April 1st is considered the birthday of Superman's 5th dimensional foe, Mr. Mxyzptlk...
...but the little man from Zrfff wasn't always what he was today, and started off slightly differently, as Mr. Mxyztplk, as he faced the original, Golden Age Superman.
Mr. Mxyztplk
The original Mr. Mxyztplk first appeared in
Superman #30 (September-October, 1944) by
Jerry Siegel,
Joe Shuster and
Ira Yarbrough. He was a nuisance to Superman, using his extra dimensional powers to vex the man of steel over the years, including issues of
Action Comics (#80, #102, #112, #151, #190 and #208),
Superman (#33, #36, #40, #46, #51, #59, #62, #82, #86, #96, #103 and #105) and in
Superman Family #208, facing Mr. and Mrs. Superman, with that last appearance establishing that the"tp" version of the imp in the purple suit (at least in his earliest appearances) was the one to face the Earth-2 Superman.
Mr. Mxyzptlk
The imp that was to bother the Earth-1 Superman was Mr. Mxyzptlk, and his first appearance was in
Superman #131 (August, 1959) by
Jerry Coleman and
Al Plastino. This imp had a long, magical career, menacing not only Superman, but his pal Jimmy Olsen, his girlfriend Lois Lane, his cousin Supergirl, his duplicate
Bizarro, had a younger version fight the younger Superboy in retroactive tales and even teaming up with
Bat-Mite to face Superman and Batman, and even other Superman team-ups as well, before the Crisis on Infinite Earths called an end to his career.
These all happened over the issues of
Superboy #78 (in his first
meeting with Superboy), #83, #95, #114, and #120,
Superman #135, #145, #148, #150, #154, #162, #169, #171, #174, #218, #283, #290, #299, #335, #349, #351, #407 and #421,
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #44, #52, #53, #54, #65, #66, #71, #74 and #114.
World's Finest Comics #113, #123, #152 and #169,
Action Comics #273, #282, #283, #291, #368, #460, #467, #563, #574 and #583,
Adventure Comics #288, #306, #351, #386, and #393,
Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #29, #48, #61, #62 and #73 and
DC Comics Presents #33, #34, #53 and #97.
Just so there's no fooling here, the difference (more of less) of the Earth-1 and Earth-2 Supermans are explained
here, and saying his name backwards (Kltpzyxm or Klptzyxm, depending on which imp you prefer) will send you home and to other adventures elsewhere (and we'll figure out the rest of his history in 90 days or later...)!
