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Mister Mxyzptlk

Mister Mxyzptlk ( or  ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he enjoys tormenting Superman or making life difficult. His portrayal has varied, with him being an outright supervillain in some media, and an antihero in others.

Mr. Mxyzptlk was created to appear in Superman #30 (September / October 1944), in the story "The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk" (the original spelling), by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Ira Yarborough. Due to publishing lag time, the character saw print first in the Superman daily comic strip by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist Wayne Boring.

In most of Mxyzptlk's appearances in DC Comics, he can be stopped only by tricking him into saying or spelling his own name backwards, which will return him to his home in the fifth dimension and keep him there for a minimum of 90 days. This limitation of the character was modified in the 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, upon which Mxyzptlk changes his condition to leave to a new requirement each story, such as having Superman succeed in getting him to paint his own face blue.

Mxyzptlk has appeared in various television adaptations of Superman. He first appeared in the 1988-1992 television series Superboy, portrayed by Michael J. Pollard and later appeared in the 1993 television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, portrayed by Howie Mandel. He also appeared in the 2001 television series Smallville played by Trent Ford, and in the Arrowverse television series Supergirl played by Peter Gadiot in the second season, and by Thomas Lennon in the fifth and sixth seasons, while the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried played the character in several voice-acting-related projects until his death.

Golden Age
Mister Mxyztplk (the original spelling) was introduced in the Golden Age as an imp from the "fifth dimension". Not being bound by physical laws, he can do things that seem to be magical. In his first appearance, Mxyztplk wreaks havoc across Metropolis by using his powers to pull all manner of pranks, first pretending he got hit by a truck and killed, then increasing his weight when the ambulance gets there and waking up to shock them. What is more, he destroys Superman's worldview of himself. Mxyztplk jumps out a window, fooling Superman into thinking he is committing suicide. When he appears unharmed, an astonished Superman exclaims, "I-I thought I was the only man who could fly!!" He gives the Mayor the voice of a donkey, and then blows papers over the town. Mxyztplk soon tells Superman that he is a jester in his home dimension, explaining why he uses his powers to play practical jokes, but one day he finds a book that tells him of this world.

Originally, Mxyztplk has designs on conquering the planet for himself but soon settles for tormenting Superman whenever he gets the opportunity. His only weaknesses are that he cannot stand being ridiculed and if he says or spells his name backward, he is involuntarily sent back to his home dimension for a minimum of 90 days. He first gets fooled when Superman asks what the word is and the imp says he can't believe Superman would have thought him stupid enough to say "Klptzyxm"--before realizing what he has just said and being transported home. Mxyztplk often looks for ways to counter the latter weakness, but he always proves gullible enough for Superman to trick him time and time again. In the Golden Age, saying "Klptzyxm" will not only send Mxyztplk back to the fifth dimension but also anyone else who said it. To return to his/her home dimension, one has to say one's own name backward.

Silver Age
Mxyztplk originally appeared as a small bald man in a purple suit, green bow tie, and purple derby hat. This was changed to a futuristic looking orange outfit with purple trim and white hair on the sides of his head in the mid-1950s, although the bowler hat remains adapted to the new color scheme. In Superman #131 (1959), the spelling of Mxyztplk's name changed (by some accounts through a mistake) to "Mxyzptlk".

It was explained in the Silver Age Superman comics that Mister Mxyzptlk could affect Superman because Superman is susceptible to magic, which was established as a major weakness for the superhero.

When a Mxyzptlk jaunt causes a special appearance by Superman to be cancelled and children, who had done nothing to Mxyzptlk, to be disappointed, Superman himself decides to turn the tables and visit the fifth dimension, making trouble for the imp, who is running for mayor. For example, when Mxyzptlk furnishes a huge supply of food for prospective voters, he says, "Eat up, folks, the food's on me!" Superman uses super-breath to blow the food all over the imp and then chortles to the voters, "Like he said, folks – the food is on him!" The imp tries to get the Man of Steel to say "Namrepus" (Superman backwards) repeatedly, but when he finally succeeds, it does not work and Superman remains in the fifth dimension. Mxyzptlk ultimately loses the election, and, his mission accomplished, Superman returns to Earth by whispering "Le-Lak" (his Kryptonian birth name Kal-El backwards).

Multiverse
After the establishment of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, it was later explained that the purple-suited Mxyztplk lives in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-Two, and the orange-costumed Mxyzptlk in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-One. The Earth-One version is also retconned into Superboy stories as the young red-haired Master Mxyzptlk, who bedevils Superboy during his youth in Smallville. He even appears as a deus ex machina to stop the Kryptonite Kid, who was killing a helpless Superboy, so that he could continue to bedevil Superboy and, later, Superman.

A 30th-century descendant of Mxyzptlk appeared in Adventure Comics #310 (July 1963) with similar abilities. Much crueler than his ancestor, this version kills most of the Legion of Super-Heroes until Superboy tricks him into falling victim to the same "Kltpzyxm" weakness, reversing the effects of his magic. However, in another story from Adventure Comics #355 (April 1967) featuring the 30th-century Adult Legion, the brother of the cruel Mxyzptlk teams up with a descendant of Lex Luthor to save the Legionnaires from the Legion of Super-Villains and join the Legion themselves.

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Alan Moore offered a radically different interpretation of the character in the 1986 two-issue story Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, a possible end of the adventures of the Earth-One Superman. Mister Mxyzptlk (appearing in darker colors and looking more sinister than in the past) explains that the problem with immortality is finding ways to spend the time. He spent his first 2,000 years without moving or breathing, the next 2,000 years doing only good deeds, and the following 2,000 years being the mischievous character that he is normally portrayed as. He has now decided to try being evil, and is responsible for all of the nightmarish events in the story (also musing that after 2,000 years of evil, he may spend the next 2,000 years feeling guilty). Before attacking Superman, he reveals his true form, which is described by Lois Lane as having "height, width, depth, and a couple of other things". He is killed when Superman sends him to the Phantom Zone at the same time that Mister Mxyzptlk begins an escape to the fifth dimension by saying his name backwards voluntarily, tearing him in two. Despite having recognized that his foe was too dangerous to be stopped any other way, remorse over the killing prompts Superman to drain himself of his powers using gold kryptonite.

Another final appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk was in the final issue of DC Comics Presents, which shows Jor-El's discovery of the Phantom Zone. By the end of the story, the Phantom Zone, the fifth dimension and the Bizarro World are all destroyed, and Mister Mxyzptlk, infilled by power endowed by a hideously disfigured wizard who was a denizen in the Phantom Zone, is transformed into an entity not even remotely human. He then throws the dead Argo City into Metropolis, littering it with tons of kryptonite and dead Kryptonians, and announces to an exasperated and horrified Superman that this was his last jest, that he will never be able to top it, and so says farewell to Superman.

Modern Age
Mxyzptlk made it through the Crisis on Infinite Earths relatively unchanged, although the unpleasant nature of his pranks and the psychological effects they have on others is played up more, such as when he animated the Daily Planet building heedless of the occupants inside who were being violently thrown around with its movements. He also began smoking cigars, symbolic of his newer, more antagonistic nature. His first appearance in this new continuity saw him initially adopting the guise of "Ben deRoy", a reality-warping mystery man resembling the Beyonder (the former name is an anagram of the latter), who was threatening the Marvel Universe around the same time. He resumed his more familiar appearance when he was confronted by Superman.

In his first Post-Crisis story, Mxyzptlk played the "Name Game" with Superman, with saying or writing his name backwards sending him home. However, in his next appearance, this has no effect; the "condition" that would send him back to the fifth dimension would be anything he stated it to be for the occasion, and the act itself would not banish him, but instead be Mxyzptlk abiding by his own terms. After his first encounter with Lex Luthor taught him how to lie, Mxyzptlk began rigging his contests with false or misleading aspects to make his challenges greater. Ultimately, the stories reverted to Mxyzptlk having to say his name backwards to get him to leave.

One of Mxyzptlk's most prominent storylines in the new continuity was the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" storyline, when he provided Lex Luthor with a sample of red kryptonite that took away Superman's powers so long as Luthor never revealed to Superman that Mxyzptlk was involved. Despite Superman's lack of powers, he still risked his life to battle Mammoth and the mad scientist Thaddeus Killgrave. Eventually, the spell was lifted when Luthor told "Clark Kent" where the red kryptonite had come from, believing that he would not be breaking Mxyzptlk's rule about not letting Superman know the truth if he told Kent and Kent told Superman (in a one-page aside in this story, Mister Mxyzptlk is implied to also be the Impossible Man, spending his off-time badgering the Fantastic Four of the Marvel Universe).

