It has been revealed through an exclusive article by Comics Alliance that the identity of the fake Clark Kent who has been a main stay in “Action Comics” is none other than [redacted]. Oh, spoiler warning before we get into the juicy bits!
If you still want to know, scroll past the image of Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, and check it out.
It turns out that our mysterious powerless Clark Kent is actually Mr. Mxyzptlk. “Action Comics” #975 is said to feature a “more dangerous and more unhinged Mr. Mxyzptlk than we’ve ever encountered before.” The issue is set to explore “huge truths” that detail his place in the multiverse, time and space, as well as across multimedia adaptations. The issue will also feature a backup story by Paul Dini and Ian Churchill detailing exactly how Mxy got himself in this situation, being Clark Kent and all.
Mr. Mxyzptlk is a 5th-dimensional imp created by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Ira Yarbrough. He’s traditionally been a character that sees messing with Superman as sport, and does so for the fun of it. The only way to defeat Mr. Mxyzptlk is to trick him into saying his name backwards, which has lead to plenty of creative storytelling over the years.
The last time we saw Mxy was in the New 52 incarnation of “Action Comics” by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales. A young Superman was seen helping Mxy defeat the evil Vyndktvx and win a happy ending with his beloved Princess Nyxlygsptlnz. His story would end with him becoming the King of the 5th-Dimension.
Mr. Mxyzptlk was of course one of the options featured in DC’s official betting odds ad which ran in last week’s “Superman” #18, however, the fan-favorite choice for the fake Clark Kent’s identity seemed to be a character that wasn’t even on the list, Superboy Prime. So was this DC’s masterstroke booking, putting the answer right in front of our face so we wouldn’t see, or is it simply the irony of the fan’s search for a red herring becoming a red herring.
Truly this only creates more questions than it answers. Was it Mxy that was being held prisoner Mr. Oz? If so, how powerful is Mr. Oz? Who is the other Superman on the cover of “Action Comics” #976? Why is Mxy impersonating Clark? Where did Jon go? What does Reborn have to do with ‘Rebirth?’
