Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)

Michael Holt was created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake and first appeared in Spectre (vol. 3) #54 (June 1997).^[1]

Michael Holt showed remarkable intelligence at a very young age, reading comprehension and ability to assimilate the works of Aage Bohr, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, and Richard Feynman, the pantheon of theoretical physics.^[2] Michael grows up with his mentally challenged older brother, Jeffrey, whom he loved dearly. When Jeffrey dies at the age of 12, Michael was devastated.^[3]

Holt displayed "a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes" (as he calls it), easily picking up and retaining complex skills and abilities that others spend their entire lives perfecting. Before he began his career as a superhero, he already possessed 14 Ph.Ds (two in engineering and physics—including doctorates and master's degrees in law, psychology, chemistry, political science, computer science, rocket science, and mathematics^[4][5])—is a self-made multi-millionaire^[2] with a high tech firm called Cyberwear (subsequently sold to Waynetech^[4]), and is a gold medal-winning Olympic decathlete.

The accidental deaths of his wife and unborn child were a devastating blow to Holt. He considers himself responsible for the accident, as he made his wife late for church by arguing with her about the value of religion. While contemplating suicide, the Spectre (Jim Corrigan) tells him about Terry Sloane, the Golden Age superhero known as Mister Terrific. Inspired by Sloane's life story, Holt takes the name Mister Terrific^[6] and later joins the current Justice Society of America (JSA), eventually serving as its chairman.

Initially, he wore ordinary clothes and a leather jacket with Sloane's "Fair Play" emblem on the back. Later, he switched to a T-shaped mask composed of electronic nanites, a black and white costume with red trim, and a collarless jacket in the same colors (the black sections of tunic and jacket forming a "T") with "Fair Play" written on the sleeves and "Terrific" across the back.

For a time, he acted as spokesperson for Hourman's Tylerco and consulted with the company on industrial espionage and security matters, in exchange for it helping fund a youth center Terrific has started.^[7]

Holt has a friendly rivalry with Batman, his opposite number in the Justice League of America (in his identity as Bruce Wayne, Batman owns Holt's business). Holt has encountered Sloane twice through time travel, with Sloane expressing pride in having so worthy a successor. Holt has been noted as the most intelligent member of the JSA in its history, surpassing his predecessor. He is also known as the third-smartest person in the world,^[8] and this notion now appears to be widespread within the DC Universe.^[9]

During a conflict over leadership of the Justice Society between former chairman Hawkman and then-current chairman Sand, Terrific is elected as the JSA's new chairman by his teammates, despite not actively seeking the office.^[10] He serves in this capacity until the team disbands following the Infinite Crisis.

Mr. Terrific currently remains a member of the reformed Justice Society of America. He resumed his chairmanship from the last incarnation of the team,^[11] but his leadership responsibilities in Checkmate eventually prompt him to relinquish the position to Power Girl.^[12]

Mr. Terrific is part of the team assembled by Batman for an attack on the Brother Eye satellite responsible for controlling the OMACs. He plays a critical role as his invisibility to technology allows him to reach the satellite's propulsion system, sending it crashing to Earth. During this time, he meets and befriends another African American superhero—Black Lightning.

In the "One Year Later" storyline, Holt is still a member of the JSA, and he has also become part of the United Nations Security Council's intelligence agency, Checkmate. He holds the position of White King's Bishop initially, but when the previous White King (Alan Scott) is forced to resign, he becomes Checkmate's new White King, complicating his relationship with Sasha Bordeaux, Checkmate's Black Queen. He has also given up his chairman position, which has been taken over by Power Girl. Mr. Terrific has also established an ill-defined mentorship with Firestorm over the missing year.

Holt is forced to face his issues with faith once again when the JSA confront Gog, a God of the Second World. Not only is Gog incapable of hearing Terrific due to his lack of faith, but during a trip to the Earth-Two of the new multiverse, Holt encounters his Earth-Two counterpart, who is now a devout believer after having a religious experience on the day his wife survived her accident.

