Some say there's no way of knowing. But I say first, ask Mr. Mxyzpltk!"
- —Mr. Mxyzptlk to Kara and Alex Danvers[src]
Mxyzptlk, also known as Mxy, is an imp, an extremely powerful extra-dimensional being from the Fifth Dimension, and a self-proclaimed god who came to National City to profess his love for Kara Danvers. Kara didn't think Mxyzptlk was a threat at first, until he started to endanger lives with his mystical powers in an attempt to "woo" her.
Mxy was later punished by the authorities of the Fifth Dimension, being court-ordered to help out those he wronged in order to use his powers freely again. His final task was Kara Danvers, who he offered a chance to salvage her friendship with Lena. After failing over and over, Mxy was thanked by Kara, who realized things were fine as they were and that she should just move forward, thus accomplishing the imp's task.
Biography
The pesky imp
After Kara Danvers began to be honest about her true feelings with Mon-El, they were about to kiss when a flying light flew around the apartment. It materialized into Mr. Mxyzptlk and he introduced himself, right before he proclaimed his love for Kara.[1]
Mxyzptlk proposes to Kara.
Mxyzptlk tried to woo Kara with his powers though Mon-El tried to stand in his way. He easily banished Mon-El to the D.E.O. before returning to woo Kara and used his powers to put her in a wedding dress. Kara, however, gently told him that she didn't like him though Mxyzptlk just thought she was playing hard to get. When Kara tried to stop some thieves, Mxyzptlk arrived and made their guns fly off their hands, though he easily turned them on the thieves themselves and Kara just managed to stand in the way and stopped them from getting shot. Soon after, Parasite was attacking National City and Kara and Mon-El went to engage him before Mxyzptlk arrived, wearing his version of Superman's suit to try and save everyone. Mon-El, however, saw through the act and knew that he conjured the creature to try and 'play the hero'. Mon-El demanded that Mxyzptlk just say his name backwards and return to his dimension and Kara was surprised that was the way to banish him. Mxyzptlk then made Kara an ultimatum, agree to marry him or he would unleash havoc upon the people of Earth.
Mxyzptlk duels Mon-El.
Mon-El went out and called Mxyzptlk out and challenged him to a fight. Mxyzptlk accepted and transported them to a theater where he conjured them pistols. Mon-El took his and immediately shot him though it did nothing. Mon-El then revealed that he took an energy dampener from the D.E.O that would render Mxyzptlk powerless. They fought hand to hand though Mxyzptlk managed to swipe the dampener from Mon-El and reversed it, giving him his powers back. He bound Mon-El and was about to shoot him with a lead bullet but Kara arrived and agreed to marry him. She told him to go to the Fortress of Solitude at noon the following day.
Kara tricks Mxyzptlk into saying his name backwards returning him to his dimension.
He arrived but Kara said that she wasn't going to marry him and only brought him there so that he couldn't hurt any innocent people. Mxyzptlk became enraged and animated Jor-El's ice statue to attack Kara. Kara managed to destroy it but Mxyzptlk wasn't deterred. He told Kara that he would make the Earth crumble with a snap of his fingers and would follow her across the cosmos until she agreed to love him. Kara then had the Fortress go on lock-down and then activated its self destruct sequence. Mxyzptlk began to panic and asked Kara to not do this. She revealed that there was a code to de-activate the self destruct sequence. They went to the control panel where she pointed out the buttons to punch in the code and Mxyzptlk managed to stop it before it was too late. However, the code was revealed to be 'KLTPZYXM' and he began to fade back into his dimension. He told Kara that all he wanted was to have someone love him but before he vanished she told him that love had to come and find him, not have it forced on anyone.[2]
Punishment and redemption
- "Before I met you, I was, um, I was pretty lonely. You know, and in that pain, I...I would tend to sort of, force myself on people, and, uh, out there with you today, saving the world, I felt like, um...I felt like I was liked for being me. I felt like I had friends."
- —Mxyzptlk to Kara Danvers[src]
Mxy was punished for his misbehavior by Fifth Dimension authorities. Court-ordered to help those he previously bothered, Mxy spent (from the third dimension perspective) years correcting his mistakes. Last on his list was Kara Danvers. Mxy offered to change the past so Lena wouldn't hate her anymore. However, no matter what point in the last four years they looked for a good moment, the resulting domino effect always ended up poorly. Attempting to completely erase the friendship, Mxy accidentally trapped them in a future where Lena had gone insane after being made into a Metallo by Lillian and brainwashed Brainy into serving her. Stealing the hat he lost to Hat in a card game from the D.E.O., Mxy returned them to their original timeline.
