You have to understand. Ever since I put on the T, I've had to face... OTHERWORDLY FORCES. I've led a group of extraordinary people... with the power of the GODS... fought monsters... I even formed my own team of misfits that went to strange worlds and different DIMENSIONS. They all had abilities I could only DREAM of. But I DO have a SUPERPOWER... my MIND. โธป Mr. Terrific: Year One #1
I'M HERE TO MAKE THE MULTIVERSE PLAY FAIR. thirdsmartest* is an independent, low activity, and mutually exclusive roleplay blog for MICHAEL HOLT, the second MR. TERRIFIC from dc. inspired by edi gathegi's terrific performance in james gunn's superman (2025) and backed up by nearly thirty years of comics.
LINKS:ย MEMES โง INTERACTION GUIDE โง HEADCANONS โง PROMO
BLOGROLL: Lex Luthor โง Brainiac โง Bruce Wayne โง Multimuse
JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS: @am4zon, @bruisedlegacy, @sm4llville
TERRIFITECH ADMIRERS: @teschmacher +blogroll
[ย โย ]ย ย ย the dcu may have given me a newfound appreciation for mr. terrific but my main portrayal of him will be derived from the comics. I will still useย edi gathegi as my live action faceclaim in threads that take place in my 'main verse' if my partner opts to use a live action faceclaim instead of comic art. I'm still feeling out michael and reading his comics, so I appreciate your patience!
[ย โย ]ย ย ย don't godmod, don't metagame, and don't be a butthead. minors dni. please consistently tag your posts, I won't follow blogs who don't use tags.
[ย โย ]ย ย ย potentially triggering content will be tagged as #trigger / and sexually suggestive or explicitly sexual posts will be tagged as #suggestive / and #nsfw /. mr. terrific's story also involves suicide ideation and attempted suicide, so mentions of that may come up and will be tagged appropriately.
[ย โย ]ย ย ย I am mutually exclusive, meaning I only write and interact with people I follow who are also following me! if you ever decide you don't want to be mutuals anymore, please feel free to soft/hard block me, whichever one you're more comfortable with; I'll do the same according to your preference. I take my time to read people's rules and about pages, so please give me a few days to follow back!
[ย โ ย ]ย ย ย shipping is not a priority here. michael is still grieving the loss of his wife, paula, andโdepending on where we're at in mr. t's timelineโtheir unborn son. if I'm able to develop something organically with someone, then great! but that isn't my goal here so please don't follow me with the endgame of shipping your character with mr. terrific.
did you seriously just... draw a smiley face on my t-sphere with a sharpie?
BEAMING WITH PRIDE, a nod is quick to follow. โย ain't it so cute? i was thinking of doin' a kitty cat face next time. gotta' start small & work up, y'know? โ
ย ย ย ย ย unbelievable. if mr. terrific's neutral face of displeasure doesn't tell harley her little 'arts and crafts' project isn't appreciated, then maybe the legal concept of property damage will: " that better come off, or you'll be owing me some serious money, quinn. those things aren't cheap! "
(who's he kidding? chances are this will only encourage her mischief.)
ย ย ย ย ย he holds a hand out expectantly, clearly indicating he wants his vandalized t-sphere back; when harley doesn't immediately capitulate, mr. terrific arches a brow. " you really gonna make me count to three? "
โคท ใ@thirdsmartest : 34 sender is found by receiver somewhere they shouldnโt be . (batman not the only one skulking around odette's sewer fjsjfhjsfh)
แฏ nonverbal prompts แตแต
as if one notorious intruder wasnโt enough, rats had to forewarn her of another? oh my goooood, did these people ever stick to themselves? there was no such thing as privacy in this city. itโs like squatterโs rights didnโt mean anything anymore. maybe odette should take that to court. ย ( yeah, her and what money? thatโs funny. )
children inform her this is someone theyโd never caught wind of before. it only got better, apparently. as if that stupid bat didnโt have enough birds under his wing; what, heโd found another just, laying around? seemed to be how it worked!
she stays strictly out of the water in an attempt to keep her approach quieted, the lantern slung on her hip decidedly unlit. she didnโt need it ย - ย saw better in the dreary conditions anyhow.
plans had been made in her head to โฆ. sneak attack? he looked easy enough to tackle to the ground from behind. focused on something at his feet, squatted down and observing it with tech far more advanced than her flimsy flip phone. she wouldnโt attempt to understand it.
sheโs more so stuck on who the fuck this guy even was. sheโs never seen him in her life. though, that wasnโt exactly uncommon.
