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126-479: The Phantom Zone was a "pocket universe" discovered by Jor-El that existed outside the space-time continuum; it was used on the planet Krypton as a humane method of imprisoning criminals. Kryptonians had abolished the death penalty in the long distant past. In more recent history, criminals were punished by being sealed into capsules and rocketed into orbit in suspended animation with crystals attached to their foreheads to slowly erase their criminal tendencies; Klax-Ar

252-688: A Kryptonian crystal during the One Year Later story arc, the current version of the Fortress of Solitude, which is also designed to essentially be visually identical to the Donner and Bryan Singer films, now contains an advanced interactive "recording" of Jor-El which, although visually dissimilar to Marlon Brando , is otherwise identical in function to that featured in Superman Returns . Superman/Batman #50 presents Jor-El sending

378-609: A Kryptonian wizard named Thul-Kar, who tells them that he believed Jor-El's prophecy of Krypton's doom and entered the Phantom Zone through magic. Using the same breach, he discovered the truth about the Phantom Zone: all its levels are manifestations of the consciousness of a sentient, malevolent entity called Aethyr, The Oversoul. As explained by Thul-Kar, Aethyr itself came into being uncounted millennia ago when two spiral galaxies collided at an almost primordial stage after

504-412: 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

630-559: A confrontation with the Ultra-Humanite that ends with his foe's death, after the Ultra-Humanite's actions led to the death of Superman's wife Lois Lane and his son Joel being tricked into killing Superman's daughter Kara before Joel dies himself, as well as arranging various 'accidents' for Clark Kent's other remaining loved ones. The judges reason that even if Superman feels that he may have killed his foe deliberately after

756-515: 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

882-421: A far-future "ace sleuth " in the service of "Interplanetary Federation Headquarters". The character battles "Nira-Q", the outer-space-faring "bandit queen", in the year 3000 A.D. The 1936 "Jor-L" exists as part of a story within a story , as Shuster and Siegel's strip presents the tale as a scientist's forecast of future crime-fighting told to the contemporary 1930s-era G-man heroes of Federal Men . Jor-El

1008-515: A few months early but is certain that nobody would object to early release "for good behavior" - although Superman was briefly able to appear as a phantom in the real world in 1997 to distract a foe who was about to kill Knightwing (Superman's grandson, adopted by Batman's son after the deaths of Superman's children). The Phantom Zone appears in Kevin J. Anderson 's novel The Last Days of Krypton . There had been similar Zones that were in comparison to

1134-404: A globe of Krypton. The fortress also holds a holographic copy of Jor-El's consciousnesses, letting Superman interact with his father for advice and knowledge. Jor-El was portrayed by Marlon Brando in the films Superman and Superman II . Archival footage cut from the prior films was used with the permission of Brando's estate to insert the deceased Brando into 2006's Superman Returns in

1260-480: A good and kind race who will raise the child right, convincing Jor-El to send Kal-El there. Thomas records his encounter in a diary, which is discovered by his son Bruce Wayne in the present day. Following two line-wide revisions of DC superhero comic books, branded by DC Comics as “ New 52 ” and “ DC Rebirth ”, the character Jor-El was revised to be still alive due to being rescued by Doctor Manhattan . After being nursed back to health by locals, Jor-El sees firsthand

1386-754: 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

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1512-429: A more recent storyline co-written by Geoff Johns and Superman director Richard Donner presented yet another version of Jor-El and Krypton which reintroduced General Zod and the Phantom Zone criminals. With art by Adam Kubert , Jor-El is depicted for the first time with a beard and the design of Kryptonian society is distinct yet again from Birthright and Man of Steel , incorporating elements of Donner's work on

1638-616: 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

1764-487: 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

1890-400: A probe to Earth that makes contact with Thomas Wayne while he is on a drive with a pregnant Martha , the probe holographically transmitting Thomas' consciousness to Krypton so that Jor-El can better learn what kind of world Earth is to help him decide which of many possible candidates he should send his son to. Thomas tells Jor-El that the people of Earth are not perfect, but are essentially

