Mr. Terrific must figure out what the message sent by Tom Strong means… but before he can solve that mystery he must find out what is keeping him attached to his new acquaintances. Can Michael Holt figure out what has caused this, or will the group be stuck together forever? Find out in The Terrifics!
The Terrifics #3
Authors: Jeff Lemire & Joe Bennett
Inkers: Sandra Hope, Jaime Mendoza & Art Thibert
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
!!! Spoiler Warning!!!
What You Need to Know:
Since the events of Metal Michael Holt, or Mr. Terrific, hasn’t had a single moment to figure out his what to do about his assets and how to get his companies work back from Simon Stagg. Instead, Stagg has practically forced him into a portal along with Rex Mason, A.K.A. Metamorpho, directly into the vast Dark Multiverse. While there, the egg which encased Plastic Man had transformed and for the first time since Rebirth, Plastic Man was once again running his rubbery mouth all over the DC universe. The three heckling acquaintances wind up meeting one other soon-to-be team member by the name of Linnya. Linnya was sucked up into the Dark Multiverse and has been lost there ever since.
While in the Dark Multiverse, the four very different characters stumble upon a beacon that Linnya said she was never able to make do anything. With a forceful pull, the team ends up getting struck with a weird energy just immediately soon be met with a message from an unknown individual named Tom Strong. The message tells the team that in due time they will have to save the universe, but not before being chased out of the Dark Multiverse by a giant sentient being. Yes, the team has a close escape but luckily they successfully make it back to Staggs lab where they try to recuperate.
After their disastrous adventure in the Dark Multiverse, Mr. Terrific tries to figure out the mystery of Tom Strong in peace. The rest of the team isn’t having it however as Linnya realizes she isn’t able to turn into her solid state without blowing everything she touches to smithereens. Michael isn’t having it though as he tries his hardest to get away from the team just to find out that no matter how far he goes that magical force that ran through them has forced them all to stay together… No matter how badly they want to leave.
What You’ll Find Out:
Issue #3 of “The Terrifics” picks up right where the last left off as Mr. Terrific stumbles out of his crashed T-Ship to break the bad news to the rest of the group. As the rest of the group tries to wrap their heads around the fact that they have to put up with Holt’s constant micromanaging, Simon Stagg tries to make their life even more difficult by forcing them to stay at Stagg industries if they want to use any of Holt’s equipment. The team argues back and forth with Stagg and his prehistoric minion, Java, before splitting ways as far as they can.
Before the next scene, we get a short intermezzo where what appears to be a giant Metamorpho is attacking citizens on the streets. But this all seems out of our heroes knowledge as the next scene shows the actual Metamorpho having a conversation with Stagg’s daughter, Sapphire.
Rex has had enough of Stagg and once to be happy with Sapphire without her father meddling in his, and their, affairs. The two get into an argument as Sapphire storms out leaving Metamorpho to think about what will truly make him happy.
Meanwhile, Linnya tries talking to Holt about her home. She tries to convince him to help her contact her home-world and while Michael agrees, he is not very affectionate to Linnya or her situation and seems to almost make her feel worse for interrupting him. Before she can say anything, however, A giant “THOOM” rattles the entire surrounding area alerting the team to whatever is going on now.
A giant wheel of death that Plastic Man quickly names the War Wheel starts spiraling in the team’s direction With barely a second to react. Plastic Man tries to mimic the wheel while Rex goes full force towards it but this does almost nothing as the Wheel knocks both heroes back without budging. Terrific tells Phantom Girl to touch the guns in order to take them out. Rex and Plastic Man come back with force as they unwind their “Hardball Special”, and together they finally knock the wheel into submission.
After a job-well-done Stagg comes out to ruffle more feathers by saying it was his machine that just attacked the team and it’s their fault that they caused all the damage. After a few sly remarks and some quips from Plastic Man, Holt once again angrily tries to leave the team to investigate the Tom Strong message. The team tries to talk him into taking a breather, but there is no time to waste in Michaels mind as he goes to investigate the message one more time.
What Just Happened?
Jeff Lemire does some team building in this issue as the team doesn’t go very far once again, but the character development moved a million miles forward. I have been very impressed with this title’s ability to make me care about the characters. In a short three issues, I have learned more about these characters than I ever thought I could from this new story, and their chemistry together works so well. I do feel a slight lag as the team hasn’t really left Stagg’s mansion since the series started, other than their short adventure into the Dark Multiverse. The character interactions make up for this though as each character brings something fun or unique to the table even if it is just a bad attitude to level out all the wackiness going on in this lineup.
While Ivan Reis is no longer on the art for this title his work was mostly used for the Dark Multiverse sections anyway, clearing a great path for this creative team to fill in before Shaner takes his place. I hope to see Hope, Mendoza, and Thibert’s art again on this title because it felt very comfortable on this team. I liked that Plastic Man isn’t just a flexible sleek piece of silly string all the time. The artists give him depth and rawness which makes it look like he actually must work to get into those incredible forms. The same opinion goes for Metamorpho as we saw him take some fun forms in this issue. I’ll highlight the Hardball Special panel as one that really shows the artists phenomenal job with these two.
Rating: 9/10
Final Thoughts: While the team does feel like its hit a bit of a snag, the character development makes up for the loss of action in this issue. One can tell Lemire cares about this team and wants readers to care for these characters just as I feel he does. The art team reflects this well with phenomenal depth and detail on every character. I would recommend this series to anyone who may be a fan of Jeff Lemire, or just wants a new and exciting team-book that doesn’t take itself to seriously. (Well except for Michael Holt. He’s always serious.)
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