Mister Mxyzptlk - 1st Silver Age appearance?

[Bart Allen]

Hey there :3

 

I was wondering what exactly is Mr. Mxyzptlk's first SA appearance?

 

All comments are welcomed.

[steveinthecity]

I'm thinking it's Superman 131 (cover dated 8/59) If your SA boundaries are broader, the character also appears in Superman 103 (2/56).

[markseifert]

Hey there :3

 

I was wondering what exactly is Mr. Mxyzptlk's first SA appearance?

 

All comments are welcomed.

 

It's tricky, because there's at least a couple noteworthy "pre-Silver" apps.

 

Action 190 -- March 1954

 

Action 208 -- Sept 1955

 

If it wasn't for the #190 app, you'd be tempted to just call it Action 208, because it fits in with a bunch of other 1955 DC as being sort of Silver Age pre-cursors (Adv 210, Detective 225, etc).

 

 

[Batman]

I prefer the #131, myself. I know opinions differ on the ages but I always think, the more you extend the silver age, the more you chip off the golden... and it's called "golden" for a reason

 

Oh and... WTTB Bart Allen!

[rjpb]

In Action #208, the spelling of his name changes, he sports white whiskers for the first time, and starts wearing the purple trimmed skirted outfit associated with the SA version, and there is a slight redefining of his dimension shifting powers.

 

Edit:

 

Looks like I was wrong, after further investigation it seems his costume changed earlier ( Superman 82) and he got the more modern look to his head and face in Superman 96. Never trust a single source on the web.

[markseifert]

In Action #208, the spelling of his name changes, he sports white whiskers for the first time, and starts wearing the purple trimmed skirted outfit associated with the SA version, and there is a slight redefining of his dimension shifting powers.

 

Edit:

 

Looks like I was wrong, after further investigation it seems his costume changed earlier ( Superman 82) and he got the more modern look to his head and face in Superman 96. Never trust a single source on the web.

 

Interesting though.

[Batman]

In Action #208, the spelling of his name changes, he sports white whiskers for the first time, and starts wearing the purple trimmed skirted outfit associated with the SA version, and there is a slight redefining of his dimension shifting powers.

 

Edit:

 

Looks like I was wrong, after further investigation it seems his costume changed earlier ( Superman 82) and he got the more modern look to his head and face in Superman 96. Never trust a single source on the web.

 

Interesting though.

Very...

 

The change in appearance is probably just the way his look evolved over several issues (IMO). The change in spelling has been attributed to the difference between Earth One and Earth Two Mxys. However, seeing as no one at the time held up a banner stating "We've moved to Earth One" and this has all been retconned in, we'll just have to take DC at their word...

 

The AC #208 Mxy (where the name changes) is cited as the Earth One version (i.e. 2nd Mxy). Superman #131 is the second appearance of this version (a few years later). Going back to the original question, I'd put #131 as the first SA appearance, as again no one held up a banner stating "We've moved into the Silver Age".

 

Confused? Me too... darned multiverse!

[rjpb]

Yeah, to see the spelling change as anymore than an uncaught typo at the time, is to credit DC in the 1950s with caring a whole hell of lot more about character continuity than there is any evidence for.

[Batman]

Anyway Bart Allen, why ask us when your grandfather is the expert on Silver Age appearances...

[Bart Allen]

Thanks, I Am Batman haha ~

 

But isn't Adventure Comics #306 a candidate for the first Silver Age appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk?

 

As it's classed as the first story during the SA period? But is there any validity to it?

[Batman]

I think it all depends on the boundaries used to define the Silver Age... and interpretation of ages and evolution of characters. The Ages were defined in retrospect and there was no established marker point (at the time) where Golden went into Silver. Some characters started evolving into their SA personas prior to the Silver Age.

 

Many think of 1956 as the start of the Silver Age, with the introduction of "modernised" characters (for the time) like The Flash (2nd - Barry Allen). I always thought this as logical (and works for me ) however others will disagree.

 

As for Adventure Comics #306 being the first SA appearance, it wouldn't be my thought as the Earth One Mxy appeared in 20+ issues beforehand. However, if you have a source, I'd be interested to see it!

[bluechip]

I'm thinking it's Superman 131 (cover dated 8/59) If your SA boundaries are broader, the character also appears in Superman 103 (2/56).

 

I thought the appeal of a "first silver age appearance" was that a character had disappeared for a very long time before reappearing, rebooted, in the silver age. It doesn't feel special when you're talking about characters that appeared more or less continually.

 

[Silver]

I would go with the Superman 131 as well. From that point forward the character was used frequently and crossed over into Superboy as well.

[Silver]

Off the top of my head this is the earliest SA cover I can think of:

 

[steveinthecity]

I'm thinking it's Superman 131 (cover dated 8/59) If your SA boundaries are broader, the character also appears in Superman 103 (2/56).

 

I thought the appeal of a "first silver age appearance" was that a character had disappeared for a very long time before reappearing, rebooted, in the silver age. It doesn't feel special when you're talking about characters that appeared more or less continually.

Ok. I can't speak to the "appeal" of the first SA appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk, but was just offering appearances of the character that I was aware of that fell into the boundaries of what I understand to be SA.

 

 

[Silver]

I don't particularly subscribe to the SC 4 theory as being the start of the silver age, but if there really is a gap of Superman 103 and 131 between appearances, I would favor the 131 since he appeared frequently after that. Also, technically that SM 103 pre-dates SC 4 anyways.

[steveinthecity]

I don't particularly subscribe to the SC 4 theory as being the start of the silver age, but if there really is a gap of Superman 103 and 131 between appearances, I would favor the 131 since he appeared frequently after that. Also, technically that SM 103 pre-dates SC 4 anyways.

But, as bluechip stated above, 131 doesn't "feel special", so try again.

[Silver]

I don't particularly subscribe to the SC 4 theory as being the start of the silver age, but if there really is a gap of Superman 103 and 131 between appearances, I would favor the 131 since he appeared frequently after that. Also, technically that SM 103 pre-dates SC 4 anyways.

But, as bluechip stated above, 131 doesn't "feel special", so try again.

 

There is no try again. Superboy 52 isn't special, but OS blessed it as the first silver age issue. It's not up for debate, it's accepted. Superman 109 is the first SA issue, not 103, therefore SM 131 is Mr. M's first appearance in the SA. Sorry it isn't special enough for you.

[steveinthecity]

I don't particularly subscribe to the SC 4 theory as being the start of the silver age, but if there really is a gap of Superman 103 and 131 between appearances, I would favor the 131 since he appeared frequently after that. Also, technically that SM 103 pre-dates SC 4 anyways.

But, as bluechip stated above, 131 doesn't "feel special", so try again.

 

There is no try again. Superboy 52 isn't special, but OS blessed it as the first silver age issue. It's not up for debate, it's accepted. Superman 109 is the first SA issue, not 103, therefore SM 131 is Mr. M's first appearance in the SA. Sorry it isn;t special enough for you.

How is 131 not "special enough" for me? I offered that issue in my first post giving what I believed to be early Mr. Mxyzptlk appearances around the start of SA.

[Silver]

I think it's just as simple as when he first appeared after SC 4. If Superman 131 is it, then there it is.