2016-502: A proximity after clearing all civilians within it. If Superman and the rest fall, the Doomsday Protocol will commence by sending it to the Phantom Zone. In Action Comics , General Zod , along with Ursa and Non , appear in search of the son of Zod and Ursa . Supergirl #16 shows a form of life native to the Phantom Zone. These Phantoms are enraged over the use of their universe to house criminals and seek revenge on

2142-543: 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,

2268-484: A reprise of the role. The character was then portrayed by Russell Crowe in the DC Extended Universe film Man of Steel . Angus Macfadyen portrayed the character in the first season of the television series Superman & Lois . Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the creators of both Superman and Jor-L, first introduced a character named "Jor-L" in 1936, more than a year before the first Superman story

2394-613: A self-titled hovercar . He also discovers a parallel plane of existence which he calls the Phantom Zone and invents a device that can open portals to it. This device gets him a seat on the Science Council, Krypton's ruling body. He lives in Krypton's major city of Kryptonopolis . Even before Jor-El's birth, the El family is renowned for its contributions to Kryptonian society. Ancestors of Jor-El include Val-El, an explorer ; Sul-El,

2520-426: A series of earthquakes , Jor-El investigates. He soon discovers, to his horror, that Krypton's core is extremely unstable and radioactive, and will eventually reach critical mass and explode, taking the entire planet and its populace with it. Jor-El tries to convince the members of the Science Council of this impending disaster and urges re-establishing Krypton's space program so giant spacecraft can be built to carry

2646-499: A ship is constructed to evacuate them, the city of Kandor is shrunken and stolen by Brainiac , removing the people who believe in Jor-El's work. Frustrated, Jor-El continues his work on space travel on his own, hoping to build a spacecraft to save his family. This work includes launching several smaller test rockets; one of these rockets includes the family dog, Krypto . However, as time runs short, Jor-El only has enough time to build

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2772-478: 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

2898-410: 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

3024-414: A spacecraft to save his son Kal-El. He decides to send Kal-El to Earth, realizing he will gain superhuman powers under Earth's yellow sun and lower gravity. As Krypton finally goes through its final destructive stages, Jor-El and Lara place their son in the rocket and launch him toward Earth, before they themselves are killed along with almost all the rest of the planet's population. Lara could have fit inside

3150-621: A suitable foster parent on his new planet. In Kryptonian society, scientific achievement was a preeminent virtue, so Jor-El's probe was programmed to seek out the leading scientific mind on Earth, presumably to adopt Kal-El. The probe landed (in the early 1950s, although the date is non-specific) in Princeton, New Jersey , where it soon appeared outside the window of Albert Einstein and communicated its mission to him through telepathy , along with precise details of where Kal-El's rocket would land (near Smallville , Kansas ), several days later. In

3276-482: A thousand Earth years until the time of the Legion of Super-Heroes when Brainiac 5 created a medication that allowed him to leave safely. Green Lantern Guy Gardner once experienced an extended and tortuous stay after an explosion of a Green Lantern power battery sent him there, until rescued by Superman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan , who had believed him to be dead all that time. Phantom Girl can enter or leave

3402-520: Is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he enjoys tormenting Superman or making life difficult. His portrayal has varied, with him being an outright supervillain in some media, and an antihero in others. Mr. Mxyzptlk was created to appear in Superman #30 (September / October 1944), in

3528-484: 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

3654-453: 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",

3780-506: Is attacking his own son, he withdraws. It is later established that Jor-El is a member of the "Circle", a clandestine organization composed of five powerful cosmic beings and intergalactic rulers including Appa Ali Apsa , Sardath of Rann and Rogol Zaar, the being who destroyed Krypton. In the Elliot S. Maggin 1978 novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton , Jor-El is shown as having sent a navigation probe ahead of Kal-El's spaceship, to find