During the Final Crisis of Humanity, the war between Darkseid and the human world, Mister Terrific, along with Cheetah and Snapper Carr, are left trapped in the ruins of Checkmate headquarters, unable to get past the brainwashed metahuman, and caring for Sasha, who prefers using her OMAC programming to shut down her bodily functions rather than falling prey to the Anti-Life Equation. Forcefully waking up Sasha, thus condemning her, Michael Holt has no choice but to activate a new OMAC population, programmed to obey him rather than Brother Eye, and to protect the last few humans against the new Justifiers.

In Justice Society of America vol. 3 series, Mr. Terrific takes over the research, just as the low-level villain Tapeworm appears on the news, taking hostages and demanding that Wildcat show himself. All-American Kid and King Chimera must remain in the brownstone, Mister Terrific retreats to his lab, and the rest of the team leaves to help Wildcat. All-American Kid goes into the lab and stabs Mister Terrific in the back, pretending to have been mind controlled.^[13] Justice Society members arrive back at headquarters to discover Mr. Terrific has been attacked, and Doctor Mid-Nite tends to his wounds.^[14] In the end, Mister Terrific succumbs to his injuries and Alan Scott reports that he has died.^[15] However, Scott is able to use the power of the Green Flame to slow down time around Mister Terrific's body in the hopes that he can be healed before brain death occurs.^[16] Michael is restored to life by the magic of the new Doctor Fate, and attacks All-American Kid, revealing that he is actually the teenage psychopath known as Kid Karnevil, and subdues him.^[17] For a short time during his recovery, Michael is forced to use a wheelchair, although he still finds time to upgrade Mister America's whip.^[18]

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Mister Terrific received a self-titled ongoing series written by Eric Wallace and drawn by Roger Robinson.^[19] Holt begins sporting a new costume designed by Cully Hamner.^[20] He is also in a relationship with Karen Starr.

On January 12, 2012, DC announced that it would be ending six of the lowest-selling New 52 titles in April, replacing them with six different titles in the revamp's second wave.^[21] Mister Terrific was cancelled with issue #8 in April 2012.^[22] The series ends with Mister Terrific being displaced to a parallel universe, leading to his appearances in Earth-2.^[23]

In The Terrifics, Mister Terrific joins the eponymous team alongside Metamorpho and Plastic Man after they are exposed to Dark Multiverse energy that bonds them to one another.^[24]

In The New Golden Age, Mister Terrific adopts Terry Sloane's former sidekick Quiz Kid after he is transported to the present.^[25][26][27]

While being held captive by Onimar Synn on an adventure with the Justice Society on Thanagar, Holt first expresses his disbelief in souls and that he is uncomfortable with the notion of reincarnation after witnessing the return of teammate Hawkman. Holt states, "when my wife, Paula, was killed in a car accident ... she was gone. I didn't feel her 'soul' around me. Didn't feel anything".^[28] He later elaborates on this by explaining that his lack of faith extends back prior to his wife's death, and states that he blames himself for her death as he delayed her going to church because the two of them argued about the merits of faith. Holt believes that she would have avoided the accident if she had not been arguing with him. He acknowledges the irony of this given such factors as the Spectre's role in his origin, and his encounter with the likes of the Spirit King, but he still maintains his skepticism about faith and religion.

After a near-death experience where he sees his wife and unborn child (whom he decides to name 'Terry' after the original Mister Terrific), Holt's atheism is shaken and he agrees to attend a church service with teammate Doctor Mid-Nite.^[29]

However, this attempt to find religion apparently is not satisfying as Holt is also seen getting into a theological discussion with Ragman during the Infinite Crisis. When asked if he has faith in anything, Terrific answered, "Sure I do. I've got faith in my team."^[8]

During Thy Kingdom Come, when Power Girl is transported to the Earth-2 pre-Crisis universe, she meets her world's Michael Holt, who is a priest. During the same storyline, the mainline Holt admits to Doctor Mid-Nite that he feels his issues with faith stem from his inability to understand it, confessing that he wants to believe but something inside him will not let him.