turns out, he's smarter than her. this was also not uncommon. while odette believes herself the upper hand here, itโs obvious an eye is being kept on her. her takedown attempt, embarrassingly futile. the guy swiftly dodges out of her grasp, cause for the woman to helplessly squeak. s flail, and she slams face first into the filthy concrete. ย ย โ guh. โ
odette sits up. one of his stupid fushigi magic orbs cracks the back of her skull, cause for her to crumble once more. ย ย โ OWWW!!!! what โda fuck! ow! seriously? Wh - who - WHO EVEN ARE YOU, MAN! โdat was assault, yโknow, i should call โda bat! โ
ย ย ย ย ย michael had his t-spheres run the analysis again. and again. and then a third time, just to be sure. scouring the maze that was gotham's sewage system isn't exactly how he wanted to spend his evening (then again, who does?) but the data was clear: a faint signature, just barely thereโcould be a whole lot of nothing or a whole lot of something, and few are as qualified to determine which one it is than mr. terrific himself. batman won't mind; the streets are keeping him busy enough.
ย ย ย ย ย worst case scenario, michael figured, would be running into someone like killer croc or solomon grundy. he kept his head on a swivel and his t-spheres scanning the network of tunnels and canals as he followed the trail of residual energy. at one point, his t-spheres pick up several heat signatures that seem to be moving parallel to to him; most of them are relatively small, but one is large enough to be a person.
ย ย ย ย ย admittedly, michael hadn't considered the possibility of encountering mole people down here. only in gotham...
" 'assault?' that's a bold accusation coming from the one who just tried to jump me! " mr. terrific retorts, making a hand gesture that signals the offending t-sphere to prepare to knock her down again if need be. another one proceeds to scan her for any weapons or explosive devices.
" the name's mr. terrific. I thought you'd have figured that much out from my jacket, on account of the fact you've been tailing me for the past fifteen minutes. " michael's brows furrow beneath his mask as he places his hands on his hips, annoyance giving way to bemusementโespecially over being threatened with batman of all things.
" and just who the hell are you supposed to be? the fumigator? "
I was inspired by @wizzos's super neat plotting guides to write up my own version to provide some ideas for how your character may know and/or can interact with Michael, and to also give a general overview of Mr. Terrific for those who may be unfamiliar with him (but think he's cool af, hence why you're here in the first place).
โช WHO IS MICHAEL HOLT?
Perhaps best known as the third smartest man in the world*, Michael Holt is a prodigy with many achievements under his belt: he's a gold medal-winning Olympic decathlete, a self-made multi-millionaire who created several high-tech firms starting at the age of twenty, and has 14 PhDs as well a several doctorates and masters in a variety of subjects. He became a well-known and well-loved public figure in his hometown of Gateway City thanks in part to his dedication to improving the Bottoms, a working-class, lower-middle-income neighborhood he grew up in.
After the tragic death of his wife, Paula, and the murder of his best friend, Dre, Michael planned to join his lost loved ones by jumping off a bridge until the Spectre intervened. The spirit and its host, Jim Corrigan, told him about Terry Sloane, the original Mr. Terrific, who turned himself into a symbol of hope for the people who need it mostโlike the people in the Bottoms who don't get a "fair shake." Michael, inspired by the story of Terry, decided to don the mantle of Mr. Terrific and make the multiverse play fair.
* In Justice League Action, Michael implies that he is the one who wrote the list, intentionally placing himself in third place so others will underestimate him.
โช WHERE CAN YOU FIND HIM?
Michael's adventures routinely take him all over the world and beyond, and have even transcended space and time. He's commonly found in Metropolis, Gotham, Central City, and his hometown of Gateway City. He also spends a lot of time in the Justice League Watchtower, an orbital space station with several satellites outside Earth's exosphere.
For specific places, Michael can be found in labs, basketball courts, track fields, arcades, car shows, hobby shops, escape rooms, Steelworks in Metropolis, Wayne Enterprises in Gotham, anywhere there are temporal anomalies (especially ones connected to Apokolips), and at home in Gateway City with Jeffrey and Raghu.
โช WHAT DOES HE LIKE TO DO?
Michael is a total nerd. He took Paula to a coin-op arcade for their first date where they played a fantasy game called Gauntlet all night. He's definitely someone who collects and plays TCGs like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon, is a forever DM for Dungeons & Dragons, and probably knows a concerning amount of Warhammer 40K lore.
