Superhero teams are one of the best parts of a shared comic book universe. The Justice League, the Avengers, and the Teen Titans are all beloved teams that let us see some of our favorite superheroes bounce off of each other and go against threats they would never be able to handle on their own. DC is certainly no stranger to teams, but the majority of its hero roster tends to fall under the Justice League umbrella – especially with the Justice League Unlimited expansion. This is definitely not a bad thing, but smaller, intimate teams have a certain dynamic that larger teams can’t. But DC just fixed that problem with the “Terrific Ten.”
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Fans of James Gunn’s Superman will especially want to check out the newest DC team, as it’s led by none other than the breakout star of the movie, Mister Terrific. The mainstays of the Justice League are otherwise occupied trying to save the world from King Omega Darkseid (in DC’s “K.O.” event), so when a new threat needs to be dealt with, Mister Terrific assembles nine time-displaced heroes to handle it and save the world in Justice League Unlimited #12. This is everything we could want from a team, and we need more of it.
The Terrific Team Destined For Hell
While the biggest Justice League names are competing to crown their own King Omega in DC K.O., the rest of the team are trying to evacuate the Earth in case things go belly up. That task is made infinitely harder by the ruler of Hell, Neron, powering up every D and C-list villain to be an A-tier threat, promising them safety in Hell if they cause as much chaos as possible. With the few available heroes dropping like flies, Mister Terrific decides that the only way to stop this is to cut off the snake’s head and bring down Neron. To that end, he assembles the nine time-displaced heroes, stranded in the present by the events of “We Are Yesterday”.
Terrific explained that not only were these heroes stuck in the present, but none of them were the originals. In actuality, they were chronal clones created when the timeline all but collapsed thanks to Darkseid’s arrival. Still, Terrific knew that all of these people were heroes to their core, and even knowing that they aren’t who they think won’t stop them from doing what they know is right. He told them about the plan to take down Neron, a mission that it’s very likely none of them would return from, and even if they do, they’ll cease to exist once the timeline fixes itself. With that, he gave them a few hours to prepare.
The various heroes prepared emotionally. Guy went to see Ice, only to find out they eventually broke up, and left with tears in his eyes. Aquaman checked his other self’s room in the Watchtower, where he discovered he had a daughter, and was told about her by Martian Manhunter. Owlwoman, Doctor Fate, and Gold Hawk bonded over being strangers to this time and missing their own homes. Power Girl left her other self a message, telling her that they can learn to let go of the rage they feel and find peace. Once they all had their moments of preparation, they descended to Hell together.
A Team With Nothing to Lose (& Free to Be Anything)
This team has a lot going for it. First off, it gives the spotlight to Mister Terrific and lets him show off his leadership skills, as well as showcasing just how awesome a character he is. He’s one of DC’s most underutilized heroes, and he’s finally getting the chance he deserves to show that he can stand next to the best of them. Beyond that, the lineup of the heroes chosen is really interesting to see. We have nearly all of the mainstays of the Justice League in some shape or form, but we get to see underrated or beloved incarnations of all of them, as well as some new takes on others.
Hook-handed Aquaman is one of the coolest versions of Aquaman, Blue Superman is a great snapshot that deserves to be explored in a setting like this, and Alan Scott with the Kingdom Come design is enough to make any Green Lantern fanboy squeal. As awesome as every chosen character is, the best thing about this team is easily the concept of them being temporal clones of the real heroes who know they are going to die if they succeed on their mission. It adds immediate tension to their existence and frees the story to do legitimately anything they want with what are effectively continuity-free action figures of their favorite heroes.
The Terrific Ten are practically a heroic version of the Suicide Squad, but instead of being threatened with death, they’re willingly running towards it to save the day. Anything can happen to these characters; their dynamic is fantastic, and they have a strong focus on the individual emotions of every member. This is the perfect setup for a fantastic team, especially when they have a mission as exciting as literally going to take down the devil. This team has a pre-established expiration date, but I still hope that we’ll get to see more of them, because they are very entertaining to see in action.
Justice League Unlimited #12 is on sale now!
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