Stuck Together: The Terrifics (DC Comics, 2018)

DC has been struggling for the last several years, consistently coming in second or even third. The New 52 had it’s fans, but it also had it’s detractors. To counter this, DC introduced Rebirth, an attempt at course correction.  And it has been fairly successful.  But DC has also been doing some big events.  Last year they did something called Dark Knights: Metal. It involved a dark alternate universe…or something…I did not read it.

But spinning out of that is several new books.  The one that intrigued me most was the Terrifics.  In part it was the fact that the art would be handled by Evan ‘Doc’ Shaner.  The other big selling point was Plastic Man.  I have had a love for Plastic Man since I was a little kid.

Apparently, in the Dark Knights: Metal event left Plastic Man dormant in the form of an…egg?

When Mr. Terrific is requested to help Simon Stagg with a portal to the Dark Multiverse, he discovers that Metamorpho is in a tortured state.  They end up pulled into the Dark Multiverse where they find Plastic Man springing back to life.  They start to explore the Dark Multiverse and run into the Legion of Superheroes’ Phantom Girl, who has been stuck there and intangible for years.

When they return they find some problems…when Phantom Girl becomes solid, everything she touches explodes, and when everyone tries to leave and go their own ways, they discover the four are bound to each other.

The general resemblance to the Fantastic Four is impossible to ignore. You have a bulky elemental guy, a phantom girl, a stretchy guy…buy the personalities of the characters are what set the characters apart.  Okay, Metamorpho is in a state of irritation and heartbreak is pretty much like the FF’s Thing. But Plastic Man is a chatterbox who is not exactly…the smartest of the group.  Mr. Terrific is distant and brilliant.  And Phantom Girl just wants to be tangible again.

Now, Lemire has made this pretty fun.  The characters are forced to be together, in spite of not liking each other very much. This conflict is used for fun.  However, there have been some action scenes that felt like they were not plot based, but rather because Lemire thought he needed to speed things up.

But the bickering between the forced team, especially as the brilliant Mr. Terrific becomes increasingly frustrated with the others, is pretty solid and entertaining.

Hopefully, some of the stuff that seems rather arbitrary will reveal themselves to be part of a larger plan.

The first three issues were supposed to feature the art of Ivan Reis, with Evan Doc Shaner taking over with issue four.  However, the third issue was not drawn by Ivan Reis.  Hopefully, when Shaner takes over we will see more consistency. Especially as I happen to be enjoying this team.