Many of Mxyzptlk's later stories have a postmodern feel to them, similar to Ambush Bug, as he comments on editorial decisions, clichés of the genre, etc. This was most obvious in Superman: The Man of Steel #75, a pastiche of Superman's death in Superman (vol. 2) #75, where Mxyzptlk creates a duplicate of Doomsday. The confrontation culminates with Mxyzptlk meeting the Supreme Being, who turns out to be Mike Carlin, the then-editor of the Superman titles, who promptly brings him back to life. Although Mxyzptlk does not appear in Grant Morrison's JLA, Morrison took advantage of certain similarities to tie Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt and Aquaman's nemesis Qwsp to the fifth dimension, implying the dimension may be the origin for legends of djinn. This story also saw the first Post-Crisis appearance of Mxyzptlk's Earth-One girlfriend, Ms. Gsptlsnz (described as his "quinto-partner"; pronounced Giz-pit-lez-nez or "Gizbie" for short).

In 2001, DC published Bizarro Comics in which Mister Mxyzptlk fought an all-powerful entity named A who is conquering and wrecking dimensional worlds—including the 5th dimension—by use of toys and games. Mxyzptlk retains the services of a version of Bizarro who calls him Greg, and pads the story out by writing and drawing 27 off-beat stories using the DC superheroes, taking 160 pages. Bizarro is in two of them. Also of note is the depiction of Bahdnesian thunderbolts and Zook's species as native to the fifth dimension.

In Countdown to Final Crisis, the modern Mxyzptlk claims to have always felt the need for a "public" in the third dimension and that Superman was not his first victim.

Secret origin
In Young Justice #3, Peter David showed Mxyzptlk's origins as a serious-minded researcher, who travels through time, summoned by computer-based occultists. He takes the opportunity to conduct some scholarly studies. He chooses to examine a Halloween party in Happy Harbor, focusing on the results of aging a portion of the teens and causing some of the others to frantically dance out of control. What Mxyzptlk does not know was that Robin, Superboy, and Impulse were hired by the town's adults to chaperone the party. When the boys confront Mxyzptlk, they realize that this was not the same Mxyzptlk whom Superman had regularly faced; indeed, he appears to not have even assumed the name "Mxyzptlk" at this point, regarding it as sounding like something somebody randomly typed (which is, indeed, how the character chose his name in his first Post-Crisis appearance). Upon discovering the chaotic future that awaits him, Mxyzptlk declares that he would dedicate his life to learning and knowledge. However, those words led to a shift in time, creating an apocalyptic world everywhere but outside the building where the Halloween party is being held. This is because Mxyzptlk was not left to annoy Superman. To avoid this, Robin, Superboy, and Impulse realize that they need to instill Mxyzptlk with his trademark wacky sense of humor.

A Three Stooges film is uncovered and watched via an old projector. Mxyzptlk is entertained by the comedy in the film, and tries out a Stooge-style poke in the eye on the projectionist Mick Gurk (an homage to the name "McGurk", the name used by Mxyztplk for a statue he animated in his first appearance), finding the slapstick humor to his liking. He promises that, when it is time, he will hassle Superman as he is supposed to, in honor of Superboy, Impulse, Robin, and even Mick Gurk.

Time is restored to as how it should be...mostly. Outside the civic center is an unexpected Mxyzptlk theme park, the only change to the world.

However, it appears that Mxyzptlk has forgotten this incident as the years have passed. When confronted by Superboy later on, the imp declares that he had no knowledge of his adventure with Young Justice. Whether or not this is true, or Mxyzptlk was merely playing a trick on the Boy of Steel, is never revealed.

Improper use of power
In "Emperor Joker", a multi-issue story throughout the Superman titles, Mxyzptlk has his powers temporarily stolen by the Joker, who then remakes the Earth in his own image, due to tricking Mxyzptlk into giving him 99.99% of his power, when Mxyzptlk only intended to give Joker 1% of his power. The imp is unable to remember what to do to break the chain of events that daily culminates with Superman being dragged back to Arkham Asylum by Bizarro. Fortunately, Mxyzptlk is able to reveal the truth to Superman, who manages to find the power to break the cycle and defeat the Joker. As the Joker prepares to end existence, Superman realizes that, for all his power, the Joker still cannot erase Batman (as the Joker defines his very existence by fighting Batman, erasing him would also mean erasing himself), allowing Superman to shatter the Joker's control of reality. However, Mxyzptlk saves some of the Joker's creations and transfers them into the 'real' world, including Scorch, Gorgeous Gilly, the new Bizarro and "Ignition", a black-armored villain who first appeared in the "Emperor Joker" story, but was created by someone else (exactly who has never been revealed).

It has also been implied that Mxyzptlk sees himself as serving an important purpose, in teaching Superman not to take everything too seriously.

In Adventures of Superman #617 (2003), Mxyzptlk is reinvented as fraternal twins with an intense hatred for Superman. Amongst other things, they claim responsibility for the creation of the present-day Persuader. A year later, in Superman Secret Files and Origins 2004 (2004), he returns to his usual self, following a fellow imp in the fifth dimension combining the twins with the classic Mxyzptlk, resulting in his normal form and personality.

Mxyzptlk formed a significant part of Greg Rucka's "Ruin" storyline in Adventures of Superman. His appearance here is similar to his Golden Age look, with the addition of a single lock of hair, resembling Superman's S-shaped forelock. This version of Mxyzptlk is less abrasive than he had been previously, and is portrayed as basically on Superman's side. The metafictional aspects of the character were also played up, as he visits the DC Comics offices in the real world, presented as fumetti.

At the same time, Mxyzptlk appeared in Superman/Batman #23, trying to prepare Batman and Superman for the upcoming Infinite Crisis. The incident features alternate universe versions of Superman, Batman, and Deathstroke the Terminator and implies much chaos that was not shown, such as the planet Mogo visiting Earth to reclaim an old land mass. At the end of this storyline, Mxyzptlk indicates he has erased the knowledge of Superman's identity from Lex Luthor's mind.

After the fallout of the events of Day of Vengeance (and, while not mentioned, the corruption of the fifth dimension as seen in JSA), the removal of magic from the Earth leaves Mxyzptlk nearly powerless, wandering the streets of Metropolis and unable to remember how to pronounce the inverse of his name to return him home. Superman attempts to help him, but the two are attacked by the villain Ruin. Ruin attempts to assassinate Superman with kryptonite-based weaponry, but Mxyzptlk pushes Superman out of the way, taking a kryptonite spear to the heart and vanishing. Right before he vanishes, he seems to whisper 'kltpzyxm'.

One Year Later
Action Comics Annual #10 states that Mister Mxyzptlk was last seen 190 days ago and that his name is pronounced "Mix-Yez-Pittle-Ick" (as it was in the 1960s Superman CBS-TV cartoon show, mentioned previously).

Countdown
Mister Mxyzptlk makes a one-page appearance in Countdown #31. On a walk in the fifth dimension with Gsptlsnz and his pet goldfish named Superman, he is grabbed by someone or something unknown, who then disappears with Mxy. It is later revealed in Countdown #23, Mxyzptlk was abducted by Superboy-Prime and imprisoned in the Source Wall. Prime has been apparently torturing the imp into helping him bring back his "perfect Earth", i.e. Earth Prime. Mxyzptlk mentions that he has been coming to Earth for centuries, and has been referred to by many names (Loki, Coyote, and Anansi). He is later sent back to his home by Annataz Arataz, the Earth-3 counterpart of Zatanna, whom Prime had also captured. Arriving in the fifth dimension, he proclaims to Gsptlsnz that he has escaped an encounter with "the Beast" (implying that the fifth dimension is aware of Superboy-Prime, who is referred to as a being of pure evil). Knowing that Superboy-Prime will kill every living soul in the fifth dimension to get revenge on him, Mxyzptlk proclaims that their dimension must be sealed off from outsiders immediately and that he can never return to Earth.

The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Mxyzptlk's history is revealed as a traveling wizard in the fifth dimension who entertained the King-Thing Brpxz of Zrfff. He did so by making 333 different three-dimensional worlds, and by challenging heroes in each world, with everyone being entertained by the one hero who could win the challenges, Superman. This led to Mxyzptlk becoming the king's favorite entertainer, and winning the love of the king's daughter, Gsptlnz. However, it also caused jealousy in the now-deposed original court magician, Vyndktvx. Vyndktvx eventually went mad and tried to kill Mxyzptlk, only to kill the king instead. The instant of the murder of the king, committed with the Multispear - a hyper-weapon - reflected in the three-dimensional universe Superman inhabits as a lifelong struggle with the five-dimensional being. Mxyzptlk and his beloved wife descended to the three-dimensional universe to aid Superman in his struggle; their mortal forms perished in due time, still in the same instant in the time of their home world. There, even as he was defeated in the three-dimensional universe, Vndyktvx was arrested and imprisoned for the murder. Mxyzptlk became king and lived happily with his wife, the beautiful princess-now-queen, only to grieve as she died giving birth to their children. And so, he became the sad king that one day, the jester Mxyzptlk would come to entertain, and who would be slain by Vndyktvx in an eternal cycle.

