AmongDC’s hundreds of powerful villains, one extradimensional entity stands out as a dangerous threat that often chooses not to be destructive. DC Comics features a wide variety of villainous species and races, including Kryptonians like General Zod,Apokoliptian New Gods like Darkseid, and Martians like the White Martians that oppose their heroic green counterparts. Other notable villainous groups include the Sinestro Corps of fear-wielding Yellow Lanterns and the near-invincible Czarnians, like Lobo.
James Gunn’sSupermanintroduces several comic book villains and original enemies, from The Authority’s Engineer and a new take on Ultraman to a fire-breathing kaiju and Ultraman’s other idenitiy, the Hammer of Boravia. Besides the primary and secondary villains Superman fights in the movie,Gunn’sSupermanalso features dozens of easter eggs, including a background enemy the Justice Gang fight while Superman recovers. David Corenswet’s Superman addresses this being as “an inter-dimensional imp”, teasing a powerful kind of DC character.
Interdimensional Imps Are Superman And Batman’s Biggest Annoyance
DC’s Interdimensional Imps Are Extremely Powerful, But Not Traditionally Dangerous
In DC Comics, interdimensional imps are reality-bending tricksters with a laundry list of magical abilities that defy the laws of physics. One of these imps, in particular, has developed an obsession with Superman, whom he loves to annoy every time he gets the chance.Unlike villains like Lex Luthor and Darkseid, the Fifth-Dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk isn’t motivated by power or conquest but by pure mischief. Naturally, Mr. Mxyzptlk’s favorite pastime is annoying Superman by creating chaotic scenarios with his reality-modifying abilities.
Similarly, Batman faces his own Fifth-Dimensional imp in the form of Bat-Mite. Like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite has vast reality-altering powers, but his motivation is different. Instead of bothering his respective superhero, Bat-Mite genuinely idolizes Batman and often invites himself to Batman’s battles, fully convinced he’s helping the hero with his over-the-top interventions. As one would expect, Bat-Mite’s obsession with Batman inadvertently annoys and even forces the Caped Crusader into absurd, unwanted situations.
Where DC’s Interdimensional Imps Come From
DC’s Interdimensional Imps Come From The Fifth Dimension
Interdimensional imps traditionally come from the Fifth Dimension, a realm beyond traditional space-time, operating on principles that don’t follow the laws of physics known to the most universes. The Fifth Dimension’s residents, including Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, possess reality-warping abilities that resemble magic to mortals, but are simply natural to beings from that plane.Inside the Fifth Dimension, the planet Zrfff serves as the home of genies, djinns, leprechauns, and similar supernatural tricksters.
The Fifth Dimension’s physics-defying nature reflects the flexible and ever-changing nature of DC’s continuity, where cosmic resets or retcons don’t affect the Fifth Dimension in the same way they alter traditional universes or timelines.
The Fifth Dimension greatly differs from other realms like the Phantom Zone, as it doesn’t operate within the same multiversal structure. Mr. Mxyzptlk’s home exists beyond linear space-time altogether. While dimensions like the Fourth World are tied to metaphysical locations like New Genesis and Apokolips, the Fifth Dimension serves as a chaotic wildcard that constantly interacts with the main DC Universe without needing portals or multiversal breaches. Mr. Mxyzptlk, for instance, can enter and exit Earth’s reality at will.
Fifth-Dimensional Imps' Abilities Are Theoretically Limitless
Characters Like Mr. Mxyzptlk Are Technically Among The Most Powerful
Fifth-Dimensional imps' reality-warping abilities are dictated almost exclusively by their imagination.Mxyzptlk has frequently conjured objects from thin airand manipulated time, space, and probability without effort. Mxy’s antics are rarely meant to cause lasting harm but have occasionally led to catastrophe. For instance, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite destroy the multiverse and rebuild it for fun inWorld’s Funniest.Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrowsees Mxyzptlk ruin Superman’s life and kill all his loved ones simply because he’s bored.
To banish Mxyzptlk back to the Fifth Dimension and reverse his actions, one needs to trick him into saying his name backward, “Kltpzyxm”.
Bat-Mite possesses similar reality-warping abilities to Mr. Mxyzptlk, but focuses his attention solely on Batman and Gotham City. In many of his appearances, Bat-Mite has manipulated comic book panels, broken the fourth wall to interact with readers, and directly altered the plot. He has also created and destroyed matter, shifted entired timelines, and brought fictional constructs to life. While not as mischievous as Mxy, Bat-Mite’s Fifth-Dimensional powers are just as limitless and unpredictable.
Other Fifth-Dimensional beings have equally bizarre abilities. Yz the Thunderbolt is a Fifth-Dimensional Djinn traditionally bound to the magical pen of Johnny Thunder and later Jakeem Thunder. Yz can grant practically any wish, but similarly to other Djinn in popular culture, he interprets commands in chaotic or literal ways. Miss Gsptlsnz, another Fifth-Dimensional imp, often intervenes when her romantic partner Mxyzptlk’s pranks go too far. Zook, Martian Manhunter’s Silver Age sidekick, can generate extreme heat or cold and detect disguised beings.
Fifth-Dimensional Imps Are Able To Travel Across The Omniverse
Interdimensional Imps Can Travel Between DC And Marvel
Fifth-Dimensional imps like Mr. Mxyzptlk have the unique ability to travel effortlessly not only across DC’s various realities but also beyond the multiverse.Unlike other cosmic beings, Fifth-Dimensional imps are not limited by time, space, or dimensional barriers. Throughout the years, both DC and Marvel have suggested thatMr. Mxyzptlk and Marvel’s Impossible Man are one and the same. In fact, Impossible Man once directly referenced DC characters.
Most interpretations of Mr. Mxyzptlk portray him as a singular, continuous entity across DC’s multiverse, rather than various versions of the same character. Mxy remembers every version of Superman he’s ever met, from the Silver Age Kal-El to Kingdom Come’s seasoned Man of Tomorrow and even John Haymes Newton’s live-action Superboy from the 1980s TV series. When Mr. Mxyzptlk inevitably debuts in James Gunn’sDCUniverse, he’ll likely continue this tradition and acknowledge his comic book origins.
