Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Here's our very first Mxyzptlk story,

"TRAPPED in IMP-TV!" (http://superman.nu/tales3/imp/)

I think it may have been the last Mxyzptlk story ever published.

:s:

I just finished reading the story. I thought it was really good.

I especially liked the "New Wave" outfits Lana and Lois were wearing.  :love:

That was a really creepy story (see above). :roll:

It was certainly a very "eighties" Superman issue.

Stories that take place in another reality, especially against magic like Mxy's, are so hard to write, I think:  "We're 5th dimensional rebels, so we dress like suburban rich-kid newwave/punks!"

This is an interesting story only when compared to Alan Moore's last Superman story, where Mxy turns out to be an evil killer like his "cousin" here.

I wish the Supergirl story won instead. :cry:

WARNING:  HERE THERE BE SPOILERS...









Telle, I have that Supergirl story in my collection, and I intensely dislike it.  Almost immeidately after DC killed off Kara Zor-El, they "revealed" a secret marriage to an alien hero named Salkor that we've never heard of before (and never would again).  And the circumstances are totally ludicrous -- Kara falls in love after suffering amnesia, then leaves her husband's bedside when her earlier memories return (conveniently now forgetting her romance and marriage).  Then sometime before Crisis #7 her full memories are restored, and with a premonition of her impending death she leaves a farewell message to both Supes and Salkor.  

Ugh.  You cannot IMAGINE the bitter aftertaste this story left in my mouth while I was still grieving for Supergirl.  It was like a supermarket tabloid story released after a beloved celebrity's death that besmirches the departed's reputation.  Why did DC do this?  Just to show heartbroken fans that the perpetually unlucky at love Supergirl actually had ONE moment of domestic bliss?  Just so Kara could have one last (previously recorded) farewell?  I'd rather remember her final words to Superman in Crisis #7, or her closing remarks in Legends of the DC Universe #1:  Crisis on Infinite Earths.  

But instead we have this "slap in the face" to remember her by.  Certainly if Kara was amnesiac, a marriage might not be held binding, and if she woke up in a bed next to a stranger I can understand Supergirl fleeing before asking questions.  BUT the overall impression (especially since she apparently never bothered to look for her beloved spouse when full memories returned) is that Supergirl dumped her hubby and took off.  THAT was totally out of character and conduct unbecoming a Supergirl.  

Yes, I can imagine Supergirl marrying an alien hero, though her easy acceptance of having lost memories slightly concerns me -- consciencious Kara would have tried harder to see if she didn't leave anyone or anything important behind in her "prior life" (maybe the absence of an engagement ring or wedding band on her hand was enough to convince Supergirl that she was still "available"?).  But keeping this marriage a secret even from her cousin and leaving behind a recorded hologram just doesn't ring true.  Despite the emotional distress, Kara would have faced up to her past actions (as she did before after red kryptonite exposures, and even when confronted by faked recordings of her committing crimes) and accepted the consequences.  Confiding in Superman and then seeking out Salkor to provide an explanation (rather than having him spend years in search of her) would have been a better resolution.  Certainly Salkor was understanding enough to consider an anullment (and DC would have glossed over what obviously happened in the bedroom).  ;-)

Considering that this one-off story was hastilly tacked on after Supergirl's death and had no further effects (the Byrne reboot would see to that), I have difficulty accepting "Supergirl's Secret Marriage!" as canon, even though nothing proves otherwise.  I suppose this is yet another Supergirl tale that fans WISH was really an "Imaginary Story"...

Whew!  I was so worked up about that Supergirl tale that I forgot to comment about "Trapped in IMP-TV!"  (And yes, I did vote for that sotry rather than the Supergirl marriage.)

WARNING:  HERE THERE BE SPOILERS







My first impression was -- WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!   :shock:

Also, wouldn't TV viewers realize that if Mxyzptlk and his deranged cousin couldn't tell "Clark Kent" was actually Superman, then...   :wink:

Looks like the Clark Kent secret identity isn't so secret in the Fifth Dimension.  Rather disconcerting, that.

I also wondered if the "evil Mxyzptlk" seen in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" was in any way inspired by this story -- or was it vice-versa?

In any case, THANK YOU for posting this wild and wacky tale.  It was definitely a mind trip seeing "Jimmy", "Lana", "Lois", "Perry" and "Clark" in those punk get-ups -- but HOW did DC get "Dominatrix Lana" and "Doggie Mxyzptlk" on a leash past the Comics Code Authority?   :shock:

I think it's a good thing that Alan Moore's story is imaginary.  I actually much prefer Cary Bates' "Trapped in Imp TV" as the final Mxyzptlk story, where we see Superman and Mxy end their decades of conflict with a friendly handshake, rather than by blasting each other into oblivion.


