DCAU #360: If I Ruled the World

IN THIS ONE... The Parasite steals Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers.

CREDITS: Written by Mark Millar; art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin.

REVIEW: Parasite with the powers of Mxyzptlk is terrifying because it gives unlimited power to a destructive, rather than impish, agent. He's more interested in blowing stuff up than playing tricks on the Man of Steel. But thankfully, he's also absorbed some of the imp's imagination, so we still get some crazy images, especially when he decides to go back in time and make himself the most important person in the universe. We're talking the American Civil War fought by chimps, astronauts fighting dinosaurs, and other Kirbyisms (including Jimmy Olsen as Brainiac and Lois Lane as Darkseid!).

Superman is, as heralded on the cover, forced to partner up with a powerless Mxy, and unlike the last time they tried this on the show, it's got some good moments (Mxy hiding his identity with glasses, for example).

What DOESN'T really work very well is the timey-wimey ending where time travel is treated as time passing..? Not sure that makes sense, but it's magic, eh? And if I were Mxy, I wouldn't count the reverse-word ploy AT ALL. Lawyer up, Mxy! But as with most Mxyzptlk stories, it's all insubstantial fun, like the end of Midsummer Night's Dream.
IN THE MAINSTREAM COMICS: The cover is a tribute to Robin's introduction in Detective Comics #38.

REREADABILITY: Medium - A bit of fun, but has me questioning its logic.

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