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144-637: Mr. Mxyzptlk was created to appear in Superman #30 (September / October 1944), in the story "The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk" (the original spelling), by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Ira Yarborough. Due to publishing lag time, the character saw print first in the Superman daily comic strip by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist Wayne Boring . In most of Mxyzptlk's appearances in DC Comics, he can be stopped only by tricking him into saying or spelling his own name backwards, which will return him to his home in

288-518: A heart attack . He had been suffering from cardiac disease for years, and had a bypass operation . Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books , predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype . Following the Golden Age of Comic Books , the Silver Age

432-545: A British comic book supervillain / superhero that appeared in anthology book Lion between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was reprinted in Vulcan . Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures. His first work on the character was published in the 8 January 1966 issue, the start of the serial "The Spider v Doctor Mysterioso". He also created and wrote Gadgetman and Gimmick-Kid . When Siegel served in

576-576: A Silver Age pastiche in his Kapten Stofil comic book series (1998–2009) about the powers of nostalgia in a grumpy, old comic book named Captain Geezer who longs to return to the Silver Age. Lindengren also borrows many elements from Silver Age comics in United States of Banana , a comic book he created with Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi . Arlen Schumer, author of The Silver Age of Comic Book Art , singles out Carmine Infantino 's Flash as

720-411: A book that tells him of this world. Originally, Mxyztplk has designs on conquering the planet for himself but soon settles for tormenting Superman whenever he gets the opportunity. His only weaknesses are that he cannot stand being ridiculed and if he says or spells his name backward, he is involuntarily sent back to his home dimension for a minimum of 90 days. He first gets fooled when Superman asks what

864-514: A cinematic approach at times that occasionally altered the more conventional panel-based format that had been commonplace for decades. Adams' breakthrough was based on layout and rendering. Best known for returning Batman to his somber roots after the campy success of the Batman television show, his naturalistic depictions of anatomy, faces, and gestures changed comics' style in a way that Strausbaugh sees reflected in modern graphic novels. One of

1008-506: A copy in the best condition known of Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), the debut of Spider-Man , selling for $ 1.1 million in 2011. In 2022, a copy of Fantastic Four #1 sold for $ 1.5 million. Comics historian and movie producer Michael Uslan traces the origin of the "Silver Age" term to the letters column of Justice League of America #42 (February 1966), which went on sale December 9, 1965. Letter-writer Scott Taylor of Westport, Connecticut, wrote: "If you guys keep bringing back

1152-515: A couple of other things". He is killed when Superman sends him to the Phantom Zone at the same time that Mister Mxyzptlk begins an escape to the fifth dimension by saying his name backwards voluntarily, tearing him in two. Despite having recognized that his foe was too dangerous to be stopped any other way, remorse over the killing prompts Superman to drain himself of his powers using gold kryptonite . Another final appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk

1296-554: A fatal heart attack, while Sarah died of a heart attack on August 17, 1941. Siegel's family moved to the Jewish neighborhood of Glenville in 1928. He attended Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio . At about age 16, while at Glenville, he befriended Joe Shuster . Siegel described his friendship with the similarly shy and bespectacled Shuster: "When Joe and I first met, it was like the right chemicals coming together." They shared

1440-749: A human being who was orphaned at three months old and subsequently adopted by the Kents. Pre- 52 Lois investigates the new Clark more after getting her job back at the Daily Planet . Clark asks Lois out on a date which she accepts, but on the date, Lois finds that Clark rented the whole place out for the night and proposed to her, scaring her out of the date. He follows Lois to her secret home and finds out about her marriage to Superman and their son, Jonathan . The next day, after spotting Clark, Superman and Lois's house and Jonathan suddenly disappear. They track Clark down to his apartment, where he reveals himself to be

1584-486: A lifelong science-fiction fan, was the inspiration for the re-imagined Green Lantern —the Golden Age character, railroad engineer Alan Scott , possessed a ring powered by a magical lantern, but his Silver Age replacement, test pilot Hal Jordan , had a ring powered by an alien battery and created by an intergalactic police force. In the mid-1960s, DC established that characters appearing in comics published prior to

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1728-495: A lot less happy." Strausbaugh writes that the Silver Age "went out with that whimper". Comics scholar Arnold T. Blumberg places the end of the Silver Age in June 1973, when Gwen Stacy , girlfriend of Peter Parker (Spider-Man), was killed in a story arc later dubbed " The Night Gwen Stacy Died ", saying the era of "innocence" was ended by "the 'snap' heard round the comic book world—the startling, sickening snap of bone that heralded

1872-545: A love of science fiction, adventure fiction, and movies. Siegel graduated from high school in June 1934. Unable to afford college, he worked various delivery jobs, all the while courting publishers. In the summer of 1935, still living in Cleveland, he and Shuster began selling comic-book stories to National Allied Publications , the primary precursor of DC Comics , in New York. Siegel and Shuster had been developing

2016-431: A message of acceptance of those who are different". Although its characters have inspired a number of nostalgic films and ranges of merchandise, Harvey comics of the period are not nearly as sought after in the collectors' market in contrast to DC and Marvel titles. The publishers Gilberton , Dell Comics , and Gold Key Comics used their reputations as publishers of wholesome comic books to avoid becoming signatories to

2160-561: A multi-issue story throughout the Superman titles, Mxyzptlk has his powers temporarily stolen by the Joker , who then remakes the Earth in his own image, due to tricking Mxyzptlk into giving him 99.99% of his power, when Mxyzptlk only intended to give Joker 1% of his power. The imp is unable to remember what to do to break the chain of events that daily culminates with Superman being dragged back to Arkham Asylum by Bizarro . Fortunately, Mxyzptlk

2304-486: A new timeline where the essence of the Post- Flashpoint Lois and Clark are fused with their pre- Flashpoint selves, so that the history of both worlds can co-exist. Mister Mxyzptlk possesses the ability to warp reality, which has been described alternatively as the product of fifth dimensional magic or advanced technology that appears to be magical to third dimensional beings. Attendant with his abilities

2448-543: A radically different interpretation of the character in the 1986 two-issue story Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? , a possible end of the adventures of the Earth-One Superman. Mister Mxyzptlk (appearing in darker colors and looking more sinister than in the past) explains that the problem with immortality is finding ways to spend the time. He spent his first 2,000 years without moving or breathing,

2592-460: A rise in juvenile crime statistics, although this rise was shown to be in direct proportion to population growth. When juvenile offenders admitted to reading comics, it was seized on as a common denominator; one notable critic was Fredric Wertham , author of the book Seduction of the Innocent (1954), who attempted to shift the blame for juvenile delinquency from the parents of the children to

2736-478: A significant part of Greg Rucka 's "Ruin" storyline in Adventures of Superman . His appearance here is similar to his Golden Age look, with the addition of a single lock of hair, resembling Superman's S-shaped forelock. This version of Mxyzptlk is less abrasive than he had been previously, and is portrayed as basically on Superman's side. The metafictional aspects of the character were also played up, as he visits