Hmm.  My take on the whole Superman-disguised-as-Clark trick was that even after such a blatant give away, still no one caught on -- not even Mxy nor his cousin -- just like in all those old Silver Age tales.  That was hilarious!  And, I suspect, intentional on Bates' part.

Actually, I think Moore's story, as fantastic as it is, has to be imaginary.  To wit:  he reveals Mxy's "true" nature, that of a big, scary, impossible-to-perceive-with-our-3D-senses, evil sorceror.  But in tons of Superboy and Superman stories, we saw the 5th dimensional world of Zrfff, and its inhabitants (including Mxy's own parents).  No evil sorcerors, just funny little people.  Doesn't bear out Moore's "revelation".

(Aside:  Lex Luthor vows eternal vengeance on Superboy for making him lose his hair, and Mxyzptlk does much the same because Supes made his dad give him a spanking with a hairbrush.  Didn't take much to set off villains in those days, did it?)

I've also got problems accepting the last ish of DC COMICS PRESENTS as canonical.  In an ish of WORLD'S FINEST, we learned that the Bizarro World would be transformed into a "normal" planet with "normal" inhabitants (which, really, is a pretty grave loss) in the future by cosmic forces.  If Bizarro and his friends don't survive, that can't happen.  Also, a couple of LSH stories showed Jax-Ur and his buddies still around in the 30th Century Phantom Zone, so getting them all merged with Mxy seems contradictory.

Ah, well.  It isn't the first time old stories have been forgotten.

Weisinger's 2nd Law: Supergirl shall only date aliens, robots, and animals.

"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" explicitly SAID it was an "Imaginary Story", which would explain all the contradictions with "DC Comics Presents #97".  ("Whatever Happened...?" also has an internal contradiction -- Superwoman Kristen Wells appears in a cameo, but how could she even EXIST if her ancestor Jimmy Olsen died at the Fortress of Solitude?)  As for DCCP #97, this last issue was probably a "sweeping of the decks" just prior to the Byrne reboot, and a chance for the creative staff to finally "let loose".  After all, everything was going to change with "The Man of Steel", so there would be no continuity problems.  

I suspect if you want to keep DCCP #97, you could always assume that the former Earth-1 Superman retired to bed that night still woozy from all the kryptonite, and woke up the next morning as Byrne's Man of Steel without skipping a beat.  The last ripple effects of the Crisis finally caught up to him, changing his past history and wiping away DCCP #97 -- but it really DID happen once.

As for "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", this was supposed to be a last "Superman" story (note the use of "a", not "THE last").  But it really can't happen the same way in current DC continuity.  I supposed this may have happened on a Hypertime "Earth-1 like" world (Kristen being sidetracked from a neighboring Hypertimeline during her travels into the past).  Similarly, Elliot S! Maggin's future history account of Superman departing Earth for centuries might still occur in another Hypertime.  One can only wonder at the tantalizing plot possibilities that would never be pursued, or perhaps extrapolate them in fan-fiction.  I believe some people here have already done this, eh?  ;-)

Richard Malverne was at least one exception to that law.  ;-)

By the way, if you haven't seen it yet check out Solo #1.  This is the one drawn by Tim Sales (with Catwoman on the cover).  Diana Schutz wrote a Supergirl story "Young Love" that finally provides the conclusion to the cliffhanging kiss seen in the prematurely-cancelled "(The Daring New Adventures of) Supergirl #23".  I always wondered why Richard Malverne suddenly appeared in that last issue (after being absent for about 14 years real time), and this coda provides a satisfying yet bittersweet ending.  (It also parallels the Peter David Supergirl series.)

Yes, there are some artisitic continuity issues (especially Supergirl's costume), but I can overlook that -- might as well stick to a design most current readers are familiar with (even if the Silver Age Kara never did wear that particular costume) rather than crowd the original all-blue dress AND the Crisis costume into an eight-page story.  And the tone is rather introspective, though considering the events appropriately so.  Overall, this was a worthy Pre-Crisis tale and I am keeping this issue with my old Supergirl comics -- right after #23.

Even if Solo doesn't really belong in the current mainstream DC universe, I was VERY surprised that they approved "Young Love", as it deals with a twenty-year-old dangling plotline from a long-cancelled series based on a character who not only "doesn't exist" but is currently being rebooted as a new individual.  But it's nice that some writers still remember the old stories and realize that fans REALLY wanted to know whatever happened to Linda and Richard...

I prefer the apellation "Dick" Malverne. :D   Did Supergirl ever date him, or just Linda?

That Sale SOLO Sgirl tale was tip top and very affectng~sob~

(http://www.graphiccollectibles.com/catalog/images/1099518151.jpg)