Booster Gold is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero created by Dan Jurgens. He first appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of historical events and futuristic technology to stage high-publicity heroics. Booster develops over the course of his publication history and through personal tragedies to become a true hero weighed down by the reputation he has created for himself.[1]
Booster Gold first appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986),[2] being the first significant new character introduced into DC Universe continuity after the reboot of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The next year, he began to appear regularly in the Justice League series of comics, remaining a team member until the group was disbanded in 1996 to make way for the new line-up introduced in the Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare miniseries (and featured in the ongoing series JLA). He and his former Leaguers subsequently appeared as the "Superbuddies" in the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries and its JLA: Classified sequel "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League".
On March 16, 2007, at Wizard World Los Angeles, Dan DiDio announced a new ongoing series titled All-New Booster Gold, which was later published as simply Booster Gold. The series follows the events of 52 and was initially co-written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz, with art by creator Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.[3][4] The series focuses primarily on Booster Gold's clandestine time travel within the DC Universe.[5] The series also features Rip Hunter, Skeets, and Booster's ancestors Daniel Carter and Rose Levin as supporting characters. The tagline of the series is: "The greatest hero you've never heard of!"[6] Katz and Johns later announced that they would be leaving the book after 12 issues (#1-10, #0, and a One Million issue). Jurgens and Rapmund stated that they would stay on the series, which would be written by Jurgens following four issues by guest writers Chuck Dixon and Rick Remender.
In May 2010, Keith Giffen took over the Booster Gold title, linking it with the 26 week miniseries Justice League: Generation Lost, which saw Booster unite with his JLI teammates Fire, Ice, and Captain Atom to take down the resurrected Maxwell Lord. From July 2010 through February 2011, Booster also starred alongside Rip, Green Lantern, and Superman in the six-issue miniseries Time Masters: Vanishing Point, part of the "Return of Bruce Wayne" arc, which also reintroduced the Reverse-Flash and established background for the 2011 DC crossover event Flashpoint.[7] It was announced that Dan Jurgens would return to the main Booster Gold title with issue #44.[7]
Michael Jon Carter was born poor in the Gotham City of the 25th century.[8] He speaks Esperanto as his first language. He and his twin sister Michelle never knew their father because he left after gambling away all their money. Luckily for Michael, he was a gifted athlete and he managed to get into Gotham University on a football scholarship. In college, Booster became a star quarterback and had a bright future. His father then reentered his life and convinced him to bet on games and then throw them. After being exposed, his bright future was shattered. He took a job as a night watchman at the Metropolis Space Museum, where he began to study displays about superheroes and villains from the past, particularly the 20th century. With the help of a security robot named Skeets, Michael stole devices from the museum displays, including a Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring and Brainiac 5's force field belt. He used Rip Hunter's time machine, also on display in the museum, to travel to the 20th century, intent on becoming a superhero and forming a corporation based around himself to make a comfortable living.[1] As such, he is a shameless self-promoter whose obsession with fame and wealth irritates other heroes.[9]
Carter's nickname as a football player was "Booster", but his chosen 20th century superhero name was "Goldstar". After saving the president, Carter mangled the two names, causing the president (at the time Ronald Reagan) to introduce him as "Booster Gold". The name stuck. There is a running joke with his name throughout the DC Universe where people call him "Buster" instead of "Booster".
Booster Gold is originally based in Metropolis, the home city of Superman. He starts his hero career by preventing the shapeshifting assassin Chiller, an operative of The 1000, from killing the President of the United States and replacing him. With the public exposure he gains from this rescue, Booster is quickly able to sign a multitude of commercial and movie deals. During Booster's superhero career, his sister Michelle Carter, powered by a magnetic suit, follows in his footsteps as the superheroine Goldstar. She dies soon after while battling creatures from another dimension, leaving him devastated. Amassing a small fortune, Booster founds Goldstar, Inc. (later Booster Gold International) as a holding company and hires Dirk Davis to act as his agent. During the Millennium event, Davis reveals that he is a Manhunter in disguise and has siphoned money from Booster's accounts for months in hopes of leaving Booster no choice but to do the Manhunters' bidding. Although the Manhunters are ultimately defeated, Booster is left bankrupt.
[edit] Justice League
Booster Gold is a key character in the late 1980s/early 1990s Justice League revamp by writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis. Booster Gold is frequently partnered with fellow Justice League member Blue Beetle, and the two quickly become best friends. Among the duo's more notable appearances include a stint as superhero repo men and the construction of a gaming resort, Club JLI, on the living island Kooey Kooey Kooey.
After one too many disgraces and longing for the reputation he once had, Booster quits the League to found the Conglomerate, a superhero team whose funding is derived from corporate sponsors. Booster and his team are determined to perform as legitimate heroes, but find that their sponsors compromise those values far too often.[1] The Conglomerate reforms several times after Booster rejoins the League, though without much success.
When an alien comes to Earth on a rampage, it is Booster Gold who coins the name Doomsday for it. In the ensuing battle with Doomsday, Booster's costume is destroyed. Blue Beetle is able to design a new (albeit bulkier) costume to replace it, although this costume often malfunctions. During a later battle with Devastator, a servant of the Overmaster, Booster is nearly killed and loses an arm. Again, Blue Beetle comes to his aid, designing a suit that acts as a life support system in addition to replicating the powers of Booster's previous costumes. This suit also includes a cybernetic arm to replace the arm Booster had lost.
