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    DC

    REVIEW: Mister Terrific #8 (of 8)

    Matthew PetersonBy Matthew PetersonApril 12, 20125 Comments4 Mins Read

    Or – “Another DCU Ending…  But Not Quite The Same Story.”

    Last week brought us the final issue of Static Shock, an issue which left Virgil’s ultimate fate up in the air.  This issue wraps up Mister Terrific’s run as a solo character, but the way that it ends for Michael Holt is somewhat different…

    MISTER TERRIFIC #8
    Writer: Eric Wallace
    Penciler: Gianluca Gugliotta
    Inker: Wayne Faucher
    Cover Artist: J.G. Jones
    Colorist: Mike Atiyeh
    Letterer: Dave Sharpe
    Editor: Joey Cavalieri
    Publisher: DC Comics
    Cover Price: $2.99

    Previously, in Mister Terrific:  One of the smartest men in the world, Michael Holt has perfected technology that allows him complete control of devices known as “t-spheres,” as well as a high-tech uniform with which he combats injustice.  Mister Terrific has made himself a name as a protector of Los Angeles, but his greatest challenge is still ahead…

    AND NOW, THEY FIGHT!

    The issue opens with a familiar moment for any reader of Iron Man (or of mid-70’s Batman), as the Holt Industries board of directors is in the middle of an important meeting on something or other when a super-villain attacks!  It’s kind of the weakness of characters in a corporate background that it always seems to boil down to a battle for their workplace, which I’m pretty sure has some sort of anti-trust implications.  (Iron Man is the most unethical businessman in the history of all unethical businessmen, but that’s another story…)  I believe that the villain in question is Donald, one of Mr. T’s employees, angry at being overlooked for promotion in a previous issue, but he quickly transforms into a robotic/electronic form and declares himself to be “DIGITUS!”  It’s a great name, so much so that Mister Terrific even comments on it’s melliflousity before setting in to kick his butt.  The Digitus battle is pretty by-the-numbers, as the computer villain controls Holt Industries security systems and even the T-spheres themselves before getting taken out by the A.I. at the core of Michael Holt’s computer systems.  This fight feels like it’s been compressed a bit (which seems at least likely due to the cancellation of the book), and we then immediately switch gears to another plotline…

    KAREN STARR, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?

    The Blackhawks arrive seconds after Digitus is defeated, and demand that Terrific turn over the T-spheres, as they are “dangerous technology” and must be controlled.  The illegality of this is quickly brought to light, as the TV news anchor who has been recurring in the title shows up with a camera, which (as cameras always do) is feeding live to everyone in the world and on the internet.  The Blackhawks (who also, I believe, got their book cancelled) are ordered to stand down, and we then transition to ANOTHER plot…  Mister Terrific discovers that his on-again/off-again girlfriend Karen Starr had broken into his computer systems and somehow used his own systems to create a reality vortex and…  Man, there’s a lot stuffed into this issue.  We don’t necessarily get a whole lot of perspective on Mister Terrific (although we get a recap of his origins and earliest adventure, a two-page sequence that almost constitutes a fifth plot), and the issue ends with him creating a tunnel that will lead him somewhere, perhaps another dimension…  The issue ends with the kind of exciting news that Mister Terrific’s adventures will continue in the upcoming ‘Earth-2’ series.

    THE VERDICT:  THE OLD “NON-ENDING” ENDING TECHNIQUE…

    While Static’s last ish was a pretty good standalone issue (and a not-bad issue #1, in many ways) this book suffers from ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ syndrome, as the writer clearly had a lot of things that he wanted to get in before transitioning Mister Terrific into the world of the Justice Society.  The art feels somehow rushed throughout the issue, with a lot of squash-and-stretch anatomy and some really puzzling images of Mister Terrific’s t-mask, and even the upbeat ending (which does have me looking forward to Earth-2) doesn’t overcome the challenges laid upon the story’s underpinnings by asking it to bear far too much weight.  Mister Terrific #8 is hampered by having too much story to tell and not enough pages to do it in, earning a mixed-but-primarily-positive 2 out of 5 stars overall.

    Rating: ★★☆☆☆

     

    DC dc relaunch eric wallace Mister Terrific mr. terrific New 52
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    Matthew Peterson
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    Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.

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    5 Comments

    1. TaZ on April 13, 2012 8:03 am

      Now here is one of the points that SEVERAL folks that post here regularly made back when the lineup for “the new 52” was announced which was if the fans believe that Mr. Terrific should be with the Justice Society and not this Flashpoint Main Earth then things have to be fixed in order to get the JSA back. The way that the writers are working Power Girl and The Huntress into the Main DCU Earth I can get but DAMN this is getting confusing and there are some plot holes here that are going to take Colossal Boy to fill. I’m still looking forward to the May Earth-2/Worlds’ Finest series but having Power Girl and Huntress “stuck” on DCU Main Earth and a guy who could probably come up with a way to breach realities between doing cardio workouts in the gym still involved will be hard to do.

      Reply
    2. Noobian74 on April 13, 2012 11:32 am

      Wasn’t a fan of the book when it first started. To quote the Brooklyn born poet Bugs Bunny, “It don’t do a thing for me!” Not sorry that it was canceled. Still pissed that Static was, though. Truth be told, if they wanted to do a comic about an intelligent African-American character who uses technology and deals with corporate infrastructures, they could’ve used Hardware from the Milestone books.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_(comics)

      Reply
      • Noobian74 on April 13, 2012 11:36 am

        Trust me, it was a much better story premise.

        Reply
    3. ikdks on April 13, 2012 12:11 pm

      Pity. Missed opportunity.

      Reply
    4. superman1930 on April 13, 2012 1:55 pm

      Small sales = cancellation.It’s too bad but unfortunately those are the breaks.Even Static Shock a character I enjoyed reading about and I’m talking about the original paperback book from the old publisher, well under the Dc comics banner his book also got the shaft.

      If only they chose a better writer and an artist who had a Jim Lee realistic art style to give the book more pazazz and substance then maybe more people would care for the book.That’s just my opinion but then again when we read The Flash comic book the writer makes us want to care and the art has this kinetic energy when we see him on the move.This is part of the biz that sucks for the fans of these characters whose books get cancelled but at the end of the day it’s just business.

      Reply

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