3906-461: Is because as someone enters deeper into Aethyr's consciousness, then no longer exist as an abstract entity and its existence becomes subject to Aethyr's whims. When attacking Superman and Quex-Ul, Aethyr personified itself as an aggressive, purple-skinned dog's head that breathed flames capable of destroying and absorbing the souls of those that it wishes to conquer. While Quex-Ul is killed by Aethyr in this fashion, Superman manages to make his way out of

Phantom Zone - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-591: Is called the "Buffer Zone" by the Bgztlians , the "Still Zone" by the White Martians, the "Stasis Zone" by Loophole, the "Ghost Zone" by Prometheus , and the "Honeycomb" by the Queen Bee I. In Post- Crisis /Post- Zero Hour continuity, it was Loophole's "Stasis Zone" technology that exiled Mon-El , known in the new continuity as Valor/M'Onel, into the Phantom Zone for 1,000 years. Superman fashions

4158-468: Is established as Jor-El I, and his mother as Nimda ( nee An-Dor). Jor-El eventually meets and marries Lara, the daughter of Lor-Van and a young astronaut in Krypton's fledgling space program (which is soon permanently grounded after Jax-Ur blows up one of Krypton's inhabited moons, leading to his banishment to the Phantom Zone); the two have an infant son, Kal-El. When Krypton begins experiencing

4284-400: Is forbidden. Indeed, Jor-El himself is considered a "throwback" for actually expressing emotions toward his mate Lara and favoring the less sterilized days of past Kryptonian eras. Another change in this version is Jor-El genetically altering his son's fetus (gestating in a "birthing matrix") to allow him to leave Krypton (in this version of the mythos, Kryptonians are genetically "bonded" to

4410-551: Is illustrated in the acclaimed story " For the Man Who Has Everything " by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons , where Clark is ensnared in a fantasy illusion created by an alien parasitical plant called a Black Mercy . As his subconscious resists the illusion of a peaceful life on Krypton, among the first signs of its degeneration is the sight of his cousin, Kara Zor-El , hospitalized after being attacked by an anti-Phantom Zone militant who left literature protesting that

4536-532: 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

4662-493: 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

4788-512: 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

4914-731: Is reverted to the Pre- Crisis version. During the Dark Days: Metal event of the DC Rebirth reboot, Superman has theorized that the Phantom Zone might be actually a permeable membrane between Earth-0 (DC Universe) and the Dark Multiverse. Throughout the Silver Age of Comic Books , the following inhabitants of the Phantom Zone have been depicted. Based on this list, at least 34 Kryptonians were projected into

5040-456: 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

5166-512: Is too strong for even the Phantom Zone arrow, and manages to break out. At one point, the White Martians imprison Batman in the Phantom Zone and take his identity as Bruce Wayne. Batman devises a measure made after Superman recovers from his first battle with Doomsday , that, when the Justice League or any other superhero groups encounter a Doomsday Level Threat, a group of heroes, authority, and military forces will contain it within

Phantom Zone - Misplaced Pages Continue

5292-460: Is unable to convince his colleagues in time to rescue most of Krypton's inhabitants. Jor-El is able to save his infant son Kal-El (Superman) by launching him towards Earth in a homemade spaceship just moments before Krypton explodes. When Superman later constructs his headquarters, the Fortress of Solitude , he honors his biological parents with the inclusion of a statue of Jor-El and Lara holding up

5418-511: The Flamebird , imprisoned in an altered state of being. Having chosen a new Avatar, Chris Kent, who was freed from the Zone, he too would have been freed from his shackles, thus causing the Phantom Zone to cease to exist. In Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #11, the Phantom Zone is recreated by Chameleon Boy and Superman. In The New 52 , Jor-El suggests going into the Phantom Zone when Krypton

5544-647: The Fortress of Solitude ; the extradimensional space in which the Eradicator finds the Kryptonian materials necessary is called the Phantom Zone. A Phantom Zone Projector is part of Superman 's current Fortress . It has been used to access the Bottle City of Kandor and to trap villains such as the White Martians . The Phantom Zone has been independently discovered by various characters where it