[edit] Extreme Justice
After the Justice League falls apart, Booster Gold joins Extreme Justice, a team led by Captain Atom.[10] While a member of this team, Booster makes a deal with the supervillain Monarch, who fully heals Booster's wounds so that he can once again remove his battle suit. Booster dons a new costume created by Blue Beetle with Skeets acting as the mainframe systems controller, who aids Booster and is even able to take control of the costume if Booster is rendered unconscious.
Following the disbanding of Extreme Justice, this suit is destroyed. A new costume is created by Professor Hamilton, based on the designs of both the original 25th century costume and the energy containment suit Superman was wearing at this time. This costume is apparently later tweaked to resemble Booster's original costume more closely.[1]
[edit] Infinite Crisis
[edit] Countdown to Infinite Crisis
After the events depicted in the limited series Identity Crisis, in which Sue Dibny is murdered, Booster Gold hangs up his costume and retires from crimefighting only to once again assume the role to help Blue Beetle discover who is manipulating KORD Industries.[11] Booster is badly injured in an explosion at Kord's home, and it is revealed that his companion Skeets has been dismantled for its 25th century technology by the Checkmate organization.
[edit] The OMAC Project
In The OMAC Project limited series, Booster Gold gathers the old Justice League International heroes to investigate Blue Beetle's disappearance. At the series' end, he is ruined physically and emotionally, having destroyed much of his gear in the fight against the OMACs. He has seen his friend Rocket Red die in battle. He has discovered another friend, Maxwell Lord, is responsible for killing Blue Beetle and that in fact, Lord has always hated superheroes. He has also lost his trust toward the other heroes of the DC Universe. In a moment of self-reflection, he realizes that if only he had bothered to recall more of what was history in his native era, he might have been able to warn his friends. Giving a farewell kiss to the forehead of his wounded teammate Fire as she lay in a hospital bed, he drops his trademark goggles on the floor and leaves, saying only that he has decided to "go home", the implication being a return to the 25th century.[12]
[edit] Infinite Crisis
In the pages of Infinite Crisis, Booster Gold resurfaces in the ruins of the Justice League's Watchtower on the moon, along with Skeets, again branded as a criminal in his time for "hijacking historical records".[13] When Skeets fails to locate the absent Martian Manhunter, Booster searches for Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle, whom he promptly takes to the Batcave. Booster tells Batman the subject of the stolen records: Batman never finds Brother Eye; but Booster implies that, with Jaime's aid, they can succeed.[14] The mission is successful and Booster plays a pivotal role in the destruction of the satellite.[15]
[edit] 52 and Supernova
Main article:
52 (comics)In the aftermath of the Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have temporarily retired their costumed identities, and the remaining heroes attend a memorial for Superboy in Metropolis.[16] Booster Gold attends the memorial, but when Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman do not arrive as he expects, he suspects his robot sidekick Skeets is malfunctioning and becomes hysterical. After Skeets reports other incorrect historical data,[17][18] Booster searches fellow time traveler Rip Hunter's desert bunker for answers, but finds it littered with enigmatic scrawled notes. Booster finds photos of himself and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault" with arrows pointing toward them.[19]
Booster is seemingly angered when a mysterious new superhero named Supernova appears in Metropolis. His reputation ruined by his various unscrupulous dealings in pursuit of publicity and sponsorship deals, Booster tries to regain the spotlight by containing an explosion, but appears to be killed in the attempt.[20] Skeets uses Booster's ancestor, Daniel Carter, to regain access to Hunter's lab, where he sees the photos and arrows pointing at him. Skeets traps Carter in a time loop in the bunker and sets out to locate Hunter himself.
Supernova meets with Rip Hunter in the Bottle City of Kandor, and Hunter examines a number of high-tech items Supernova has brought him. When Skeets discovers the two, Supernova reveals himself to be Booster Gold and fights him, revealing how he and Rip Hunter used time travel to fake his death and create a rivalry between Booster and himself as Supernova. Hunter and Booster attempt to trap Skeets in the Phantom Zone, but Skeets appears to eat the subdimension and pursues his two adversaries through time.[21]
During the World War III miniseries, Booster appears at various points in time. He tries to steal a missile, but leaves after realizing that he appeared before it was launched. Booster later appears before Steel and Natasha Irons, stealing the nanobot missile they were about to use on Black Adam, saying he needs it more than they and that it would not have worked for its original purpose anyway; Booster promptly disappears.[22] During his time-hopping mission, he briefly stops in the far future, robbing the Dominators of an experimental weapon designed to deal with time travelers. Trying to explain his situation to the alien warlords, he makes them suspicious as they mistake his rant of "having to save 52 worlds" as a warning that the Earth and 52 unnamed worlds are going to invade them after Booster's raid.[23]
Booster returns to the present, using T. O. Morrow as bait to draw out Skeets. Skeets reveals itself to be Mister Mind in disguise, having used Skeets' shell as a cocoon to evolve into a being capable of devouring the Multiverse. Booster and Rip flee into the timestream with Skeets' remains and return to the end of the Infinite Crisis.[24] Rip and Booster witness the birth of the new Multiverse, made up of fifty-two identical worlds. Mister Mind attempts to trap Booster and Rip in the Phantom Zone which he devoured when it was turned on him, but is stopped by Supernova (actually Daniel Carter, who was saved from the time loop he was trapped in by Rip and given Michael's outfit), who restores the Phantom Zone to its original place. Mister Mind then devours years and events of each of the fifty-two worlds, altering their history in the process. The real Skeets gives Booster a pep talk which inspires him to stop Mind.[1]
Booster travels to the day after the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths on New Earth, where he retrieves the Blue Beetle scarab from a younger Ted Kord. Using the scarab — along with Suspendium stolen by Rip Hunter, Skeets' mangled shell, and Supernova's powers — Rip, Booster, and Daniel trap Mister Mind inside Skeets and hurl it into the timestream, trapping Mister Mind within a repeating time loop of 52 seconds where he is captured by Dr Sivana. As a reward for helping save the Multiverse, Rip downloads Skeets' programming into a spare Responsometer. Rip, Booster, and Daniel decide to keep the existence of the new Multiverse a secret.