DC Rebirth
After the New 52 Superman died and Pre-52 Superman took his place by the time of the DC Rebirth reboot, a mysterious Clark Kent appeared claiming to be the real one. Despite everyone's hesitations and the previous event that outed Clark as Superman, the new Clark had the medical records to match, and when Superman questioned Clark with a telepathic probe, Clark presented a clear history of Clark Kent as a human being who was orphaned at three months old and subsequently adopted by the Kents. Pre-52 Lois investigates the new Clark more after getting her job back at the Daily Planet. Clark asks Lois out on a date which she accepts, but on the date, Lois finds that Clark rented the whole place out for the night and proposed to her, scaring her out of the date. He follows Lois to her secret home and finds out about her marriage to Superman and their son, Jonathan. The next day, after spotting Clark, Superman and Lois's house and Jonathan suddenly disappear. They track Clark down to his apartment, where he reveals himself to be the pre-52 Mister Mxyzptlk, who was absent from the New 52 universe because he was held captive by Mister Oz and used his powers to transform and brainwash himself into believing he was Clark Kent to avoid getting recaptured after escaping. His attacks on Superman are revenge for failing to notice he has been missing and he proceeds to make Lois forget about her own son. As even Lois forgets that Clark and Superman were the same person, Superman agrees to play Mister Mxyzptlk's game to try and win back the 'right' to see his son again, but although Mister Mxyzptlk attempts to change the rules and ensure his victory, Jonathan is able to fight through his Mister Mxyzptlk-created prison with the aid of unspecified spirits that are revealed to be the New 52 versions of Superman and Lois, culminating in the creation of a new timeline where the essence of the Post-Flashpoint Lois and Clark are fused with their Pre-Flashpoint selves, so that the history of both worlds can co-exist.

Powers and abilities
Mister Mxyzptlk possesses the ability to warp reality, which has been described alternatively as the product of fifth dimensional magic or advanced technology that appears to be magical to third dimensional beings. Attendant with his abilities is the fact that Mxyzptlk himself is not limited by physical laws: he needs no sustenance such as air or water, can exist in any environment, can teleport anywhere, and is not susceptible to physical harm. His only apparent vulnerability is that whenever he speaks his name backwards, he is shunted back to the fifth dimension, and all effects of his magic vanish. This also has occurred with an indirect application of that rule; on one occasion, Mxyzptlk was banished by a backward-played tape recording of his own voice saying his name.

However, such a banishment is a temporary deterrent. After 90 days, Mxyzptlk can again visit the third dimension at will. His reality-warping powers exist in the fifth dimension, but he exerts less control compared to the third dimension, due to the presence of other imps with the same powers.

Though arguably the most powerful of Superman's recurring enemies, the scope of Mxyzptlk's true potential is limited by his personality. His gullible nature makes it easy for Superman or other individuals to trick him into saying his name backwards, and he is overall a fun-loving prankster who prefers to use his power for childish mischief and light-hearted harassment rather than malicious destruction or torment. Thus, he is more of an annoyance than a true threat.

Other versions

 * An alternate universe incarnation of Mxyzptlk appears in Superman and Batman: World's Funnest.
 * Mixyezpitellik, Mxyzptlk's antimatter universe counterpart, appears in The Brave and the Bold #11.
 * An alternate universe incarnation of Mxyzptlk appears in Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade. This version orchestrated Supergirl's arrival in Metropolis, disguising himself as a teacher at her school and intending to use her emotions to power a machine that would give him unlimited energy. However, he is defeated by her and banished to a two-dimensional prison by his henchmen.
 * An alternate universe incarnation of Mxyzptlk appears in Superman & Batman: Generations.

Animation

 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Imp-Practical Joker", voiced by Gilbert Mack. This version's name uses the official DC Comics pronunciation.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the Super Friends franchise, voiced by Frank Welker. This version's name is pronounced "miks-ill-plik" forwards and "kilp-ill-skim" backwards. Additionally, he enjoys tormenting all of the Super Friends even when Superman is absent.
 * Mxyzptlk appears in the Challenge of the Superfriends episode "The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends".
 * Mxyzptlk appears in The World's Greatest Super Friends episode "The Planet of Oz".
 * Mxyzptlk appears in Super Friends (1980).
 * Mxyzptlk appears in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show.
 * Mxyzptlk appears in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians episode "The Bizarro Super Powers Team".
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU):
 * An animatronic toy based on the Bronze Age incarnation of Mxyzptlk makes a cameo appearance in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Deep Freeze".
 * Mxyzptlk proper appears in Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. This version's design is based on the Golden Age incarnation and claims to have inspired Earth's legends of imps, genies, and leprechauns. Additionally, his name is pronounced "mix-yes-spit-lick" forwards and "kl-tp-zy-xm" backwards.
 * According to the commentary for "Mxyzpixilated", Mxyzptlk was intended to star in a Justice League episode, but screenwriter Paul Dini and series developer Bruce Timm were unable to create a suitable story for him to appear in. Despite this, a cardboard cutout of Mxyzptlk appears in the episode "Secret Society".
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the Robot Chicken episode "The Departy Monster", voiced by Seth Green.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Battle of the Superheroes!", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version's name is pronounced "mix-ee-yez-pit-lik".
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Justice League Action, voiced again by Gilbert Gottfried. This version's name is pronounced "kl-tp-zyx-m" backwards.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the My Adventures with Superman episode "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal", voiced by David Errigo Jr. This version is a multiversal imp, self-proclaimed chaos god, and criminal with a more youthful and inhuman appearance, taking cues from impish anime characters. Additionally, he is an enemy of the League of Lois Lanes, a multiversal alliance of Lois Lanes who previously confiscated his hat and partially depowered him.

Live-action

 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Superboy, portrayed by Michael J. Pollard.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "Twas the Night Before Mxymas", portrayed by Howie Mandel. This version's name is pronounced "mix-yez-pit-leck" and is said to have inspired legends of imps, genies and leprechauns as well as real historic events such as the fall of Rome. Additionally, he is more malevolent than other incarnations.
 * A character inspired by Mister Mxyzptlk named Mikhail Mxyzptlk appears in the Smallville episode "Jinx", portrayed by Trent Ford. This version's name is pronounced "mix-ill-pit-ill-lick" and is a metahuman with the ability to manipulate targets via verbal commands and an ultrasonic frequency. Additionally, he is descended from a line of people from the "Kltpzyxm" family, who were said to control luck, but were forced to leave the Balkans and change their name.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Supergirl, portrayed by Peter Gadiot in the second season and by Thomas Lennon in the fifth and sixth seasons. This version's name is pronounced "miss-is-pit-lick" and is an old friend of the Hat, who derives his power from his own.

Film

 * Mister Mxyzptlk was considered to appear in Superman III, as written in an outline by Ilya Salkind, but the idea was scrapped. The Mxyzptlk portrayed in the outline varies from his good-humored comic counterpart, as he uses his abilities to do serious harm. Additionally, Dudley Moore was the top choice to play the role.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk makes a cameo appearance in Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans as a prisoner of Trigon.

Video games

 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Superman Returns, voiced by Dwight Schultz.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Shanon Weaver.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced again by Gilbert Gottfried.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by Gilbert Gottfried.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, voiced by Dana Snyder. Prior to Snyder's casting, Gottfried was originally going to reprise the role before his death.

Miscellaneous

 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in Superman & Bugs Bunny.
 * Mister Mxyzptlk is referenced in Blaine L. Reininger's song "A Café au Lait for Mr. Mxyzptlk".
 * Mister Mxyzptlk appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic. Taking advantage of Jim Corrigan being incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, he usurps him as the Spectre, assumes his form, and joins Superman's Regime, claiming that he wants to bring order to the world.  While fighting Trigon, Mxyzptlk's ruse and his personality having been corrupted is revealed. With Mxyzptlk's fight against Trigon tearing reality apart, Doctor Fate sacrifices himself to bring himself and the combatants into the "Void".