2880-409: A small bald man in a purple suit, green bow tie, and purple derby hat . This was changed to a futuristic looking orange outfit with purple trim and white hair on the sides of his head in the mid-1950s, although the bowler hat remains adapted to the new color scheme. In Superman #131 (1959), the spelling of Mxyztplk's name changed (by some accounts through a mistake) to "Mxyzptlk". It was explained in

3024-624: A son named Michael (January 27, 1944 – January 17, 2006). The couple divorced in 1948. In November 1948, Siegel married Joanne Carter . She and Siegel first met in January 1935, when she worked with his colleague Joe Shuster as the model for Lois Lane . They reacquainted at a costume ball in New York on April 1, 1948. On March 1, 1951, Joanne gave birth to their daughter, Laura. The couple settled on Long Island , before moving to California in 1968. Siegel and Joanne remained married until his death in 1996. Siegel died on January 28, 1996, of

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3168-504: A superhero team book, resulting in The Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961). Under the guidance of writer-editor Stan Lee and artists/co-plotters such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko , Marvel began its own rise to prominence. With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, The Fantastic Four #1 initiated a naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons, who squabbled and worried about

3312-554: A team consisting of the company's most popular superhero characters. Martin Goodman , a publishing trend-follower with his 1950s Atlas Comics line, by this time called Marvel Comics , "mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes", Marvel editor Stan Lee recalled in 1974. Goodman directed Lee to likewise produce

3456-484: Is able to reveal the truth to Superman, who manages to find the power to break the cycle and defeat the Joker. As the Joker prepares to end existence, Superman realizes that, for all his power, the Joker still cannot erase Batman (as the Joker defines his very existence by fighting Batman, erasing him would also mean erasing himself), allowing Superman to shatter the Joker's control of reality. However, Mxyzptlk saves some of

3600-519: Is about a vagrant named Bill Dunn who gains vast psychic powers after taking an experimental drug. Dunn then calls himself "the Superman" and proceeds to use his powers maliciously. In 1933, Siegel and Shuster began making amateur comic strips together. They self-published their work in a fanzine titled Popular Comics . Siegel and Shuster began working for DC Comics (then known as National Allied Publications ) in 1935. Siegel's writing career there

3744-453: Is an unexpected Mxyzptlk theme park, the only change to the world. However, it appears that Mxyzptlk has forgotten this incident as the years have passed. When confronted by Superboy later on, the imp declares that he had no knowledge of his adventure with Young Justice. Whether or not this is true, or Mxyzptlk was merely playing a trick on the Boy of Steel, is never revealed. In "Emperor Joker",

3888-523: Is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age . The popularity and circulation of comic books about superheroes had declined following World War II , and comic books about horror, crime and romance took larger shares of the market. However, controversy arose over alleged links between comic books and juvenile delinquency , focusing in particular on crime, horror, and superheroes. In 1954, publishers implemented

4032-532: Is more, he destroys Superman's worldview of himself. Mxyztplk jumps out a window, fooling Superman into thinking he is committing suicide. When he appears unharmed, an astonished Superman exclaims, "I-I thought I was the only man who could fly!!" He gives the Mayor the voice of a donkey, and then blows papers over the town. Mxyztplk soon tells Superman that he is a jester in his home dimension, explaining why he uses his powers to play practical jokes, but one day he finds

4176-491: Is reinvented as fraternal twins with an intense hatred for Superman. Amongst other things, they claim responsibility for the creation of the present-day Persuader . A year later, in Superman Secret Files and Origins 2004 (2004), he returns to his usual self, following a fellow imp in the fifth dimension combining the twins with the classic Mxyzptlk, resulting in his normal form and personality. Mxyzptlk formed

4320-512: Is revealed as a traveling wizard in the fifth dimension who entertained the King-Thing Brpxz of Zrfff. He did so by making 333 different three-dimensional worlds, and by challenging heroes in each world, with everyone being entertained by the one hero who could win the challenges, Superman. This led to Mxyzptlk becoming the king's favorite entertainer, and winning the love of the king's daughter, Gsptlnz. However, it also caused jealousy in

4464-456: Is the fact that Mxyzptlk himself is not limited by physical laws: he needs no sustenance such as air or water, can exist in any environment, can teleport anywhere, and is not susceptible to physical harm. His only apparent vulnerability is that whenever he speaks his name backwards, he is shunted back to the fifth dimension, and all effects of his magic vanish. This also has occurred with an indirect application of that rule; on one occasion, Mxyzptlk

Mister Mxyzptlk - Misplaced Pages Continue

4608-654: The Comet and Flygirl . Their stories blended typical superhero fare with the 1960s camp. Among straightforward Silver Age superheroes from publishers other than Marvel or DC, Charlton Comics offered a short-lived superhero line with characters that included Captain Atom , Judomaster , the Question , and Thunderbolt ; Tower Comics had Dynamo, Mercury Man, NoMan and other members of the superhero espionage group T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents ; and even Gold Key had Doctor Solar, Man of

4752-655: The Comics Code Authority to regulate comic content. In the wake of these changes, publishers began introducing superhero stories again, a change that began with the introduction of a new version of DC Comics ' The Flash in Showcase #4 (October 1956). In response to strong demand, DC began publishing more superhero titles including Justice League of America , which prompted Marvel Comics to follow suit beginning with The Fantastic Four #1. A number of important comics writers and artists contributed to

4896-457: The Golden Age as the Silver Age began, largely due to their creator's ongoing affection for them. Jacobs describes the arrival of Showcase #4 on the newsstands as "begging to be bought", the cover featured an undulating film strip depicting the Flash running so fast that he had escaped from the frame. Editor Julius Schwartz , writer Gardner Fox , and artist Carmine Infantino were some of

5040-494: The Hulk during a time period of social upheaval and the rise of the counterculture of the 1960s . Comic books of the Silver Age explained superhero phenomena and origins through science, inspired by contemporary science fiction , as opposed to the Golden Age , which commonly relied on magic or mysticism . Comics historian Peter Sanderson compares the 1960s DC to a large Hollywood studio, and argues that after having reinvented

5184-463: The Justice League of America . The DC artists responsible included Murphy Anderson , Gil Kane , Ramona Fradon , Mike Sekowsky , and Joe Kubert . Only the characters' names remained the same; their costumes, locales, and identities were altered, and imaginative scientific explanations for their superpowers generally took the place of magic as a modus operandi in their stories. Schwartz,

5328-609: The Legion of Super-Heroes until Superboy tricks him into falling victim to the same "Kltpzyxm" weakness, reversing the effects of his magic. However, in another story from Adventure Comics #355 (April 1967) featuring the 30th-century Adult Legion , the brother of the cruel Mxyzptlk teams up with a descendant of Lex Luthor to save the Legionnaires from the Legion of Super-Villains and join the Legion themselves. Alan Moore offered