Will Magnus then repairs Skeets using the Responsometer, although Skeets has no memory of the last year. Meanwhile, Daniel Carter decides to keep the Supernova costume and begin his own superhero career. His resolution weakening with time, he starts using the suit to play video games instead, because he does not need to eat, drink, or sleep while wearing it.[25]
Following the events of 52, Booster Gold returns in his second solo series with the first story arc "52 Pick-Up". Booster puts in a request to the JLA that they admit him and the group begrudgingly decide to monitor him over the next week. However, Rip Hunter informs Booster that history has become malleable after Mister Mind's rampage and earlier damage to the timeline.
A new villainous Supernova arises after stealing Daniel's costume, and aided by evil time traveler Rex Hunter, intends to exploit weaknesses in history, keen on rewriting it and destroying the JLA (they are later revealed to in fact be working under the orders of the Ultra-Humanite, Despero, and Per Degaton). As Booster is thought of as a buffoon, the person or persons behind the altering of time will not suspect he is thwarting them, but Booster must maintain his poor reputation to protect himself from any time travel attacks. Booster's condition for following Rip's orders is that he may travel back in time to avert the death of his best friend, Ted Kord.
Despite Rip's objections, Booster and three Blue Beetles team up to rescue Ted Kord moments before his death. They succeed, and the restored Blue/Gold duo deserts Rip Hunter to side with the Blue Beetles group. Rip Hunter retaliates by presenting Daniel Carter and Rose Levin, ancestors of Michael, with replicas of the Supernova and Booster Gold suit, stating that the Carter family's heroic legacy starts "right freakin' now."[26] When time "solidifies" following the salvation of Ted Kord, and the other three Beetles return to their own times, Ted and Michael find that as a consequence of changing the timeline, the world has become overrun by Maxwell Lord's OMACs.
During a final battle between the remade JLI and the OMACs, the Time Stealers return and are defeated. However, Booster suffers a tragedy when he is unable to stop Ted from entering a time sphere with the Black Beetle to change the past one final time, resetting history and sacrificing himself.
He is later transported to the 853rd century, where he faces off against Peter Platinum, a con artist who is attempting to do better than Booster at making money off of heroic acts. When he is able to return to the present, he is enraged by Rip's unsympathetic responses to what he has been through, and quits. However, after a conversation with Batman, where he reveals he knew about Booster's attempts to prevent the crippling of Barbara Gordon, the Dark Knight has long realised that Booster is not the fool he appears to be and offers his friendship. Booster resolves to continue working with Rip, even if it will not be "fun." Rip reveals that he has a way to make things easier: he is able to save Booster's sister Michelle from moments before she died, claiming there is a loophole due to Michelle being from the future. It is also revealed to the audience that Rip Hunter is Booster's future son: as Michelle and Michael go out to eat, Rip says "Keep it up, dad."[27]
Recently, Booster has shown his dedication to the mission, as he now calls himself a "Time Master", the same as Rip Hunter, and taken on training his sister Michelle Carter.[28]
In a tie-in issue to the Blackest Night event, Booster was forced to face Ted Kord, reanimated as a Black Lantern. First, being unavailable due to reliving Ted's funeral in the past, he returns to meet his ancestor Daniel Carter, only to find the crashed, derelict Bug at his house. Then, he finds the Black Lantern pummeling Jaime Reyes, Daniel, and Skeets.[29] Attacked by him, he removes Daniel and Rose from the scene and heads to Kord Industries to collect special weaponry against the Black Lantern. He uses a special light gun designed by Ted to blast the corpse and separate the ring with light simulating the emotional spectrum.