Reception
In 2009, Mister Mxyzptlk was ranked as IGN's 76th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Cultural references

 * A character based on Mxyzptlk called Szasz, the Sprite Supreme of the 19th dimension, appears in Alan Moore's Supreme.
 * An analogue of Mxyzptlk named Pxyzsyzygy appears in the novel Super-Folks by Robert Mayer.
 * Brooklyn-based band Mixel Pixel credits Mxyzptlk as the source of their name.
 * The third movement of American composer Michael Daugherty's Metropolis Symphony is a musical portrait of Mister Mxyzptlk.
 * In Family Guy, Mayor Adam West was a contestant on Jeopardy!. During "Final Jeopardy!", he writes the host Alex Trebek's name backwards, "Kebert Xela", as his answer, causing Trebek to disappear to the 5th dimension like Mxyzptlk.
 * In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Spoiler Alert Segmentation", Sheldon Cooper picks up a Mister Mxyzptlk action figure belonging to Leonard Hofstadter while clearing out his belongings.
 * Mister Ogg of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is based on Mister Mxyzptlk.
 * In a 1997 comic The Imp and I, Mickey Mouse confronts the titular Imp from the 11th Dimension. The magical troublemaker can only be banished from Mickey's world by tricking the Imp to spell a charm used by it backwards.
 * A parody of Mxyzptlk called Mr. Skibumpers appears in the SuperMansion special "War on Christmas", with his weakness being that if he removes his hat, he will turn into a wooden doll.

Pronunciation
Due to the phonetic difficulties in pronouncing a name spelled without vowels such as Mxyzptlk, it has been pronounced in various ways by various sources over the past four decades. On the 1967 Filmation CBS Superman animated series, it was pronounced as Mix-yez-PITTLE-ik; sources indicate that was the official DC Comics version of the time, furnished to the show's writers through DC Comics editor/writer E. Nelson Bridwell. During the 1980s, on the Super Friends cartoon, produced by Hanna-Barbera, it was approximated as Mix-ill-plick. Miks-yez-pit-lik is actually a general translation and other variations have included Mix-yez-PIT-lek, Mix-yez-PIT-ul-ick, and Mix-yez-pittle-ik. To further complicate matters, Mxyzptlk says himself in the 1990s animated series of Superman, that his name is pronounced the same as saying the words "mix, yes, spit, lick", even transforming himself into the appropriate illustrations for the words. Clark had pronounced his name as Mix-ill-plick before Mxyzptlk popped out of the comic and proceeded to correct him. In his appearance in the Superman Returns video game, Mxyzptlk proudly refers to himself as "the one and only Mr. Mix-yiz-SPIT-Lik!, straight from the fifth dimension!" Miks-il-piti-lik (with the i's pronounced only lightly) was used on Smallville, all while the original spelling of his name was pronounced mix-pit-tulk. This has created great confusion and even debate as to how his name is actually to be spoken.

In Action Comics Annual #10 (2007), "Superman's Top 10 Most Wanted" describes Mister Mxyzptlk and provides the pronunciation as Mix-yez-pittle-ik, exactly like the 1967 animated series. So, phonetically, the pronunciation backwards would be "Kell-tipp-ZEY-skim". Confusingly, the 1967 animated series used the backwards pronunciation "Kulp-ti-mix-im". It is fair to say that producers were free to interpret the name any way they wanted, just as they routinely changed other elements of comic lore to suit their various series.

title: Mister Mxyzptlk


text:
Sri Lanka blue magpie

The Sri Lanka blue magpie or Ceylon magpie (Urocissa ornata) is a brightly coloured member of the family Corvidae, found exclusively in Sri Lanka. This species is adapted to hunting in the dense canopy, where it is highly active and nimble. Its flight is rather weak, though, and is rarely used to cover great distances. In spite of the Sri Lanka blue magpie's ability to adapt to the presence of humans, it is classified as vulnerable to extinction due to the fragmentation and destruction of its habitat of dense primary forest in the wet zone of southern Sri Lanka.

Description
The Sri Lanka blue magpie measures 42–47 cm in length, and is larger than a mynah, but smaller than a crow, with a sturdy bill. Its plumage is bright blue, with a reddish-brown or chestnut head, neck, and wing. The blue tail is long and graduated, with a white tip. The bill, legs, feet, and featherless eye ring of this species are all vibrant red. Both the male and female of the species share this description. The juvenile of this species has a plumage similar to that of an adult, but overall duller, with a brown eye ring and a greyish hue to its blue feathers, especially on its underside. Moulting season for Sri Lanka blue magpies is from August to November.

Taxonomy
The Sri Lanka blue magpie is a member of the order Passeriformes, in the family Corvidae.

This species belongs to Urocissa, a genus of Southeast Asian magpies, of which there are 5 known species total. They share a recent common ancestor with another genus of Asian magpies, Cissa. Both Urocissa and Cissa are genera of the Oriental region, where the diversity of corvid species originated. They share a distant common ancestor with new world jays and magpies.

Habitat and distribution
This species is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is found in tall, undisturbed forest in the mountains, foothills, and adjoining lowlands of the wet zone. It is found from elevations of below 150 to 2150 m. It is not often seen in disturbed habitat such as gardens or plantations.

Surveys conducted from 2004 to 2006 found individuals of this species in 38 separate forest patches contained within six forest complexes within its range in the wet zone of southern Sri Lanka.

Behaviour
In spite of their avoidance of human-disturbed habitats, the Sri Lanka blue magpie tolerates and is even attracted to the presence of humans. In response to low and moderate levels of recreational disturbance, and small to medium-sized groups of human visitors, numbers of Sri Lanka blue magpies increased, unlike other birds. A group of individuals was often observed waiting near trails, expecting to be fed by groups of human visitors.

Vocalizations
The Sri Lanka blue magpie produces a great variety of vocalizations, including a jingle, a chink-chink, crakrakrakrak, and a whee-whee .

Thirteen different common call types have been identified for the Sri Lanka blue magpie, including mimicry calls. Individuals have been recorded using two raptor calls quite frequently, usually while mobbing a predator (the Accipiter high-pitched call and the mountain hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis kelaarti) call) These raptor calls are mimicked by another species that occupies the same region, the greater racket-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), implying that these imitated predator calls can act as alarm signals for multiple species.

Sri Lanka blue magpies do not just imitate the calls of predators, however. They have been observed mimicking the calls and songs of other birds in their prolonged and elaborate subsong.

Diet
These birds use their strong legs and feet to forage, and have been observed hanging upside down and holding down their prey with ease.

Their diet is mainly carnivorous, featuring insects, frogs, and small lizards, but they have been known to consume fruit, as well, and some observations suggest that they also prey on eggs or young of other bird species. Sri Lanka blue magpies have been observed rubbing hairy caterpillars against mossy branches to remove irritating hairs prior to consuming them.

Reproduction
Sri Lanka blue magpies are monogamous, use co-operative breeding to raise their young, and can be seen in small flocks of up to seven birds, while each bird maintains a territory.

The generation length of Sri Lanka blue magpies is 6.7 years. Breeding season is from January through March, and three to five eggs, which are white covered with brown spots, are laid in a clutch. Cup-shaped nests are built atop small, slender trees and lined with soft materials like lichen.

Both sexes build the nest and feed offspring, with only the female incubating them.

Conservation status
The Sri Lanka blue magpie is listed as vulnerable, due to the fragmentation and ongoing decline of the population. Surveys performed in 2004-2006 estimate the population at 10,181-19,765 individuals, although their breeding strategy of monogamy and co-operative breeding has led to that estimate being reduced to 9,500-19,500 individuals total to reflect their effective population size.

The main threat to the survival of the Sri Lanka blue magpie is habitat loss due to forest being cleared for agricultural land, mines, logging, and human settlement. A moratorium on logging in wet zones in 1990, plus the legal protection of this species in Sri Lanka, have the potential to slow their population decline, but air pollution causing forest die-back and the use of biocides in the hill country continue to threaten the Sri Lanka blue magpie.

One of the factors preventing the Sri Lanka blue magpie from moving into disturbed habitat has been suggested to be the presence of another bird, the Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus), which is a brood parasite.

In culture
In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as කැහිබෙල්ලා in Sinhala. The blue magpie appears on a 10c Sri Lankan postal stamp, which was in wide usage in the 1980s through 1990s.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Sri Lanka blue magpie


text:
Talk:Lists of people by cause of death

The page was previously at Index of lists of famous deaths by cause, I moved it to Lists of people by cause of death, as "lists of" is generally used for "Index of lists of" and "famous" generally omitted. -- User:Docu

Merge proposal
Proposing to merge Lists of sportspeople who died during their careers to here for simplicity and ease of maintanence. Why maintain two lists when it is simpler to maintain a single list. SpacedFarmer (talk) 15:18, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lists of people by cause of death


text:
User:Geordieandy

Bit of a Wikipedia newbie, but hoping to bring my knowledge of economics to Wikipedia (currently on an undergraduate economics course). Pages I have contributed to:
 * New classical economics
 * Real business cycle
 * Economic growth

title: User:Geordieandy


text:
USS Siboney (CVE-112)

USS Siboney (ex-Frosty Bay) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

Design

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Siboney was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Construction and World War II

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. The ship, originally named Frosty Bay, was built by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards at Tacoma, Washington. Her keel was laid down in 1 April 1944, and on 26 April she was renamed Siboney, after the village in Cuba where American forces invaded Cuba during the Spanish–American War. The ship was commissioned on 14 May 1945. Fitting out work lasted for another nine days, and was done in Seattle. On 31 May, the ship departed for San Diego, California, passing through Alameda on the way. She then conducted a shakedown cruise in the San Diego area, which concluded on 3 August.

