World’s Finest #113 (1960)
by Jerry Coleman & Dick Sprang
cover by Curt Swan
It’s been a year since the first Bat-Mite story, but now he gets to fight a far superior version the “magical imp” character: Mr. Mxyzptlk.
Just your regular day in Silver Age Gotham City.
Even in stories that are not written by Bill Finger, Gotham is full of giant versions of ordinary objects that still serve the same purpose of the original. Including GIANT FLAMETHROWERS.
Sounds legit.
Note that this is explicitly before Bat-Mite or Mxy show up. This is treated as something normal for Batman, because at the time it was.
Still, Superman is the one with more experience fighting giant robots. Which he decides to stop by throwing a giant rock instead of, you know, punching it or something.
I hope you enjoyed the part of the story that kind of made sense, because…
There’s no time to deal with Bat-Guano, because the giant robot is now causing trouble at the nearby botanical gardens. Where someone else is ALSO causing trouble.
And here it is: the first meeting between Bat-Mite and Mister Mxyzptlk.
In several other incarnations these two will explicitly be from the same dimension, but pre-Crisis they’re entirely separate things.
Guys, there’s no reason to fight! You’re both ridiculous!
Oh who am I kidding, of course I’m rooting for Mxy.
Yes Superman, that is definitely the quickest way to clear this mess. I’m much better than evaporating it with heat vision of blowing it away with super-breath because… I’ve got nothing.
This is most of the story, by the way. A constant stalemate between the two imps.
Superman and Batman decide to separate to lead the imps away from each other, but that’s when Mxyzptlk unleashes one of the Great Old Ones!!!
Bat-S##t’s answer to this thing is… throw Batman at it.
That creature design is awesome! Really gives me some John Forte vibes.
However it was just created to inconvenience Batman, so Superman has little trouble dealing with it.
The fact that these two morons didn’t blow up the planet is nothing short of miraculous.
Bat-Crap is so insufferable that Mxyzptlk just leaves to his dimension just to avoid dealing with him.
Let me repeat that. He’s too insufferable. For MXYZPTLK.
And apparently this was all Bat-Idiot’s plan: be a pest to Mxyzptlk just as much as he was to Superman.
I feel your pain, Batman.
Historical significance: 2/10
This establishes the infrequent team-up / fights between the two imps. Nothing really comes from it in the Silver Age, but at least in the modern era we got some funny parodies out of it.
Silver Age-ness: 105/10
I mean…
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Even my love for Mr. Mxyzptlk can’t make me stomach this one, and it’s impossible to do this today without going dark or turning into a comedy.
Did Robin actually do anything?
I barely noticed he was there.
Did Superman really need Batman?
Considering Batman is the only reason he meets Bat-Mite… if he WASN’T there he would’ve skipped this entire story!
Bonus: of all the Silver Age stories to homage, this thing shows up in John Byrne’s “Generations” in 1999.
In the section set in a parallel to the Silver Age, Batman and Superman have to deal with the two imps… and guess who shows up!
It’s a great story from a FANTASTIC miniseries. It has several advantages over the World’s Finest story, from the fact that the giant robot in Gotham is Mxy’s fault…
…to having Superman transformed into a giant Frankenstein’s Monster by Red Kryptonite.
Despite the silliness of those scenes, it doesn’t go full parody. In fact it’s a relatively bleak story.
“Generations” is HIGHLY recommended: this is Byrne at his best.
Its first sequel, Generations II, is not as tightly scripted but I still enjoyed it.
Stay away from its awful second sequel Generations III.
Oh who am I kidding, I will eventually cover parts of it SOME day because, well…
