DC and Marvel are constantly taking shots at each other, but with The Terrifics, DC is shamelessly trolling the competition. Marvel hasn’t had an ongoing Fantastic Four series in three years, and seeing the angry fan response, DC decided to fill the void by launching The Terrifics, a new series featuring a superhero quartet that aligns with the personality and power set of Marvel’s team. It’s also written by Jeff Lemire, who returns to DC after ending a two-year exclusive contract with Marvel; that gives the impression that The Terrifics is Lemire’s opportunity to write the Fantastic Four story that Marvel wouldn’t approve. That said, this new series is firmly tied to DC mythology, spinning out of the blockbuster event Dark Nights: Metal and featuring characters from different corners of the DC universe, including Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse’s Tom Strong in a surprising, controversial move.
This exclusive preview of this week’s The Terrifics #1 shows an early scene of team bonding as Mr. Terrific, Plastic Man, and Metamorpho are thrown through a portal into the Dark Multiverse, where they make a discovery that reinforces this book’s connection to its Marvel counterpart. There’s a giant corpse of a being that is basically a recolored Galactus, and the Terrifics assemble inside this decaying body as they investigate a mysterious distress signal. This preview shows off the main strengths of Ivan Reis’ artwork in this series: the epic spectacle and Plastic Man. As one of DC’s top artists, it’s expected that Reis will make this story feel big, but Plastic Man brings out his humor skills and allows Reis to really exaggerate character expressions. Working with frequent collaborators Joe Prado on inks and Marcelo Maiolo on colors, Reis amplifies the drama of Lemire’s script, and there’s an excitement in these pages that makes The Terrifics a stand-out series in DC’s “New Age Of Heroes.”