Why The Terrifics Would Be Great For James Gunn's DC Universe

dcThe live-action DC Universe is headed towards a new era, with James Gunn and Peter Safran recently stepping in as co-CEOs of DC Studios. Under their tenure, Gunn and Safran are developing a number of movies and Max-exclusive shows, the first ten of which were publicly unveiled earlier this year. As DC fans will probably attest, there's no shortage of options for characters who could just join the universe — but there has been some scuttlebutt and speculation surrounding The Terrifics. The team, which are a newer addition to DC's arsenal, were teased by Gunn on social media earlier this spring, and rumors have suggested that Mister Terrific could end up appearing in Superman: Legacy. So, who are The Terrifics, and how could they (hypothetically) fit into the DCU?

Who are DC's The Terrifics?

Created by Jeff Lemire and Ivan Reis in 2018's The Terrifics #1, The Terrifics are an allaince between Mr. Terrific, Phantom Girl, Metamorpho, and Plastic Man. Originally a sendup to Marvel's Fantastic Four, the four previously-solo heroes accidentally meet and are cosmically bonded together in the Dark Multiverse.

As a group, they fought an electronic version of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, stopped a time-traveling Bizarro from ruining the past and future, went through a literal choose-your-own adventure story, and other madcap adventures. The Terrifics book also became a second home for oft-forgotten characters like Tom Strong, Man-Bat, and Blue Beetle.

How could The Terrifics fit into the DCU?

On paper, and given how much ground the new DCU has to cover, The Terrifics might not seem like a shoe-in for the early parts of the franchise. But that sense of scrappiness is nothing new in the franchise's past and future — Gunn's The Suicide Squad already included an incredibly-specific crop of obscure comic characters, with Peacemaker following suit on a smaller scale. Weaving The Terrifics into the DCU, even just individually, would introduce even more wacky and character-driven lore, and make the fictional world feel even bigger as a result. As decades of comics have proven, each of the members of The Terrifics can work well as a standalone hero, with every team member (outside of Phantom Girl) getting an ongoing title at one point or another. It doesn't seem out of the realm that any of the team could play a supporting role in whatever the DCU has in store. 

Beyond that, even on a symbolic level, bringing The Terrifics into live-action in this new DCU could reflect what the franchise is prioritizing — a world that is reverential to the comics, tonally-unique, and unabashedly weird. Eventually showing the team as a fully-formed alliance of lovable characters could help flesh out the scientific and bizarre parts of the DCU, not unlike how Gunn introduced the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU. Sure, The Terrifics are far from household names — but in the fold of the DCU, their madcap adventures could easily be legendary. (Plus, let's be honest — given the team's roots, it would be hilarious if The Terrifics somehow managed to appearer in live-action before Marvel's long-gestating Fantastic Four reboot arrives in 2025 or later.)

Would you want to see The Terrifics be part of the new DC Universe? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!