DC Comics Just Revealed Who's the Justice League's Most Powerful Member

The Justice League is a collection of the DC Universe’s mightiest heroes. Since the team’s debut in 1960, it has included some of the most powerful, god-like superheroes, and many readers still debate who’s the strongest of them all. This debate has only grown with the formation of Justice League Unlimited, including dozens of new members, along with the reformed Legion of Doom joining their ranks. Heroes like Superman and the Flash possess infinite power and can destroy universes and rewrite history. Yet the latest issues of Justice League Unlimited have one of the team’s members crowning himself the most powerful hero in the Justice League’s entire roster.

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Ever since the events of DC K.O., Justice League Unlimited has been preparing countermeasures for Darkseid’s inevitable return. The most powerful of these plans is the Power Bank, which stores copies of every Justice Leaguer’s abilities. With this device, anyone can gain the powers of any Justice League member. Starting with Justice League Unlimited #19, one of the ongoing story arcs involves Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Metamorpho transporting the Power Bank to Oa for safekeeping until they find themselves being attacked by every intergalactic villain who wants to get their hands on it. And in the chaos, a Justice Leaguer transformed into a god: Mr. Terrific.

Mr. Terrific is a One-Man Justice League

One of the first villains to attack the Justice Gang for the Power Bank was Despero, whose telepathic might quickly began overwhelming the four heroes. To defeat this all-powerful villain, Mr. Terrific took it upon himself to absorb the entire Power Bank catalog. In an instant, Mr. Terrific went from the world’s third-smartest man and a skilled hand-to-hand fighter to an unstoppable powerhouse wielding every superpower his Justice League teammates have to offer. And after defeating Despero in a matter of moments in the previous issue, Mr. Terrific shows the true extent of his newfound power in Justice League Unlimited #23.

Next to feel the wrath of the empowered Mr. Terrific are the space pirate Kanjar Ro and his band of alien goons, the Scavengers. In moments, Mr. Terrific flawlessly uses Superman’s super-strength and freeze-breath, Firestorm’s energy projection, Aquaman’s hydrokinesis, and Martian Manhunter’s telepathy to humiliate the Scavengers. Even more impressively, the Power Bank lets Mr. Terrific cast spells like Zatanna to heal his comrades. Now, with the literal snap of his fingers, Mr. Terrific can magically combine abilities like teleportation and telekinesis to move civilians out of harm’s way. Yet it’s not the powers of the entire Justice League at his fingertips that make Mr. Terrific the League’s most powerful member; it’s his intelligence.

Mr. Terrific is the third-smartest man in the world and has developed technology most of the League can barely comprehend. So, what makes Mr. Terrific absorbing the Power Bank is that he, more than arguably anyone else, knows how to use its capabilities to their full potential. Mr. Terrific is a technical and strategic genius who can instantly devise complex plans to win battles. He’s already shown to have practically mastered all his new powers and can even combine them. Mr. Terrific even says that with his newfound super-speed, his already-genius mind is processing information and developing strategies even faster and more in-depth than ever before. Mr. Terrific is now the perfect blend of brains and brawn.

Mr. Terrific and Absolute Power Is a Dangerous Combination

On paper, the idea of Mr. Terrific possessing the powers of every Justice League member is a match made in heaven given his intellect and creativity. However, almost immediately upon absorbing the Power Bank, Mr. Terrific has shown that it’s already corrupting his mind. Normally, Mr. Terrific is amongst the most level-headed and logical members of the Justice League. Yet now he’s growing increasingly drunk on the absolute power this new form has granted him, and it plays into the wider theme the DC Universe has been exploring for years.

Not only is Mr. Terrific’s application of all the Justice League’s powers extremely successful, but it’s also downright brutal. Mr. Terrific held practically nothing back when fighting both Despero and the Scavengers. When the Justice Gang suggested that Mr. Terrific return his power-up to the Power Bank, he flat-out refused because he believes that he alone can use this unlimited power for good. However, those hopes for Mr. Terrific to use these powers strictly altruistically fall flat when he repeatedly claims to be a god. With Mr. Terrific’s intellect and newfound array of powers, the idea of him developing a god complex is terrifying and will undoubtedly lead him to go mad with power and fight the rest of the Justice Gang.

Mr. Terrific’s newfound power and corruption fit into a broader message DC has been emphasizing throughout its titles about the nature of absolute power. Just two years ago, there was an event called Absolute Power, where Amanda Waller tried to destroy the superhero community to make a grab for global power. DC K.O. also saw heroes becoming increasingly corrupted and violent as they fought to wield the omnipotent Heart of Apokolips and use its power to defeat Darkseid and remake the universe. Currently, Wally West’s future vision is leading him to become increasingly fascist as he tries to stop crimes preemptively. Outside of Superman, DC Comics is making it clear that infinite power is a slippery slope that can corrupt even the most collected of minds like Mr. Terrific.

The recurring theme of absolute power corrupting heroes will undoubtedly continue to play a big role in DC Comics with the Absolute Crisis and the epic battle against Darkseid on the horizon. Hopefully, beforehand, the Justice Gang will be able to knock Mr. Terrific back to his senses and prevent him from becoming Earth’s next big threat.