What's So Terrific About Mr Terrific?

Mr Terrific, Michael Holt, is not the first hero in the DC Comics universe to bear that name. The original Mr Terrific had a photographic memory, was an Olympic athlete, and a martial arts master. That Mr Terrific became a hero because he seemed to have conquered everything else. Michael Holt, the latest Mr Terrific was also an Olympic athlete and is the third smartest man alive. He chose to take on the name of this particular hero after hearing his story while he was dealing with a personal tragedy.

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Michael Holt really is a genius in every since of the word but his life was not easy. He had a mentally challenged older brother who died at the age of 15. It devastated him but did not dull his quest for learning. He obtained multiple PH.D's, became a multi-millionaire, and won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon, all before he became a superhero. Tragedy struck him again as his wife and unborn child died an accidental death. While contemplating suicide he was told about the the original Mr. Terrific and decided to become a hero himself.

Mr Terrific is a black belt in at least 6 martial arts disciplines but his super abilities are derived from his technology. His T-mask, a black letter "T" that covers most of his face, is molecularly bonded to him. Its technology enables him to remain unseen to all forms of electronic detection. The mask has been known to project speaking holograms of himself and even pick up thought-waves. It also protects his face from chemicals and relays his commands to his T-Spheres. The T-Spheres are flying metallic balls that can among other things, be his eyes and ears, interface with other technology, self destruct, fly him around and even hit people like large flying bullets.

Make no mistake, technology, and Olympic ability aside, Mr Terrific's real power is his mind. He specializes in multiple fields of ... well pretty much everything from medicine to political science to physics. He is also multilingual and whatever he doesn't know, he picks up quickly.

One of the biggest revelations about Mr Terrific is that he is an atheist. Comic books don't always place heavy emphasis on religion but Mr Terrific's beliefs have been an issue that has come up more than once. Maybe it was due to the personal tragedies he lived through. Despite having personally witnessed events and entities whose essence speak to there being a heaven and hell, he remains resolute.

This character's appearance was in June of 1997 which makes him relatively new but he has had enough experiences to have an active, if not lackluster, history. He's done a lot in terms of leadership and working behind the scenes. He's been chairman of the JSA (Justice Society of America) and even maintained high ranking positions withing the government covert organization known as Checkmate.

Mr Terrific has made it to television in the Justice League Unlimited animated series but again, his role was minor though it did grow somewhat as he became team coordinator and the one who handed out assignments. He also has an action figure. Mr Terrific is very much a thinker and while he willingly answers any call to action, he hasn't really done anything overly exciting. Unless someone comes up with a new way to write this guy, he's not likely to ever get his own book but he's pretty good in a supporting role. I hope they don't kill him off before they find a way to show how terrific this character really is.

Here's a fan tribute to Mr Terrific that's fairly extensive and definitely worth a look.