5472-524: The Legion of Super-Villains . During his second tenure as writer at DC Comics, Siegel did not receive any byline for his stories, which was the normal policy of DC Comics at the time. Siegel and Shuster conceived Funnyman , a clownish superhero, while they were still working for DC Comics. They anticipated a decline in the popularity of conventional superheroes, and thought a comedy hybrid character would have sustainable appeal. Unlike other characters they created, Siegel and Shuster were determined to retain

5616-598: The Martian Manhunter in Detective Comics #225 predates Showcase #4 by almost a year, and at least one historian considers this character the first Silver Age superhero. However, comics historian Craig Shutt, author of the Comics Buyer's Guide column "Ask Mister Silver Age", disagrees, noting that the Martian Manhunter debuted as a detective who used his alien abilities to solve crimes, in

5760-513: The New 52 Superman died and Pre- 52 Superman took his place by the time of the DC Rebirth reboot, a mysterious Clark Kent appeared claiming to be the real one. Despite everyone's hesitations and the previous event that outed Clark as Superman, the new Clark had the medical records to match, and when Superman questioned Clark with a telepathic probe, Clark presented a clear history of Clark Kent as

5904-972: The Phantom Lady ; Strong Man, published by Magazine Enterprises in 1955; Charlton Comics ' Nature Boy , introduced in March 1956, and its revival of the Blue Beetle the previous year; and Atlas Comics' short-lived revivals of Captain America, the Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , beginning in Young Men Comics #24 (December 1953). In the United Kingdom, the Marvelman series was published from 1954 to 1963, substituting for

Mister Mxyzptlk - Misplaced Pages Continue

6048-515: The Russian Empire . His father was born Mikhel Iankel Segalovich and his mother was born Sora Meita Khaikels, but they changed their names to Michael and Sarah Siegel after moving to the US. Jerry was the last of six children (Isabel, Leo, Minerva, Roslyn, and Harry). His father was a tailor and owned a clothing store. On June 2, 1932, Michael was assaulted in his store by a shoplifter and suffered

6192-496: The Silver Age Superman comics that Mister Mxyzptlk could affect Superman because Superman is susceptible to magic , which was established as a major weakness for the superhero. When a Mxyzptlk jaunt causes a special appearance by Superman to be cancelled and children, who had done nothing to Mxyzptlk, to be disappointed, Superman himself decides to turn the tables and visit the fifth dimension, making trouble for

6336-561: The United States Army on June 28, 1943. His service number was 35067731. He was trained at Fort George G. Meade, where he was trained as an "Airplane Engine Mechanic, a Film Editor, Motion Picture Cutter, Public Relations Man or Playwright (Motion Picture Writer) or Reporter". He was posted in Honolulu, where he was assigned a writing job at the military newspaper Stars and Stripes . He focused mainly on comedy columns. Siegel

6480-702: The Werewolf . Gold Key did licensed versions of live-action and animated superhero television shows such as Captain Nice , Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles , and continued the adventures of Walt Disney Pictures ' Goofy character in Supergoof . American Comics Group gave its established character Herbie a secret superhero identity as the Fat Fury , and introduced the characters of Nemesis and Magic-Man. Even

6624-415: The fifth dimension and keep him there for a minimum of 90 days. This limitation of the character was modified in the 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot , upon which Mxyzptlk changes his condition to leave to a new requirement each story, such as having Superman succeed in getting him to paint his own face blue. Mxyzptlk has appeared in various television adaptations of Superman. He first appeared in

6768-525: The "condition" that would send him back to the fifth dimension would be anything he stated it to be for the occasion, and the act itself would not banish him, but instead be Mxyzptlk abiding by his own terms. After his first encounter with Lex Luthor taught him how to lie, Mxyzptlk began rigging his contests with false or misleading aspects to make his challenges greater. Ultimately, the stories reverted to Mxyzptlk having to say his name backwards to get him to leave. One of Mxyzptlk's most prominent storylines in

6912-544: The "quirky detective" vein of contemporaneous DC characters who were "TV detectives, Indian detectives, supernatural detectives, [and] animal detectives". Shutt feels the Martian Manhunter only became a superhero in Detective Comics #273 (November 1959) when he received a secret identity and other superhero accoutrements, saying, "Had Flash not come along, I doubt that the Martian Manhunter would've led

7056-530: The 1966 animated series The New Adventures of Superman , voiced by Gilbert Mack, and later appeared in Hanna-Barbera 's Superfriends franchise, voiced by Frank Welker , the 1988-1992 television series Superboy , portrayed by Michael J. Pollard , the 1993 television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , portrayed by Howie Mandel , and the 1996 Superman: The Animated Series , voiced by Gilbert Gottfried . He also appeared in

7200-491: The 1967 animated series. So, phonetically, the pronunciation backwards would be "Kell-tipp-ZEY-skim". Confusingly, the 1967 animated series used the backwards pronunciation "Kulp-ti-mix-im". It is fair to say that producers were free to interpret the name any way they wanted, just as they routinely changed other elements of comic lore to suit their various series. Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( / ˈ s iː ɡ əl / SEE -gəl ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)

7344-423: The 1980s, Siegel wrote for the comics publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim . Siegel remained somewhat active in science fiction fandom after starting work for DC. He attended Chicon , the 1940 2nd World Science Fiction Convention , and appeared in the convention's masquerade as Clark Kent . Siegel married Bella Lifshitz on June 10, 1939. She was a Jewish woman from his neighborhood of Glenville. With Bella, he had

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7488-534: The 1990s animated series of Superman , that his name is pronounced the same as saying the words "mix, yes, spit, lick", even transforming himself into the appropriate illustrations for the words. Clark had pronounced his name as Mix-ill-plick before Mxyzptlk popped out of the comic and proceeded to correct him. In his appearance in the Superman Returns video game, Mxyzptlk proudly refers to himself as "the one and only Mr. Mix-yiz-SPIT-Lik!, straight from

7632-468: The 2001 television series Smallville played by Trent Ford , and in the Arrowverse television series Supergirl played by Peter Gadiot in the second season , and by Thomas Lennon in the fifth and sixth seasons . The late comedian Gilbert Gottfried would continue to play the character in several other voice-acting-related projects until his death. Mister Mxyztplk (the original spelling)

7776-450: The 5th dimension—by use of toys and games. Mxyzptlk retains the services of a version of Bizarro who calls him Greg, and pads the story out by writing and drawing 27 off-beat stories using the DC superheroes, taking 160 pages. Bizarro is in two of them. Also of note is the depiction of Bahdnesian thunderbolts and Zook 's species as native to the fifth dimension. In Countdown to Final Crisis ,

7920-549: The Army (1943–1946), he was posted in Honolulu, Hawaii and wrote for Stars and Stripes , Midpacifican , and Yank, the Army Weekly , all military publications written by soldiers. In Stars and Stripes , he had a small humor column titled "Take a Break wit T/5 Jerry Siegel". In Midpacifican , he wrote the comic strip Super Sam , in which an Army private gains superpowers after receiving a blood transfusion from Superman. This

