Season 5 of Arrow is set to feature a slew of new faces on the Star City vigilante front. Season 4 ended with the dissolution of the previous Team Arrow as Diggle and Thea left their leathers behind. Oliver will need to assemble a new Team Arrow if he wants to recreate the group crime-fighting dynamic. Tech genius Curtis Holt had been set up as a replacement for the open slot on Team Arrow after the big death, and comic fans knew that he would probably become the superhero Mr. Terrific at some point in the series. Now, actor Echo Kellum has revealed just when Curtis will fulfill his comic destiny as Mr. Terrific. Here's what Kellum teased about Curtis in Season 5:
The mask is happening this year. You can definitely expect it in the first nine.
Echo Kellum dropped the news about Mr. Terrific's mask in a chat with ComicBookMovie.com. The Season 5 trailer had shown an injured Curtis declaring to Oliver that he was ready to start fighting crime, so we already knew that we would be seeing more of Curtis in the bunker in the near future. Given how Arrow has handled the comic origin stories of side characters like Arsenal and Speedy over the years, it makes sense that Curtis is getting his mask sooner rather than later.
Season 4 established that Curtis had the abilities, intelligence, and drive to earn a superhero identity. The show had actually strayed from showing gradual origin stories when Laurel magically gained the skills to hold her own alongside Oliver, Diggle, and Roy on the streets after taking boxing lessons for a few episodes. Curtis has the pre-show backstory and the in-show development to have earned a mask as a secondary vigilante in the first nine episodes of Season 5.
He's helped by the fact that Mr. Terrific traditionally relies on tech in addition to physical fighting skills. The Mr. Terrific of DC comic lore uses technology called T Spheres that work as floating gadgets that allow him to do everything from linking to outside data networks to creating electrical charges to striking opponents. His mask renders him invisible to electronic detection via advanced nanotechnology. It furthermore allows him to change instantly into and out of his costume.
We can't say at this point just how closely the mask and costume of Arrow's Mr. Terrific will match those of DC's Mr. Terrific. Season 4 did introduce Palmer Tech prototypes of T Spheres. The Spheres were most notable for malfunctioning and exploding, but it's entirely possible that Curtis spent the summer perfecting them. Nanotechnology has been connected to Palmer Technology ever since Ray Palmer started with the tech in Season 3. Curtis could have developed Ray's designs further to craft his unique supersuit for his role as Mr. Terrific.
Personally, I'm curious to discover how Curtis becomes known as "Mr. Terrific." It's not exactly a name likely to strike fear in the hearts of the criminals of Star City. If the show is going to keep on expanding non-Green Arrow vigilantes on Arrow, I'm glad that Mr. Terrific has the background to make sense as a new fighting member of Team Arrow. I only hope that he's not so fantastical that he overshadows Oliver in the field.
Take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule to see when Arrow and your other favorite shows will return to the airwaves, and check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Arrow Season 5 for a peek ahead.