He also enjoys taking things apart and putting them back together, which we see in Mr. Terrific: Year One where he has an old muscle car he's modified with high-tech equipment and voice recognition software he named Etta. This likely extends to other hobbies that focus heavily on customization, such as building computers, modding bicycles/motorcycles, Legos, figure painting, Gundam model kits, etc.
As a former Olympian decathlete, Michael also spends a lot of time working out; running is his primary activity, but he also lifts weights and practices martial arts.
Once he's reunited with his son, Michael and Jeffrey probably play a variety of games together as their main form of bonding. I like to think they have a long-standing Minecraft server they build and play in together along with Raghu.
โช WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN HIS LIFE?
Paula Holt is Michael's late wife who died in a car accident while pregnant with their son. She was also his business partner and who Michael considered to be the "true" brains behind their company, Holt Industries. Her death is the catalyst that sets him on the path to becoming the second Mr. Terrific.
Jeffrey "PJ" Holt is Michael and Paula's son, who was previously thought to have died in the car accident that killed Paula. He was actually snatched from Paula's womb by Granny Goodness and raised in Apokolips as a child soldier. The two have since been reunited with the help of the Flash Family, and are now attempting to bond as father and son. Jeffrey has adopted the superhero name of Fairplay in honor of Mr. Terrific's motto, and is part of the latest iteration of the Teen Titans.
Dre Dingle was Michael's best friend since sixth grade and the one who helped push him to competing in the Olympics. He was also Michael's anchor after Paula's death sent him into a depressive spiral, making sure he ate and encouraging him to "get back that Holt drive." He was murdered by Athena Prescott's hired guns while investigating her use of the Nexus Engine that was making the people of Gateway City deathly ill.
Jefferson Pierce is the superhero known as Black Lightning and became a close friend of Michael and Dre during their time as Olympic athletes. While they became estranged following Paula's death, the two have since reconciled and Jefferson helped Michael transition from civlian to superhero during his early days as Mr. Terrific.
Raghu Seetharaman is the superhero known as Quiz Kid, and was the ward and sidekick of Terry Sloane, the original Mr. Terrific. He was kidnapped by the Childminder and kept on Orphan Island outside the natural flow of time, keeping him from aging. He eventually escaped, but was unable to return to his proper timeline; Michael, now the new Mr. Terrific, welcomed Raghu to stay with him. He is Jeffrey Holt's best friend.
Wally West is the third superhero to take up the mantle of the Flash and who Michael employed at Terrifictech as an engineer to help him support his family. In return, Michael studied Wally's connection to the Speed Force to better understand temporal anomalies and the multiverse. Wally helped reunite Michael and Jeffrey when his own son, Wade, was kidnapped by Granny Goodness and taken to the Palace of Eternity.
Sasha Bordeaux is a former member of Checkmate who became romantically involved with Michael during their time in the organization. I honestly don't know if this is still canon since we haven't seen her and Michael together since, but she's worth mentioning as their relationship was very important for Michael's development.
Michael also considers Rex Mason, Patrick O'Brien, Linnya Wazzo, Pieter Cross, Kendra Saunders, and Guy Gardner his good friends and teammates.
โช WHAT AFFILIATIONS DOES HE HAVE?
Justice League, Justice Society of America, Justice Gang (DCU), The Terrifics, and he was previously a member of the now defunct Checkmate. I wish he had been a part of the Power Company. He also has close ties to the Flash Family and the Super Family.
โช HOW DOES HE HANDLE CHALLENGES?
Michael loves challenges. He considers himself to be at his best when faced with something entirely new that requires him to use different tactics and perspectives than he's accustomed to. For him it's a game, and he always intends to win.
While this is great for "real world" problems that often need to be solved for the sake of the multiverse, Michael does tend to struggle more with conflicts that come up in his interpersonal relationships; he usually believes that if he can explain himself "well enough," then that will "fix" whatever the issue may be.
I love that feeling of likeโฆ having alone time but also with someone? You know when youโre in the same room, sitting together on the sofa or the bed, quietly and separately doing your own things. Maybe leaning against each other or softly touching. Sometimes you donโt actually wanna talk but youโre still enjoying the silent presence of that person. Thereโs a sense of quiet, peaceful comfort.
ย ย ย ย ย the question is met with a profound side eye. the silence stretches for what feels like an uncomfortable amount of timeโlong enough that knox may be convinced that look of incredulity is the only 'answer' he's going to get. " it's been known to happen on occasion, " mr. terrific finally says with a light shrug, his expression losing its earlier intensity.
