Mr Terrific: Year One #1 review

Darkseid is on the Justice League Watchtower. He causes chaos. He dies. But the dark god of Apokolips leaves behind trace energy. Michael Holt, Mr Terrific, is disturbed.

His thoughts turn to the past

It’s two years after the death of his wife and the ‘third-smartest man in the world’ looks to be lacking in emotional intelligence. Best pal Dre reckons Michael needs a cause, a problem to solve, a reason to get out of bed.

But when Athena Prescott bought Holt Industries, the firm built by Michael and wife Paula, the tech genius signed something saying he wouldn’t publicly speak against her. Nevertheless, Dre implores his pal to do the right thing. Michael refuses.

Well, he needs to reserve his time for wallowing. The bulk of this issue takes place a couple of years after Paula and their child are killed in unrevealed circumstances. Michael is tinkering around with an app that should help Dre’s personal training business, but that’s the extent of his interest in the world. How the heck is he going to become the hero known as Mr Terrific?

Originally, in a typically excellent issue of John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake’s Spectre series, Michael was prompted into the mystery man game by the ghost of Jim Corrigan. I’m guessing the point of this six-part mini-series is to give him a little more agency in his own origin.

I may be wrong, but on the basis of this more than decent debut, I’ll be around to find out. Writer Al Letson frames the flashback smartly in current DC Universe events, hinting at Darkseid doings in his origin, maybe even the death of his family. Past Michael is in a sorry state, but he’s not a deadbeat, he’s a good man in a bad place; he’s not pushing Dre away, he’s trying to help him with his business. And it’s not unlikely he’d rethink his refusal to act against Athena.

On the basis of her brief appearance here, Athena reminds me of Wonder Woman enemy Veronica Cale – bad blonde business boffin – so it’ll be interesting to see what she brings to the DCU that’s unique. Dre is all-round good guy, bar at least one incident of making Michael eat turkey bacon. I tried that the other week, 28 calories per rafter, and unlimited despair. Then again, if the future Mr Terrific won’t do his own shopping…

There’s not a lot of action in this opening chapter, so it’s a good job Letson is adept at sketching in character via excellent natural dialogue. I especially like this exchange.

Thank you Mr Letson! I’ve always disliked Mr Terrific reminding people about how smart he is, it’s not a great look, so initial reluctance to own his genius is an immediate improvement.

And there is intrigue – what’s with the ‘Netherlight radiation’? Did Athena have anything to do with Paula and the baby’s deaths? How will Mr Terrific emerge?

The opening sequence is drawn in spectacular style by Edwin Galmon, whose full-colour art has an urgency that brings a fantastic burst of energy to proceedings. And blimey, does he make Darkseid scary.

Valentine De Landro’s illos that fill the bulk of the book are equally well suited to their subject. There’s a rough-hewn quality that fits the urban feel of the script, and the colours of Marissa Louise add extra life to the pages. We don’t get Michael in full Mr Terrific mode in the story, but he looks pretty cool in a proto-version.

De Landro does give us Mr Terrific in full flower on the cover, coloured by Louise; sadly, he looks oddly stumpy, and the overall effect isn’t helped by that truly terrible logo.

Lucas Gattoni letters, and also goes with a scrappy style – I do like a unified artistic vision.

I don’t think many people were clamouring for a Mr Terrific origin series, presumably it’s being issued to coincide with his appearance in the upcoming Superman film. What I’d like to see from this series is something worth throwing out the original from The Spectre #54 for, and a commitment to the Fair Play idea, something I don’t recall ever seeing in Michael Holt’s character… he’s only ever shown as a top tinkerer, it’s time to see what else he can do.