Upon separating the corpse from the ring, he collects Ted's remains before the ring can reanimate them and takes them into the Time Sphere to Vanishing Point Fortress to lay them to rest there, and is somewhat relieved when Skeets uses the Fortress's special chronal surveillance equipment to display images of the days of Team Blue and Gold. Jaime promises to live up to Kord's legacy and eventually form a new Blue and Gold team. However, they find evidence at the warehouse of somebody else entering, even though the doors were genetically coded, with only two people cleared for access: Ted Kord and Booster Gold.[30]
Booster would next find his sister, missing since the events of the "Reality Lost" arc, living in Coast City mere hours before its destruction. Though unable to save her boyfriend, Booster and Michelle patched up their relationship, with her agreeing not to leave him. This arc would also introduce an older Booster Gold, the man that trained Rip Hunter and was the master of both Time, the Multiverse, and Hypertime. Rip reveals that this Booster is not only his greater, but also has been watching Rip training the young Booster Gold, aiding him when needed. Older Booster also reveals that he is still married to Rip's mother, and that Michelle is with them in some unknown time.[31]
In Justice League: Generation Lost, Booster is part of the manhunt to bring the resurrected Maxwell Lord to justice. He finds Max but is beaten badly. Fire, Ice, and Captain Atom find him just as Lord uses his psychic powers to the utmost to erase all memory of himself from the minds of the entire world. For some reason, Booster, Fire, Ice, and Atom are the only ones who remember Lord and see him in recorded images.[32] Trying to convince Batman (Dick Grayson), Booster is horrified to learn that, thanks to Max, the world believes Ted Kord committed suicide. Fire, Ice, and Captain Atom are soon set up by Max to cut them off from allies, but, ironically, Booster is left alone because his reputation is already poor.[33]
The remnants of the JLI are, seemingly by chance, joined by the successors of Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) and Rocket Red. Rocket Red declares the newly formed team as the new Justice League International, prompting Booster to figure out that Max Lord manipulated them to be together. Later, during the assault on Checkmate, Fire and Ice discuss how Booster Gold has become the leader of the team.[34]
When Booster Gold's team member, Jaime, is kidnapped and tortured by Max, Jaime manages to send a signal to the rest of the JLI to lead them to Max's headquarters. The JLI arrives too late, and Jaime is shot in the head by Max with a gun blaster, killing him in the same manner as his predecessor, Ted Kord.[35] Booster Gold is enraged and his team tries to take down Max, but Max escapes from the JLI using one of his headquarters' escape pods. The JLI carries Jaime to the land surface, where paramedics try to resuscitate him. However, their efforts fail as Jaime had already died.[36] As the team deals with the loss of Jaime, Booster Gold blames himself for leading the team into so much danger, feeling his reputation as a joke makes him less trustworthy and he does not want to be the leader anymore. The rest of the team overhear his ranting and convince him that they believe in him, knowing what a hero he truly is. Booster Gold is still upset, saying they cannot win against Max, when Blue Beetle suddenly sits up, his wound healed, declaring he knows what Max's ultimate plans are and that they can stop him.[37]
While the JLI learn that Jaime is alive, Batman and Power Girl come to join the team. Meanwhile, Max sends the OMACs to attack the JLI.[38] While the JLI are battling against the new OMAC known as OMAC Prime, Booster Gold locates Max's flying headquarters and attacks it to come face-to-face with Max.[39] During the battle, Booster Gold pulled Max out of the headquarters and ends up falling to the earth. Booster Gold saves Max at the last moment, but Max mind-controls him until he is confronted by Captain Atom. Captain Atom forces Max to undo the global mindwipe. Max then teleports away to escape from the JLI. Afterwards, Booster Gold and Batman set out to re-form the Justice League International.[40]
After the Time Masters: Vanishing Point event, Rip Hunter informed them that someone snuck into their base leaving a message on the chalkboard.[41] When Earth entered into an alternate timeline due to the machinations of the Flash, Booster Gold and Skeets awaken and are the only ones who remember in original timeline. Booster Gold travels to Coast City, but US soldiers attack him mistaking him to be an Atlantean threat. Skeets is damaged when Booster Gold is attacked by the military's Project Six, which is revealed to be Doomsday.[42]
During the battle in Coast City, Booster Gold discovers that Doomsday is controlled by General Nathaniel Adam, Booster Gold escapes from Doomsday and then saves a woman named Alexandra Gianopoulos from Doomsday's attack. Booster Gold learns the timeline has been changed, suspecting that Professor Zoom was behind it. Alexandra and Booster Gold split up, but she secretly has powers allowing her to take others' powers and follows him. Later, Booster Gold flies to Gotham City when Doomsday attacks him. General Adam's control link is destroyed by Alexandra in an attempt to rescue Booster Gold. Doomsday's true personality comes to the surface and he attacks Booster Gold.[43] During the fight, Doomsday beats Booster Gold nearly to death, but he is rescued by Alexandra. Booster Gold tries to prevent Doomsday from killing innocent people, and manages to put Doomsday's helmet back on. Doomsday's control is restored to General Adam, who grabs Booster, hoping to kill him.[44] Fortunately, General Adam takes Booster Gold back to the base for interrogation, allowing Booster Gold to escape when the sight of "Project Superman" causes Doomsday's true personality to resurface again. Alexandra manages to defeat Doomsday by using the control helmet to make Doomsday tear himself apart, subsequently asking Booster Gold to take him with her when he restores history to normal. However, Alexandra subsequently sacrifices herself to save Booster Gold from an Atlantean attack, leaving Booster Gold to return to Vanishing Point as history resets itself without any clear memory of his time in the "Flashpoint" universe. Before the "Time Masters: Vanishing Point", Alexandra appeared and left the messages regarding the altered timeline on Rip's chalkboard before vanishing.[45]
[edit] The New 52
DC Comics revealed at the "Friday Flashpoint" panel at the 2011 Canadian Fan Expo that Booster would be part of the new Justice League International series launched in September 2011, but as a Canadian instead of American.[46]
In the post-Flashpoint continuity, Booster is portrayed with his original glory seeking personality, commercially marketing his image, and is chosen by the U.N. to lead the JLI due to his PR sense and naiveté. He does, however, take his leadership role seriously, and strives to become a better hero and role model.[47]
Since his beginning, characters within the DC Universe have hinted that there is a greater purpose to Booster Gold than even he knows.