" but that doesn't change the fact that this is objectively a bad idea, " he continues. the good news is that knox seems willing to listen instead of mindlessly charging ahead, so they've got that going for them. " let me put it this way: if the best case scenario is me being wrong, then that doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it? what we need is a plan. "
he sets off two alarms in eve's mind that reach a pitch loud enough for her to burst. first, mr. terrific just wants to get information out of her. it's fine, it's cool, that was always as obvious as the color of the sky. he never pretended otherwise, which is more than she can say for some of the ex-friends in her life. yet, it stills makes her jaw tighten and her teeth clench that this is her only contribution. her worth to others is now measured by how much she's willing to snitch. ugh!
one day, a girl goes from being involved in top-level schemes. schemes that could literally determine the fate of the whole world! then, the next day? she's treated like a piggy bank--- shake her hard enough and maybe a coin worth something will slip out of her mouth.
anyways, the second alarm upsets her way more than the first. mr. terrific asks the question that everybody and their mother asks, but no one actually wants the answer to. why did you do it, eve? mr. terrific is even enough of a "gentleman" to offer her a script: it was dangerous! it was wrong! but what if the story isn't so simple?
โ do you know how complicated love gets, mr. terrific? โ she throws the question out there as carelessly as she throws herself on the sofa. immediately after, her fingertips reach to rub her temples, but she's quick to speak again before he can even process her first thought. โ see, the thing is, it doesn't even matter if you do, because i still don't think you'd get how complicated it is to love someone like lex luthor. โ
she looks back up at mr. terrific, but the fight in her is already deflating. โ are you following what i'm saying so far? โ
ย ย ย ย ย michael's lips press into a thin line. he probably should have anticipated that an appeal to her better nature may fail due to a possible lack thereof, given her prior affiliations. he's not going to even try to pretend to understand the dynamics at play between a man like lex luthor and a woman like eve teschmacher, but he does know enough about love and loss that he's fairly certain she's been in the process of mourning for a while nowโmaybe even well before luthor lost his goddamn mind and tried to tear metropolis in half.
" you're right, miss teschmacher, I don't know what that's like, " mr. terrific says, moving to stand in front of her. he's already accepted that this is going nowhere in terms of his investigation, but maybe she could benefit from a sliver of his own experience with the topic.
" butย here'sย whatย Iย doย know: loving someone who makes it that complicated is just as demanding as it can be rewarding. the problem usually lies in one outweighing the other. for your sake, I hope being with him feels more like the latter than the formerโI really do. "
ย ย ย ย ย in the end, he thinks it might have been the opposite for paula.
" I'm sorry for disturbing you and your... " a quick glance at the creature she introduced as 'mr. handsome,' still placidly stroking the cat in its lap. " ... company, miss tescmacher. I'll go ahead and see myself out. "
I'm very interested in threads where I get to explore the relationship between Michael and his son Jeffrey (nicknamed "PJ"), especially since I don't really have much faith in DC addressing the elephant in the room: PJ was raised on Apokolips by Granny Goodness to be a child soldier. He has been given the official diagnosis of "autism," which is fine, I hc that his father is on the spectrum as well, but it really feels like DC did this to "hand-wave" any strange behaviors that PJ may exhibit as as a result of his traumatic upbringing as, "well he's autistic, so..." instead of actively delving into how a child who was violently taken away from his family and raised in a literal hellscape for x number of years would likely have severe behavioral issues / CPTSD.
Michael himself admits to struggling with suddenly having to be a father to the son he thought he'd lost, and seems to rely heavily on PJ's friendship with Raghu Seetharaman to socialize his son and give him a sense of belonging. PJ also looks a lot like Paula so I would not be surprised if that contributes to Michael's difficulties with regard to being the father PJ needs. :( I am very excited for Fairplay to join the Teen Titans in a new ongoing, and I hope DC proves me wrong about glossing over his backstory and difficulties bonding with his father, but I think we all know how these things tend to go...
ย ย ย ย ย michael doesn't have to look up from his computer to know lobo's thereโธปhis nose tells him the bounty hunter's near well before his ears do, unfortunately. " I wouldn't expect a man who makes his living off working for the highest bidder to jibe with the concept of fairness, " he retorts, fingers still typing away at the keyboard.
" but you do know what a contract is and to follow the terms of your employer. " a beat. " for the most part, anyway. one of the league's 'terms' is to not use our communication devices for personal reasons. everything goes through the watchtower satellite, including pictures. "
ย ย ย ย ย mr. terrific finally glances up at @lobotcmy, clearly displeased.
" feel free to pass the message along to guy next time you see him. "
