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If it were n’t enough forMarvel’sThorto have to deal with his mischievous brotherLoki , it looks likeSuperman’sown slicker has a few words for the God of Thunder . A mishap render Mr. Mxyzptlk a chance to nose some merriment at Thor Odinson ’s strangest anatomy .
Mr. Mxyzptlk come from the 5th dimension and has been the biggest pain in the neck for the Man of Steel since his debut in the early ' XL . As an extradimensional creature , Mxyzptlk gets joy out of using his powers on beingness he consider lower than himself . Despite his vulnerability to magic , Superman often beats Mxyzptlk ’s pranksby tricking the imp into articulate or unveil his name backwards , which sends the all - knock-down being back to his home base dimension . But no matter how many times the Man of Steel is able to outfox him , Mxyzptlk loves come back to turn his Kryptonian foe ’s life upside down .
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This is exactly what he did inSuperman : The Man of Steel # 56by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove . The imp has returned to make for havoc but in a much more " positive " way . He gives the citizen of Metropolis a wish , however each one ends up spiraling out of ascendency . Superman cleans up Metropoliswhile Mxyzptlk discovers that Lois and Clark have broken up . Unwilling to accept that as reality , Mxyzptlk decides to employ all of the fifth dimension magic he can summon to put them back together . He adjudicate playing to Lois ' maternal instincts by turn Superman into a child , which goes about as well as one would think . The trickster comes across a pet store and decides an animal is much more probable to convince Lois . Among the many brute he turn Superman into , he attempts a toad , before resolve it ’s appeal is too " low - winder . "
The wordplay is intelligibly meant to evokeLoki , Thor ’s brother and casual villain , and for good reason . Loki magnificently turned Thor into a batrachian inThor # 364 , creating one of the oddest variant the hero has had in his integral account . But aside from being a sly reference , Mxyzptlk seems to take a shot at the goofy transformation . Just another barb in a series of exchanges between the Big Two that stretch back and covers nearly their intact account .
As the two biggest comic companies , friendly competition between Marvel and DC is to be gestate , as is the occasional ribbing . Sometimes it ’s something as sly as a bit of wordplay , other times it ’s abackground gag in a Spider - Man comic . And sure , Superman ’s no stranger to some somewhat odd transformation in his time , particularly in the Silver Age . But laugh like these are never that ill - think . After all , what comic does n’t have a time where its independent character was transformed into something odd ? Mxyzptlk ’s minor archeological site is more than potential just his own way of gas about how he ’s the better deceiver theatrical role . The callout ofLoki’s"FrogThor " shift could just as well be seen as a tip of the cap toMarvelfromSuperman’smagical foe .
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