Nov 7, 2024
The original Mr. Terrific also made his first appearance in Sensation Comics #1 back in 1941, bringing "fair play" to the world in a story by Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp!
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The original Mr. Terrific also made his first appearance in Sensation Comics #1 back in 1941, bringing "fair play" to the world in a story by Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp!
Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 18: TNT / Thomas “Tex” N. Thomas & Dyna-Mite / Daniel Dunbar
Created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp, TNT and his young partner Dyna-Mite brought atomic energy to the Golden Age hero scene. Tex Thomas, a high school chemistry and PE teacher, was working late with his star pupil, Danny Dunbar, when an accident with radioactive salts left Tex with a positive atomic charge and Danny with a negative one. When they touched, the charges reacted, granting them superhuman strength, speed, and energy powers—Tex generating heat, Danny electricity.
Tex built “Dyna-Rings” to keep their powers dormant until needed, activating them by touching the rings together. As TNT and Dyna-Mite, they fought crime, joined the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and battled Nazi saboteurs—until Tex was killed in action in 1942, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. Danny carried on as Dyna-Mite, later joining the Young All-Stars and, in recent times, Old Justice.
TNT was briefly succeeded by a hero named TNTeena, who was killed by Copperhead, while Dyna-Mite’s mantle was briefly taken up by Dyno-Mite Dan, who was slain by Neb-Buh-Loh’s minions.
Most recently, Danny’s youth was mysteriously restored after rescuing time-lost sidekicks from the villain Childminder, leading him to form the Young Justice Society.
Group Affiliations: All-Star Squadron, Young All-Stars, Seven Soldiers of Victory, Old Justice, Young Justice Society
Speculation: TNT and Dyna-Mite’s connection to both Golden Age and modern-era sidekick teams makes them prime candidates for a multigenerational legacy story. Their powers also lend themselves to visually dynamic action sequences.
First Appearance: Star-Spangled Comics (1941) #7
Recommended Reading:
Star-Spangled Comics (1941) #7–23 – Golden Age debut.
All-Star Squadron (1981) – WWII adventures.
Young All-Stars (1987) – Danny’s solo era.
Young Justice (1998) #16 – Debut of Old Justice
Sins of Youth (2000) – Old Justice vs. Young Justice.
Stargirl: The Lost Children (2022) – Return to heroics.
Next up: Part 19: Phantom Lady / Sandra Knight
From Daring Mystery Comics #3, April 1940. Hal Sharp inks.
Info from Grand Comics Database
January 1942. If you want to talk about probably closeted JSA members, it seems like Terry Sloane (the first Mr. Terrific) should be high on the list. His origin story explains that he was a child prodigy who became a star athlete and a hugely successful businessman, but was gripped by a profound sense of alienation from his peers that he couldn't really explain. He finally became so depressed that he decided to kill himself by driving his car off a bridge. This plan was interrupted when he saw a young woman named Wanda Wilson jump off the same bridge. Thinking, "Can't let the little fool die--I must save her," Terry dived in after Wanda and rescued her. After she explained her problem — she was raising her younger brother, who'd fallen in with a bad crowd — Terry decided to delay his suicide long enough to intervene:
The badge on his very silly-looking costume reads, "FAIR PLAY," which I think we're supposed to assume he's pried off one of his old trophies. These kids subsequently gave him his name: "Mr. Terrific" (which is not the silliest name for a Golden Age costumed hero, but definitely up there). He later joined the Justice Society, although he appeared in only one published Golden Age adventure (ALL-STAR COMICS #24); his solo strip in SENSATION COMICS ran through 1947, after which he retired and became an English lit instructor at Gateway University. As later established in JSA, he never married or had any children of his own, but he raised his niece Veronica after the disappearance of his brother Ned in 1951.
The original Mr. Terrific is now best known for his murder: He was killed in 1979 by a (never-before seen) old enemy called the Spirit King in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #171, for reasons unknown.
"Riddle of the Runaway Comic" begins when Barney Sands, Barry Allen's kid neighbor, "loses" his copy of Flash Comics #26... which mysteriously appears in Barry's collection. Barry, we all know you're a Jay Garrick fan, but really..?
The Flash #269, December 1978, written by Cary Bates, interior art by Irv Novick (pencils) and Gene d'Angelo (inks), cover by Al Milgrom (pencils) and Dick Giordano (inks)
Flash Comics #26, February 1942, cover by E. E. Hibbard (pencils) and Hal Sharp (inks)
Well-- before I do away with myself, I think I’ll try once more to get some fun out of things.
Terry Sloane’s first appearance in Sensation Comics (1942) #1
(Charles Reizenstein, Hal Sharp)
This month marks 80 years of DC's original spider-man, The Tarantula!
Busy as a paper rabbit in a furnace!