Summary
Warning: Spoilers for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest (2022) #27 ahead!
TheInfinity Stonesare some of the most feared and powerful artifacts in all of Marvel, but their notoriety isn’t just limited to the Marvel multiverse. The DC Omniverse has had a few run-ins with the might of the Infinity Stones as well, andSuperman’smost powerful enemy shows that he hasn’t forgotten what it means to hold the Stones.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest (2022)#27 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Travis Mercer, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands opens upon utter chaos, with teams of villains paired with fifth-dimensional imps running rampant. With Batman and Superman trapped in the second dimension, the imp Mr. Mxyzptlk finds a new champion, calling forththe various transformed versions of Jimmy Olsento strike back alongside him.
As Mxyzptlk and Jimmy round up the villains, Mxyzptlk wields a boxing glove inset with gemstones to clobber a swarm of imps -a weapon that is far too similar to the Infinity Gauntlet to be a coincidence.
Superman’s Most Powerful Villain Admits He’s Scared of 1 Justice League Hero
Mr. Mxyzptlk will toy with Superman all day, but the all-powerful imp wouldn’t dare cross the one Justice League member he secretly fears.
Mr. Mxyzptlk Is Very Familiar With Marvel’s Infinity Stones
Differing Publishers Is No Barrier To The Fifth Dimension
As a denizen of the fifth dimension,Mr. Mxyzptlk is quick to remind readers that the laws of reality do not apply to him and that his awareness extends beyond the DCU. Not only is it implied that he is aware of the Marvel reality, it has been suggested that his Marvel counterpart - the Impossible Man -is in fact some version of Mr. Mxyzptlk himself.This would mean that Mr. Mxyzptlk is keenly aware of what the Infinity Stones can do, having witnessed each time their power has been unleashed.
Luckily for the DCU, Mr. Mxyzptlk is more interested in causing chaos than controlling the world - not to mention that his powers of reality manipulation render the Infinity Stones redundant. In fact,the Infinity Stones are canonically proven not to work in the DCU: whenDarkseid gets his hands on the Infinity GauntletinJLA/Avengers (2003)#2, he discovers that the Stones only control Marvel’s reality and are useless in DC’s. As such, DC is safe from the Infinity Stones…butneither reality is safe from Mr. Mxyzptlk.
Check outJLA/Avengers (2003)#2 by Kurt Busiek, George Perez, Tom Smith, and Richard Starkings for more of the crossover of the century!
Mxyzptlk Is An Eldritch Terror, Infinity Stones Or Not
Fear the Fifth Dimension
Mr. Mxyzptlk isn’t terrifying because of what he could do with the Infinity Stones;he’s terrifying because of how cavalierly he flaunts his knowledge of another reality.While Mr. Mxyzptlk’s antics are largely played for comedy,the panel in which he splits Jimmy apart is an act of gruesome body horror, andother fifth-dimensional beings are amalgamations of pure terror. By grasping theInfinity Stones- even as a joke -Superman’smost powerful foe reveals that he’s not just a threat to DC’s reality; he’s a threat toeveryreality.