8064-447: The Atom . According to John Strausbaugh of The New York Times , "traditional" comic book historians feel that although the Silver Age deserves study, the only noteworthy aspect of the Silver Age was the advent of underground comics. One commentator has suggested that, "Perhaps one of the reasons underground comics have come to be considered legitimate art is due to the fact that the work of these artists more truly embodies what much of

8208-603: The Bold #28 (Feb. 1960) before going on to its own title. Film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan later contradicted some specifics, while supporting the story's framework: Irwin said he never played golf with Goodman, so the story is untrue. I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DC's 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and [production chief] Jack Adler were schmoozing with some of us ... who worked for DC during our college summers. ... [T]he way I heard

8352-528: The British reprints of the Captain Marvel stories after Fawcett stopped publishing the character's adventures. The talking animal superheroes Supermouse and Mighty Mouse were published continuously in their own titles from the end of the Golden Age through the beginning of the Silver Age. Atomic Mouse was given his own title in 1953, lasting ten years. Atomic Rabbit, later named Atomic Bunny,

8496-474: The Comics Code and found various ways to continue publishing horror-themed comics in addition to other types. Gilberton's extensive Classics Illustrated line adapted literary classics, with the likes of Frankenstein alongside Don Quixote and Oliver Twist ; Classics Illustrated Junior reprinted comic book versions of children's classics such as The Wizard of Oz , Rapunzel , and Pinocchio . During

8640-548: The DC Comics offices in the real world, presented as fumetti . At the same time, Mxyzptlk appeared in Superman/Batman #23, trying to prepare Batman and Superman for the upcoming Infinite Crisis . The incident features alternate universe versions of Superman, Batman, and Deathstroke the Terminator and implies much chaos that was not shown, such as the planet Mogo visiting Earth to reclaim an old land mass. At

8784-543: The James Bond-style spy stories, introducing the vortex beam (which lifts objects), the aphonic bomb (which explodes silently), a miniature electronic absorber (which protected Fury from electricity), and the Q-ray machine (a molecular disintegrator)—all in his first 11-page story. The following comics are sought after by collectors due to their historic significance. A near-mint-plus copy of Amazing Fantasy #15,

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8928-477: The Joker's creations and transfers them into the 'real' world, including Scorch , Gorgeous Gilly, the new Bizarro and "Ignition", a black-armored villain who first appeared in the "Emperor Joker" story, but was created by someone else (exactly who has never been revealed). It has also been implied that Mxyzptlk sees himself as serving an important purpose, in teaching Superman not to take everything too seriously. In Adventures of Superman #617 (2003), Mxyzptlk

9072-471: The Palais de Louvre in 1967, and books were soon published that contained serious discussions of the art of comics and the nature of the medium. In January 1966, a live-action Batman television show debuted to high ratings. Circulation for comic books in general and Batman merchandise in particular soared. Other masked or superpowered adventurers appeared on the television screen, so that "American TV in

9216-406: The Silver Age lived on a parallel Earth the company dubbed Earth-Two . Characters introduced in the Silver Age and onward lived on Earth-One . The two realities were separated by a vibrational field that could be crossed, should a storyline involve superheroes from different worlds teaming up. Although the Flash is generally regarded as the first superhero of the Silver Age, the introduction of

9360-526: The Superman story and character since 1933, hoping to sell it as a syndicated newspaper comic-strip. But after years of fruitless soliciting to the syndicates, Siegel and Shuster agreed to publish Superman in a comic book. In March 1938, they sold all rights to Superman to the comic-book publisher Detective Comics, Inc., another forerunner of DC, for $ 130 ($ 2,814 when adjusted for inflation). Siegel and Shuster later regretted their decision to sell Superman after he became an astonishing success. DC Comics now owned

9504-579: The artist left to join DC Comics ; this combines with DC's Superman #229 (August 1970), editor Mort Weisinger 's last before retiring. According to historian Peter Sanderson, the "neo-silver movement" that began in 1986 with Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? by Alan Moore and Curt Swan , was a backlash against the Bronze Age with a return to Silver Age principles. In Sanderson's opinion, each comics generation rebels against

9648-464: The best-known pop art painters, specifically chose individual panels from comic books and repainted the images, modifying them to some extent in the process but including in the painting word and thought balloons and captions as well as enlarged-to-scale color dots imitating the coloring process then used in newsprint comic books. An exhibition of comic strip art was held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of

9792-457: The building where the Halloween party is being held. This is because Mxyzptlk was not left to annoy Superman. To avoid this, Robin, Superboy, and Impulse realize that they need to instill Mxyzptlk with his trademark wacky sense of humor. A Three Stooges film is uncovered and watched via an old projector. Mxyzptlk is entertained by the comedy in the film, and tries out a Stooge-style poke in

9936-470: The character and reaped the royalties. Nevertheless, DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster as the principal writer and artist for the Superman comics, and they were well-paid because they were popular with the readers. For instance, in 1942 they together earned $ 63,776.46 (equivalent to $ 1,200,000 in 2023). Siegel bought a house in University Heights and a car. Siegel was conscripted into

10080-519: The character] Conan and monsters [in the wake of the Comics Code allowing vampires, werewolves and the like]—were on firm ground by this time." He also dismisses the end of the 12-cent comic book, which went to 15 cents as the industry standard in early 1969, noting that the 1962 hike from 10 cents to 12 cents had no bearing in this regard. Shutt's line comes with Fantastic Four #102 (September 1970), Jack Kirby 's last regular-run issue before

10224-774: The charge from his backup position in Detective to a new super-hero age." Unsuccessful attempts to revive the superhero archetype's popularity include Captain Comet , who debuted in Strange Adventures #9 (June 1951); St. John Publishing Company's 1953 revival of Rocket Man under the title Zip-Jet; Fighting American , created in 1954 by the Captain America team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ; Sterling Comics ' Captain Flash and its backup feature Tomboy that same year; Ajax/Farrell Publishing's 1954–55 revival of

10368-617: The comic books they read. The result was a decline in the comics industry. To address public concerns, in 1954 the Comics Code Authority was created to regulate and curb violence in comics, marking the start of a new era. The Silver Age began with the publication of DC Comics' Showcase #4 (October 1956), which introduced the modern version of the Flash. At the time, only three superheroes— Superman (and his younger incarnation as Superboy ), Batman (with his sidekick Robin ), and Wonder Woman —were still published under their own titles. According to DC comics writer Will Jacobs , Superman

10512-512: The copyright to Funnyman. This was unacceptable to DC Comics, so they instead made a deal with Magazine Enterprises , a comic-book publishing company owned by Vin Sullivan . The series Funnyman lasted six issues, and a subsequent newspaper strip also was unsuccessful. It was the last collaboration of Siegel and Shuster. By this time, Shuster's vision had deteriorated to the point he could not work. Siegel first worked for Marvel in 1963, under

10656-463: The copyright to Superman. During his first tenure at DC Comics (1935–1943), Siegel created the following characters: During his second tenure at DC Comics (1959–1966), Siegel created several characters relating to the Legion of Super-Heroes, including members Bouncing Boy , Brainiac 5 , Triplicate Girl , Invisible Kid , Matter-Eater Lad , Phantom Girl , and Chameleon Boy ; and enemies Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, and Saturn Queen, who are part of

