Originally Posted by
lemonpeace
I think had we not gotten The Terrifics I wouldn't mind doing away with his wife/wife's death (I also agree with Jabara that it would need to be replaced with something that holds equal narrative/character weight in a way that just being bored with everything doesn't quite cut it) but I really enjoyed Mrs. Terrific and their dynamic, and would love to see her brought back or do something similar again; which only works with his original wife being dead. on it's own I think Paula's death serves as a pretty solid point of origin for Mr. Terrific but the introduction of alternate Paulas (i.e Mrs. Terrific) introduces further narrative potential that could be mined from not just his wife as an element of his origin but also as an actual character that can further inform Michael's characterization. which lends narrative merit to her death that I feel has value. now I don't know how much his characterization would change overall without it but I do think his narrative direction would be altered because his wife's death plays into ideas of grief, faith, mortality, and growth, layers of complexity, in ways that I feel have become pretty iconic to Mr. Terrific. sure you can find ways to re-establish these themes via new avenues but would that really be the most efficient way of further building this character?