In my review of James Gunn's masterpiece, Superman, I named the supporting character, Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), as the recipient of the MVP award with honors, and I do not make that distinction lightly. In addition to being a well-written, rounded, developed, and likable character, several aspects of his presence in the film greatly enhance the movie as a whole, both narratively and tangentially. Today, I want to share these thoughts with you —mainly to gush about this excellent character, but also in the hope that it may inspire you to see the movie if you haven't already.
Lex Luthor's Diametric Opposite
While Superman has always been Lex Luthor's arch nemesis for many different reasons, when you stop to think about it, Mr. Terrific is truly Luthor's greatest rival.
One of the primary driving forces behind Luthor's character is his intellect and technological genius. In most iterations of the comics, movies, and television shows, Luthor is often depicted as a prodigy (typically in tech) whose inventions have contributed to society's growth and superiority. Despite his evil nature, Luthor has often enjoyed many lucrative opportunities to flex his insightful mindset (for want of a better term) and secure military-level funding for his prowlis and business practices. Something that is becoming far too real today.
By comparison, Mr. Terrific appears to be just as intelligent and capable as Luthor. Still, he makes the deliberate choice to use his abilities and tech for the betterment of humanity. Why? Because it is significantly more logical and practical.
The film makes it clear that Mr. Terrific, despite not being much of an emotional person, is still capable of recognizing and understanding emotional responses to situations, as evidenced by his best scene in the film, wherein he easily dispatches a small army of enemies, loudly proclaims Luthor to be reckless, and displays a sense of joy in delivering comupance to those who deserve it the most, be they hero or villian. And, ultimately, providing the best kind of assistance to Superman that is needed for the continued betterment of all people.
Mr. Terrific could have easily become the same kind of closed-minded, selfish, and isolated person that Luthor allowed himself to be, but instead, Mr. Terrific chooses to be better than that; he chooses to defend what is good in the world because, like Superman, he sees all the beauty and good it can be (albeit in his own unusual way). Luthor may hate Superman, but his ire might be misdirected.
Justice for Darwin
For those who may be unaware or need a quick refresher, I'd like to provide some context for this title. The context will be provided under the assumption that you, my dear readers, are already familiar with the X-Men and a handful of their films from the 2010s. Otherwise, I will provide the necessary context for today's discussion, and I encourage you to research any aspects with which you may be unfamiliar.
Back in 2011, when 20th Century Fox was still producing movies, they released a new X-Men film, X-Men: First Class, a prequel that chronicled the early days and the initial members of the team who would go on to become the superhero team popularly known as the X-Men. One of the supporting characters in that film was a Mutant nicknamed Darwin, named so for his ability to automatically adapt to any situation he faced. This included spontaneously growing armor on his torso to protect himself from attacks or suddenly developing gills to breathe underwater.
This character was brought to life enthusiastically by Edi Gathegi, who would later portray Mr. Terrific. This is a relevant point to bring up because, in the film X-Men: First Class, Darwin's character dies halfway through. While this moment in the film serves a solid narrative purpose (galvanizing the rest of the team to band together and fight for good), it comes at the unfortunate cost of losing one of the film's most interesting characters, thereby missing out on numerous opportunities for expansion and exploration. Not to mention the most typical, cliché, and conceptually racist aspect of killing off the only black character in the movie.
This "creative" choice, though narratively servicable, caused an uproar among fans, including myself. Aside from the racism mentioned earlier (which may have been unintended), Darwin was a fascinating new character who might have been an excellent addition to the team: he cared about his fellow Mutant friends, had a great sense of humor, and brought a much-needed sense of inclusiveness to the story. To have him killed off so early in the film, for the sole purpose of galvanizing the team's resolve (which was arguably already galvanized by other circumstances), felt like a waste of a great character.
Fortunately, Edi Gathegi's casting as Mr. Terrific gives his previous superhero character some symbolic justice. Plus, he has new opportunities for his portrayal of the character on the horizon, and I, for one, can't wait to see what he'll do.
Representation
When examining Mr. Terrific's character, I am reminded of a TV show I used to enjoy, titled Scorpion — a comedic action series that ran for five seasons. In case you've never heard of it, the show was about a team of exceptionally talented geniuses in various fields who form a specialized consulting group to handle unusual situations that require capabilities beyond conventional thinking and responsiveness. For example, in one episode, they were tasked with saving and transporting a young girl with severe immunodeficiencies, which, among other things, required her to be transported in a tub of honey. That may sound silly at first, but trust me, it makes sense.
One of the show's central conflicts was that the team, talented and incredibly intelligent as they were, lacked basic abilities to understand emotional or empathetic responses —not because they were evil, far from it. Still, their brains were wired in a way that made such understandings particularly challenging for them. To overcome this hurdle, they hired an average woman named Paige, who happened to have a genius son with similar challenges: she translates their intentions and feelings to others, while the team helps Paige better understand her son.
Mr. Terrific feels ripped from the same cloth as the geniuses from Scorpion. He is brilliant and possesses superhuman-like technical capabilities, but by his own admission, he struggles with emotions and tends to think more literally and logically than those around him. He isn't incapable of understanding emotions; he just processes them differently than convention might prefer.
In addition to providing some always-appreciated representation of talent from people of color (much like Black Panther does), Mr. Terrific also offers a more inclusive representation of individuals on the mental and emotional spectrum. It's not that we don't care; we just see it differently than you do.
Conclusion
Just like the character Bloodsport (Idris Elba) from James Gunn's previous DC Comics film, The Suicide Squad, Mr. Terrific is an excellent example of how to create a great supporting character with a relatable personality that deserves our attention. Not to mention one that provides representation in multiple ways, often overlooked or ignored by conventional Hollywood preferences. James Gunn may have a flair for spectacle. Still, his focus is squarely on what is most important in any given narrative: characters who speak to the audience in intellectually and emotionally resonant ways.
While I will remain a proud Superman fan, I am equally proud to add Mr. Terrific to my list of favorite superheroes. So proud, in fact, that I have already figured out my Halloween costume for this year.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment