Related
The Man of Steel ’s supporting roll fall out a certain pattern : nearly every major player inSuperman’slife has the initials " L.L. " Fans of the quality have check the number ofSuperman ’s " L.L " friends grow seemingly without ending , but the reason given for the pattern are few and far between . However , an explanation of sorts appears inThe Adventures of Superman # 646,written by Greg Rucka with art by Karl Kerschl and color by Tanya Horie , and it ’s delivered by one of Superman ’s strangest villains ever .
Superman writers ' fascination with the L.L. assignment scheme get quite early in the bomber ’s story , with Lois Lane and Lex Luthor appearing in 1938 and 1940 severally . Lana Lang ( Superman ’s first lady friend ) andLinda Lee ( the civilian personal identity of Supergirl ) soon follow , and before long a veritable avalanche of L.L. names appeared : Lara Lor - Van , Lori Lemaris , Letitia Lerner , and many others . No account was ever give in the Silver or Bronze Age of comics - although Superman would frequently comment on the sheer co-occurrence of almost everyone he met having the same initial . Many buff assume the L.L. initials charge to an important outlet concerning Superman ’s past - and inThe Adventures of Superman # 646,they get their answer from none other than Mr. Mxyzptlk himself .
tie in : Superman Art Imagines Michael B. Jordan as Val - Zod
Mr. Mxyzptlk scat into Clark Kent and is in a awful commonwealth . He has difficulties with his memory - he ca n’t even retrieve his own name - and is unable to retort home to the 5th dimension . Clark buys Mxy a repast at a local bar and the two talking ; while Clark study an wild call from his editor , Mxy debate the nature of names possess power , and consider the fact that so many of Superman ’s acquaintances have the same initials . “In the Kryptonian alphabet , the nearest estimation to the letter of the alphabet ' L ' is the symbolisation ' Q ' " he thinks to himself . “Ram two of them side by side and you ’ve come something that looks like a lemniscate , the symbol for eternity . "
Even when suffering from amnesia , Mr. Mxyzptlk possesses otherworldly knowledge - he is from the 5th proportion , after all , and thus perceives sentence and space quite differently . Perhaps Mxy is commenting on the fact that Superman ’s escapade are often cyclic in nature : back breaker fights villain and saves cities from natural tragedy , but those same threats always turn back . Myx is also one of a prime fewDC persona capable of transgress the fourth wall , so there ’s a chance he ’s even cognisant of Superman ’s multiple reboots throughout his history .
It ’s interesting to note that DC editorial has neverofficiallystated the grounds behind so many L.L. names in Superman ’s circle of friends ( and enemies ) , but , given his interdimensional nature , Mr. Mxyzptlk is the thoroughgoing character to explain the substance behind the mystery . More of a trickster than a malicious supervillain , Mxy is in an excellent position to view Superman ’s history as a whole - and all the timesSuperman ’s history seems to reduplicate itself .
Next : Suicide Squad ’s Polka - Dot Man Is DC ’s Saddest Comic Book Supervillain
