There’s been a wave of LGBT characters and storylines on television over the past few years as the LGBT movement in the real world continues to progress. And now it appears that progress in fiction has extended to the world of superheroes, as it’s been announced that “Arrow” has cast “Ben and Kate” actor Echo Kellum to play the series’ first-ever Black gay superhero.
According to reports, Kellum will play the role of DC character Curtis Holt, also known by his superhero name of Mr. Terrific. For fans that don’t know, Mr. Terrific was introduced in the DC universe in 1997 and he’s an Olympic gold-medal winning decathlete as well as a self-made billionaire. Mr. Terrific decides to don a superhero outfit and fight crime after the death of his wife and unborn baby.
However, in his original iteration, Mr. Terrific isn’t written as gay. But according to “Arrow” executive producer Marc Guggenheim, the decision was made in the spirit of being inclusive when it comes to minority characters.
“We’re often asked when we’re going to add another LGBT character to the show and our version of Mr Terrific happens to be gay for anyone that cares about that kind of stuff,” Guggenheim revealed in a statement.
On “Arrow,” Mr. Terrific’s character will also be tweeked personality wise, as he’s described as a tech savvy inventor who works at Palmer Technologies under the character of Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards).
Mr. Terrific also won’t be the only character on the show repping the LGBT community. The show already features openly bisexual Sara Lance/Canary (Caity Lotz) and the two are now reportedly TV’s only LGBT superheroes.
Mr. Terrific also follows a line of Black LGBT superheroes in the comic world like X-Men’s Storm, who was previously strongly implied to be bisexual, and Young Avengers’ Prodigy, who is also written as bisexual.
Well, we’re excited about the news on Mr. Terrific and we hope that he’s well written and that Kellum finds success on the show.
