Remember when Edi Gathegi was in X-Men: First Class? Even if you don’t know the actor by name, anyone who’s a fan of the first installment of the “First Class” era of X-Men movies will remember how his character, Darwin, was killed by Sebastian Shaw… despite the fact that Darwin’s mutant ability was being able survive anything. Now Gathegi is getting shot at the superhero genre by playing Michael Holt, a.k.a. Mr. Terrific, in James Gunn’s Superman, and he opened up about how this role in the 2025 movie is a “redemption arc” for him.
Although Gathegi declined to talk about his time on X-Men: First Class while on the DC Studios Showcase podcast, saying it’s “too juicy,” he did share how much getting to be the DC Universe’s Mr. Terrific means to him. In his words:
I’m so happy I get a redemption arc in the new DC Universe. I’m excited to inspire a whole new generation of young Black kids with this new superhero. Mr. Terrific is so fantastic of a character, and there’s so much potential.
Characters being killed in superhero movies is commonplace, but Darwin’s in X-Men: First Class was always bizarre. Like his comic book counterpart, Edi Gathegi’s version of the mutant could reactively evolve, meaning his body would adapt to any situation or environment it was in to keep him alive, from growing gills while underwater to gaining armored skin if attacked. And yet, all Sebastian Shaw had to do force one of Havok’s contained energy blasts into Darwin, and moments later, he was gone.
Judging by Edi Gathegi’s comment about Mr. Terrific having “so much potential,” it’s probably a safe bet that he won’t die during the events of Superman. More importantly, Gathegi pleased that Mr. Terrific ended up being a more fulfilling role and looks forward to the superhero leaving an impact on young Black kids. That stands a strong chance of happening considering Michael Holt is one of the smartest individuals on Earth (if not at the top of the list) and boasts an array of cool nanotechnology. Gathegi also had this to say about figuring out Mr. Terrific’s personality for the upcoming DC movie:
I didn't know what was going to happen until we did it. I had in my brain how I was going to play the part because I screen tested for the role. So when you screen test for a role, and you get it, you assume that's the way you're going to play it. So, I showed up to set, playing it that way, and it was in the playing that we found something that I think is a little bit more interesting, a little deeper, a little more complex, a little bit more hinged.
Although Michael Holt is the second character to go by Mr. Terrific in the comics, following Terry Sloane from the World War II era, he’s definitely the more famous of the two. This will be the second live-action adaptation of the character, following Echo Kellum’s Curtis Holt incarnation from the Arrowverse. In Superman, Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl make up the Justice Gang, the team sponsored by Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, and here’s hoping we’ll see more of Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific in the DCU. You can also see the actor play Dev Ayesa in For All Mankind, which can be streamed with an Apple TV+ subscription.
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