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Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)

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Michael Holt
Michael Holt as Mister Terrific as he appeared on a splash page of The Terrifics #4 (May 2018).
Art by Evan "Doc" Shaner.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSpectre #54 (June 1997)
Created byJohn Ostrander
Tom Mandrake
In-story information
Alter egoDr. Michael Curtis Holt
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsJustice Society of America
Checkmate
Terrifics
Justice League
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Proficient scientist, engineer, and physician
  • Use of T-Spheres
  • Invisibility to technology
  • Skilled athlete and martial artist

Michael Holt is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in Spectre (vol. 3) #54 (June 1997), the character was created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake.[1] Holt is the second character to use the Mister Terrific codename, succeeding Terry Sloane. As Mister Terrific, the character is often affiliated with the Justice Society of America, serving as a prominent member and as its chairman.

Holt's background has varied over the course of his history but he is commonly depicted as a highly-intelligent African American driven towards excellence and perfection, earning him vast accolades, wealth, and athleticism until the untimely death of his wife. Sunken into depression, Michael contemplates suicide until divine intervention leads him to learning about the story of Terry Sloane, a superhero who had suffered circumstances similar to his own. Inspired by him, he adopts the "Mister Terrific" codename, the concept of "Fair Play", and honors his humanitarian spouse by helping others. As the superhero Mister Terrific, Holt is considered among the most intelligent and wealthiest people on Earth and a noteworthy martial artist.[2][3] While regularly on the JSA, the character has also served as a member of the Justice League and has led his own team, The Terrifics.

Holt has been adapted into media outside comics. Michael Beach, Hannibal Buress, and Kevin Michael Richardson, among others, have voiced the character in animated television series and films. Echo Kellum portrayed a version of the character renamed Curtis Holt in the CW Arrowverse series Arrow. Edi Gathegi played the character in the 2025 film Superman, set in the DC Universe (DCU).

Publication history

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

As part of DC's 2011 reboot of its continuity, The New 52, Mister Terrific received a self-titled ongoing series written by Eric Wallace and drawn by Roger Robinson.[4] Holt begins sporting a new costume designed by Cully Hamner.[5]

On January 12, 2012, the Mister Terrific series was cancelled alongside five other titles with low sales.[6][7] The series ends with Terrific being displaced to a parallel universe, leading to his appearances in Earth-2.[8]

Fictional character biography

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Michael Holt is a child prodigy who demonstrates advanced intelligence at a young age, comprehending the works of physicists Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, and Richard Feynman.[9] Before becoming a superhero, Holt possessed 14 Ph.Ds and was a self-made multi-millionaire and Olympic decathlete.[9][10][11] Holt has been noted as the most intelligent member of the JSA and the third-smartest person in the world.[12][13]

Holt contemplates suicide after the death of his wife Paula and unborn child in a car crash.[14] His previous atheism is exacerbated by trauma and he comes to not believe in souls or reincarnation.[15] However, the Spectre (Jim Corrigan) inspires him to become the superhero Mister Terrific, inspired by Terry Sloane. Holt joins the current Justice Society of America (JSA), eventually serving as its chairman.[16][17]

Holt as he appears on Alex Ross' cover of JSA #76, during the "Infinite Crisis" storyline

One Year Later

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Main article: One Year Later

In the "One Year Later" storyline, Holt joins the intelligence agency Checkmate, causing him to relinquish his position of JSA chairman to Power Girl.[18]

Death and return

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In Justice Society of America (vol. 3), the low-level villain Tapeworm takes several hostages and demands that Wildcat show himself. Mister Terrific retreats to his lab and the rest of the team leaves to help Wildcat. All-American Kid stabs Mister Terrific in the back, pretending to have been mind controlled. Holt is gravely wounded, but is healed by Doctor Fate and attacks All-American Kid, who is revealed to be a disguised Kid Karnevil.[19]

DC Rebirth

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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.[20]

In The New Golden Age, Mister Terrific adopts Terry Sloane's former sidekick Quiz Kid after he is transported to the present.[21]

Skills, abilities, and resources

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While possessing no inherent superpowers, Michael Holt is considered a super-genius and inventor holding over a dozen PhDs in many fields of study, including medicine, engineering, law, mathematics, and physics.[22][23][1][2] Holt also owns a self-made cyber-tech company and is considered a natural leader.[22] Holt is also a natural athlete considered in peak condition, cited as an Olympic gold medalist decathlete.[2][22] His athleticism also makes him an adept martial artist with black belts in six different disciplines.[23]

Terrific also possesses advanced technology; Holt's uniform and equipment were designed with a mask that doubles as a communication system and enables him to detect various forms of energy.[24][25][26] Nanotech within his costume cloaks him from technology, preventing him from being sensed by radars and audio sensors.[23] His greatest inventions, the "T-Spheres", are remote-controlled floating robotic spheres with multiple functions that include holographic projection, hacking into other machines, and generating energy bursts.[27][28][29][30][31][32]

Other versions

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  • 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.

