Arrow season 4 has introduced Curtis Holt, another superhero to be. But just who is his superhero alter ego?

In Arrow season 4, episode 3, “Restoration,” Felicity visits Curtis Holt in his lab at Palmer Technologies. One of the experimental pieces of technology we see Curtis working on is a metal sphere with a T on it. “This is an autonomous communications device,” Curtis explains. These were a nod to Curtis’ superhero destiny as Mister Terrific.

Comics history

In the DC Comics, Mister Terrific, aka Michael Holt, is the third-smartest man in the world. Before becoming a superhero, he held 14 PhDs, was a self-made multimillionaire with his own tech company, and an Olympic medal-winning decathlete. His mentally-challenged older brother, Jeffrey, died at the age of 15, which was a devastating loss for Michael.

After the accidental deaths of his wife and unborn child, Michael considers committing suicide. However, before he can go through with it, he is visited by the Spectre, the Spirit of Vengeance, who tells him about the original Mister Terrific, Terry Sloane. This inspires Michael to become the second Mister Terrific. He would go on to join the Justice Society of America and even become its chairman.

Though he does not have powers of his own, Mister Terrific uses his T-spheres — which we saw in Palmer Tech. In the comics, these spheres float around Mister Terrific. They are capable of numerous impressive tasks, including holographic projection, laser grid creation, electronic lock-picking, and implosion. They also provide live camera feeds and data networking links. They can expel electric charges, be used as projectiles, and even carry Mister Terrific’s weight to allow him to fly.

Mister Terrific’s technology also extends to his T-Mask, which is bonded to his face at a molecular level and can appear and disappear at will. The mask allows him to change in and out of his costume instantaneously as well. Besides serving as a communication system, this mask protects his face from chemicals and is his connection to his T-Spheres; the mask detects his facial movements and interprets them so he can send mental commands to his spheres. The mask’s nanotechnology also keeps him from being detected electronically.

Mister Terrific also has a friendly rivalry with Batman, his counterpart in the Justice League of America.

On ‘Arrow’

Obviously Curtis Holt, beyond the name, isn’t quite the same character as the figure from the comics; Curtis, while also being an extremely intelligent scientist, doesn’t appear to be particularly physically gifted, which means this incarnation of the character will undoubtedly have to rely more on his technology once he enters the fight.

Curtis is currently married, so we hope he doesn’t have undergo the tragic loss of his husband before joining the fight. He already has heroic aspirations, as he is thrilled to learn that Felicity is working with the Green Arrow. “Ms. Smoak, I came to Palmer Tech so I can help make this city a better place,” he says. “Can you even imagine how excited I am to know that my boss is doing exactly that?”

We look forward to watching Curtis achieve his heroic destiny.

Arrow season 4 airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.