Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane)

Terry Sloane was a rich man whose photographic memory, Olympic-level athletic skills, and mastery of the martial arts made him a virtual Renaissance man. After graduating college at age thirteen, he eventually became a renowned business leader in the community. Having accomplished all of his goals by the time he was in his early 20s, Terry felt there were no challenges left for him to pursue, leading him towards suicidal tendencies. However, upon seeing a young woman jump from a bridge, Sloane reacted quickly and saved her. He learned her name was Wanda Wilson. Sloane assisted her brother, who had been caught up in a gang, by creating the Mister Terrific persona. He then designed the "Fair Play Club" to stymie growing juvenile delinquency.{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020 |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/mrterrif.htm |title=Mr. Terrific}}

Sometimes nicknamed "The Man of 1,000 Talents", Terry Sloane turned to crimefighting after excelling at everything else. He wore a red suit with a green tunic. A golden emblem on his tunic proclaimed his motto, "Fair Play".{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Kurt |last2=Thomas |first2=Roy |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944 |date=2019 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490892 |page=140}}

According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "his Rogues Gallery includes Black Barax, the Tyrant from the Year 7532; Dr. Laff, who uses practical jokes like itching powder and venomous snakes to commit crimes; the Five Geniuses, five talented men who commit crimes to entertain themselves; and Terry Savatte, a tap dancing savate master".{{cite book |last1=Nevins |first1=Jess |title=Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes |date=2013 |publisher=High Rock Press |isbn=978-1-61318-023-5 |page=187}}

Mister Terrific became a reserve member of the Justice Society of America, taking part in two of their chronicled 1940s adventures. He also was a full-fledged member of the All-Star Squadron and assisted both teams on several more occasions throughout the remaining decade, retiring along with his peers in 1951.

Sloane resumed his crimefighting career, at which point he was given full status as a member of the Justice Society. On several occasions he assisted them in various cases, such as combating the Lawless League and the Black Orb crime gang.

Sloane made an appearance in Justice League Year One, at the first gathering of the League. He was seen being looked after by Phantom Lady during a gathering of heroes on Blackhawk Island, after the final defeat of the alien Apellaxian army.

Sloane came out of retirement to pursue his old nemesis, the Spirit King. The Spirit King took control of the Golden Age Flash and used him to kill Sloane.Justice League of America #171 (October 1979){{cite book|last=McAvennie|first= Michael|editor-last = Dolan|editor-first = Hannah|chapter= 1970s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 182 |quote = Writer Gerry Conway and artist Dick Dillin crafted a tale of foul play aboard the JLA satellite, during the team's annual get-together with Earth-2's JSA. Mr. Terrific...was murdered before he could expose a turncoat among the heroes.}}

Following his death, Sloane appears as a spirit and via time travel.Starman vol. 2 #37. DC Comics.Day of Judgement #2. DC Comics. In Blackest Night, Sloane is resurrected as a Black Lantern before his successor, Michael Holt, kills him.Blackest Night #4. DC Comics.Blackest Night: JSA #1-3 (2009-2010). DC Comics.

The New Golden Age reveals that Mister Terrific had a sidekick named Quiz Kid who was one of thirteen sidekicks kidnapped by the Time Masters to prevent them from being erased from existence after Doctor Manhattan altered the timeline to stop the Justice Society from forming.The New Golden Age #1. DC Comics. Stargirl later rescues him and twelve other sidekicks before bringing them to the present day.

Terry Sloane had no superhuman powers, but he was a master martial artist and an Olympic-level athlete with a genius-level intellect. He also possessed photographic memory allowing him to remember important clues and information.

• An alternate universe variant of Terry Sloane appears in JSA: The Liberty Files and JSA: The Unholy Three. This version is a World War II intelligence agent.
• A villainous alternate universe variant of Terry Sloane from Earth-Two appears in The New 52.{{cite web |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=July 13, 2012 |title=The Fall of Guy Gardner in the Third Army |url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/13/the-fall-of-guy-gardner-in-the-third-army/ |access-date=July 14, 2012 |publisher=Bleeding Cool}}Earth 2 #2 (June 2012). DC Comics.Earth 2 #0. DC Comics.Earth 2: Society #1 - #4. DC Comics.

• Terry Sloane / Mister Terrific makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Smallville two-part episode "Absolute Justice" via a painting that depicts him as a member of the Justice Society of America.
• Terry Sloane / Mister Terrific makes a non-speaking appearance in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!" as a member of the Justice Society of America.
• Terry Sloane / Mister Terrific appears as a character summon in the video game Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 2, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=August 8, 2024 |website=IGN |language=en}}

Mr. Terrific is one of seven JSA-related heroes whose earliest solo appearances are collected in an anthology entry in the DC Archive Editions series:

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.toonopedia.com/mrterrif.htm Mr. Terrific] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. [https://www.webcitation.org/6fukHsvMu?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/mrterrif.htm Archived] from the original on March 10, 2016.
• [http://www.comicsarchives.org/MRTERRIFIC.html JSA Fact File: Mister Terrific I]
• [http://www.dcindexes.com/indexes/indexes.php?character=184 Earth-2 Mister Terrific Index]

{{Justice Society of America}}

{{All-Star Squadron}}

{{Earth-Two}}

{{GoldenAge}}

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1942

Category:DC Comics male superheroes

Category:DC Comics martial artists

Category:DC Comics superheroes

Category:Earth-Two

Category:Golden Age superheroes

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