Edi Gathegi has pulled back the curtain on the DCU’s Mister Terrific, revealing that the hero’s version in Superman will depart from the source material. The upcoming James Gunn film is set to launch the new DC Universe with a world already populated by established heroes, and Mister Terrific is a key member of that ensemble, set to appear alongside other figures like Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). Now, during a recent visit to the film’s set, Gathegi spoke with ComicBook, providing details on how his character is being adapted. He confirmed that while the character’s appearance is faithful to the comics, DC Studios has taken some “liberties” with his backstory and has even created brand-new gear for him, setting him up as a unique figure in this new cinematic continuity.
“As you may or may not know, if you can’t tell, this is pretty comic accurate, which I think is so cool that they decided to do that,” Gathegi explained on set. “Outside of that, we’ve taken some liberties with the character. True to the source material to a degree, you don’t learn a lot of his backstory that you know in the comics in this film. You don’t see that. So we’re sort of building our own Mr. Terrific for the DC cinematic universe. And we’re taking liberties.” Gathegi then revealed one of those specific creative choices, teasing a new piece of technology created for the film. “There’s something else that he drives that’s not in the comics. That was the invention of this film. And it’s just as cool. I think it’s toyetic. I think little kids are going to see and go, ‘I want that for Christmas.’”
For those unfamiliar, the character of Michael Holt, a.k.a. Mister Terrific, is one of the most brilliant minds in the DC Universe, whose origin is rooted in tragedy. After his wife and unborn child die in an accident, a grief-stricken Holt is prevented from taking his own life by the Spectre, who inspires him to use his formidable intellect for good. He is a polymath with a “natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes,” an ability that allows him to master any skill almost instantly.
Mr. Terrific in a Lived-In DCU
Superman‘s approach to Mister Terrific is a clear example of the larger world-building strategy at the heart of James Gunn’s new DC Universe. Instead of following the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s highly successful Phase One model, which introduced heroes one by one in solo films before uniting them, the DCU is starting with a world that is already full of history and consequence. Canonically, this new universe began before Superman with the animated series Creature Commandos, which established Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) ongoing operations and connected directly to the events of Peacemaker. Furthermore, Gunn has confirmed that metahumans have been a known part of society for at least 300 years, meaning their existence is not a world-shattering revelation but a fact of life.
This world-building philosophy allows Superman to function as more than just a solo film; it serves as a large-scale introduction to a complex and active reality. The film is proactively seeding future projects and storylines from its very first chapter. For example, the presence of the villain Angela Spica, also known as The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), acts as a direct narrative bridge to the previously announced The Authority movie, weaving prequel elements for future stories into the fabric of the DCU’s theatrical debut. This method is designed for narrative efficiency, bypassing years of introductory setup to get straight to the core of the DCU.
Superman is scheduled to fly into theaters on July 11th.
What are your thoughts on the new DCU version of Mister Terrific? Let us know in the comments!
The post Superman’s Edi Gathegi Teases DCU’s Version of Mister Terrific, “We’ve Taken Some Liberties” appeared first on ComicBook.com.
