"The Incredible Team of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk!"

Issue: World's Finest Comics #123

Cover Date: February 1962

Writer: Jerry Coleman

Penciller: Dick Sprang

Inker: Sheldon Moldoff

Cover Artist: Dick Dillin

Synopsis: One afternoon, a crime rocket lands next to a boat company on the outskirts of Gotham City. The owners of the company quickly call the police, who in turn call in Batman and Robin. Batman drops down via a parachute and begins to take care of the crooks, unaware that he's being watched by his #1 fan Bat-Mite. Two crooks catch Batman off guard, as Robin runs to his aid. At that same moment, Superman arrives (having been called by the Dynamic Duo en route supposedly) to help Batman and Robin, but is stopped by a kryptonite ray that is fired from the top of the crime rocket. While Superman prepares to throw a boulder at the crime rocket to damage the kryptonite ray, Mr. Mxyzptlk pops in from the 5th dimension to join the party. When Superman does throw his boulder, both Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk hurl their magic at it; Bat-Mite uses his to allow Batman and Robin to finish rounding up the crooks while Mr. Mxyzptlk uses his simply to annoy Superman.

The boulder transforms first into strange alien face, then into a purple creature with tubes across its back that spurt fire. Both Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk try to turn the creature back into a boulder, but both fail. It is then that the imps catch sight of each other and Batman catches sight of both of them. The creature allows the crooks to escape in their crime rocket, as the heroes are occupied with preventing it from reaching the factory. A lasso tied to a giant anchor, a deep hole dug by Superman, and even Superman's strength fail to deter the creature from its path. Meanwhile, Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk engage in a short magical duel, before realizing they're an equal match for each other. They decide to team up to get rid of the creature and attempt to cancel out the creature's fire with water from giant water faucets.

The faucets have the opposite effect, transforming the creature into a giant porcupine that fires explosive quills. While Superman destroys the giant faucets to prevent a flood, Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk fire their lightning bolts at the giant porcupine in another effort to make it disappear. This time, the creature turns into a three-legged magnet with a white, round head. Superman uses this transformation to the heroes' advantage, attracting the crime rocket back to Earth using the magnet creature. After Batman and Robin tie up the crooks, Batman comes with an idea to get rid of the creature. He has Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk create a duplicate of the magnet creature, which proves successful as the creatures absorb each other. Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk realize they have overstayed their welcomes and return to their home dimensions, but not before waving goodbye and promising to return someday soon.

Thoughts: I have a couple of problems with this story, but let me start with the positive. Right off the bat, the creatures in this story are really creative. The fire spewing one on the cover in particular. No discernable eyes, but a number of flame emitting tubes, including his tail. I got quite a chuckle out of it using its tubes to spray air to float over the Super-Hole. Also, how can you go wrong with a porcupine that launches exploding quills? The final creature takes the prize for the most bizarre, having legs at the prongs and the base, in addition to a ball shaped head resting in the "U" of the magnet. While the art still looks a little off compared to the Batman books, Dick Sprang's sense of design is still excellent. Also, it was nice to see Batman come up with the plan to defeat the creature. He is the world's greatest detective after all. Lastly, one fun fact: this issue has a full page ad for the second Batman Annual.

The main problem I have with the story is how it continues off of the first Bat-Mite/Mxyzptlk team up. At the end of that story, we saw Mr. Mxyzptlk swearing that he'd come up with a scheme to get his revenge on Bat-Mite. Going into this story, one would think that the next story would see Mr. Mxyzptlk coming up with his plan and put it into action. Instead, we see Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk engage in a magical duel for two panels and then agree to team up to defeat the creature. It's not even a begrudging one; Mr. Mxyzptlk is clearly happy to team up. I like the idea of the use of both imps' magic creating a creature they can't wish away, but the story could have been done in a way that kept the animosity between the two. It's even more strange that the two stories don't match up as both Bat-Mite/Mxyzptlk stories had the same writer. I had a few minor problems as well. First, how did these common crooks get a rocket, let alone a kryptonite ray? Usually when criminals show up they're of the common variety, but this gang clearly has connections. Also, how was Batman able to lift the rope connected to the giant anchor when they attempt to lasso the creature. Superman is part of the story; why not have him use his super strength? This is still a fun story, but a step down from the first team up of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk.

This story has been reprinted in the Showcase Presents: World's Finest Vol. 2 TPB

"Bat-Mite Meets Mr. Mxyzptlk"

Issue: World's Finest Comics #113

Cover Date: November 1960

Writer: Jerry Coleman

Penciller: Dick Sprang

Inker: Sheldon Moldoff

Cover Artist: Curt Swan

Synopsis: The story begins with a giant robot breaking its way into the Gotham City Bank. Bullets don't make a dent in it, but the citizens of Gotham need not fear, for Batman and Robin soon arrive on the scene. Inside the robot, two gangsters laugh at the thought of the Dynamic Duo attempting to stop them. Batman and Robin hop atop a large fuel tank and generate a flame that melts the tar in the road around the robot. Unfortunately, the robot is equipped with jets that allow it to fly and escape the tar. Luckily, Superman is in town (on assignment as Clark Kent) and throws a large boulder in the direction of the robot to stop it. As the boulder flies past the Dynamic Duo, it suddenly turns into a disproportioned figure of Superman and falls into the street. Such a transfiguration can mean only one thing: Bat-Mite has come to pay his favorite hero a visit.

