MISTER TERRIFIC
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Roger Robinson
TF: The success or failure of this comic depends on one thing: world-building.
DM: Well that’s the same for everyone. Shit, Green Arrow only has 2 villains and one of those is an archer.
TF: Mr. Terrific has been the anchor of the Justice Society for more than a decade. What he doesn’t have is his own mythos the way DC’s franchise players have. They need to hit the ground running and put up a setting, supporting characters, and--most importantly--villains that are unique to him. Does he have bad guys of his own?
DM: No but he’s only been in the JSA (great cast of villains) and Checkmate (Not so much).
TF: I realize that his “Fair Play” 8-ball jacket is very dated now (he was a product of the 90s, after all), but I have a problem with these tats. From a distance they look like black armbands, and that shouldn’t happen. Up close, they remind me of the current Tattooed Man, and that shouldn’t happen either. But tattoo armbands cause a problem artistically, since there are only so many poses that will show off the words “FAIR PLAY.” From other angles his arms may spell out “FA PL” or “IR PL,” and that’s not good brand recognition. Just ditch those weightlifting gloves and write F-A-I-R-P-L-A-Y on his knuckles. That would be awesome.
DM: Nice save on what is basically you complaining about what angles you need to see a man’s biceps from. Knuckles would be cool.
DM: On the villain front, he needs them to be set up for him like all good villains are. He needs a super intelligent rival, a mindless brute, A rogue operative from his Checkmate days, a JSA villain since we don’t have a JSA, A super cheater/trickster, a villain from Terry Sloane’s past.
TF: Throw in a dude who removes tattoos with lasers and you’ve got yourself a deal.
DM: How about he can fight the Tattooed Man instead. It’s not like the tattoos matter. It’s like his mask...which looks better as an “M” than a “T”.
TF: I wondered what the hell that was. Why is the third-smartest human still painting letters on his face?
DM: I think the lesson here is that Mr. Terrific is a) smarter than us and b) capable of making solid mask innovations we scarcely understand. If this were a book about Hawk and Animal we’d never question it. Where the fuck is my Dr. Midnite ongoing in this relaunch????