The ship's crew then began loading aircraft and ammunition, and the pilots of Air Group 36 came aboard. By 8 August, the ship got underway for the western Pacific, where she was to join the Japan campaign. On 15 August, the Japan announced it would surrender, ending the war; Siboney arrived in Pearl Harbor the following day, and so she unloaded her cargo and remained in Hawaiian waters for the rest of the month. In early September, she departed for Okinawa, Japan, passing through the Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, and the Philippines on the way. She arrived in Buckner Bay later that month.

Siboney left Okinawa on 5 October, bound for the main island of Honshu. While on the way, she contributed aircraft to search operations attempting to locate the Martin PBM Mariner that had been carrying Rear Admiral William Sample, which had gone missing on 2 October. Siboney stopped at various ports on Honshu from 8 to 11 October, before rejoining the search effort, which failed to locate the missing plane. Siboney then sailed to Tokyo Bay, from which she operated between 24 October and 16 November. She was then ordered to return to the United States, by way of Manila in the Philippines; Hong Kong, China; Saipan and Guam in the Mariana Islands; and Pearl Harbor. She eventually reached San Diego on 23 January 1946. She made another cruise in the western Pacific from 15 February to 7 May.

Atlantic Fleet operations
On 9 June 1947, Siboney left San Diego, bound for the East Coast of the United States. She passed through the Panama Canal and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, which was her new home port, on 26 June. Over the following four months, she cruised between Norfolk and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in November she was laid up in reserve status. The ship was reactivated in March 1948 to transport US Air Force aircraft to Turkey in May. After crossing the Atlantic, entering the Mediterranean Sea, and unloading the planes in Yesilkoy, Turkey, she returned to Norfolk, made preparations for another cruise to the Mediterranean. In October, she was dry-docked at the Boston Naval Shipyard for an overhaul that lasted for three months. The ship left Boston in January 1949, bound for Guantanamo, where she carried out refresher training. She took part in routine operations with the Atlantic Fleet for the rest of the year, and on 6 December, she was again placed in reserve, this time at Philadelphia.

Following the start of the Korean War in June 1950, Siboney was reactivated on 22 November, as the US Navy needed to transfer active ships to the war zone. Siboney remained in the Atlantic Fleet during this period, and first went to sea on 2 February 1951. Again based out of Norfolk, she sailed south to Guantanamo for extensive training maneuvers that lasted from 27 February to 10 April. She then returned north, and in July, she cruised off Canada. She made another voyage into the Mediterranean from September to 14 November, in company with warships from other North Atlantic Treaty Organization fleets. In January 1952, she conducted tests and carrier qualifications with A-1 Skyraiders and F4U Corsairs. She also carried out a pair of tests with Marine helicopter units during this period to evaluate their "vertical assault" concept, which envisioned using helicopter-borne assaults in conjunction with an amphibious invasion.

Later that year, Siboney was docked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for modernization; she returned to active service with the fleet on 20 January 1952. She took part in training operations in the Caribbean Sea and then formed the core of a anti-submarine hunter-killer group that operated together until August. On 16 September, she embarked on another cruise in the Mediterranean with elements of Sixth Fleet, which lasted until 1 December. Siboney passed the following two years participating in routine fleet training exercises that ranged from the coast of New England to the Caribbean. During this period, she also made training cruises to Spain with midshipmen from the US Naval Academy in the summer months. She underwent an overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 28 September 1954 to 22 January 1955. On 4 October, she embarked supplies as part of a response to a severe hurricane that had struck Tampico, Mexico. She used her helicopters to ferry supplies to the city and surrounding area until 19 October.

Siboney resumed operations with the Atlantic Fleet in January 1956. Normal patrol and training duties followed through most of May, until the 26th, when she departed for another Mediterranean cruise with Sixth Fleet. The voyage lasted until 6 July; after a brief period at Norfolk, she sailed north to Philadelphia on 27 July, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve four days later. By this time, the Navy had begun replacing the Commencement Bay-class ships with much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers, since the former were too small to operate newer and more effective anti-submarine patrol planes. Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive. Siboney was allocated to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained for more than a decade. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1970 before being sold to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation in 1971. She was then broken up for scrap metal.

title: USS Siboney (CVE-112)


text:
USS Rendova

USS Rendova was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

She was originally assigned the name Mosser Bay. she was laid down by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington, 15 June 1944; launched 29 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Anna-Marie H. Kurtz; and commissioned 22 October 1945, Capt. R. W. Ruble in command. She was completed at Willamette Iron and Steel Works.

Design

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Rendova was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Service history

The ship, originally named Mosser Bay, was ordered on 23 January 1943, and on 6 November, before work had begun, she was renamed Rendova after the Battle of Rendova fought earlier that year. She was laid down at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington, on 15 June 1944 and was launched on 28 or 29 December. She was commissioned on 22 October 1945, by which time World War II had already ended. The ship completed her shakedown cruise in January 1946 before being assigned to First Fleet the following month. She took part in training exercises off the West Coast of the United States in March, but as the Navy was drawing down its force levels after the war, Rendova was removed from active service with only a skeleton crew to maintain her. She remained laid up in San Diego, California, for the next year, during which time she served as a headquarters ship for Carrier Division 15.

Rendova was reactivated in early 1947, and she spent the rest of the year participating in training maneuvers held off the West Coast and in the Hawaii area. She was used as an aircraft transport in 1948, departing from San Francisco on 1 April with a cargo of North American T-6 Texan trainers, bound for Turkey. She arrived in Yesilkoy on 28 April and unloaded the aircraft before departing to return home on 4 May. She passed through the Suez Canal and then transited the Indian and Pacific Oceans on the way home, stopping in many foreign ports on the way to make goodwill visits. She reached San Diego on 1 July. Her stay there was brief, as she got underway again on 28 July, this time to China. She stopped in Qingdao from 23 to 27 August and then returned to San Diego by the end of September. She spent the rest of the year training off the California coast.

The ship made another voyage to Chinese waters in early 1949, visiting Qingdao once again. She patrolled between that port and Okinawa, Japan, until mid-April, when she departed to return to California. After arriving, she rejoined First Fleet and took part in training exercises for much of the rest of the year. She sailed to Bremerton, Washington, in October, for an overhaul in preparation to being decommissioned on 27 January 1950. She was then assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Korean war

Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, which initiated the Korean War, Rendova was recommissioned on 3 January 1951. The ship was operational by April, and on 3 July, she departed for East Asia. She arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, on 2 August and then sailed south to Okinawa for combat training. She then sailed back to mainland Japan in September, arriving in Kobe on the 20th. There, she replaced her sister ship USS Sicily as the carrier for Task Group 95.1. On 22 September, she embarked Marine squadron VMF-212, which was equipped with Vought F4U Corsair fighters. The following day, she carried out carrier training for the pilots, and then loaded ammunition and supplies at Sasebo, Japan on the 24th. She departed Japan on 25 September for her operational area in the Yellow Sea.

After arriving on station, she relieved the British aircraft carrier HMS Glory (R62) and began combat operations off the western coast of Korea on 26 September. Her aircraft supported American and South Korean ground forces fighting ashore, flew search and rescue missions, assisted enforcing a blockade of North Korean ports, and performed reconnaissance flights over enemy positions. Over the course of the next two months, her aircraft flew a total of 1,743 sorties, and on 17 November, the pilots of VMF-212 established a one-day record for escort carriers of 64 individual sorties. Throughout this period, she alternated with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney (R17). Rendova completed her combat tour on 6 December, departing to return to the United States soon thereafter. The ship earned two battle stars for her service during the war.