During the Millennium event, Harbinger reveals to Martian Manhunter that Booster is descended from the Chosen, and that he must be protected due to his involvement in elevating the human race. In fact, it is revealed that Booster is destined to come to the past to protect him from an unknown event in the future.[48] In 52 Week 52, Rip Hunter and Booster's ancestor, Daniel, discuss Booster. Rip states that the moment Booster helped save the multiverse from Mister Mind would be remembered in the future as the start of Booster Gold's "glory years."[25] Later, in the new Booster Gold series, Rip hints at a "Carter heroic legacy."[26] It is then revealed that Booster is important to the Time Masters, as he will train "the greatest of them all,"[27] being the father and the teacher of Rip Hunter himself, who willingly chose, to protect his identity against other time-travellers, to pass down the history as the only loser of the clan. Despite the general world distrust of Booster, Rip Hunter and his future descendants are implied to know the truth, always honoring Booster Gold for his sacrifices.[49]
Due to the complicated Time-Travels mechanics, Booster's future self, "currently" operating from an unknown era with his time-travel educated wife, still watches over his past self and his son, making sure that Rip Hunter is able to give his past self proper schooling. The older Booster acts in total anonymity, and has access to other "time-lost" equipment than his suit, such as the seemingly destroyed Superboy's "super-goggles".[50]
Due to a predestination paradox, the future Booster is revealed to be a more experienced Time Master than his son Rip Hunter, but also that he tasked personally Rip Hunter to school his past self in time-travel to ensure their roles in time. It is also implied that the departure of the Hypertime concept, rather than a simple retcon, is Booster's work, as in the future he tasked himself with the role of pruning out divergent timelines from each universe in the Multiverse.[50]
While Booster Gold has no superhuman abilities (he relies on equipment), he is an excellent athlete. He has also demonstrated enough will power to use his Legion flight ring at range, a feat few have been able to demonstrate.
Booster Gold gained his "powers" from the artifacts he stole from a museum in the future. A power suit grants him super strength and wrist blasters allow him to project force blasts. The wrist blasters contain the primary controls and power supply for the suit as well as communications equipment to monitor communications frequencies. Circuitry from a force field belt that is incorporated into his costume allows Booster to resist physical and energy attacks, and he uses the force field to repel objects with great force and generate a breathable self-contained environment. The force field centers on Booster's body, but can expand and even project outward. The costume's goggles have infrared and magnifying capabilities as well. In addition to the powers from his suit, Booster can fly thanks to a Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring. Booster can also absorb mass and eject it either in its original form or as a melted mass,[51] although this depletes his force field for a time afterward.[52]
According to the third issue of Booster Gold vol. 2, Booster's original uniform included a cape which was taken by Superman after telling Booster, "You can't handle a cape." Booster's later costumes use many different technologies to grant him his powers, but the powers themselves remain basically the same despite changes to the source. Booster's third costume acts as a mobile life support system in addition to its granting him super powers.
As Supernova, Michael Carter uses a Phantom Zone Projector built into his suit to teleport matter from one place to another.[21]
Despite the fact that Booster stole the elements of his costume in the 25th century, recent Legion of Super-Heroes reboots and retcons depict them as having been invented in either the 30th or 31st century. Originally, Booster Gold #8-9 told the story about how the time bubble Booster used to travel from 2462 to 1985 was discovered in 2986 with pieces of Brainiac 5's force field belt aboard. This prompted Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, and Ultra Boy to travel back to 1985 to investigate. In the process, they assisted Booster in foiling an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Brainiac 5 left his force field belt and flight ring with Reagan and determined that these would end up being the ones Booster would eventually steal in 2462, thus completing the causality loop.
In the context of the "Threeboot" (Mark Waid) Legion continuity, it is revealed that in a sort of predestination paradox, Booster's ring and force field belt were stolen by Rip Hunter and Daniel in an attempt to reverse a "Time Stealer's" plan intended to erase Booster Gold from the continuity by damaging the Time Sphere held in the museum.[27]
In the future, an older Booster will have access to "lost" technology, such as Superboy's super-goggles.
Booster's equipment includes:
- Legion flight ring: The standard flight ring employed by the adult Legion of Super-Heroes member, made of a particular alloy named "valorium", bestows his/her owner with flight abilities. It is the only piece of equipment stolen from the Space Museum which has survived to the most recent version of Booster's suit unscathed. Its origins differ slightly between the 1987 and the 2008 series, but in both origins, it is revealed that the ring originally was the one held by Brainiac 5, willingly given or stolen. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 himself arranged the events leading Booster into stealing a random flight ring, knowing about his heroic life in the 21st century from historical sources.
- Power suit: In lieu of any metahuman powers, Booster Gold uses an advanced microcircuitry-powered all-purpose combat suit that allows him a wide range of options to use in combat. The suit bestows enhanced strength, at least twenty tons without exerting, and durability to his owner, and is extremely durable, very lightweight, and easy to wear. The suit itself is able to withstand bullets without losing its integrity (although being shot hurts). It is also equipped with a force field, courtesy of the Brainiac 5 belt, able to withstand powerful impact forces, such as a punch from Doomsday, without any damage spreading to its wearer, and filtering atmosphere to allow the holder to thrive in a no-air atmosphere and defending Booster from germs and pollution: this particular feature was later downtoned, as Booster prefers now engaging the shield only when necessary to avoid weakening his own immunity responses. Originally, it was the war-suit of an alien invader, put on display on the museum in which Booster stole much of his equipment. The suit was damaged by Doomsday, then replaced with bulky suits of armor and a variation of the "Energy Superman" energy-dampening costume. The current suit, a close replica of the original one, comes from the future; however, its origins remain unknown. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 himself arranged the events leading Booster into stealing a huge array of power cells used by the Science Police to fuel his powered suit, knowing about his heroic life in the 21st century from historical sources.
