[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Joe Bennett, Dexter Vines
Colours: Mike Spicer
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
The Terrifics are back! And they’re ready to enter the final battle with the Dreadfuls, Doc Dread’s revenge squad that has systematically wiped out dozens of Mr. Terrifics from across the Multiverse. As the many Mr. and Mrs. Terrifics fight for their lives, the cavalry is on its way—but will Phantom Girl, Plastic Man and the repowered Metamorpho reach the battle in time? And how can the heroes possibly count this as a win with a mountain of bodies in Doc Dread’s wake?
Positives
Last issue, Phantom Girl put out the call to her former teammates, and this issue we see the team coming back together. The team essentially broke apart because they didn’t see themselves as a group of friends, but as individuals that had been forced together. Once that compulsion was gone, the team just fell apart and went their separate ways.
But when the team reunites, even Metamorpho and Plastic Man seem happy to see each other. Plastic Man even brings along his son Luke. Their reunion minus Mister Terrific) seems to be a major step towards the group becoming more of a family group.
Luke is wearing his pre-Flashpoint Offspring costume, but we don’t know if he’s using the name Offspring yet. However, Plas does introduce Luke to Phantom Girl as “my very own offspring.” While I have no issues with the costume, I hope Luke settles on a better code name than “Offspring,” but at least they didn’t call him “Baby Plas.”
We also finally get to meet Earth-23’s Mrs. Terrific. She’s every bit as brilliant as her male counterpart. Michael doesn’t need to give her a long story about where he came from. As soon as he mentions the word “Multiverse,” she immediately responds, “The Multiverse?! Why didn’t you just say so?”
Mrs. Terrific lost her husband, the Earth-23 Michael Holt in the exact same way that Mister Terrific lost his wife Paula. The meeting of the two Terrifics is almost as if they had found their spouses again, and they almost give in to their immediate attraction, but they put those feeling on hold until they have had time to “think this through.”
It’s a small touch, but I find it interesting that Mrs. Terrific has T-Cubes instead of T-Spheres. It makes you wonder what other differences there might be between Mister and Mrs. Terrific.
Negatives
The only complaint I have is that I have to wait a whole month to see the final confrontation between The Terrifics and The Dreadfuls. But I can’t really hold that against this superb writing team.
Verdict
This title has been consistently one of DC’s best books and one the best things to come out of the “New Age of Heroes” line. With a new creative team taking over shortly, I hope they can continue the high level of quality that Jeff Lemire and team have established for this title.
