Superman #11 (November 1987)
Superman #11 (November 1987)
Superman matches wits with that handsome devil from the fifth dimension, Mister Mxyzptlk, whose superior 5-D brain allows him to bend reality at his will. Naturally, he uses his limitless power to troll Superman. First he waltzes into the Daily Planet building looking like Don Johnson’s stunt double and seduces Lois Lane with a powerful foot massage. Then he ditches Lois for a mannequin (just after she’d accepted his marriage proposal, too) and turns Lois into plastic. Finally he animates a series of inanimate objects, including the entire Daily Planet building, causing chaos in the streets.
When Superman tells Mxyzptlk to cut it out please, they make a deal: the magical imp will vanish back to his dimension if Superman can fool him into saying or spelling his name backwards. Superman manages to do this by rapidly switching the inner mechanisms of a giant typewriter Mxyzptlk created, and then taunting him into typing his own name – so when he types M-X-Y-Z-P-T-L-K, what comes out instead is K-L-T-whatever. All the damage Mxyzptlk created vanishes along with him, except for Lois’ broken heart.
Character-Watch:
First post-reboot appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk, although he’s the only character that’s pretty much unchanged from the pre-reboot version. He’ll be back to pester Superman a bunch more times before eventually settling into a more benevolent comedy relief spot.
Plotline-Watch:
The first development in the Lois/Clark non-relationship since forever: Lois was supposed to have lunch with Clark (for some reason, even though she hates him) before she got hijacked by Mxyzptlk and blew Clark off. When the enchantment passes, she feels bad about it and goes to Clark’s apartment to prepare him launch, thinking along the way that maybe the guy isn’t that bad (and he does have an unusually square jaw and ample shoulders)… only for Cat Grant to open Clark’s door. Ouch, Lois got dumped by two dweebs in the same issue.
Anyway, long story short, the last panel shows Lois having just given the food (and lord knows what else) to a hobo in the street.
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