There is not one, but two superheroes named Mister Terrific in the DC Comics Universe. Like many others, the original was created during the Golden Age Era and the second one took up the mantle decades later, reviving the legacy of a–probably forgotten–member of the Justice Society of America.
Terry Sloane, Golden Age’s Mister Terrific
Like Wildcat and the Gay Ghost, Mister Terrific first appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (1942). Created by Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp, this superhero was mostly thought of as just another masked mystery man, but he had a darker start than others.
You see, Terry Sloane may have had everything you’d ever want, but the thing that was missing led him to contemplate suicide. Known as “The Man of 1,000 Talents,” Terry was rich, he possessed a photographic memory and the skills of an Olympic athlete, and he was a master of the martial arts. He was a highly intelligent, natural-born leader, and an accomplished businessman. All of that in his early 20s!
When you did everything so early, what’s left to do? This question haunted Terry and depressed him profoundly. One day, as he was thinking of ending things, he saw Wanda Wilson jump from a bridge. Thinking and acting fast, he saved her life and, by doing so, he found his new purpose. He started by helping Wanda’s brother deal with a criminal gang.
Naturally, as a hero of his time, he made himself a costume and found a catchy crime-fighter name: Mister Terrific. He was a guy who put the emphasis on “Fair Play,” his motto that was written on his costume.
Terry Sloane stayed a secondary character but still signed on to become a reserve member of the Justice Society of America and a member of the All-Star Squadron. After less than a decade of crime fighting, he retired in 1951. He still came back later, joining this time the JSA as a full-fledged member. He was killed by his old nemesis, the Spirit King, in Justice League of America #171 (1979). His ghost appeared later, notably in the pages of James Robinson’s Starman.
Michael Holt, The Second Mister Terrific
Long gone and mostly forgotten, Terry Sloane was never brought back to life but a new hero took up the mantle of Mister Terrific in 1997. This one was created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake and he made his first appearance in Spectre (vol. 3) #54.
Before becoming one of the notable African American superheroes, Dr. Michael Curtis Holt was simply a genius. He holds multiple doctorates (he has 14 Ph.Ds!) and is a gold medal-winning Olympic decathlete. He is also the founder of Cyberwear and is a self-made multi-millionaire. But he also had a life marked by tragedies, starting with the death of his mentally challenged older brother who was only 12 years old at the time.
When his wife, Paula, and their unborn child died in a car accident, Michael was devastated and, like Terry Sloane before him, he was contemplating suicide when a new path was presented to him. It was then that the Spectre (Jim Corrigan) talked to him about Terry’s story. Inspired by the tale, Dr. Holt followed the same road as his Golden Age predecessor and became Mr. Terrific.
His costume was less colorful than Sloane’s, first a leather jacket with “Fair Play” on the back, later a T-shaped mask and a black and white costume. This new Mr. Terrific has a lot of natural abilities and they are completed by the famous T-Spheres, floating robotic spheres with multiple functions that help him to fight, communicate, analyze, and more.
In the superhero community, he found his place in the Justice Society of America, even becoming the chairman of the team. He also was a leader in Checkmate, the United Nations Security Council’s intelligence agency. And like Sloane, he was killed. But he came back to life.
This was before the New 52 era, when DC’s continuity was rebooted. Then he finally got his own ongoing Mister Terrific series. It was a short run that led him to be sent to a parallel universe–he joined the Earth-2 series at that point. The DC Rebirth era that came soon after reconnected Dr. Michael Holt to his previous continuity. Following the Dark Nights: Metal event, Mister Terrific’s life was rerouted and he became part of The Terrifics alongside Metamorpho, Phantom Girl, and Plastic Man.
More recently, with Geoff Johns’ “The New Golden Age” storyline, Mister Terrific and the Justice Society of America are back in action.
Mister Terrific Recommended Reading
It’s a bit hard to find Terry Sloane’s adventures nowadays as he was not a big player during the Golden Age era. However, he appeared in flashbacks in some JSA issues.
When it comes to Dr. Michael Holt’s Mister Terrific, there’s of course his introduction in Spectre (vol. 3) #54, but the more interesting material is of course in Geoff Johns’ long-running JSA series.
- JSA Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects JSA #1-25, JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice, JSA All-Stars #1-8, JSA Our Worlds at War #1, JLA/JSA Secret Files #1, JSA Secret Files #1, All-Star Comics #1-2, All-American Comics #1, Adventure Comics #1, National Comics #1, Sensation Comics #1, Smash Comics #1, Star Spangled Comics #1 and Thrilling Comics #1. - JSA Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects JSA #26-81. - JSA Omnibus Vol. 3
Collects JSA #76-87, Justice Society of America #1-28, Justice League of America #8-10, Justice Society of America Annual #1, JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1, JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1, JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1.
Set in the wake of Infinite Crisis, the Checkmate series by Greg Rucka teamed up Mister Terrific with Green Lantern, Fire, and Sasha Bordeaux as they work as an intelligence intervention force seeking to establish order and balance in an increasingly unbalanced world.
- Checkmate by Greg Rucka Book 1
Collects Checkmate (vol. 2) #1-12. - Checkmate by Greg Rucka Book 2
Collects Checkmate (vol. 2) #13-25 and Outsiders #47-49.
More recently, Mister Terrific was part of The Terrifics series by Jeff Lemire and Gene Luen Yang series (with multiple artists). Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, and Phantom Girl find themselves bound together by a tragic accident. This team of unlikely allies must rely on one another to make their way back home.
- The Terrifics Vol. 1: Meet the Terrifics
Collects The Terrifics #1-6. - The Terrifics Vol. 2: Tom Strong and the Terrifics
Collects The Terrifics #7-14. - The Terrifics Vol. 3: The God Game
Collects The Terrifics #15-18 and Annual #1. - The Terrifics Vol. 4: The Tomorrow War
Collects The Terrifics #19-30.
In the Black Label series, out-of-continuity, the Strange Adventures series by Tom King and Mitch Gerards gave a big role to Mister Terrific who has to chose between saving Adam Strange or the world.
- Strange Adventures
Collects Strange Adventures #1-12.