10800-557: The counterculture movement of the time. The Silver Age of comic books was followed by the Bronze Age. The demarcation is not clearly defined, but there are a number of possibilities. Historian Will Jacobs suggests the Silver Age ended in April 1970 when the man who had started it, Julius Schwartz, handed over Green Lantern —starring one of the first revived heroes of the era—to the new-guard team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in response to reduced sales. John Strausbaugh also connects

10944-412: The death of Gwen Stacy." Silver Age historian Craig Shutt disputes this, saying, "Gwen Stacy's death shocked Spider-Man readers. Such a tragedy makes a strong symbolic ending. This theory gained adherents when Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross 's Marvels miniseries in 1994 ended with Gwen's death, but I'm not buying it. It's too late. Too many new directions—especially [the sword-and-sorcery trend begun by

11088-577: The early part of the era, including writers Stan Lee , Gardner Fox , John Broome , and Robert Kanigher , and artists Curt Swan , Jack Kirby , Gil Kane , Steve Ditko , Mike Sekowsky , Gene Colan , Carmine Infantino , John Buscema , and John Romita Sr. By the end of the Silver Age, a new generation of talent had entered the field, including writers Denny O'Neil , Gary Friedrich , Roy Thomas , and Archie Goodwin , and artists such as Neal Adams , Herb Trimpe , Jim Steranko , and Barry Windsor-Smith . Silver Age comics have become collectible , with

11232-504: The embodiment of the design of the era: "as sleek and streamlined as the fins Detroit was sporting on all its models". Other notable pencilers of the era include Curt Swan , Gene Colan , Steve Ditko , Gil Kane , Jack Kirby , Joe Kubert , Don Heck , George Tuska , Dick Ayers , and John Romita Sr. Two artists that changed the comics industry dramatically in the late 1960s were Neal Adams , considered one of his country's greatest draftsmen, and Jim Steranko . Both artists expressed

11376-450: The end of the Silver Age to Green Lantern. He observes that in 1960, the character embodied the can-do optimism of the era. However, by 1972 Green Lantern had become world-weary, with the character saying in one story, "Those days are gone—gone forever—the days I was confident, certain ... I was so young ... so sure I couldn't make a mistake! Young and cocky, that was Green Lantern. Well, I've changed. I'm older now ... maybe wiser, too ... and

11520-457: The end of this storyline, Mxyzptlk indicates he has erased the knowledge of Superman's identity from Lex Luthor's mind. After the fallout of the events of Day of Vengeance (and, while not mentioned, the corruption of the fifth dimension as seen in JSA ), the removal of magic from the Earth leaves Mxyzptlk nearly powerless, wandering the streets of Metropolis and unable to remember how to pronounce

11664-407: The eye on the projectionist Mick Gurk (an homage to the name "McGurk", the name used by Mxyztplk for a statue he animated in his first appearance), finding the slapstick humor to his liking. He promises that, when it is time, he will hassle Superman as he is supposed to, in honor of Superboy, Impulse, Robin, and even Mick Gurk. Time is restored to as how it should be...mostly. Outside the civic center

11808-562: The few writer-artists at the time, Steranko made use of a cinematic style of storytelling. Strausbaugh credits him as one of Marvel's strongest creative forces during the late 1960s, his art owing a large debt to Salvador Dalí . Steranko started by inking and penciling the details of Kirby's artwork on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. beginning in Strange Tales #151, but by Strange Tales #155 Stan Lee had put him in charge of both writing and drawing Fury's adventures. He exaggerated

11952-743: The fifth dimension connected to Earth-One . The Earth-One version is also retconned into Superboy stories as the young red-haired Master Mxyzptlk , who bedevils Superboy during his youth in Smallville . He even appears as a deus ex machina to stop the Kryptonite Kid , who was killing a helpless Superboy, so that he could continue to bedevil Superboy and, later, Superman. A 30th-century descendant of Mxyzptlk appeared in Adventure Comics #310 (July 1963) with similar abilities. Much crueler than his ancestor, this version kills most of

12096-452: The fifth dimension!" Miks-il-piti-lik (with the i ' s pronounced only lightly) was used on Smallville , all while the original spelling of his name was pronounced mix-pit-tulk . This has created great confusion and even debate as to how his name is actually to be spoken. In Action Comics Annual #10 (2007), "Superman's Top 10 Most Wanted" describes Mister Mxyzptlk and provides the pronunciation as Mix-yez-pittle-ik , exactly like

12240-575: The fifth dimension, he proclaims to Gsptlsnz that he has escaped an encounter with "the Beast" (implying that the fifth dimension is aware of Superboy-Prime, who is referred to as a being of pure evil). Knowing that Superboy-Prime will kill every living soul in the fifth dimension to get revenge on him, Mxyzptlk proclaims that their dimension must be sealed off from outsiders and that he can never return to Earth. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Mxyzptlk's history

12384-442: The fifth dimension, implying the dimension may be the origin for legends of djinn . This story also saw the first Post- Crisis appearance of Mxyzptlk's Earth-One girlfriend, Ms. Gsptlsnz (described as his "quinto-partner"; pronounced Giz-pit-lez-nez or "Gizbie" for short). In 2001, DC published Bizarro Comics in which Mister Mxyzptlk fought an all-powerful entity named A who is conquering and wrecking dimensional worlds—including

12528-399: The fifth dimension. Mxyzptlk ultimately loses the election, and, his mission accomplished, Superman returns to Earth by whispering "Le-Lak" (his Kryptonian birth name Kal-El backwards). After the establishment of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, it was later explained that the purple-suited Mxyztplk lives in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-Two , and the orange-costumed Mxyzptlk in

12672-553: The first appearance of Spider-Man, sold for $ 1.1 million to an unnamed collector on March 7, 2011. ^ Apocryphal legend has it that in 1961, Timely and Atlas publisher Martin Goodman was playing golf with either Jack Liebowitz or Irwin Donenfeld of rival DC Comics (then known as National Periodical Publications), who bragged about DC's success with the Justice League of America , which had debuted in The Brave and

12816-516: The future. One of the few most-selling American comics publishers in 1956, Harvey Comics , discontinued its horror comics when the Comics Code was implemented and sought a new target audience. Harvey's focus shifted to children from 6 to 12 years of age, especially girls, with characters such as Richie Rich , Casper the Friendly Ghost , and Little Dot . Many of the company's comics featured young girls who "defied stereotypes and sent

12960-746: The genre, etc. This was most obvious in Superman: The Man of Steel #75, a pastiche of Superman's death in Superman (vol. 2) #75, where Mxyzptlk creates a duplicate of Doomsday . The confrontation culminates with Mxyzptlk meeting the Supreme Being, who turns out to be Mike Carlin , the then-editor of the Superman titles, who promptly brings him back to life. Although Mxyzptlk does not appear in Grant Morrison 's JLA , Morrison took advantage of certain similarities to tie Johnny Thunder 's Thunderbolt and Aquaman 's nemesis Qwsp to