- Time-travel circuitry: Originally reliant to a Time-Sphere from chronal transportation, Booster Gold has shown during the 52 series the ability to travel back and forth in time on his own volition. His association with Rip Hunter came with upgraded time circuitry woven into his costume, allowing him to travel safely through the time-stream and sense and repair chronal anomalies, at the cost of a permanent link with Rip Hunter's equipment, to allow the more experienced time-traveler to provide counseling and guidance.
- Gauntlets: Originally on display as the exotic weaponry of an alien warlord, and using the same energy cells of the suit, the gauntlets contain powerful blasters, able to plow at their maximum setting through two solid feet of concrete. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 himself arranged the events leading Booster into stealing a pair of gauntlets built by LexCorp, knowing about his heroic life in the 21st century from historical sources.
- Visor devices: Booster's visor is outfitted with both sensory amplification devices (both auditory and visual) and a HUD for targeting and threat-identification, along with broad scanning along the electromagnetic spectrum, providing infra-red, ultraviolet, and X-ray vision. It is described by Daniel Carter as "lightweight as a pair of contact lenses", and although it has been shown as unable to protect his wearer by sudden flashes of blinding light, it provides a measure of protection.
After being infected and later cured of chronal leprosy, Booster's body now ages at a much slower rate than a normal human being.
- The 1000 - Vast criminal organization led by the Director of Death (secretly Senator Henry Ballard), they served as Booster's greatest thorn during his earliest adventures. Operatives included Blackguard, Chiller, Mindancer, Shockwave, and Doctor Shocker.
- Broderick - An agent for the United States in the 25th century that has been tasked on several occasions to apprehend Booster for his misuse of time travel technology.
- Time Stealers - A villainous counterpart to Rip Hunter's Time Masters, the Time Stealers are a group of time travelers that employ their technology for personal gain. Their membership includes Mister Mind (controlling Jonar Carter donning the Supernova persona), Per Degaton, Ultra-Humanite, Despero, Black Beetle, Rex Hunter, an alternate evil version of time traveler Rip Hunter, and evil tycoon Maxwell Lord along with his private android Maximillion, modeled after Booster Gold's partner Skeets.
As the series Booster Gold features time travel as a major plot element, Booster regularly visits alternate timelines where key events in history played differently. Occasionally, in Booster Gold, and in Justice League International and Super Buddies, alternate versions of Booster Gold from these timelines make appearances.
In I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League,[53] several "Super Buddies" visit an alternate universe where Maxwell Lord leads a violent super-team of strippers and male enforcers called the "Power Posse". An apparently unpowered and street-talking Gold serves as an employee. He is much more brutish, instantly pimp slapping a female employee simply because Lord commands it. This alternate version of the Justice League International may be the same team as the Antimatter Universe-based Crime Syndicate of Amerika, which first appeared in Justice League Quarterly #8 (1992) sans Booster Gold,[54] but many of the events in this series do not seem to tie directly into continuity.
In The Kingdom, the sequel to the Mark Waid and Alex Ross Kingdom Come Elseworlds series, Booster is the founder and owner of the Planet Krypton restaurant. He is also mentioned in Kingdom Come by Fire.
In Justice Riders, a western take on the Justice League by Chuck Dixon and J. H. Williams III, Booster Gold is a travelling gambler who wants to join Sheriff Diana Prince's posse. To counter the speed advantage of Prince's preferred choice, Wallace "Kid Flash" West, he acquires a machine gun from the eccentric inventor Beetle. At the end of the story, once the Justice Riders have defeated Maxwell Lord, Gold heads for Denver, where "the suckers come in by the trainload every day."
The One Million version of Booster Gold is a time traveler named Peter Platinum ("Platinum always beats gold") who appears in Booster Gold vol. 2, #1000000. Based on Booster's reputation as a profiteer posing as a hero, Platinum admits to Booster that he is pulling the same scam, but more successfully, and assumes Booster is after a cut. His superhero gear is based on technology stolen from Rip Hunter, who has apparently had several encounters with him to get it back.
[edit] 52 Multiverse
In the final issue of DC Comics' 2006–2007 year-long weekly series, 52 Week 52, it was revealed that a "Multiverse" system of 52 parallel universes, with each Earth being a different take on established DC Comics characters as featured in the mainstream continuity (designated as "New Earth") had come into existence. The Multiverse acts as a storytelling device that allows writers to introduce alternate versions of fictional characters, hypothesize "What if?" scenarios, revisit popular Elseworlds stories, and allow these characters to interact with the mainstream continuity.
The 2007–2008 weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis and its spin-offs would either directly show or insinuate the existence of alternate versions of Booster Gold in the Multiverse. For example, Countdown #16 introduced his evil Earth-3 counterpart, a member of the villainous Crime Society of America — and a similar Booster Gold exists on the Antimatter Universe, as suggested in a 1992 Justice League comic book,[55] with Booster's evil variant first appearing in a 2005 Super Buddies story. The 2007 Countdown spin-off series Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer also featured a gender-reversed Earth-11 where, through character exposition, it is revealed that Maxine Lord (the female Maxwell Lord) murdered this world's female Booster Gold as opposed to its Ted Kord counterpart. The 1997 Tangent Comics fifth-week event (by Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens) originally introduced an entirely different version of Booster Gold, a yacht-owning gentleman connected to the origins of the mysterious Green Lantern; when the Tangent Comics universe was later amalgamated into Earth-9 of the 52 multiverse, 2008's Tangent: Superman's Reign #1 (again by Jurgens) introduced an African American superhero by that name.
