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The Terrific Trio was a group of metahuman heroes endorsed by the government.
History
After being exposed to high levels of radiation during a particle fusion experiment, Dr. Mike Morgan, Dr. Mary Michaels, and Dr. Stewart Lowe underwent dramatic genetic changes. The accident altered their DNA and bestowed them with superpowers, the three decided to use these new found abilities for good.
The government financed and established their base of operation — the Trio Tower. The Terrific Trio vouched to fight the crime in Gotham City, although General Norman of the United States Army did not trust them at all, preferring to kill them outright rather than trust them.
Six months later, the Trio was ready to clean up the city, and their first heroic exploit was thwarting the robbery of the T7 Chip from M Technologies. Afterward, they were introduced to the public and became tremendously popular. Thereafter, the Trio would be summoned to intervene in various situations, whether being a robbery or a hostage takeover.
The Terrific Trio were not only popular among the crime fighting community, but also the general public as evinced by an entire array of fan products, such as T-shirts, toys, posters, etc. Despite this, there were several people in Gotham who still did not trust the Trio, including General Norman and even Bruce Wayne, who still sent his protégé, Terry McGinnis, to patrol Gotham even with the Trio on the job. The Trio first got wind of this when a little girl expressed extreme fright at the mere sight of Magma, despite Magma having saved her personally from kidnappers, and the police snubbed him rudely afterwards.
However, their future started to unravel when their best friend, Dr. Hodges, ascertained that their genetic condition was unstable. Hodges informed General Norman of this, who relished the opportunity to assault the Trio Tower in an attempt to eliminate the Trio. Magma, who had become impatient with his condition, was anxious to find a cure, but Dr. Hodges wouldn't accept his help. So, Magma he broke into Hodges' laboratory, and stole the Trio's latest DNA scan. Moments after learning about their condition, the Trio was attacked by the military. They fought their way out of the Tower, evading death.
The Trio went on to review the data on the particle fusion experiment, and determine that Dr. Hodges knew about its danger. Even though Hodges didn't admit his guilt, the Trio remained unconvinced. So, they decided to duplicate the accident to finish what Hodges had started. At that point, Hodges confessed orchestrating the accident in a foolish attempt to kill Michael and seduce Mary for himself, and begged for them to shut down the device, claiming that the radiation would devastate the entire city. However, at that point, the Trio, having been double-crossed by almost everyone they knew, was too insensitive to care. Batman stepped in and a fight ensued. He activated the emergency ventilation system, trapping Freon and 2-D Man inside it. Then he turned a fire hose on Magma, solidifying him.[1]
Apparently, after this, the Terrific Trio fell from grace, seeing as Ratboy, a self-proclaimed "Pack Rat", had a Magma action figure among his collection of unwanted items.[2]
Members
- Magma had super-strength and a molten body.
- Freon developed the power of flight and the ability to shoot ice blasts.
- 2-D Man had a rubber-like body and could stretch to amazing lengths.
Background information
The Terrific Trio is an obvious pastiche of the Fantastic Four, with Magma being a counterpart of The Thing and 2-D Man a counterpart of Mister Fantastic. Freon, despite being the sole female member of the team like the Invisible Woman, has powers more akin to those of the Human Torch, only ice-based instead of fire-based. Also, General Norman somewhat resembles Nick Fury (and to some extent, Adolf Hitler), although Norman is a biased and self-centered person who cares nothing for the heroes and would rather kill them for no reason than trust them (much like General Hardcastle and General Eiling), in contrast to Fury, who is himself a superhero and a member and close friend of the Avengers.
The third issue of the "Batman Beyond" comic book was supposed to feature the Terrific Trio, but it was rejected due to their resemblance to the Fantastic Four.[3]
Appearance
Batman Beyond
- "Heroes"