5670-557: 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

5796-457: 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

5922-496: 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

6048-417: 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

6174-498: The "E" in "El." Jor-El's first appearance in a comic book was in More Fun Comics #101. In the 1960s, now known as part of the Silver Age of Comic Books , DC Comics introduced to its superhero stories the fictional concept of different versions of characters from real-world publication history existing in separate "universes" that could communicate with each other. As DC developed this concept through further stories,

6300-525: 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

6426-530: 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

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6552-469: 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

6678-468: 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)

6804-414: The 2004 miniseries Superman: Birthright , Jor-El, along with Krypton and Lara, was, more or less, reinstated to his Silver Age versions, though with such updated touches as Lara contributing equally to the effort of sending Kal-El, once again an infant while on Krypton, to Earth. In this version, Jor-El discovers Earth moments before launching his son's spacecraft. Also, the conclusion of the miniseries has

6930-698: The 2007 novel The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson , Jor-El is shown as a science hero who is respected and admired by all of the people of Krypton and has a standing offer of a place on the Council. Yet his clashing with this conservative Council over new discoveries supplies much of the tension in the book. General Zod and his two minions make a bid to take over Krypton, first posing as Krypton's saviors. Mister Mxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk ( / ˌ m ɪ k s j ɛ z ˈ p ɪ t əl ɪ k / MIKS -yez- PIT -əl-ik or / ˈ m ɪ k s ɪ l p l ɪ k / MIK -sil-plik ), sometimes called Mxy ,

7056-450: 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 ,

7182-462: The Council, but Jor-El will have none of it. When their murderous insurrection fails, the Council forces Jor-El to exile them to the Phantom Zone and never speak of his findings again, lest he face the same fate. For this perceived betrayal, Zod declares that he will escape and conquer Krypton (confident that Jor-El will actually discover some way to save the planet) and force the scientist and his son to kneel before him one day. Having been re-built via

7308-605: 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

7434-722: The Fifth Dimension, and Superman is left to put out the fires in Washington and then rid Metropolis of the Kryptonite remains of Argo City. In the Post- Crisis DC Universe , the Phantom Zone first appears after Superman returns from space with a Kryptonian artifact called the Eradicator . This device, created by his Kryptonian ancestor Kem-L, attempts to recreate Krypton on Earth, building

7560-478: 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

7686-524: The Kryptonians knock out Nightwing and Robin where they make off with Toyman while another group knocks out Black Lightning to claim Toyman. Bizarro is even attacked by Thara's group while flying. While Superman, Supergirl, and Zora are disgusted at what some of the Kandorians did and demands the ones responsible to turn themselves over to the authorities, Alura would not cooperate and gives

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7812-475: The Phantom Zone as she pleases, and once did so to interrogate the prisoners about Jor-El. Superman develops communications equipment for the Phantom Zone, like the Zone-o-Phone, and refinements to the projector. In addition, the city of Kandor uses the Phantom Zone regularly, with parole hearings sometimes chaired by Superman. However, since the departure of Kandor, that is, outside of Mon-El , most of

7938-559: The Phantom Zone by avoiding those flames and flying directly through Aethyr's skull and its mind, returning to Earth through a tear in the fabric of Aethyr's mind and the physical universe, but not without encountering the horrific remains of all of the souls entrapped within Aethyr over the millennia. Mister Mxyzptlk is later possessed by Aethyr. During the process while Mxyzptlk is imprisoned on his own home dimension, Thul-Kar communicates with Mxyzptlk and offers him an escape in exchange for

8064-486: The Phantom Zone is a method of torture. In the Steve Gerber miniseries The Phantom Zone #1-4 (January–April 1982), it is revealed that the Zone not only has a breach through which other inmates had escaped, but that they were never heard from again. The imprisoned Superman and Quex-Ul use this method and travel through several dimensional "layers" seeking the exit into the physical universe. They finally encounter