13104-583: The guise of "Ben deRoy", a reality-warping mystery man resembling the Beyonder (the former name is an anagram of the latter), who was threatening the Marvel Universe around the same time. He resumed his more familiar appearance when he was confronted by Superman. In his first Post- Crisis story, Mxyzptlk played the "Name Game" with Superman, with saying or writing his name backwards sending him home. However, in his next appearance, this has no effect;

13248-633: The heroes from the [1930s–1940s] Golden Age, people 20 years from now will be calling this decade the Silver Sixties!" According to Uslan, the natural hierarchy of gold-silver-bronze, as in Olympic medals, took hold: "Fans immediately glommed onto this, refining it more directly into a Silver Age version of the Golden Age. Very soon, it was in our vernacular, replacing such expressions as ... 'Second Heroic Age of Comics' or 'The Modern Age' of comics. It wasn't long before dealers were ... specifying it

13392-661: The iconic Archie Comics teens acquired super powers and superhero identities in comedic titles such as Archie as Capt. Pureheart and Jughead as Captain Hero . Archie Comics also launched its Archie Adventure line (subsequently titled Mighty Comics ), which included the Fly , the Jaguar , and a revamp of the Golden Age hero the Shield . In addition to their individual titles, they teamed in their group series The Mighty Crusaders , joined by

13536-461: The imp, who is running for mayor. For example, when Mxyzptlk furnishes a huge supply of food for prospective voters, he says, "Eat up, folks, the food's on me!" Superman uses super-breath to blow the food all over the imp and then chortles to the voters, "Like he said, folks – the food is on him!" The imp tries to get the Man of Steel to say "Namrepus" ( Superman backwards) repeatedly, but when he finally succeeds, it does not work and Superman remains in

13680-460: The inverse of his name to return him home. Superman attempts to help him, but the two are attacked by the villain Ruin . Ruin attempts to assassinate Superman with kryptonite -based weaponry, but Mxyzptlk pushes Superman out of the way, taking a kryptonite spear to the heart and vanishing. Right before he vanishes, he seems to whisper 'kltpzyxm'. Action Comics Annual #10 states that Mister Mxyzptlk

13824-548: The late 1950s and the 1960s, Dell, which had published comics in 1936, offered licensed TV series comic books from Twilight Zone to Top Cat , as well as numerous Walt Disney titles. Its successor, Gold Key—founded in 1962 after Western Publishing started its own label rather than packaging content for business partner Dell—continued with such licensed TV series and movie adaptations, as well as comics starring such Warner Bros. Cartoons characters as Bugs Bunny and such comic strip properties as Beetle Bailey . With

13968-452: The likes of rent-money. In contrast to the straitlaced archetypes of superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and others complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became popular among college students who could identify with the angst and the irreverent nature of the characters such as Spider-Man , the X-Men and

14112-496: The long-running DC character The Spectre . Siegel created ten of the earliest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes , one of DC's most popular team books, which is set in the 30th Century. Siegel also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter and Jerry Ess . Jerry Siegel was born on October 17, 1914, in Cleveland , Ohio , to a Jewish family. His parents were both Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York in 1900, having fled antisemitism in their native Lithuania , then part of

14256-492: The modern Mxyzptlk claims to have always felt the need for a "public" in the third dimension and that Superman was not his first victim. In Young Justice #3, Peter David showed Mxyzptlk's origins as a serious-minded researcher, who travels through time, summoned by computer-based occultists. He takes the opportunity to conduct some scholarly studies. He chooses to examine a Halloween party in Happy Harbor , focusing on

14400-418: The name "Mxyzptlk" at this point, regarding it as sounding like something somebody randomly typed (which is, indeed, how the character chose his name in his first Post- Crisis appearance). Upon discovering the chaotic future that awaits him, Mxyzptlk declares that he would dedicate his life to learning and knowledge. However, those words led to a shift in time, creating an apocalyptic world everywhere but outside

14544-502: The new continuity was the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" storyline, when he provided Lex Luthor with a sample of red kryptonite that took away Superman's powers so long as Luthor never revealed to Superman that Mxyzptlk was involved. Despite Superman's lack of powers, he still risked his life to battle Mammoth and the mad scientist Thaddeus Killgrave. Eventually, the spell was lifted when Luthor told "Clark Kent" where

14688-463: The next 2,000 years doing only good deeds, and the following 2,000 years being the mischievous character that he is normally portrayed as. He has now decided to try being evil, and is responsible for all of the nightmarish events in the story (also musing that after 2,000 years of evil, he may spend the next 2,000 years feeling guilty). Before attacking Superman, he reveals his true form, which is described by Lois Lane as having "height, width, depth, and

14832-560: The now-deposed original court magician, Vyndktvx. Vyndktvx eventually went mad and tried to kill Mxyzptlk, only to kill the king instead. The instant of the murder of the king, committed with the Multispear - a hyper-weapon - reflected in the three-dimensional universe Superman inhabits as a lifelong struggle with the five-dimensional being. Mxyzptlk and his beloved wife descended to the three-dimensional universe to aid Superman in his struggle; their mortal forms perished in due time, still in

14976-521: The people behind the Flash's revitalization. Robert Kanigher wrote the first stories of the revived Flash, and John Broome was the writer of many of the earliest stories. With the success of Showcase #4, several other 1940s superheroes were reworked during Schwartz' tenure, including Green Lantern , Aquaman , the Atom , and Hawkman , and the Justice Society of America was reimagined as

15120-497: The popularity of the Batman television show in 1966, publishers that had specialized in other forms began adding campy superhero titles to their lines. As well, new publishers sprang up, often using creative talent from the Golden Age. Harvey Comics ' Harvey Thriller imprint released Double-Dare Adventures , starring new characters such as Bee-Man and Magicmaster. Dell published superhero versions of Frankenstein , Dracula and

15264-425: The pre-52 Mister Mxyzptlk, who was absent from the New 52 universe because he was held captive by Mister Oz and used his powers to transform and brainwash himself into believing he was Clark Kent to avoid getting recaptured after escaping. His attacks on Superman are revenge for failing to notice he has been missing and he proceeds to make Lois forget about her own son. As even Lois forgets that Clark and Superman were

15408-409: The previous, and the movement was a response to Crisis on Infinite Earths , which itself was an attack on the Silver Age. Neo-silver comics creators made comics that recognized and assimilated the more sophisticated aspects of the Silver Age. The Silver Age marked a decline in horror, crime, romance, talking animal humor, and Westerns as American-comics genres. An important feature of the period

15552-446: The prompting of his second wife. Although he did write some Superman stories, he no longer had any creative control, but instead answered to the direction of his editor. During this time, he wrote extensively about the team the Legion of Super-Heroes , adding many enduring characters to its cast. Siegel's contributions during this time are difficult to determine because DC Comics did not generally give creator bylines. His last work for DC

