Could Doctor Fate be the fifth member of DC Comics' The Terrifics?

He's not been featured in any promotional art, nor is he mentioned in any of DC's marketing material for the series' thus far, but fans might see the mystical superhero play a crucial role in the team's genesis.

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Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Phantom Girl are all confirmed members of DC's newest superhero team, and are slated to debut in their own series this February as part of the publisher's New Age of DC Heroes initiative. And while fans have quickly come to view the team as a more than acceptable analogue filling the hole left by Marvel Comics no longer publishing a Fantastic Four series, there's some evidence to suggest the four named heroes aren't the team's only members.

In the series' first issue solicitation text, the first sentence describes The Terrifics as a team "bound together by fate." In and of itself, this is a rather innocent phrase, one used countless times before in superhero stories. However, The Terrifics spins directly out of the events of DC's current major event series Dark Nights: Metal, which also happens to feature Mr. Terrific in a key role, along with a currently comatose Plastic Man. Another hero appearing in Metal is Doctor Fate, who is filling a deus ex machina role, using his magical abilities to gather DC's various heroes together in order to solve the event's big mystery.

Doctor Fate intervenes to save the Flash's life in "Batman: The Red Death

It would stand to reason, then, that the "Bound together by fate" text in the solicitation copy would be referring to Fate with a capital "F." Of course, if he is involved in the team's eventual formation, whether the sorcerer joins his fellow ex-JSA member Mr. Terrific in an active role or disappears once more remains to be seen.

THE TERRIFICS #1

  • Written by JEFF LEMIRE
  • Art by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
  • Cover by IVAN REIS
  • Bound together by fate, united by the spirit of exploration and hope for tomorrow, the Terrifics are bound from the Dark Multiverse of Metal! When Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Phantom Girl find themselves literally bound together by a tragic accident, our team of unlikely allies must rely on one another to make their way back home. But a startling revelation on their return trip brings them face to face with a new mystery: Where in the universe is Tom Strong?
  • Advance solicited • On sale FEBRUARY 7 • 32 pg, FC $2.99 US • FOLDOUT COVER • RATED T+