8190-604: The Phantom Zone on Krypton over a period of less than 256 Kryptonian days. The entry on the Kryptonian Calendar shows the details on the relationship between Kryptonian sun-cycles and Earth years. The following were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone: In the Elseworlds tale Superman & Batman: Generations , Superman is sentenced to the Phantom Zone in 1989 when he is stripped of his powers in

8316-434: The Phantom Zone technology into an arrow projectile which upon striking a victim will project them into the Phantom Zone. Roy Harper, the original Speedy , steals this arrow from Superman when the original Teen Titans are invited for a visit many years ago. Roy, however, never uses the arrow and passes it on to his replacement, Mia Dearden , who uses the arrow during the events of Infinite Crisis on Superboy-Prime . He

8442-426: The Phantom Zone to its proper dimensional plane. Supernova is able to control the Zone as his supersuit's powers are based upon Phantom Zone projector technology stolen by Rip Hunter. In Action Comics #874, the Phantom Zone vanished. Action Comics #886 offers a possible explanation as to the Phantom Zone's disappearance, the theory being that the Phantom Zone was actually the mythical Nightwing , counterpart to

8568-409: The Phantom Zone villains in Washington D.C., While fighting Faora Hu-Ul, he witnesses her disappearing as she is absorbed into Aethyr. Mister Mxyzpltk reveals that his strong personality has taken over Aethyr and he absorbs all the rest of the Phantom Zone inhabitants back into himself, determined to torture them endlessly and wreak havoc as he sees fit. Mxyzpltk-Aethyr leaves, intending to next take over

8694-560: The Phantom Zone: Jor-El Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , Jor-El first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939. Jor-El is Superman's biological father, the husband of Lara , and a leading scientist on the planet Krypton before its destruction. He foresees his planet's fate but

8820-524: The adult Superman, on Earth, seeing his parents through Lex Luthor 's time-space communicator, and on Krypton, seconds before its destruction, Jor-El and Lara see their son alive and well on Earth and know that their efforts are successful. As with Byrne's conflicting view of Krypton, the Birthright origins of Jor-El, Krypton, and Luthor have recently been retconned , and, following Infinite Crisis , they are no longer valid in comics canon . However,

8946-414: The atrocities of man, as a dictator usurps all of what the people own, causing them to starve. After witnessing these atrocities, Jor-El is forced to watch the horrors of mankind over the centuries and becomes Mister Oz . Jor-El becomes dissatisfied with humanity and attempts to force his son and his family to leave in the belief that Earth cannot be saved, but when Superman forces him to acknowledge that he

9072-457: 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

9198-408: The deaths of his family and friends, putting him in a conventional prison without his powers would be dangerous and solitary confinement was too extreme given his past deeds, selecting the Zone based on the suggestion of the new Batman , Bruce Wayne Junior. Superman is released in 1999 by the now-rejuvenated Bruce Wayne as Bruce returns to the role of Batman - Bruce noting that he is ending the sentence

9324-399: The destruction of Krypton and focus their attention on Earth, as most of the surviving Kryptonians now reside there. Most have a particular grudge against Superman because his father created the method of their damnation, and was often the prosecutor at their trials. When they manage to escape, they usually engage in random destruction, particularly easy for them since, on Earth, each acquires

9450-457: 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

9576-407: 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

9702-743: 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

9828-452: 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

9954-576: 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

10080-442: 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

10206-400: 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

10332-470: The first two Christopher Reeve films, in particular the notion of Krypton's Council threatening Jor-El with harsh penalty of exile to the very Phantom Zone he himself discovered if he is to make public his predictions of their planet's imminent doom or otherwise attempt to "create a climate of panic." Jor-El is shown here to have been mentored by friend and noted scientist Non , who corroborates Jor-El's findings regarding Krypton's impending destruction, when

10458-802: 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

10584-583: 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;

