MR. MISCHIEF

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extradimensional/alternate reality (Reality-93060/"Ultraverse") entity (see comments)

Occupation: Spreader of chaos

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: (see comments) Arielle, Kenny, the Old Witch, Lord Pumpkin

Enemies: Arielle, Lord Pumpkin

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed; possibly the Godwheel

First Appearance: Lord Pumpkin#0 (October 1994)

Powers/Abilities: Mr. Mischief can traverse dimensions with ease. He can either conjure, or perhaps simply easily retrieve, items of magical power. He can heal magically, and suck the souls from people, then place them within an object such as a sword. Given his casual nonchalance around beings hostile to him, suggesting he feels them to be no threat, he is likely magically protected or durable. 

Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 150 lbs. (by estimation, assuming his height to weight ratio is similar to normal humans)
Eyes: Blue-gray
Hair: None

History:
(Sludge#12 (fb)) - A dimension hopping interloper with a love of chaos, Mr. Mischief became aware that the Old Witch was seeking the two halves of the broken Wertham Stone that had been used a century earlier by the wizard Frederick to trap her monstrous son and his minions in another dimension. Seeking to spread pain and suffering for his own amusement Mr. Mischief retrieved one half of the stone from where it had been exiled, and gleefully handed it over to the Old Witch. When she asked him his price, he simply replied "Chaos." He then transported the Old Witch to Manhattan, Earth, and told her the other half of the stone was being held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

(Lord Pumpkin#0) - In a kingdom on the Godwheel the knight Arielle successfully led a small army of warriors in invading Lord Pumpkin's castle, but was fatally wounded. Finding her dying and their target absent, Arielle's lieutenant decried all their efforts were for naught, only for Mr. Mischief to reveal his presence, leaning casually against a wall surrounded by the corpses of the fallen. He offered to save Arielle and deliver Lord Pumpkin in exchange for their souls. They agreed, and ignoring Arielle's scream of protest Mischief sucked her warriors' souls into a glowing sphere of light which he then transferred into her sword (able to be released as solid wraiths to fight for her when needed, though she did not yet know this). As her wounds magically healed Arielle promised to kill him, a threat he accepted with feigned sadness, responding over-dramatically that he just wanted to be loved, and telling her to send him a thank-you card later. Turning to depart through a swirl of light that began to manifest, he told her to never get involved in a land war in Asia, and to not let go of the sword. Struggling to rise, Arielle promised it was not over between them and that she would see him in Hell, prompting him to pause and turn back to her momentarily to sinisterly agree "Oh, you shall, mighty Arielle, you shall." Then he vanished.

   Realizing that the souls of her men were trapped within the blade and screaming to be released, Arielle angrily threw it at a wall, and to her surprise it opened a glowing portal. Though wary, Arielle reclaimed the sword and stepped through, and was transported to Earth, where Lord Pumpkin was. Unknown to Arielle and her people, Lord Pumpkin had been earlier destroyed and reborn on Earth, amnesiac and badly weakened, and in that state had been turned into a carnival exhibit, tormented and abused by most of the circus folk. Presumably judging Arielle would have too easy a fight and insufficient chaos and suffering would ensue if Lord Pumpkin remained in this sorry state, Mr. Mischief appeared to the monster's sole friend at the carnival, a naive boy named Kenny, and gave him a candle that would restore Lord Pumpkin to his old self. With both sides of the conflict suitably empowered and brought together, Mr. Mischief again vanished to let events play out.

(Elven#4) - When Elven was shown a vision of the Godwheel and some of its inhabitants, one of those she glimpsed was Mr. Mischief, who turned his head to face her, suggesting he might have sensed being watched.

Comments: Created by Dan Danko, Aaron Lopresti and Gary Martin.

   With only three appearances, and one of those a single panel cameo, we don't really know who or what Mr. Mischief is. Though he does little by way of direct conflict with others, he seems to be extremely powerful. His interest in the souls of Arielle's warriors might mean he is a demon, but he equally might be an abstract being (the Ultraverse's version of Lord Chaos?), or an Ultraverse equivalent to the Elders of the Universe whose life-extending past time is spreading chaos for his personal amusement, or an ancient sorcerer, or any number of other options. All we really know for sure, apart from him enjoying using proxies to spread "pain and suffering" and traversing dimensions with ease, is that he likes dropping cultural references that originate from 20th Century Earth, mostly American, even when dealing with people who have no connection to such - when dealing with Arielle and her men he brings up "high school yearbooks" and "cheeseburgers," and references both The Wizard of Oz ("click them ol' Ruby Slippers three times," "not in Kansas anymore, Toto") and The Princess Bride ("never get involved in a land war in Asia"). That might suggest that despite his seemingly cosmic level of power, his origins lie somewhere in 20th Century Earth. On the other hand, his agreeing with Arielle that she would see him in Hell might support a demonic background. Maybe he was once human, but got condemned to Hell and now goes out as an agent of same?

   It should be noted that as an entity who seeks chaos, all affiliations are merely brief associations of convenience; as his involvement in the Lord Pumpkin vs. Arielle fight demonstrated, he'll happily help one side of a conflict and then assist the other purely for the purposes of generating more conflict. So he's not really affiliated with anyone, and while he might not act directly against anyone, he's arguably everyone's enemy, even those he is temporarily assisting, since his "help" often leads to harm coming to those it is given to. For example (and not covered in the history above, since he wasn't present for the finale), his giving the Old Witch the first half of the Wertham Stone ultimately led to her demise.

   Between his personality, his clothing choices, his powers and that face, he feels like DC's Mr. Mxyzptlk after said imp foolishly donned Dark Horse's Mask.

   In case anyone missed the very unsubtle reference, the Wertham Stone used by the wizard Frederick which was used to trap the Old Witch's son and his minions is a nod to Frederick Wertham, infamous author of Seduction of the Innocent, whose accusations that comics were causing juvenile delinquency helped cause the downfall of EC Comics, one of whose "horror hosts" was also called the Old Witch.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Mr. Mischief has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Lord Pumpkin#0, p19, pan5 (main image)
Elven#4, p15, pan4 (headshot)
Sludge#12, p5, pan4-7 (giving the Old Witch half the Wertham Stone)
Lord Pumpkin#0, p8, pan3 (taking the souls of Arielle's men, revealing a starscape within himself)
Lord Pumpkin#0, p7, pan3 (leaning on a wall in Lord Pumpkin's castle)

Appearances:
Lord Pumpkin#0 (October 1994) - Dan Danko (writer), Aaron Lopresti (pencils), Aaron Lopresti & Gary Martin (finishes), Roland Mann (editor)
Sludge#12 (December 1994) - Aaron Lopresti (writer, pencils), Gary Martin (inks), Chris Ulm & Roland Mann (editors)
Elven#4 (May 1995) - Len Strazewski (writer), Aaron Lopresti (pencils), Hilary Barta (inks), Roland Mann (editor)

First Posted: 06/11/2023
Last updated: 06/11/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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