In other media

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Television

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Mr. Terrific as he appears in Justice League Unlimited

Film

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Video games

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Miscellaneous

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Merchandise

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  • 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.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ a b c "Mister Terrific | Official DC Character". DC. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  3. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Wiacek, Stephen; Scott, Melanie; Jones, Nick; Walker, Landry Q. (July 6, 2021). The DC Comics Encyclopedia New Edition. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7440-5301-2.
  4. ^ Hyde, David (June 1, 2011). "The New Justice | DC Comics". Dcu.blog.dccomics.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  5. ^ DCE Editorial (June 9, 2011). "Project: Up Up and Runway | DC Comics". Dcu.blog.dccomics.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Ching, Albert (January 12, 2012). "Six Titles In, Six Out in 'Second Wave' of DC's NEW 52" (Press release). Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  7. ^ DC Comics. "On Sale April '12" (Press release). DC Comics. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  8. ^ "DC Comics' FULL June 2012 Solicitations". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  9. ^ a b JSA #13 (August 2000)
  10. ^ JSA #28 (November 2001)
  11. ^ JSA #53 (December 2003)
  12. ^ Infinite Crisis #5 (April 2006)
  13. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #2 (March 2007)
  14. ^ Spectre (vol. 3) #54 (June 1997)
  15. ^ JSA #26 (September 2001)
  16. ^ JSA #27 (October 2001)
  17. ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The Spectre ongoing series was nearing its end, but that didn't stop writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake from pooling their creative forces to create one of the DCU's newest shining stars...An inspired and reborn [Michael] Holt then picked up the mantle of Mr. Terrific.
  18. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #4 (May 2007)
  19. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #29 – 33 (September 2009 – January 2010)
  20. ^ The Terrifics #1 – 3 (April – June 2018)
  21. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 4) #9 (May 2024)
  22. ^ a b c Goyer, David; Johns, Geoff (2003). JSA: Fair Play. DC comics. ISBN 978-1-84023-628-6.
  23. ^ a b c Lapin-Bertone, Joshua (May 27, 2025). "Fair Play: Everything You Need to Know About Mister Terrific". DC. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  24. ^ JSA #49 (August 2003)
  25. ^ JSA #84 (June 2006)
  26. ^ JSA All-Stars #7 (August 2010)
  27. ^ JSA #31 (February 2002)
  28. ^ JSA #41 (December 2002)
  29. ^ JSA #61 (July 2004)
  30. ^ JSA #71 (May 2005)
  31. ^ JSA #78 (December 2005)
  32. ^ JSA Classified #29 (October 2007)
  33. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #19 (November 2008)
  34. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #20 (December 2008)
  35. ^ Flashpoint: The Outsider #1 (June 2011)
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mr. Terrific Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 4, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  37. ^ Abrams, Natalie (July 17, 2015). "Arrow casts Mr. Terrific for season 4". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  38. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (April 4, 2016). "Arrow Season 5: Echo Kellum Promoted to Series Regular as Curtis". tvline.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  39. ^ Siegel, Lucas (June 5, 2016). "New Justice League Action Characters Officially Revealed". ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  40. ^ Couch, Aaron (January 7, 2019). "Justice League vs. The Fatal Five Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  41. ^ Couch, Aaron (July 21, 2021). "DC's Injustice Sets Cast for Animated Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  42. ^ Harvey, James (December 5, 2023). "Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths, Part One Arrives January 2024, Press Details". The World's Finest. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  43. ^ Breznican, Anthony (July 21, 2023). "Superman Legacy Cast Adds Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion: EXCLUSIVE". Vanity Fair.
  44. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects – Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  45. ^ Smallville Season 11: Chaos #3 (December 2014)
  46. ^ Scullion, Chris (March 13, 2025). "DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Here's the first art and plot details from Sega and DC's crossover comic". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
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