15696-611: The pseudonym "Joe Carter". With Stan Lee, he co-created the villain Plantman ( Strange Tales #113). He also scripted the " Human Torch " feature in Strange Tales #112–113 (Sept.–Oct. 1963), introducing the teenaged Torch's high school girlfriend, Doris Evans; and, under his own name, a backup feature starring the X-Men member Angel , which ran in Marvel Tales and Ka-Zar . According to then-Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee , Siegel "was down on his luck" and in ill health at

15840-612: The public believes is true of newspaper strips—that they are written and drawn (i.e., authentically signed by) a single person." While a large number of mainstream-comics professionals both wrote and drew their own material during the Silver Age, as many had since the start of American comic books , their work is distinct from what another historian describes as the "raw id on paper" of Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton . Most often published in black-and-white with glossy color cover and distributed through counterculture bookstores and head shops, underground comics targeted adults and reflected

15984-679: The red kryptonite had come from, believing that he would not be breaking Mxyzptlk's rule about not letting Superman know the truth if he told Kent and Kent told Superman (in a one-page aside in this story, Mister Mxyzptlk is implied to also be the Impossible Man , spending his off-time badgering the Fantastic Four of the Marvel Universe). Many of Mxyzptlk's later stories have a postmodern feel to them, similar to Ambush Bug , as he comments on editorial decisions, clichés of

16128-400: The results of aging a portion of the teens and causing some of the others to frantically dance out of control. What Mxyzptlk does not know was that Robin , Superboy , and Impulse were hired by the town's adults to chaperone the party. When the boys confront Mxyzptlk, they realize that this was not the same Mxyzptlk whom Superman had regularly faced; indeed, he appears to not have even assumed

16272-453: The rights. A second claim they had was that DC had cheated them out of royalties from the Superman radio show and the merchandise. Siegel and Shuster simultaneously sued for the rights to Superman as well. At the conclusion of the trial, Siegel and Shuster agreed to relinquish the copyrights of both Superman and Superboy in exchange for a settlement of just over $ 94,000 (equivalent to $ 1,200,000 in 2023). Siegel's 1948 divorce papers suggest he

16416-469: The same instant in the time of their home world. There, even as he was defeated in the three-dimensional universe, Vndyktvx was arrested and imprisoned for the murder. Mxyzptlk became king and lived happily with his wife, the beautiful princess-now-queen, only to grieve as she died giving birth to their children. And so, he became the sad king that one day, the jester Mxyzptlk would come to entertain, and who would be slain by Vndyktvx in an eternal cycle. After

16560-403: The same person, Superman agrees to play Mister Mxyzptlk's game to try and win back the 'right' to see his son again, but although Mister Mxyzptlk attempts to change the rules and ensure his victory, Jonathan is able to fight through his Mister Mxyzptlk-created prison with the aid of unspecified spirits that are revealed to be the New 52 versions of Superman and Lois, culminating in the creation of

16704-429: The scope of Mxyzptlk's true potential is limited by his personality. His gullible nature makes it easy for Superman or other individuals to trick him into saying his name backwards, and he is overall a fun-loving prankster who prefers to use his power for childish mischief and light-hearted harassment rather than malicious destruction or torment. Thus, he is more of an annoyance than a true threat. In 2009, Mister Mxyzptlk

16848-451: The story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News , not DC Comics (though DC owned Independent News). ... As the distributor of DC Comics, this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman. ... Of course, Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces. ... Sol worked closely with Independent News' top management over

16992-464: The superhero archetype, DC by the latter part of the decade was suffering from a creative drought. The audience for comics was no longer just children, and Sanderson sees the 1960s Marvel as the comic equivalent of the French New Wave , developing new methods of storytelling that drew in and retained readers who were in their teens and older and thus influencing the comics writers and artists of

17136-487: The time, furnished to the show's writers through DC Comics editor/writer E. Nelson Bridwell . During the 1980s, on the Super Friends cartoon, produced by Hanna-Barbera , it was approximated as Mix-ill-plick . Miks-yez-pit-lik is actually a general translation and other variations have included Mix-yez-PIT-lek , Mix-yez-PIT-ul-ick , and Mix-yez-pittle-ik . To further complicate matters, Mxyzptlk says himself in

17280-461: The time, so he gave him a job at Marvel as a proofreader, during which time Siegel wrote the Angel story. Siegel worked for Archie Comics in 1966, on series including The Fly , The Mighty Crusaders , The Web , and Steel Sterling , all starring characters revived from the 1940s. Archie canceled its superhero line later that year, and Siegel was let go. Siegel became the main writer on The Spider

17424-506: The winter of 1967 appeared to consist of little else but live-action and animated cartoon comic-book heroes, all in living colour." Existing comic-book publishers began creating superhero titles, as did new publishers. By the end of the 1960s, however, the fad had faded; in 1969, the best-selling comic book in the United States was not a superhero series, but the teen-humor book Archie . Swedish cartoonist Joakim Lindengren draws

17568-561: The word is and the imp says he can't believe Superman would have thought him stupid enough to say "Klptzyxm"--before realizing what he has just said and being transported home. Mxyztplk often looks for ways to counter the latter weakness, but he always proves gullible enough for Superman to trick him time and time again. In the Golden Age, saying "Klptzyxm" will not only send Mxyztplk back to the fifth dimension but also anyone else who said it. To return to his/her home dimension, one has to say one's own name backward. Mxyztplk originally appeared as

17712-492: Was Goober the Mighty , a parody of Tarzan. Joseph Shuster provided illustrations for some of Siegel's Goober stories. This was their first known collaboration as writer and artist. Siegel also self-published a fanzine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization . In the third issue of this fanzine, he published a short story titled " The Reign of the Superman " under the pseudonym "Herbert S. Fine". The story

17856-539: Was a Golden Age comic for sale or a Silver Age comic for sale." Spanning World War II, when American comics provided cheap and disposable escapist entertainment that could be read and then discarded by the troops, the Golden Age of comic books covered the late 1930s to the late 1940s. A number of major superheroes were created during this period, including Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Captain Marvel , and Captain America . In subsequent years comics were blamed for

18000-569: Was abducted by Superboy-Prime and imprisoned in the Source Wall . Prime has been apparently torturing the imp into helping him bring back his "perfect Earth", i.e. Earth Prime . Mxyzptlk mentions that he has been coming to Earth for centuries, and has been referred to by many names ( Loki , Coyote , and Anansi ). He is later sent back to his home by Annataz Arataz, the Earth-3 counterpart of Zatanna , whom Prime had also captured. Arriving in

18144-548: Was an American comic book writer . He is the co-creator of Superman , in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster , published by DC Comics . They also created Doctor Occult , who was later featured in The Books of Magic . Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993. With Bernard Baily , Siegel also co-created

18288-544: Was an important element of both Golden Age and Silver Age characters. Many Golden Age writers and artists were science-fiction fans or professional science-fiction writers who incorporated SF elements into their comic-book stories. Science was a common explanation for the origin of heroes in the Silver Age. The Silver Age coincided with the rise of pop art , an artistic movement that used popular cultural artifacts, such as advertising and packaging, as source material for fine, or gallery-exhibited, art. Roy Lichtenstein , one of