10710-461: 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

10836-414: The inhabitants were confined to lifers and generally not inclined to making conversation with their jailer. As for Superman himself, as much as he appreciates how the Zone is necessary to contain its Kryptonian inmates, who otherwise would be extremely dangerous and destructive in a yellow-sun environment, and to shelter Mon-El, he apparently privately harbors concerns about the justness of its penal use. This

10962-583: The inventor of Krypton's first telescope ; Tala-El, the author of Krypton's first planetary constitution ; Hatu-El, the inventor of Krypton's first electromagnet and electric motor; and Gam-El, the father of modern Kryptonian architecture . Jor-El has two brothers: Zor-El , who lives in Argo City and eventually becomes the father of Kara, alias Supergirl , and an identical twin brother named Nim-El, who lives in Kandor . In several stories, Jor-El's father

11088-460: 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

11214-488: The late 1950s. Over the course of the next several decades, there was a definitive summarization in the miniseries World of Krypton in 1979 (not to be confused with the similarly-named post- Crisis on Infinite Earths late- 1980s comic miniseries). As presented in the World of Krypton miniseries and other stories from the Silver Age of Comic Books , Jor-El is Krypton's leading scientist, inventing, among other devices,

11340-476: The merger. This merger, however, empties the Phantom Zone of its criminal inhabitants. As the Phantom Zone villains head to Earth to conquer it, Thul-Kar and Nam-Ek are re-absorbed into Aethyr. Superman awakes and sees that the Phantom Zone villains are wreaking havoc on Earth, causing destruction to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and demanding Superman come out and fight them. Superman battles

11466-492: 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

11592-418: 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

11718-502: 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

11844-463: 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

11970-561: 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

12096-574: The one responsible. During the "New Krypton" storyline, the Kryptonians in Kandor have started to take matters into their own hands and started rounding up some of Superman's enemies to throw them into the Phantom Zone. First, they attack the Science Police where they make off with the Parasite . The second target is Silver Banshee who the Kandorians chase across the skies. At Arkham Asylum ,

12222-422: The orders to throw the villains that they rounded up into the Phantom Zone. Those who were thrown into the Phantom Zone were later freed by Superman. In the miniseries 52 the Phantom Zone is ingested by Mister Mind while he is mutating into a giant insect form. Once full-grown, Mind regurgitates it in an attempt to destroy Booster Gold and Rip Hunter , but the attack is deflected by Supernova , who returns

12348-532: The outer layer (where zone criminals are housed) representing its ability for abstract thought; the Zone is basically Aethyr's capacity to imagine other possibilities of existence, and is the outermost template of its consciousness. Only by entering Aethyr's core realm can a zone prisoner escape back to the physical universe, but this process is dangerous since any being who tries risks being destroyed in numerous ways as well as by forever having their souls merged with Aethyr's essence while within Aethyr's core realm. This

12474-506: The physical universe's creation. Countless worlds were simultaneously destroyed and the deaths of so many beings merged somehow to form a single, evil consciousness that called itself Aethyr The Oversoul. This supremely powerful entity enclosed itself into a dimension outside the physical universe within itself, forming the Phantom Zone. The Zone itself is an interface between the Earth-One dimension (the physical universe) and Aethyr's mind,

12600-597: The planet itself, not allowing them to leave) and merely attaching a warp engine to the matrix instead of constructing a ship wholesale. The result is that Kal-El is "born" when the birthing matrix opens on Earth. In the 1990s series Starman Jor-El meets a time-traveling Jack Knight and Mikaal Tomas , two individuals who both bear at various points the name "Starman", and are accidentally sent 70 years back in time and hurled across space. Jor-El thereby first learns of Earth's existence; in return, Jor-El helps Knight and Tomas escape from his overbearing father Seyg-El . In

12726-572: The populace to another habitable world. However, the Council is dismissive of Jor-El's findings and refuses to comply with his plan. Some even accuse him of treachery, trying to cause chaos so he can take over. This had been a plot of General Zod 's, which having failed, caused his banishment to the Phantom Zone. Thus the Council is wary of Jor-El's motives. Around the time he discovers Krypton's impending doom, Jor-El meets his own son Kal-El without realizing it (after Kal-El accidentally travels back in time). There are supporters of Jor-El's theory, but when

