Until recently, I was completely indifferent about Mr. Terrific (the Michael Holt version). I only knew him from his dumb costume, a few mostly insignificant cameos in comics and a handful of speaking parts in Justice League Unlimited. I never disliked him as a character, but I never found him particularly interesting either, until I actually took the time to look him up.
He’s listed as the third smartest person in the world (not sure of the order, but I assume Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Vandall Savage and Raj Au Ghul are among the smartest based on their feats), an Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, a master of 6 different disciplines of martial arts, CEO of a multi-billion dollar tech company and is an accomplished scientist, inventor and engineer. If you just looked at his appearances, you wouldn’t know he was half of these things. In fact, if you took a look at all of those skills and abilities, you might think it was referring to Batman or Lex Luthor (I know Batman and Lex have a lot more listed skills, but please bare with me). My point is, I think part of the reason Mr. Terrific fades into the background in his JL and JSA is because he’s too similar to the other human superheroes (Batman, Green Arrow etc). I think he would be a much more distinguishable and interesting character if he was a true anti-hero. He has the potential to be the human/genius-tactician/CEO that falls right in between Batman and characters like Lex Luthor and Prometheus. Anti-heroes aren’t really pushed in DC Comics (Deathstroke and Lobo not withstanding) and I think a character who could be loved, hated and respected by both Lex Luthor and Batman could provide some very interesting storylines.
As constructed, Mr. Terrific’s (Michael Holt) backstory isn’t so significant or memorable that it can’t be changed to justify him being a man of his level abilities that will kill and act on selfish interests, but not be hell-bent on world domination or any of the other super villain tropes. I also just think that the “Fair Play” mantra is very outdated. I’m not a fan of Mr. Terrific, but I am a fan of great comic book storylines. I think making Mr. Terrific a legitimate anti-hero in the DC Universe will add a new element to the universe and create some innovative and interesting stories.
Your Thoughts?
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