Michael Holt is among the smartest people on Earth, being skilled in multiple fields of medicine, engineering, science, and martial arts.^[4][8][30] Holt's mask doubles as a communication system and enables him to detect various forms of energy.^[31] He wields "T-Spheres", floating robotic spheres with multiple functions that include holographic projection, hacking into other machines, and generating energy bursts.^[32]

• An alternate universe variant of Michael Holt from Earth-2 appears in Justice Society of America (vol. 3). This version is a college professor who became a devout Christian after his wife was nearly killed in an accident.^[33][34]
• An alternate universe variant of Michael Holt appears in Flashpoint.^[35]
• An alternate universe variant of Michael Holt appears in DCeased: A Good Day to Die. He attempts to find a cure for the Anti-Life Equation virus before being killed by an infected Big Barda.

• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Michael Beach.^[36] This version is a member of the Justice League who eventually becomes their mission coordinator after J'onn J'onzz resigns from active duty.
• Michael Holt appears in the Beware the Batman episode "Hunted", voiced by Gary Anthony Williams.^[36] This version is a businessman.
• A character based on Michael Holt / Mister Terrific named Curtis Holt appears in series set in the Arrowverse, portrayed by Echo Kellum:^[37]
  • Introduced in the fourth season of Arrow as a member of Palmer Technologies, Curtis is in a relationship with a man named Paul, the creator of the T-spheres, and a fan of the Green Arrow. In the fifth season, Curtis joins "Team Arrow" in their vigilantism, taking the name "Mister Terrific" in honor of his favorite wrestler, Terry Sloane.^[38] In the sixth season, Curtis starts an online business and breaks off from Team Arrow to form a separate group with Dinah Drake and Rene Ramirez. In the seventh and eighth seasons, Curtis leaves Star City to work at Washington D.C., though he returns to help Team Arrow combat the Ninth Circle and Grant Wilson, help the Green Arrow locate a weapon capable of killing the Monitor, rescue William Clayton, and attend Green Arrow's funeral after he dies averting the Crisis.
  • Curtis appears in the animated series Freedom Fighters: The Ray.^[36]
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Hannibal Buress.^[39][36] This version is the self-proclaimed third-smartest person in the world, a former child prodigy, and college roommate of Martin Stein.

• An alternate universe incarnation of Michael Holt / Mister Terrific named Mister Horrific makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths as a minor member of the Crime Syndicate under Superwoman's command.
• An alternate universe incarnation of Michael Holt appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, voiced by Arif S. Kinchen.^[36] This version is a scientist involved with Lex Luthor's "Project Fair Play", a contingency program meant to counter their universe's Justice League if necessary. After three of their fellow scientists are killed, Holt and the remaining scientists attempt to regroup, but are killed by the Metal Men.
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appears in Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.^[40][36] This version is an associate of the Justice League.
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appears in Injustice, voiced by Edwin Hodge.^[41][36]
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appears in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, voiced by Ato Essandoh.^[42][36]
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific will appear in Superman, portrayed by Edi Gathegi.^[43]

• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific makes a cameo appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us via the Watchtower stage.
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific appear as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[44]
• Curtis Holt / Mister Terrific appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains via the "DC TV Super-Heroes" DLC pack.

Michael Holt appears in Smallville Season 11: Chaos #3. This version is a billionaire, the CEO of HoltCorp, and an associate of Bruce Wayne and Ted Kord.^[45]

• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific received a figure in the DC Universe Classics line.
• Michael Holt / Mister Terrific received a figure in the Target-exclusive Justice League Unlimited line.

• World of Black Heroes: Mister Terrific (Michael Holt) Biography
• DCComics.com's Origin of Mister Terrific Archived 2010-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
• DCDP: Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)