Kara told him that the ordeal taught her to accept things as they were. Mxy also told her their journey made him feel liked for who he really is, as opposed to his past pushy self. Finally accomplishing his task, he reclaimed his powers and time travelled to the 1780s. He left a buffet of Maria's favorite foods as a parting gift. He leaves Kara's loft after seeing Kara happy and hoping Mxy would visit again.[3]
Personality
- "It's true what you said, Kara. That magic can't be forced. It has to be found."
- —Mxyzptlk to Kara Danvers[src]
Initially, Mxy appeared to be a cheerful, carefree, laid-back, arrogant and overconfident individual, however, he was soon revealed to be immoral and ruthless, as he will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means putting innocent lives in danger, as he has no regard for innocent lives.[2] This chaotic personality is revealed to have stemmed from being lonely and wanting to be liked by people, thus the excessive desire for attention.
While serving out his punishment and helping those who he was wronged with their problems, Mxy realized the immaturity of his past self and was more considerate of other's feelings. After helping Kara with her situation, he realized that he liked being wanted for his true self, even without his "magic".[3]
Powers and abilities
Powers
- Reality manipulation: Mr. Mxyzptlk has shown incredible magical powers that seem to warp reality itself. These powers appear to have no limit in scale, with him frequently being referred to as "all-powerful". Mxyzptlk claims to be able to destroy the Earth with a snap of his fingers.[2] These powers include, but are not limited to:
- Animation: Mxyzptlk can bring objects to life, such as the statue of Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude.[2]
- Clairvoyance: Mxyzptlk claims to have been watching Kara Zor-El from his dimension.[2]
- Conjuration: Mxyzptlk can create objects or sentient creatures at a whim. He created a duplicate Parasite, conjured up flowers, violinists, a wedding ring, and many other objects. He can also make them disappear instantaneously.[2]
- Power bestowal: Calling himself "a god", Mr. Mxyzptlk also suggested that he could turn Kara into a similar "god", allowing her to have powers similar to his.[2]
- Shapeshifting: Mxyzptlk is capable of changing his appearance at will.[3]
- Teleportation: Mxyzptlk dodged Mon-El's punch by teleporting to Kara's side. He can also transport others across vast distances. He transported Mon-El from Kara's apartment to the center of the D.E.O's main headquarters in his underpants with a snap of his fingers.[2]
- Telekinesis: Mxyzptlk was able to take away the guns of bank robbers and wield it against the restrained robbers with mental commands.[2]
- Time travel: Mxyzptlk was able to send Kara back in time to change history with a snap of his fingers.[3]
- Posing as a replica of Superman:
- Flight: While posing as a replica of Superman, Mxyzptlk was flying.[2]
- Freeze breath: He can also give powers to himself, as he used a freezing blow when he pretended to be Superman.[2]
- Superhuman strength: Even without his mystical powers, Mxyzptlk was able to go toe to toe with a solar-powered Daxamite, though he is not as strong as one.[2]
- Invulnerability: Even without his mystical powers, Mxyzptlk was able to go toe to toe with a solar-powered Daxamite, taking hits from Mon-El with almost no pain or injury.[2]
Abilities
- Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Mxyzptlk has shown himself to be a skilled enough fighter to hold his own against Mon-El.[2]
Weaknesses
Mxyzptlk's name spelled backwards to banish him.
- Banishment: Mxyzptlk can be banished and sent back to his home dimension if he says or writes his name backwards.
- Fifth dimension dampener: This device could be used to neutralize all of Mxyzptlk's powers by cutting off his connection with the fifth dimension. This can only be undone when the device is destroyed and his connection is restored.
- Personal choice: Mxyzptlk cannot manipulate one's personal thoughts or free-will. To which, he cannot make a person fall in love with him, prevent them from killing themselves, enter their residence,[3] or even force them to drink orange juice (the latter's purpose is unknown to him).
- Mentality: While Mxyzptlk's powers are vast, they can only affect the physical world. For example, he does not possess omniscient knowledge. While able to conjure up any form of written knowledge he needs, he still has to learn it the same way as anyone else.
Equipment
Former equipment
- "Superman?"
- "Not quite."
- —Kara Danvers and Mxyzptlk[src]
- Superman suit: While he posed as Superman, he wore a protective suit.
Appearances
Supergirl
Season 2
Season 4
- "Stand and Deliver" (mentioned)
Season 5
The Flash
Season 3
- "Duet" (indirectly mentioned)
Gallery
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Mr. Mxyzptlk is an imp from the Fifth Dimension who can manipulate reality. He is an antagonist of Superman, and although he frequently acts as a pest, he does no long-term damage. He cannot be made to return to his home dimension until he's tricked into saying or writing his own name backwards, "Kltpzyxm".
- At the beginning of "Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk", Mxy began to sing lyrics of Disney's "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, before Kara interrupts him. His actor, Peter Gadiot previously played Cyrus, a version of the genie of Agrabah, in the TV series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.