Later career
Rendova arrived in San Diego on 22 December, remaining there into January 1952. She thereafter re-joined First Fleet for training exercises for much of the rest of the year. She left the United States in September to participate in Operation Ivy, a series of two nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. Following the experiments, she returned to California, where she was placed in reserve, but still in commission, in 1953. Later that year, she took part in training exercises off the coast of California. She returned to full commission in 1954 for another cruise in the western Pacific. She served as a hunter-killer anti-submarine carrier during the voyage. By mid-June, she had returned to California, and she spent the next several months taking part in maneuvers off Long Beach, California. In October, she moved to Mare Island Naval Shipyard to be deactivated again. By this time, the Navy had begun replacing the Commencement Bay-class ships with much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers, since the former were too small to operate newer and more effective anti-submarine patrol planes. Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive. Assigned again to the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 2 February 1955, Rendova was allocated to the San Francisco Group and was decommissioned there on 30 June. The ship was reclassified as an aircraft ferry and cargo ship, with the hull number AKV-14 in 1959. Rendova saw no further activity, however, and on 1 April 1971, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. She was eventually sold to ship breakers on 12 December 1972.

title: USS Rendova


text:
USS Puget Sound (CVE-113)

USS Puget Sound was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

Design
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Puget Sound was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Service history

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. The ship was part of this order, which was allocated to the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington. She was originally laid down on 12 May 1944, under the name Hobart Bay, but on 5 June, the seaplane tender Puget Sound was renamed Salisburg Sound and Hobart Bay took the name Puget Sound. The new escort carrier was launched on 20 November, and after completing fitting out work, was commissioned into the fleet on 18 June 1945. The ship then conducted her initial sea trials, after which repairs and modifications were made at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the ship's namesake Navy facility. She got underway on 6 July for San Diego, California for a shakedown cruise. While in San Diego, she took on Marine Air Group (MAG) 6. On 8 September, she left for Pearl Harbor, where she took part in training exercises in preparation for occupation duties in Japan, which had recently surrendered, ending World War II.

On 14 October, Puget Sound arrived in Tokyo Bay. She contributed her aircraft to anti-mine patrols to clear the way for the Tenth United States Army to land at Matsuyama and Nagoya as part of the occupation force. She thereafter departed to participate in a cruise to the Philippines, Hong Kong, and then the Mariana Islands, during which she carried out various tactical training exercises. She embarked surplus aircraft while in Apra Harbor, Guam, before departing for Pearl Harbor on 6 January 1946. She unloaded the planes there and then proceeded on to San Diego, arriving there on 23 January. There, MAG 6 left the ship to clear room for Puget Sound to serve as a repatriation transport as part of Operation Magic Carpet. She made two such voyages between San Diego and Pearl Harbor, and another from Alameda, California, and Okinawa over the course of February to May. She transported some 1,200 returning veterans along with aircraft no longer needed in the western Pacific.

On 24 May, Puget Sound sailed north to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where she was prepared to be deactivated and assigned to the reserve. She was decommissioned on 18 October and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet based in Tacoma. Ten of the Commencement Bay-class ships saw significant service postwar as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carriers, but they were small and had difficulty operating the new Grumman AF Guardian patrol planes, so the rest of the class remained laid up, and they were soon replaced in the ASW role by much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers. On 12 June 1955, she was assigned the new hull number CVHE-113, and later that decade, she was reclassified as a cargo ship and aircraft transport, with the hull number AKV-13. She remained in the Navy's inventory until she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960. She was sold to the Nicholai Joffee Corporation for scrap on 10 January 1962. She was then towed to Hong Kong, where she was broken up later that year.

title: USS Puget Sound (CVE-113)


text:
USS Vella Gulf (CVE-111)

USS Vella Gulf was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, originally named Totem Bay. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

Design
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Vella Gulf was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Construction and World War II

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. The carrier Totem Bay was among these ships, and she was laid down at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards at Tacoma, Washington, on 7 February 1944. On 26 April, she was renamed Vella Gulf, after the Battle of Vella Gulf, which had been fought between American and Japanese destroyer flotillas during the Solomons campaign the previous year. The ship was launched on 19 October 1944, and was commissioned into the fleet on 9 April 1945. The ship began sea trials in Puget Sound, and then departed for San Diego, California. She arrived there on 4 May and took on part of her Marine Corps air group to begin initial training and a shakedown cruise off the southern coast of California. Over the course of this period, she embarked the rest of her air complement.

Vella Gulf was docked for minor repairs and then left California on 17 June, stopping in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, eight days later. She remained there for eleven days of combat training to prepare her crew and pilots for wartime operations. She got underway again on 9 July, bound for the Mariana Islands. She stopped at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on 16 July on the way to refuel, and anchored in Guam on 20 July. Three days later, she sortied to conduct her first air strikes of the conflict, against Japanese positions on nearby Rota and Pagan Islands. The ship's fighters—Vought F4U Corsairs and Grumman F6F Hellcats—and Grumman TBM Avenger bombers carried out a total of twenty-four sorties against Pagan on 24 July. A further twenty-one sorties struck Rota three days later. Japanese aircraft fire proved ineffective in both series of attacks, and all of her aircraft returned without serious damage.

The next day, Vella Gulf transferred her aircraft to the air base at Saipan before returning to Guam on 2 August, anchoring in Apra Harbor for three days of rest and replenishment. On 5 August, she departed for Okinawa to join the Japan campaign, arriving in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on the 9th. That evening, word spread that Japan had entered surrender negotiations, prompting many of the ships and ground troops ashore to launch pyrotechnics in celebration. Vella Gulf then returned to Guam, arriving there on 15 August, the day that Japan announced it would surrender. She soon returned north to participate in the initial occupation of Japan, providing logistical support to other Allied vessels. In late August, she and her sister ship USS Gilbert Islands provided air cover for one of the fleet replenishment groups. Vella Gulf entered Tokyo Bay on 10 September. She was awarded one battle star for her short wartime service.

Postwar and fate
On 21 September, Vella Gulf sailed south to Okinawa, where she embarked some 650 men to bring them back to the United States. She stopped in Pearl Harbor on the way, and then proceeded on to San Francisco, California, arriving on 14 October. Vella Gulf was thereafter used as a training ship in Puget Sound for escort carrier crews for the next five months. In late March 1946, she moved to San Diego, arriving on the 27th. She remained there only briefly, however, before being ordered to return to Tacoma. After arriving on 30 March, she was docked to begin preparing the ship to be mothballed in the reserve fleet. On 7 April, she was moved to Seattle, Washington; on 9 August, she was formally decommissioned and placed in reserve as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet there. The ship was then moved to Tacoma, where she remained for several years. Ten of the Commencement Bay-class ships saw significant service postwar as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carriers, but they were small and had difficulty operating the new Grumman AF Guardian patrol planes, so the rest of the class remained laid up, and they were soon replaced in the ASW role by much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers.

On 12 June 1955, she was reclassified as a helicopter carrier with the hull number CVHE-111, but she remained out of service. She was later given to the Military Sea Transportation Service, eventually being assigned the hull number T-AKV-11. She saw no further active service, however, and she was eventually struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960. Instead of being immediately discarded for scrap, she was reinstated to the register on 1 November, and remained in the Navy's inventory for another decade. On 1 December 1970, she was struck a second time, and this time was sold to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., of Portland, Oregon on 22 October 1971. She was thereafter broken up for scrap.

title: USS Vella Gulf (CVE-111)


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Combinations and permutations

Combinations and permutations in the mathematical sense are described in several articles.

Described together, in-depth:
 * Twelvefold way

Explained separately in a more accessible way:
 * Combination
 * Permutation

For meanings outside of mathematics, please see both words’ disambiguation pages:
 * Combination (disambiguation)
 * Permutation (disambiguation)

title: Combinations and permutations


text:
Brabant killers

The Brabant killers, also named the Nijvel Gang in Dutch-speaking media (De Bende van Nijvel), and the mad killers of Brabant in French-speaking media (Les Tueurs fous du Brabant), are a group of unidentified criminals responsible for a series of violent attacks that mainly occurred in the Belgian province of Brabant between 1982 and 1985.

A total of 28 people died and 22 were injured. The actions of the gang, believed to consist of a core of three men, made it Belgium's most notorious unsolved crime spree. The active participants were known as The Giant (Le Géant; a tall man who may have been the leader); the Killer (Le Tueur; the main shooter) and the Old Man (Le Vieux; a middle aged man who drove). The identities and whereabouts of the "Brabant killers" are unknown.

Although significant resources are still dedicated to the case, the most recent arrests are of the now-retired original senior detectives themselves, for alleged evidence tampering. The gang abruptly ceased their activities in 1985. The ensuing chaotic investigation failed to catch them or even make serious inroads into solving the case. This led to a parliamentary inquiry and public discussion, both of which revolved around the possibility that the gang members were Belgian or foreign state security elements either carrying out covert missions (disguising targeted assassinations) or conducting political terrorism.

The investigation into the case was officially closed on 28 June 2024.

1981

 * December 31: Burglary at a Gendarmerie barracks in Etterbeek. Theft of automatic weapons, ammunition, and a car. Some of these items were later allegedly recovered in a garage belonging to Madani Bouhouche.

