If it weren’t enough for Marvel's Thor to have to deal with his mischievous brother Loki, it looks like Superman’s own trickster has a few words for the God of Thunder. A misadventure gave Mr. Mxyzptlk a chance to poke some fun at Thor Odinson's strangest form.
Mr. Mxyzptlk hails from the fifth dimension and has been the biggest pain in the neck for the Man of Steel since his introduction in the early '40s. As an extradimensional creature, Mxyzptlk gets joy out of using his powers on beings he considers lower than himself. Despite his vulnerability to magic, Superman often beats Mxyzptlk's pranks by tricking the imp into saying or revealing his name backwards, which sends the all-powerful being back to his home dimension. But no matter how many times the Man of Steel is able to outwit him, Mxyzptlk loves coming back to turn his Kryptonian foe's life upside down.
This is exactly what he did in Superman: The Man of Steel #56 by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. The imp has returned to wreak havoc but in a much more "positive" way. He gives the citizens of Metropolis a wish, however each one ends up spiraling out of control. Superman cleans up Metropolis while Mxyzptlk discovers that Lois and Clark have broken up. Unwilling to accept that as reality, Mxyzptlk decides to use all of the fifth dimension magic he can summon to put them back together. He tries playing to Lois' maternal instincts by turning Superman into a baby, which goes about as well as one would think. The trickster comes across a pet store and decides an animal is much more likely to convince Lois. Among the many animals he turns Superman into, he attempts a frog, before deciding it's appeal is too "low-key."
The wordplay is clearly meant to evoke Loki, Thor’s brother and occasional villain, and for good reason. Loki famously turned Thor into a frog in Thor #364, creating one of the oddest variants the hero has had in his entire history. But aside from being a sly reference, Mxyzptlk seems to take a shot at the goofy transformation. Just another barb in a series of exchanges between the Big Two that stretches back and covers nearly their entire history.
As the two biggest comic companies, friendly competition between Marvel and DC is to be expected, as is the occasional ribbing. Sometimes it’s something as sly as a bit of wordplay, other times it’s a background gag in a Spider-Man comic. And sure, Superman's no stranger to some pretty odd transformations in his time, particularly in the Silver Age. But gags like these are never that ill-intended. After all, what comic doesn't have a time where its main character was transformed into something odd? Mxyzptlk's minor dig is more than likely just his own way of bragging about how he's the better trickster character. The callout of Loki's "Frog Thor" transformation could just as easily be seen as a tip of the cap to Marvel from Superman's magical foe.