Batman asks the imp why he is pestering Superman and Bat-Mite replies that he wants to see the Dynamic Duo perform incredible feats, not the Man of Steel. Superman's super-hearing picks up the robot's rampage and Bat-Mite tells him that he'd better allow Batman and Robin to tackle the mechanical menace. He looks like he wants to throttle the little Mite, but Batman keeps the peace and persuades Superman to let him and Robin try to handle it. Handle it they do, as they topple a statue onto the robot, damaging it and knocking out the criminals inside. At the same time, Superman is being terrorized by trees that have the heads of their animal namesakes. The blame for this is put on Bat-Mite, but for once, he is not responsible for the magical goings on, as Superman's imp foe Mr. Mxyzptlk appears. The pair of imps have a conversation about what they use their powers for, culminating in Mr. Mxyzptlk telling Bat-Mite that he and he alone annoys Superman. Bat-Mite declares that he'll do as he pleases, kicking off a magical battle for the (Silver) ages.

Mr. Mxyzptlk turns maple syrup on a billboard into the real thing, covering Bat-Mite. Bat-Mite uses his magic to spray it off himself into the street, a mess that Superman cleans up by spinning at terrific speeds and using his head as a mop. Mr. Mxyzptlk then turns a series of smoke rings solid, constricting Bat-Mite with them. Bat-Mite turns the smoke rings into lightning, throwing them at Mr. Mxyzptlk. At a standstill, they both disappear to come up with a plan to outwit the other. Later, Batman and Robin are driving on the outskirts of Gotham when a one eyed monster appears, courtesy of Mr. Mxyzptlk. The Dynamic Duo look doomed, but Superman arrives to throw the monster into space. Mr. Mxyzptlk tells Bat-Mite that that will teach him to pester Superman. Bat-Mite has never thought of himself as a pest, but the comment gives him an idea.

Mr. Mxyzptlk's next trick is to create a real volcano, which Bat-Mite turns into a pipe, causing Batman, Robin, and Superman to laugh. Not to be made a fool of, Mr. Mxyzptlk gives an abandoned storage house creature legs, sending it walking. Bat-Mite notices it resembles a caterpillar and turns it into a butterfly, prompting more laughter from the trio of heroes. Angered by the laughter, Mr. Mxyzptlk returns to the 5th Dimension to come up with a plan to make Bat-Mite miserable. Bat-Mite pats himself on the back for coming up with the idea to pester Mr. Mxyzptlk, but changes his demeanor as Batman, Robin, and Superman surround him with their arms crossed. After Bat-Mite returns to his dimension, Batman hopes that he doesn't return too soon, to which Superman adds that he hopes Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't return at the same time Bat-Mite does. "Brrr...what a pair they make!"

Thoughts: Here it is, the first meeting of the magical imps of the DC Universe. This story takes a bit to build up, but once the players are assembled, it's a heck of a show. Page after page of alternate dimensional magic, as Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk try to one up each other. The main distinction between to two is that Mr. Mxyzptlk uses his powers purely to annoy, while Bat-Mite uses his to help his hero, unintentionally annoying him. It's a nice twist for Bat-Mite to intentionally turn to the path of pestering to turn the tables on Mr. Mxyzptlk. Although Bat-Mite is quite a pest in this story before that, mostly due to him throwing Batman and Robin at a tentacle monster. As with most Bat-Mite stories, this one is chock full of DC Silver Age fun. One panel has Bat-Mite replying "Impossible!" looking right at the reader when Batman mentions to Superman he and Robin might not be able to stop the robot. Another one has a smiling Bat-Mite saying, "What do all caterpillars finally become?", flying at Batman and Robin who look hilariously surprised. The biggest gut buster however is the previously mentioned scene where Superman cleans up the syrup. Spinning around upside down, using his hair as a mop, wearing a look of intense concentration. Silver Age brilliance at its finest.

The penciller for this issue is Dick Sprang, with inks interestingly enough by Sheldon Moldoff. Dick Sprang's interpretation of Bat-Mite is great, rounder and more like a little man than an imp (which is what the Mite's been saying all along). In my original post, I said I might prefer Sprang's interpretation to Moldoff's. Looking at some Bat-Mite stories after I read this story, I gotta say Moldoff is still number one. While Sprang's art is quality as usual, something seems off about it. I don't know if it's Moldoff's inks, but there seems to be a noticeable difference between his work in World's Finest and that of the Batman titles. While the story's a blast, I do have a few quibbles with it. When Bat-Mite first appears, Robin makes a comment that seems to hint it's Bat-Mite, but when the imp appears, he acts surprised. Likely a case of mismatched word balloons. Also, I really doubt that the statue falling on the robot would only knock the criminals out. Other than those two points, this was a great first meeting of DC's premiere magical imps, and as Superman forshadowed, it wasn't the last.

This story has been reprinted in the World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 3 HC and the Showcase Presents: World's Finest Vol. 2 TPB.