| Vol. # |
Title |
Material collected |
Pages |
Publication date |
ISBN |
|
Showcase Presents: Booster Gold |
Booster Gold #1–25; Action Comics #594 |
624 |
March 2008 |
1-40121-655-9 |
| 1 |
52 Pick-Up |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #1–6 |
160 |
May 2009 |
1-40121-787-7 |
| 2 |
Blue and Gold |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #0, 7–10, 1000000 |
160 |
December 2009 |
1-40121-956-X |
| 3 |
Reality Lost |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #11–12, 15–19 |
168 |
August 2009 |
1-40122-249-8 |
| 4 |
Day of Death |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #20–25; The Brave and the Bold #23 |
160 |
April 2010 |
1-40122-643-5 |
| 5 |
The Tomorrow Memory |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #26–31 |
160 |
December 2010 |
1-40122-918-2 |
| 6 |
Past Imperfect |
Booster Gold vol. 2, #32-38 |
168 |
April 2011 |
1-40123-024-5 |
- Booster and Skeets appeared as members of the Justice League in the DC animated universe series Justice League Unlimited voiced by Tom Everett Scott, while Skeets was voiced by Billy West. Booster appeared in several episodes with non-speaking roles. He only spoke in one episode, "The Greatest Story Never Told", in which the entire episode focused on him. In the episode, a self-promoted Booster, who was excluded from the League's fight against Mordru and was assigned to crowd control during the battle, noticed Dr. Tracy Simmons', a physicist, experiment had gone wrong which caused her partner Dr. Daniel Brown, to uncontrollably walk around while having a black hole on his chest. Booster desperately tried to stop Daniel on his own, but repeatedly failed. Realizing he could not be a hero just looking for fame, he decided to become a true hero and finally stopped Daniel and closed the black hole, which had almost swallowed the city. Despite finally being heroic, no one found out about what he did. Following Mordru's defeat, Batman approached Booster Gold wondering why he left crowd control. When Booster Gold is unable to explain what happened while the other superheroes were fighting Mordru, Batman tells Booster Gold that he will speak to him later. To Booster's gladness, he was asked out by Tracy on a date to thank him for saving the day. In his subsequent appearances in the series, Booster performs his duties in a more professional manner.
- In the first episode of 2006's Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, Booster Gold and Skeets make a cameo appearance as the janitors in the Superman museum.
- Tom Everett Scott reprises his role of Booster Gold, who appears alongside Skeets (West again), in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!".[56] He comes back 1000 years from the future to stop Kru'll the Eternal, and teams up with Batman, believing this will increase his chances of having his own toy line, book line, and movie line. However, after Kru'll kidnaps Skeets (voiced again by Billy West), he sacrifices his glory to save his only friend. Booster ends up earning Batman's respect. In the teaser for "A Bat Divided!", he participates in Riddler's game show "Riddle Me This", and Booster gets all the answers to the riddles wrong, harming Batman. Batman eventually frees himself and the two fight Riddler and his henchmen. Later, he appeared in "The Siege of Starro! Part One" where he and Skeets team up with B'wana Beast, Firestorm, and Captain Marvel. They are the only ones who have not been brainwashed by Starro. Booster helped fetch the Metal Men for the final battle in "The Siege of Starro! Part Two". In "Menace of the Madniks!", it was revealed that Booster Gold was friends with Ted Kord before his death. During a trip to visit Ted Kord in the past, he ends up helping Blue Beetle fighting the Madniks when they break into S.T.A.R. Labs to steal the Quark Pistol. When Booster Gold shoots the Quark Pistol, it ends up knocking them out. When Booster Gold returns to the present, he finds Batman fighting an Energy Monster and Batman figures out that Booster Gold was behind this. When Batman and Booster Gold end up transporting back in time to see Blue Beetle, they end up going to Hub City Penitentiary where the escape of the Madniks causes them to turn into Energy Monsters that drained energy from the electric fence. Batman, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold end up pursuing the Madnik Energy Monsters to Hub City's Nuclear Plant. Batman and Booster Gold managed to reverse the polarity of the Nuclear Plant in order to return the Madniks back to normal. He joins the Justice League International in "Darkseid Descending!" when it comes to the fight against the forces of Darkseid when they invade Earth. He later appears in "Shadow of the Bat!", where he and the rest of the JLI become trapped on the JLA Satellite with the vampire Batman. He tries to use a garlic spray on the vampire Batman only for it not to work.
- Booster Gold appeared alongside Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes and Ted Kord in "Booster", the 18th episode of the 10th and final season of Smallville, written by Geoff Johns. Booster was played by Eric Martsolf.[57][58][59] Much like in the comics, Booster is portrayed as a fame-seeking superhero from the future who travels back in time to become a superstar. His antics bring him into conflict with a young Clark Kent, who has not yet taken on the Superman identity. After Booster's misguided heroics lead to an alien parasite bonding with a teenager named Jaime Reyes, the boy attacks Booster. Booster is able to convince Jaime to fight the Scarab's influence, and the youth ultimately gains control over it. After his near-death, Booster confesses to Clark that he is a washed-up athlete from the 25th century, and that he had traveled back in time in hopes that he could take Superman's place in the timestream and thus become a beloved superhero. Realizing the error of his ways, Booster chooses to stay in the 21st century and help Jaime learn to use his powers for good. Skeets does not appear physically, but instead exists as voice speaking in Booster's earpiece from an unknown location. (An alternative interpretation is that the earpiece is Skeets.) Additionally, Booster is shown in possession of a Legion Flight Ring, which he admits he stole from a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. On the next episode, "Dominion", dialogue suggests that Booster has joined the Justice League, and Tess Mercer is able to use the technology he brought from the future to aid Clark and Oliver Queen during their journey to the Phantom Zone.