1982

 * March 13: Theft of a 10-gauge fowling shotgun from a store in Dinant, Belgium. Two men were seen running away.
 * May 10: Theft at gunpoint of an Austin Allegro. One of two such instances in which the Killer was seen without a mask. He spoke French, apparently as a first language and with the inflection of an educated man. The car was dumped almost immediately. Theft of a Volkswagen Santana from a car showroom.
 * August 14: Armed robbery of a grocery store in Maubeuge, France. Food and wine were stolen. Two French police officers were shot and seriously wounded when they arrived on the scene while the goods were being loaded into a vehicle.
 * September 30: Armed robbery of a weapons dealer in Wavre, Belgium. Fifteen firearms were stolen, including sub-machine guns. A police officer was killed at the scene; two others were shot and seriously wounded later.
 * December 23: Armed robbery of a restaurant in Beersel, Belgium. Coffee and wine were stolen. The caretaker was tortured and killed.

1983

 * January 9: Robbery and murder of a taxi driver in Brussels, Belgium. The car was later found in Mons, Belgium.
 * January 28: Theft of a Peugeot at gunpoint.
 * February 11: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Rixensart, Belgium. Less than $18,000 was stolen. Several people were wounded. No one was killed.
 * February 22: An Audi 100 with bullet holes from the February 11 incident was stolen from a commercial garage where it was being repaired, but quickly abandoned.
 * February 25: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Uccle, Belgium. Less than $16,000 was stolen. No one was killed.
 * March 3: Armed robbery and murder at a supermarket in Halle, Belgium. Less than $18,000 was stolen. One supermarket-staff member was killed.
 * May 7: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Houdeng-Gougnies, Belgium. Less than $22,000 was stolen. No one was killed.
 * September 10: Armed robbery and murder at a textile factory in Temse, Belgium. Seven bullet-proof jackets were stolen. A worker was killed and his wife severely wounded. The firm had recently begun manufacturing the jackets (for the police) which was not widely known.
 * September 17: A couple were murdered in the early hours after stopping their Mercedes at a 24-hour self-service gas station beside a store that the gang was burgling. Despite the alarm going off, the gang took the time to load twenty kilos of tea and coffee and 10 litres of cooking oil. Two gendarmes responding to the alarm were shot as they arrived on the scene; one was killed, the other seriously wounded. The gang escaped in a Saab turbo stolen on February 22 and the murdered couple's Mercedes. After shooting up a police car that began following them, the gang used a little-known minor road to get away in the Saab; after unsuccessful attempts to destroy the car by shooting the petrol tank, they left it near to the garage from which the Audi had been stolen (also linked to the Volkswagen hijacked in 1982, and close to the Delhaize supermarket that would be attacked on September 27, 1985). Investigators believe that the repeated propinquity may indicate that some members lived in the area. Potentially crucial evidence collected from the Saab 'disappeared'.
 * October 2: Armed robbery of a restaurant in Ohain, Belgium. Nothing was stolen. The owner was killed.
 * October 7: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Beersel, Belgium. Less than $35,000 was stolen. One customer was killed.
 * December 1: Armed robbery of a shop in Anderlues and murder of the couple who owned it. About 3,000 Euros of jewelry was stolen. The owner's wife was instantly killed without warning as the gang entered. The owner attempted to defend himself with a pistol, but was shot dead. The gang destroyed a surveillance camera recording before leaving. The stolen Volkswagen used had fake license plates copied from a legitimately owned Volkswagen of the same model that was linked to the garage where the Audi was taken, and where the new Volkswagen taken at gunpoint in 1982 was bought.

1985

 * September 27: Armed robbery at the Delhaize supermarket on rue de la Graignette in Braine-l'Alleud. Less than $6,000 was stolen. Three people were killed and two wounded. Between 15 and 25 minutes later, there was an armed robbery of the Delhaize supermarket on Brusselsesteenweg in Overijse. Less than $25,000  was stolen. Five people were killed and one wounded.

As a result of these robberies, security was increased at many stores in the region — including armed guards.

 * November 9, around 7:30 p.m.: Armed robbery at the Delhaize supermarket on the Parklaan in Aalst. This market was outside the area the gang usually operated in. They arrived while an armed patrol that checked the supermarket was still present. A family of four encountered the perpetrators in the parking lot after they left the shop and the mother, father, and daughter were killed apparently without motive. The surviving boy from the family ran back into the shop where he was singled out and shot at point blank range; he was very badly wounded in the hip. Less than $25,000 was taken, and eight people were killed with several others seriously injured. Gang members (wearing bizarre face paint and disguises) roared at and taunted customers. They also were reportedly laughing and smiling during the gratuitous shootings, which were done by the "Killer". The robbers did not leave the scene right away after returning to their parked getaway vehicle. The patrol vehicle from Belgium's Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie backed some distance away when shooting started; the municipal police arrived, although many of their cars had refused to start, but mainly remained at an exit of the parking lot that was well away from the gang. The getaway began with the "Giant" walking alongside the getaway car. A policeman fired his revolver at the gang's VW, which went through an unblocked exit and sped away. Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie vehicles stayed put, but a police van pursued the gang for a few kilometers.

In November 1986, the discovery in a canal of various items and weapons taken or used in the gang's crimes provided important evidence. A long running dispute erupted over the find, amid assertions that the location was checked in 1985; therefore the weapons could not have been there from before that time and a second search must have been done with guilty knowledge. In 2019, the now-retired officers responsible for ordering the 1986 search were officially questioned on suspicion of manipulating the investigation, but they protested that original search of the canal was not an underwater inspection by frogmen, as done in 1986. A Volkswagen Golf car — similar to that used in the getaway — had been found burned out in 1985 in woods relatively close by to the canal, however it was said the condition of the items meant they could not have been immersed since that time.

Method of operation
The items taken and paraphernalia they disposed of seemed to indicate that the gang were shooting enthusiasts involved in drug dealing and burglaries, combining their criminal activity with daytime jobs such as food preparation or scrap metal dealing. Under this interpretation, the crimes were largely for material reward and escalated out of bravado. On the other hand, odd elements were also evident:
 * Robbery proceeds were modest relative to the extreme risks. Early raids were often amateurish – for example, the Giant not wearing gloves, and the Killer and the Old Man allowing themselves to be seen without masks while taking a car at gunpoint.
 * The pause in the raids and the killings followed by the escalated resumption in 1985, when a nine-year-old girl and other bystanders were shot dead for no reason in the parking lot before the gang had entered the supermarkets.
 * Firearms were a particular interest; the 12-gauge pump shotguns used were loaded with a rare buckshot similar to that used by Group Diane (a former special forces unit of the Belgian Gendarmerie). Some policemen thought the gang used tactics in gunfights very similar to those taught on police courses.
 * The cars used, often Volkswagens, were stripped of distinctive trim and had vehicle modifications including repainting, indicating a mechanic's facilities and expertise, but also a desire to retain VW parts.
 * Getaway routes were well planned and navigated at top speed, but the gang were often still on the scene when armed police arrived.

The gang is believed to have had at least one helper on its last raid. In 1986, weapons that the gang had were found along with bullet proof jackets and other items in a canal about 30 km outside Brussels. The Winchester pump shotguns used in the massacres were never found.

Official complicity
Certain events surrounding the robbery of the Delhaize supermarket in Aalst on 9 November 1985 served to further strengthen media-fuelled rumours of a connection between the gang and elements of the Belgian military and the Belgian Gendarmerie in particular. For example, the supermarket was hit despite patrols passing it every twenty minutes and gendarmes close to the scene did not engage or pursue the robbers. Although no such connection has been officially proven, the lack of satisfactory performance in the Brabant killers case was among the reasons for the subsequent abolishing of the Belgian Gendarmerie.

A connection to the clandestine stay-behind network S.D.R.A VIII (Operation Gladio) has also been suggested. However, an official parliamentary inquiry found no substantive evidence that the network was involved in any terrorist acts or that criminal groups had infiltrated it.

A supposed connection between the Brabant killers, Gladio, and the by-then defunct Belgian far-right organisation Westland New Post led by Paul Latinus is mentioned in the 1992 BBC Timewatch documentary series Operation Gladio, directed by Allan Francovich, in which it is suggested that Latinus said that his organisation was sanctioned by the Belgian government.

