Some of DC Comic's strangest characters don't even come from the same home as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Some come a dimension unseen by mankind, The 5th Dimension. Home to reality altering imps, The 5th Dimension has plagued Batman with Bat-Mite, Superman with Mr. Mxyzptlk, and even the undersea champion Aquaman with today's Z-Lister, Qwsp!
Created in "Aquaman #1" in 1962 by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy, Qwsp was an imp from the mysterious 5th Dimension. Like other imps, Qwsp explored the 3rd Dimensional planet Earth and quickly befriended the heroes Aquaman and Aqualad. Qwsp helped the heroes defeat various foes, one being Qwsp's own brother Quink. Quink had also traveled to Earth and was manipulated by a pirate named Captain Slade. Though Qwsp rescued Quink from the Captain, Quink had already been corrupted and swore revenge on his brother. And he did! Quink captured Qwsp and Aquaman and imprisoned them in a sub-section of the 5th Dimension. Aquaman and Qwsp managed to escape, defeat Quink and have the council of the 5th Dimension imprison Quink. Qwsp's final adventure with Aquaman was helping the hero save Queen Mera from an alien warlord known as Leron. After this adventure, Qwsp would give a heartfelt goodbye and go back to the 5th Dimension.
During the 1990's, Qwsp returned to Earth to find his old friend had changed. Aquaman was violent, grim and intimidating. And he was bearded, shirtless and had a stupid harpoon hand. Qwsp decided he's change himself to match Aquaman's new personality and became malevolent as a result. Now corrupted by darkness, Qwsp tricked Yz and Lyz-the Genie Princes who ruled over the 5th Dimension-to initiate in a battle and use Earth as the battle ground. Captain Marvel (Billy Batson) and The Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) traveled to the 5th Dimension and pleaded the council to stop this battle. Though they didn't care for Earth, the council realized if the Earth were destroyed the annoying Mr. Mxyzptlk would never leave the 5th Dimension. As such, the council stopped the fight and put Qwsp on trial. Qwsp was sentenced to One-million infinities in the 8th Dimensional Maze.
During The Spectre's magical rampage he threw the JSA member Jakeem Thunder into the 8th Dimensional Maze. Jakeem had been the current owner of the genie known as Thunderbolt and had encountered Qwsp in the maze. Qwsp used his powers to possess Jakeem's body and assume control of Thunderbolt. Using these two, Qwsp traveled back to the 5th Dimension and use the genie to rain chaos on it's citizens. The JSA members Mister Terrific, Stargirl and Hourman-with assistance from a magical ally-went to the 5th Dimension and managed to rip Qwsp out of Jakeem. For his crimes, Qwsp was turned into a genie, imprisoned in a capsule and given to the magical ally of the JSA.
Qwsp is an interesting little guy. When it comes to imp characters they are more often nuances than villains, but Qwsp is different. See, Superman never went through much of a change for Mxy to react and Mxy would more often save Superman from extra-dimensional villains to protect his favorite toy. When Bat-Mite saw Batman went from blue-and-gray to black-and-gray all he did was change his own costume to match. Qwsp must have loved Aquaman so much he was willing to change himself when Aquaman went through his 90's phase. Aquaman got that violent because DC Editorial thought that would make him cool and marketable, but to the current generation it just looked silly. And I think Qwsp's transformation into a villain is reflective of the ridiculousness of Aquaman's change. I may be looking too far into it, but Qwsp really works as an example of how not to behave when meeting an old friend again. The fact is, people change and you shouldn't have to change yourself to make that relationship work again. Qwsp wanted to be Aquaman's friend again so badly he overlooked how different Aquaman had become and how trying to befriend him would be a bad idea. So when he tried to make himself the kind of person Aquaman was he couldn't control himself. Sometimes people lose who they are when they spend too much time trying to be someone else, especially when they're doing it for someone they care about. In the end, Qwsp delved too deep into the abyss. Lucky for us, Aquaman knows how to swim upward.
Thanks for reading!
Who do you think should have an Imp Buddy? Comment below!
Qwsp is an interesting little guy. When it comes to imp characters they are more often nuances than villains, but Qwsp is different. See, Superman never went through much of a change for Mxy to react and Mxy would more often save Superman from extra-dimensional villains to protect his favorite toy. When Bat-Mite saw Batman went from blue-and-gray to black-and-gray all he did was change his own costume to match. Qwsp must have loved Aquaman so much he was willing to change himself when Aquaman went through his 90's phase. Aquaman got that violent because DC Editorial thought that would make him cool and marketable, but to the current generation it just looked silly. And I think Qwsp's transformation into a villain is reflective of the ridiculousness of Aquaman's change. I may be looking too far into it, but Qwsp really works as an example of how not to behave when meeting an old friend again. The fact is, people change and you shouldn't have to change yourself to make that relationship work again. Qwsp wanted to be Aquaman's friend again so badly he overlooked how different Aquaman had become and how trying to befriend him would be a bad idea. So when he tried to make himself the kind of person Aquaman was he couldn't control himself. Sometimes people lose who they are when they spend too much time trying to be someone else, especially when they're doing it for someone they care about. In the end, Qwsp delved too deep into the abyss. Lucky for us, Aquaman knows how to swim upward.
Thanks for reading!
Who do you think should have an Imp Buddy? Comment below!
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