Prankster (comics)

Prankster
The Prankster on the cover of Superman #660. Art by James Fry.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #51 (August 1942)
Created by	Jerry Siegel (writer) John Sikela (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Oswald Hubert Loomis
Team affiliations	Intergang Injustice League Underground Society
Notable aliases	Doctor Loomis The Pranksta The Exorsist Prisoner K1287931
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Holographic projection Illusion casting Force field generation Expert in weaponry Utilizes high-tech equipment, weapons, and armors

The Prankster (Oswald Hubert Loomis) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics universe and primarily a foe of Superman. The Prankster's particular gimmick is the use of various practical jokes and gags in committing his crimes.

The Prankster first appeared in Action Comics #51 (August 1942) and was created by Jerry Siegel and John Sikela.

The original Prankster is Oswald Loomis, a criminal and conman who uses elaborate practical jokes to commit crimes. In his debut in Action Comics #51, the Prankster and his assistants break into a series of banks and force the employees to accept money. They even throw money to people in the streets. After he becomes famous for this joke, the Prankster enters into yet another bank - and this time takes all the money, also taking Lois Lane hostage. Superman, who had suspected the Prankster was up to no good, follows him to his lair. The Prankster seals his henchmen and Lois behind a sheet of glass and releases deadly gas, but Superman manages to rescue them and retrieve the money, but the Prankster is able to escape.

The Prankster returns to plague the Man of Steel throughout the Gold and Silver Age. One of his more novel schemes was seen in Superman #22 (May/June 1943). The Prankster, with the backing of several criminal leaders, files a copyright to own the English language. Once he gains legal ownership of the alphabet, the Prankster begins requiring payment of anyone using the written word. Superman is at first unable to do anything, as the Prankster is not breaking the law. Eventually, Superman discovers that the Prankster had hired an impostor to replace the registrar at the copyright office, and he turns the Prankster over to the authorities.

The Prankster's final Silver Age appearance is in the Alan Moore scripted story, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (Superman #423). The Prankster, along with the Toyman, are unwittingly manipulated by Mister Mxyzptlk to discover Superman's secret identity. They succeed after kidnapping Pete Ross and torturing the information out of him, then killing him. After managing to unmask Clark Kent in front of Lana Lang and others by machine-gunning him and revealing his costume beneath his clothes, the Prankster and Toyman are captured by Superman.