Westland New Post
In March 1981, Paul Latinus and members of Front de la Jeunesse founded Westland New Post, a paramilitary far-right group that was investigated after a 1980 incident in which a member shot at a group of North Africans, causing one death and a national outcry. The killer was with a firearms enthusiast who was a friend of police officer Madani Bouhouche, and decades later let him stay in a French property after Bouhouche was released on licence from a life sentence for two murders. The milieu of WNP included a former member (now deceased) of the French terrorist group OAS, and several others from the Front de la Jeunesse who conducted paramilitary firearms training in some of the forested areas that were later used by the Brabant killers. The WNP was a secret organisation. Speculation about a connection to the Brabant killers increased after former WNP members — including the only Gendarmerie — recalled being ordered to covertly surveil and compile a report on security arrangements at Belgian supermarkets of a large chain that was targeted by the killers. WNP had a genuine intelligence operative advising on covert techniques; NATO behind-the-lines units are known to have used the planning of robberies as a training exercise. Michel Libert, the former second-in-command of Westland New Post, admitted passing on Latinus's orders to gather detailed information on supermarkets with a view to robberies, but denied knowing of any purpose to the assignments beyond developing clandestine skills.

Marcel Barbier, an enforcer-type WNP member who lived with Libert, was arrested in August 1983 after a shooting, and became suspected in a double murder at a synagogue a year earlier. Latinus went to police and informed them that Barbier and another WNP member had committed the synagogue murders, and that he (Latinus) had helped Barbier get rid of the murder weapon. This caused dissension within the WNP as Latinus was seen as having betrayed a member of the organisation. Also in 1983 several members of WNP who were in Front de la Jeunesse (Belgium) were convicted of organising it as an illegal militia, and given terms in prison. Leading WNP members were also arrested for unauthorised possession of low-level classified NATO documents. Latinus committed suicide in April 1984, and his followers formed rival cliques. Some theories have connected these facts to the inactivity of the Brabant Killers gang between December 1983 and September 1985, and them having a seemingly intensified grudge against society during the supermarket massacres of 27 September and 9 November 1985.

Barbier was convicted for the synagogue murders. His co-accused, WNP member Eric Lammers, was acquitted of murder but received 5 years for other offences, and in 1991 was convicted of a separate double murder. Lammers fled the country after being accused of a sexual exposure against a child and accessing images of child sex abuse. After he was brought back from Serbia he appeared in a 2014 Belgian TV program in which he accused WNP leaders of being behind the Brabant killings, based on WNP reconnaissance on the supermarket chain whose premises were subjected to the murderous attacks of 1985. Libert was arrested as a suspect soon after the program was broadcast, but released without charge after 48 hours. In 2018 a former subordinate of Libert publicly accused him of being the 'Giant', although without any official reaction. Libert went on television to yet again deny the allegations, and said the accuser had mental health difficulties.

Other speculation
Various conspiracy theories link the killings to political scandals, illegal gun-running mafias, and legitimate businesses, suggesting they were done to disguise targeted assassinations. It has been suggested that one of the supposed victims of these assassinations was the banker Léon Finné, who was shot by the gang during the robbery of the Delhaize supermarket in Overijse on 27 September 1985.

Possible suspects
Notorious professional criminals, including Patrick Haemers and Madani Bouhouche (both now dead) have been canvassed as likely suspects. Haemers's height made him an apparent fit for the Brabant gang's 'Giant', but his known crimes lacked the gratuitous violence and small-time takings that were the Brabant killers' hallmark.

Bouhouche was a former gendarme and gun shop owner suspected and known to have been involved in a number of violent crimes. He was arrested in 1986 for the murder of Juan Mendez, an acquaintance of his who had expressed his fear that some weapons stolen from him by Bouhouche had been used in the Brabant killers crimes. Although he was released in 1988, police had found that Bouhouche had anonymously rented garages to store stolen cars, weapons he had stolen in a 1981 burglary of a Gendarmerie guard station in Etterbeek, and false duplicate car plates, some of which could have a connection to the Brabant killers. Also, items thought to have been abandoned by the Brabant killers turned out to include several TV remote controls adapted for triggering explosions, not unlike Bouhouche had intended to use in a complex extortion scheme involving IED attacks against a supermarket chain years before the Brabant killers started targeting supermarkets. This and all other evidence seemingly connecting him to the Brabant killers was considered inconclusive, but did little to allay the suspicion that he may have had inside information about the Brabant killers. He eventually died in 2005 while employed by a rental accommodation business owned by an old shooting and Westland New Post acquaintance.

Investigation
In 1983, on the basis of a forensic examination of a weapon, and a witness who said he had seen the Saab hidden, authorities charged the gun owner (a former municipal policeman) and several other men ("Borains") with the Brabant killings. Police said they obtained incriminating statements containing guilty knowledge. The Brabant killers' jewelry shop double murder occurred while the "Borains" accused were in detention. After it was found that a German ballistic experts' report discrediting the main hard evidence against the accused had been suppressed by the prosecutor, charges against the "Borains" were dismissed, and the freed men furiously alleged they had been coerced in abusive 36 hour interrogations, and supplied with details for false confessions. The original "Borains" suspect was unsuccessfully approached for information in 2015.

An initially promising lead for the enquiry concerned a member of a family of Romany origin that was well known in the underworld, who led a group of armed robbers. He was charged with being one of the Brabant Killers and at one point made (later retracted) admission to having participated without his gang in the massacres, but provided no details, and the line of investigation proved fruitless.

The law enforcement agencies hunting the killers made many mistakes during the early years of the investigation, often as a result of rivalries among the various authorities. Among the worst oversights were failure to preserve cars the gang modified and dumped, and loss of items with fingerprints. The original investigating magistrate was criticized for lack of professionalism by mishandling evidence and not considering alternatives to his hypotheses. Publicity about the case and the offer of a substantial reward resulted in a vast number of tips from ordinary Belgians with personal scores to settle, thereby diverting investigative resources from viable suspects.

Current lines of inquiry
Most suspects date back to the beginning of the investigation, and have been repeatedly questioned over the years. The latest was Christiaan Bonkoffsky, ex-Gendarmerie unit Group Diane, who before his alcohol-related 2015 death made a confession to being the so-called Giant. A riot gun and ammunition basket labelled "Gendarmerie-Politie", were apparently dumped by the Brabant killers (possibly after having been stolen by them). Bonkoffsky had already been scrutinised as a potential suspect in 2000. Investigators utilising forensic DNA and fingerprints have definitely ruled him out as the Giant.

In June 2020 Belgian detectives appealed for information on the identity of man in a photograph sent to police in 1986. They reissued a photo of a man holding a SPAS-12 in a forest. The photo was reissued on the orders of a judge. They also appealed for information on the identity of a man with a 3.5 cm wine stain birthmark on the nape of his neck who took part in one of the gang's raids on a Delhaize supermarket in Beersel on the southern outskirts of Brussels in October 1983.

A special extension to the statute of limitations on the case runs out in 2025, by which time the core members of the gang would be in their mid seventies at least, if still alive.

On 28 June 2024 the investigation into the case was officially closed.

In the media

 * In 2018 Stijn Coninx directed the Belgian film Don't Shoot (Niet Schieten), screenplay by Stijn Coninx and Rik D'Hiet. It is based on the last, November 9, 1985, bloody raid by the Brabant Killers on the Delhaize Supermarket in Aalst. Eight innocent people were murdered, among whom were Gilbert and Thérèse Van de Steen and their daughter Rebecca. Their nine-year-old son David although critically injured in the leg, survived the shooting and was raised by his grandparents. It follows the 25 year long battle of David's grandfather, Albert (played by Jan Decleir), to bring the killers to justice.
 * In 2023, Belgian television channels Eén and La Une aired 1985, a television series created by Wouter Bouvijn and Willem Wallyn focusing on the Brabant killers. A bilingual co-production between public broadcasters VRT and RTBF of Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia respectively, the series offers a coming-of-age crime drama perspective, following three youths — Marc, Vicky and her brother Franky — as they navigate the tumultuous early 1980s in Brussels, becoming entangled in the intrigue surrounding the gang, with diverging allegiances and the historical backdrop adding complexity. The series features notable Belgian music from the late 1970s to early 1980s, along with music from foreign artists such as The Psychedelic Furs, Gruppo Sportivo and The Clash.
 * In early 2024, philosopher Ernesto de Montisalbi discusses the Brabant Killers in his novel Grievous Reminiscence, presenting them as a moral counterbalance to other criminal figures from the 1960s to the 1990s. He highlights striking similarities in facial features and modus operandi between members of this notorious gang and figures such as Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Riina, Matteo Messina Denaro, Bernardo Provenzano, Vincenzo Puccio and Pino Greco. This comparative analysis constructs a narrative that critically examines the ethical implications of their potential motivations and simultaneously scrutinizes the competence of the investigators in resolving their respective cases. It also interrogates the origins of malevolence, awareness of transgression, and the capacity for clemency towards perpetrators of criminal acts.

title: Brabant killers