18432-519: Was available in "great quantity, but little quality". Batman and Robin were doing better, but Batman's comics were "lackluster" in comparison to his earlier "atmospheric adventures" of the 1940s, and Wonder Woman, having lost her original writer and artist, was no longer "idiosyncratic" or "interesting". Aquaman and Green Arrow (with his sidekick, Speedy ) were also still appearing as back-up features in Adventure Comics , "the only other two superheroes" known to have remained continuously in print from

18576-448: Was banished by a backward-played tape recording of his own voice saying his name. However, such a banishment is a temporary deterrent. After 90 days, Mxyzptlk can again visit the third dimension at will. His reality-warping powers exist in the fifth dimension, but he exerts less control compared to the third dimension, due to the presence of other imps with the same powers. Though arguably the most powerful of Superman's recurring enemies,

18720-500: Was discharged on January 21, 1946, at the rank of Technician 4th Grade. During his military service in Hawaii , Siegel learned from his friend Shuster that DC Comics had published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a story that Siegel had submitted to DC Comics, but which DC Comics had not bought. Because DC Comics never bought the copyright to Superboy from Siegel, Siegel sued DC Comics for

18864-632: Was his last jest, that he will never be able to top it, and so says farewell to Superman. Mxyzptlk made it through the Crisis on Infinite Earths relatively unchanged, although the unpleasant nature of his pranks and the psychological effects they have on others is played up more, such as when he animated the Daily Planet building heedless of the occupants inside who were being violently thrown around with its movements. He also began smoking cigars, symbolic of his newer, more antagonistic nature. His first appearance in this new continuity saw him initially adopting

19008-685: Was in the final issue of DC Comics Presents , which shows Jor-El 's discovery of the Phantom Zone. By the end of the story, the Phantom Zone, the fifth dimension and the Bizarro World are all destroyed, and Mister Mxyzptlk, infilled by power endowed by a hideously disfigured wizard who was a denizen in the Phantom Zone, is transformed into an entity not even remotely human. He then throws the dead Argo City into Metropolis , littering it with tons of kryptonite and dead Kryptonians, and announces to an exasperated and horrified Superman that this

19152-401: Was interrupted in June 1943 when he was conscripted into the Army, though he continued to receive credit for stories written by ghostwriters. After his discharge, he sued DC Comics for the rights to Superman and Superboy, and was consequently given no more freelance work from the publisher. In 1959, he returned to DC as a writer, and was dropped again in 1967 when he again attempted to take back

19296-407: Was introduced in the Golden Age as an imp from the "fifth dimension". Not being bound by physical laws, he can do things that seem to be magical. In his first appearance, Mxyztplk wreaks havoc across Metropolis by using his powers to pull all manner of pranks, first pretending he got hit by a truck and killed, then increasing his weight when the ambulance gets there and waking up to shock them. What

19440-538: Was last seen 190 days ago and that his name is pronounced "Mix-Yez-Pittle-Ick" (as it was in the 1960s Superman CBS-TV cartoon show, mentioned previously). Mister Mxyzptlk makes a one-page appearance in Countdown #31. On a walk in the fifth dimension with Gsptlsnz and his goldfish Superman, he is grabbed by someone or something unknown, who then disappears with Mxy. It is later revealed in Countdown #23, Mxyzptlk

19584-464: Was left with $ 29,000 after paying his court fees but prior to settling his divorce. After the war, Siegel moved to New York. Between 1937 and 1947 (i.e., during the span of their contract), Siegel and Shuster had together earned more than $ 400,000 (roughly equivalent to $ 7,500,000 in 2023) while working at DC Comics. After leaving DC Comics in late 1947, Siegel and Shuster created the comedic superhero Funnyman , which proved unsuccessful. This

19728-429: Was listed in the mastheads of the period as a scriptwriter ("soggettista e sceneggiatore"). In the 1980s, he worked with Val Mayerik on the feature "The Starling", which appeared in the comic book Destroyer Duck . A projected series, The Starling , about a woman struggling to raise her half-alien, shapeshifting son after his deadbeat alien father abandoned them, went unfinished due to Siegel's death in 1996. Also in

19872-678: Was not authorized by DC Comics. In 1956, Siegel created two superheroes for Charlton Comics : Mr. Muscles and Nature Boy . The series Mr. Muscles ran two issues, and Nature Boy three. In 1968, he worked for Western Publishing , for which he wrote (along with Carl Barks ) stories in the Junior Woodchucks comic book. He subsequently worked for the Italian comic Topolino published by Mondadori Editore (the Italian Disney comics licensee) from 1972 to 1979. He

20016-576: Was producing a Superman film, Siegel alerted the press to his condition. In response, Warner Bros, agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a lifetime stipend of $ 20,000 a year (later increased to $ 30,000) in exchange for not contesting ownership of the copyright to Superman. After leaving DC Comics, Siegel wrote The Spider for the British comic Lion , published by Fleetway Publications . His episodes were published from January 1966 to February 1969. Siegel wrote for his school's weekly newspaper, The Glenville Torch . One of his known works for that newspaper

20160-418: Was published from 1955 to 1959. DC Comics sparked the superhero revival with its publications from 1955 to 1960. Marvel Comics then capitalized on the revived interest in superhero storytelling with sophisticated stories and characterization. In contrast to previous eras, Marvel characters were "flawed and self-doubting". DC added to its momentum with its 1960 introduction of Justice League of America ,

20304-413: Was ranked as IGN 's 76th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. Due to the phonetic difficulties in pronouncing a name spelled without vowels such as Mxyzptlk, it has been pronounced in various ways by various sources over the past four decades. On the 1967 Filmation CBS Superman animated series, it was pronounced as Mix-yez-PITTLE-ik ; sources indicate that was the official DC Comics version of

20448-467: Was the development of the character makeup of superheroes. Young children and girls were targeted during the Silver Age by certain publishers; in particular, Harvey Comics attracted this group with titles such as Little Dot . Adult-oriented underground comics also began during the Silver Age. Some critics and historians argue that one characteristic of the Silver Age was that science fiction and aliens replaced magic and gods. Others argue that magic

20592-407: Was the lead story in Adventure Comics #341 (February 1966). DC Comics ceased giving him work in 1966, when the company learned Siegel and Shuster were planning a second lawsuit to reclaim the copyright to Superman. He lost that lawsuit. Siegel again fell into hard financial times after this second dismissal, as he was unable to find regular writing work. In 1975, upon hearing that Warner Bros.

20736-584: Was their last collaboration. Siegel then took freelance writing jobs. Some of them include the newspaper strip Tallulah , Lars of Mars , and G.I. Joe . The publisher Ziff-Davis hired him as a comic-book editor in 1951, but its comics division closed after less than a year in business. Siegel never found steady work, and fell upon hard times. By 1959, he and his family were living in a one-bedroom apartment in Great Neck, Long Island , and struggling to pay their bills. Siegel returned to DC Comics in 1959 at

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