12852-426: 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

12978-679: 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

13104-400: 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

13230-405: The rocket as well, but chose to stay behind to improve Kal-El's chances of reaching Earth. After the 1985-1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and John Byrne 's 1986 miniseries The Man of Steel rewrote Superman 's origins, details about Jor-El's background and character were changed. In Byrne's version, Jor-El inhabits a cold and emotionally sterile Krypton where even bodily contact

13356-470: 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

13482-578: The same name but a different character entirely: the father of the then-contemporary "Silver Age" version of Superman, who lived on the Krypton of the Earth-One "universe" (used to describe the setting for then-current "Silver Age" stories and characters, some of which had been substantially changed from their "Golden Age" versions). A retelling of Superman's origin story in 1948 first delved into detail about Jor-El. However, his formal and more familiar Silver Age aspects were firmly established starting in

13608-403: 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

13734-458: The same powers as Superman. Nevertheless, Superman periodically released Phantom Zone prisoners whose original sentences had been completed, and most of these went to live in the bottle city of Kandor . The sole inmate of the Phantom Zone who was not placed there as punishment for a crime is Mon-El , a Daxamite who fell victim to lead poisoning . Superboy was forced to cast him into the Phantom Zone to keep him alive, where he remained for nearly

13860-429: 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

13986-443: 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

14112-487: 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

14238-493: The two are arrested and brought to trial before the Council by Zod and Ursa . When Non defies the Council's dire prohibitions and elects to spread the word of the coming apocalypse, he is abducted by Council agents and apparently lobotomized , thus explaining the character's mute simple-mindedness, brutality and destructiveness in line with Jack O'Halloran 's performance as Non in the first two Reeve films. Appalled, Zod and Ursa propose to Jor-El that they band together and overthrow

14364-488: The version of Superman's father during the previous Golden Age of Comic Books was identified as "Jor- L ", matching the original spelling of the character's name, who lived on the Krypton of the Earth-Two " universe " (derived from the versions of characters and stories that appeared during the earlier "Golden Age" period of publication history). In contrast, the concept presented "Jor- El " as no longer another spelling of

14490-620: 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

14616-570: 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

14742-416: Was about to explode. Zod, however, appears with other Phantom Zone prisoners and attempts to escape the Phantom Zone. Krypto sacrifices himself by attacking Xa-Du, thus going into the Phantom Zone as well. It is revealed that Doctor Xa-Du was the first Kryptonian prisoner to be sent to the Phantom Zone due to his forbidden experiments in suspended animation, with Jor-El executing the sentence. The Phantom Zone

14868-449: 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,

14994-500: Was first referred to indirectly in Action Comics #1 in 1938, which only mentioned a scientist who sends his son to Earth. He made his first full-fledged appearance in the Superman newspaper comic strip on January 16, 1939, where his name was spelled as "Jor-L". His name first appeared as being spelled "Jor-el" in the Superman novel The Adventures of Superman (1942) written by George Lowther . Later comic books capitalized

15120-632: 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

15246-624: 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

15372-466: 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

15498-538: 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

15624-463: Was one criminal who received this punishment but escaped. Gra-Mo was the last to suffer the punishment, for it was then abolished in favor of the Zone. The inmates of the Phantom Zone reside in a ghost-like state of existence from which they can observe, but cannot interact with, the regular universe. Inmates do not age or require sustenance in the Phantom Zone; furthermore, they are telepathic and mutually insubstantial. As such, they were able to survive

15750-474: Was published. The original "Jor-L" appeared in New Adventure Comics (released in 1936, cover-dated January 1937), a re-titled issue #12 of the previous New Comics , which would be re-titled again, starting with issue #32, as the 45-year-long Adventure Comics series. Featured in the four-page Shuster and Siegel strip Federal Men , this "Jor-L" is not an extraterrestrial but, instead,

15876-414: 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

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