One of the shows I’ve enjoyed watching with my
Batman-obsessed son is Justice League
Unlimited, the DC animated series in which the league opens its ranks to
seemingly every hero in the universe. The show introduced me to a number of
characters I’d never heard of, being a fairly staunch Marvel reader. Chief
among those new characters was Mr. Terrific, who stood out to me both because
of his sweet black, white and red leather jacket and the fact that he was doing
Martian Manhunter’s job. This being Black History Month, Matt and I wanted to
make an effort to spotlight African-American characters and creators, so I
thought I’d focus on someone I wanted to know more about personally.
Michael Holt, the second Mr. Terrific, was created by John
Ostrander and Tom Mandrake and first appeared in 1997’s Spectre Vol. 3, #54.
1. He’s the perfect man, literally: Michael Holt describes
himself as the third smartest person in the world (after Bruce Wayne and Lex
Luthor) and says he has a “natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes.” He is
a hero in the Batman mold, in that he has no powers and has to rely on his
mental prowess – he was a child genius and has 14 Ph.D.’s – and natural
athleticism – he’s an Olympic decathlete – to foil fiendish fools. Terrific uses
tech called T-spheres that can help him fly, operate as cameras, shoot lasers
and do a bunch of other cool stuff. His T-shaped mask makes him invisible to
technology, except – for some reason – Red Tornado. Holt once owned a tech
company but sold it to Wayne.
2. He’s one of the DCU’s premier atheists: Holt’s wife and
unborn child were killed in a car accident that occurred after he and his wife
had gotten into an argument about the value of religion – she believed in God,
he didn’t. Their deaths drove him to thoughts of suicide. Ironically, it was
the spirit of God’s vengeance – the Spectre – that convinced him to become a
superhero. In the "Thy Kingdom Come"
story in JSA, it is revealed that the Michael Holt of pre-Crisis Earth-2 is a
priest.
3. He’s the second Mr. Terrific: The Spectre inspired Holt to
take up the Terrific mantle from the Golden Age Mr. Terrific, Terry Sloane, who
first appeared in 1942’s Sensation Comics #1 and was created by Charles
Reizenstein and Everett E. Hibbard. Like Holt, Sloane was an Olympic-level
athlete and black belt, a business leader, and a genius from a young age with a
photographic memory. The “Fair Play” on Holt’s jacket is inspired by Sloane’s
costume, though that’s about the only similarity between the two men’s
wardrobes. In fact, Sloane’s duds more closely resemble that of Thor villain
the Wrecker. Holt has twice traveled back in time to fight alongside Sloane.
4. He chaired the JSA: Like his predecessor, Holt came up
through the Justice Society of America. He ends up becoming its chairman after
a power struggle between Hawkman and Sand. He remained chairman until the team
broke up after Infinite Crisis. He also served as the White King of the
Hellfire Club, er, the U.N. intelligence agency Checkmate.
5. He can fill in for Martian Manhunter in a pinch: In the
final season of Justice League Unlimited,
Mr. Terrific replaced J’onn J’onzz as the team’s coordinator, the one
responsible for choosing which heroes face which crisis. And he did it without
getting cookie crumbs all over
the Watchtower’s computer consoles.
Read this: Mr. Terrific #1-8, one of the first New 52 series
to be canceled, by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson.
Watch that: Justice
League Unlimited, particularly the last season.
Dan Grote’s new novel,
Magic
Pier, is available however you get your books online. He has been writing
for The Matt Signal since 2014. He and Matt have been friends since the days
when making it to issue 25 guaranteed you a foil cover.
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