Sadly, it appears that the cameo we were so sure of in James Gunn’s Superman from one of the character’s most persistent adversaries wasn’t what many thought. In the scene where a demoralized Superman talks to Lois in his apartment, we see a huge battle going on outside his window. The Justice Gang is fighting …something. It looks like a big energy bubble, and it’s hard to make out. That’s when Superman says, “It’s just a dimensional imp.” Well, the DC Universe actually has two prominent other-dimensional imps. But the most famous one is Mister Mxyzptlk, who has been making trouble for Supes since the ’40s. And if you’re wondering how to pronounce his name, Superman: The Animated Series conveniently explained it to everyone. But recently, Gunn told Rolling Stone that it’s not Mxy after all:
Oh, no. He’s just a stupid basic imp. He’s nowhere near as powerful as Mister Mxyzptlk.
First appearing in 1944’s Superman #30, Mr. Mxyzptlk was an all-powerful version of a gnome or an elf. He hailed from the 5th-dimensional world of Zrfff. Dressed in a purple suit, bow tie, and bowler hat, he looked like he walked off the Vaudeville stage. He had reality-warping powers, which gave him godlike abilities. Essentially, he used magic, which is one of the few things Superman is vulnerable to. He would come into our dimension regularly and taunt Superman, playing pranks on a grand scale. Mxy, as he’s nicknamed, is one of the only villains in Superman’s rogues gallery with a greater power set than he has.
More of a nuisance than an evil villain, Mxy tormented the Man of Steel with various tricks and menaces he conjured, but there were rules to his games. If Superman could get Mxy to say his name backwards, he would disappear into his own dimension for 90 days. But like clockwork, Mxy would always reappear 3 months later, and Supes would find a way to trick the imp into saying his name backwards. And it went on this way for decades. As silly and Rumpelstiltskin as all this was, it did force Superman to solve a problem with his super brain and not his super fists for a change.
In the Silver Age, Mxy ditched the old suit and tie for a more Jetsons-esque sci-fi costume and started to appear more frequently. He was so popular that Batman got his own 5th-dimensional imp, Bat-Mite. He would show off over-the-top displays of power and, in the ‘80s, he even changed the genders of everyone on Earth, including Superman’s Justice League pals. Wonder Woman became Wonder Warrior, Batman became Batwoman, etc. In more modern comics, the Joker took his powers, becoming a psychotic version of Mxy. Luckily, he could undo everything with a snap of a finger, and he usually did. Certainly, Star Trek’s Q took great inspiration from DC’s Mxy.
Mxy began to appear in animation, like the 1966 Adventures of Superman cartoon, and later, multiple times on Super Friends. He appeared in later animated shows like Superman: The Animated Series and most recently My Adventures With Superman, where he got an extreme anime-style makeover. Live-action shows like Lois & Clark, Smallville, and Supergirl all had their version of Mxy as well. However, the live-action shows all ditched the comic book look and just had the character present as a regular guy. And to be fair, Mxy can look like whatever he wants, so it tracks.
So, who is this basic imp the Justice Gang is fighting off instead of Mxy? Well, it technically could be Bat-Mite. We already know Bat-Mite exists in the DCU, because John Economos in Peacemaker told that show’s title character that “Bat-Mite is a fifth-dimensional imp that stans Batman.” Clearly, James Gunn loves these omnipotent nuisances from DC Comics lore. But since Bat-Mite almost exclusively bothers Batman, we’re going to assume it’s a new creation. Hopefully, the real Mxy shows up in the DCU soon. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll see that little bowler hat on a well-known actor.
Originally published on July 14, 2025.