GOC Comic Corner: THE TERIFFICS Explained!
Hello everyone, my name is Gabriel Gonzalez and I run the comic side of Geeks Of Color. I’ve read countless comics, amassed a collection of over 10,000 books and consider myself a human encyclopedia for all things Marvel, DC, Image and more!
Enough about me, let’s get to the topic at hand.
During SDCC, DC showcased a foursome of characters (Mister Terrific, Plastic Man, Metamorpho and Phantom Girl) that appeared to be analogues of Marvel’s Fantastic Four, some in abilities and others in general personality. Well, as the convention drew to a close, we were treated to a small preview of what the Jeff Lemire (Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE), Doc Shaner (Convergence: Shazam!) and Ivan Reis (Cyborg) creative team-led book would be called:
THE TERRIFICS!
A team of superheroes, who are planned to be introduced in DC’s Dark Matter imprint, who will explore the weird, zany science fiction adventures that have seemingly disappeared due to Marvel dropping the Fantastic Four from their company altogether.
First up, we have:
MICHAEL HOLT A.K.A. MISTER TERRIFIC
A character first introduced in the pages of Spectre #54, Michael is consider to be the third smartest individual in the DC Universe, even Bruce Wayne acknowledges that Holt would make a better Batman than he does. But, in Michael’s earlier years, he becomes desperately suicidal when his pregnant wife dies in a car accident. Due to the Spectre, who tells him of a golden-age hero known as Terry Sloane (the previous Mister Terrific), he dons a “Fair Play” jacket and T-shaped mask as he joins the JSA and assists them in their many adventures as their lead tech expert who uses T-spheres as his main source of offensive and defensive weaponry.
Genius leader and one of the smartest people in his respective universe? Reed Richards indeed.
Recommended Reading(s):
Geoff John’s JSA (both volumes)
*STAY AWAY from Mister Terrific’s New 52 series*
Next up?
PATRICK “EEL” O’BRIAN A.K.A PLASTIC MAN
With the abilities of Mister Fantastic and the personality of Human Torch, this one will be a little on the nose… But not as much as the last two! Patrick was a former crook who, after a heist gone wrong, was left by his former employers in a chemical factory, the exposure to the chemicals began to give him the powers of malleability, density control, shape-shifting and invulnerable (even in the event of a nuclear attack) and uses his powers for the good of the world (sometimes), womanizing (most of the time) and to steal stuff (all the time)
Recommended Readings:
Plastic Man Archive Edition
Plastic Man: On The Lam
Plastic Man (Vol. 2)
Morrison’s JLA (Rock of Ages storyline)
Now, if DC needed a hero who was both a brute and had canonical issues with his appearance who would they pick? Oh, right!
REX MASON A.K.A METAMORPHO
Rex Mason, a former adventurer, was hired by billionaire Simon Stagg (His daughter was Rex’s romantic interest throughout his earlier stories) to retrieve a mystical artifact known as “The Orb of Ra” from the land of Egypt and is teamed with another associate of Simon’s “Java”. Well, things don’t go well for Mason as once the artifact was found, Java was revealed to be a hired gun of Stagg’s and left Rex for dead, however an ancient meteorite which created the Orb of Ra granted Rex both a disfigured appearance and the ability to transmute his body into any element on the periodic table. Throughout his stories, Rex has had to deal with his girlfriend, Sapphire Stagg, leaving him due to his appearance and becoming increasingly worried that his monster-like appearance would scare off the citizens he wanted to save.
Very Thing-like, eh?
Recommended Reading:
Justice League Europe
Batman and The Outsiders
Outsiders (Vol. 4)
Lastly, DC needs a female character that has the ability to either turn invisible or intangible, well they found her.
TINYA WAZZO A.K.A PHANTOM GIRL
Not much can really be said about Phantom Girl, she’s a member of the Legion of Superheroes (a group who operates in the 30th century) and has the ability to make herself intangible and phase through solid objects and has multiple interactions with Supergirl and a romantic interlude with the Legionaire know as Ultra Boy.
She’s one of the cooler characters in the LOS, but not much of her history has been fleshed out.
Recommended Reading(s):
Legion of Superheroes (Vol. 1 & 2)
Well, this finishes our TERRIFICS character round-up and explanation! What do you guys think of this team? Are you excited for their classic Fantastic Four-esque adventures? Let us know in the comments below!
