Just as Kara and Mon-El were about to share a kiss on last week’s “Supergirl,” a visitor from another dimension jumped through a breach and interrupted their romantic moment.
That very visitor – Mr. Mxyzptlk – will spend Monday night’s episode using his own magical powers (like being able to conjure up a string quartet) to attempt to woo Kara Zor-El.
And from the trailer, and a recently released sneak peek, Mr. Mxyzptlk, played by “Once Upon a Time In Wonderland” alum Peter Gadiot, has a number of abilities.
“I think anyone who’s aware of Mr. Mxyzptlk is aware that he is this all-powerful being from the Fifth Dimension who has almost limitless abilities,” Peter told AccessHollywood.com, when asked about his character’s powers. “And he would be so utterly frightening if it were not for his innate playfulness. And so, in the past iterations and stories which he’s been in, and in this one, you see him do a variety of pranks and feats, some of which are more destructive than others. But, it seems to me at least, that he doesn’t have any physical limits to his power, he’s just limited by his own whimsy and desire and what he’s in the mood for, to be honest.”
Mr. Mxyzptlk’s comic book history includes interactions with Superman, but will his print past with the Man of Steel carry through to The CW show?
“That’s a good question, and it’s not necessarily front and center, but there is very much reference within the other characters,” Peter said. “They’re aware of him and his abilities and his history, because certain people in the episode are kind of surprised by Mxy and then other people say, ‘No, this is his history, and this is what’s going on.’ And so, yeah, there is an awareness of him, but obviously the focus is very much on his relationship with Supergirl.”
It seems likely Mxy at least knows of Superman, judging by the preview for Monday’s episode, which sees Peter’s character in a very Kal-El-esque suit. But it’s not Tyler Hoechlin’s blue and red supersuit from the Season 2 premiere.
“It was a new one. I did actually try on that suit for the initial fittings to get a shape of it, and it fit pretty good, but they like to do things obviously very specific and proper and so I was fitted and I got my own special one with the Mxy M on it. The first Mxy supersuit, I think,” Peter said.
Peter said a “slight backstory” about why Mxy has “genuine feelings” for Kara is revealed in a couple of scenes in Monday night’s episode.
It appears at least part of Mxy’s way of doing things comes from a “misunderstanding he has about how to do things in other societies,” Peter said.
One person who may not be willing to see things from a Fifth Dimension perspective though, is Mon-El. For starters, Mxy interrupted that long-awaited kiss, and the Daxamite’s powers are no match for Mxy’s. Mr. Mxyzptlk quickly gets Mon-El out of the way by teleporting him — in his underwear — from Kara’s apartment right into the heart of the D.E.O.
“He feels very frustrated because essentially, he’s emasculated by Mxy because he can’t just punch him and get rid of him. He has to just play the game and Mxy is essentially just toying with Mon-El and just kind of tolerating him because he can see that Supergirl doesn’t want Mon-El to be eradicated,” Peter said. “So, it’s kind of frustrating, understandably, for Mon-El because he has to play the game on Supergirl and Mxy’s terms and he’s kind of like this frustrated ping-pong ball in the middle.”
“Supergirl” continues Monday at 8/7c on The CW.
— Jolie Lash