- SyFy has ordered a live action Booster Gold series with Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg as executive producers with Berlanti production company Berlanti Productions. [60]
- Booster Gold appears in Mad where he tries to appeal to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends."
- In the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, based upon the television series of the same name, another incarnation of Booster Gold appears. This time, Booster Gold appears as a rather selfish and glory-seeking young hero, operating in the 31st century against a group of High-Tech thieves known as the "Scavengers", but really selling to the same villains he fights stolen technology in exchange for a complete payment of his father's gambling debts. Before the Legion can confront him about his thefts, Booster Gold, using a stolen Green Lantern ring with limited time-travel abilities, tries to follow the Chief Scavenger, escaping in a Time Bubble like the one often used by the main continuity Booster Gold. Before disappearing into the timestream, he begs the Legion to bring his love to his sister, "the only one who always believed in me." At the Legion's headquarters, Brainiac 5 reveals he had always known of the technology thefts of Booster Gold, but having read in historical chronicles how Booster Gold is destined to redeem himself acting as one of the greatest and selfless crimefighters of the 21st century, he arranges for Booster to find and steal easily the very items he needs to be an effective crimefighter: a Legion flight ring, LexCorp experimental blaster gauntlets, and power cells employed by the Science Police. This version of Booster Gold, resembling a teenaged Booster, always travels with a version of Skeets, resembling closely the advanced 2.0 model built by Doc Magnus after 52.
Booster Gold was ranked as the 173rd greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.[61] IGN also ranked Booster Gold as the 59th greatest comic book hero.[62]
- ^ a b c d e Greenberger, Robert (2008). "Booster Gold". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 58. ISBN 0-7566-4119-5.
- ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "The DC Universe gained one of its most peculiar stars in the first issue of writer/artist Dan Jurgens' Booster Gold series."
- ^ Ching, Albert (March 16, 2007). "DC Nation Panel from WW:LA". Newsarama. http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=105423. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Geoff Johns Shares Booster Gold Thoughts". Newsarama. March 16, 2007. http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=105430. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Johns, Katz, and Jurgens Talk Booster Gold". Newsarama. March 21, 2007. http://classic.newsarama.com/dcnew/Booster/booster.html. Retrieved 2007-03-22. [dead link]
- ^ Rogers, Vaneta (May 3, 2007). "The 52 Exit Interviews: Geoff Johns". Newsarama. http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=111254. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
- ^ a b Burlingame, Russ (February 3, 2011). "Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 and Flashpoint Exclusive News!". Comic Related. http://comicrelated.com/news/10599/flashpoint-exclusive.
- ^ "Boosterrific! History of Booster Gold". Boosterrific.com. August 21, 1985. http://www.boosterrific.com/booster/history.html. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ Booster Gold #1 (February 1986)
- ^ Beatty, Scott (2008). "Extreme Justice". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 117. ISBN 0-7566-4119-5. OCLC 213309017.
- ^ Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (May 2005)
- ^ The OMAC Project #1-6 (June–November 2005)
- ^ Infinite Crisis #2 (January 2006)
- ^ Infinite Crisis #5 (April 2006)
- ^ Infinite Crisis #6 (May 2006)
- ^ 52 Week 1 (May 10, 2006)
- ^ 52 Week 2 (May 17, 2006)
- ^ 52 Week 3 (May 24, 2006)
- ^ 52 Week 6 (June 28, 2006)
- ^ 52 Week 15 (August 16, 2006)
- ^ a b 52 Week 37 (January 17, 2007)
- ^ 52 Week 50 (April 21, 2007)
- ^ Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #29 (June 2007)
- ^ 52 Week 51 (April 28, 2007)
- ^ a b 52 Week 52 (May 2, 2007)
- ^ a b Booster Gold vol. 2, #6 (March 2008)
- ^ a b c Booster Gold vol. 2, #10 (July 2008)
- ^ Booster Gold vol. 2, #13 (December 2008)
- ^ Booster Gold vol. 2, #26 (November 2009)
- ^ Booster Gold vol. 2, #27 (December 2009)
- ^ Booster Gold vol. 2, #31 (April 2010)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #1 (Early July 2010)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #2 (Late July 2010)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #4 (Late August 2010)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #19 (February 2011)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #20 (February 2011)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #21 (March 2011)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #22 (March 2011)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #23 (April 2011)
- ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #24 (April 2011)
- ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 (February 2011)
- ^ Booster Gold (vol. 2) #44 (May 2011)
- ^ Booster Gold (vol. 2) #45 (June 2011)
- ^ Booster Gold (vol. 2) #46 (July 2011)
- ^ Booster Gold (vol. 2) #47 (August 2011)
- ^ "Lemire, Robinson And Azzarello – DC Bullet Points From Fan Expo Canada". bleedingcool.com. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/26/lemire-robinson-and-azzarello-%E2%80%93-dc-bullet-points-from-fan-expo-canada/. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ Justice League International (vol. 3) #1 (September 2011)
- ^ Booster Gold #25 (February 1988)
- ^ Booster Gold vol. 2, #1000000 (September 2008)
- ^ a b Booster Gold vol. 2, #30 (March 2010)
- ^ Booster Gold #3 (April 1986)
- ^ Booster Gold #7 (August 1986)
- ^ JLA Classified #8 (August 2005)
- ^ "Earth-3 Timeline". Blaklion.best.vwh.net. http://blaklion.best.vwh.net/timeline3.html. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ Justice League Quarterly #8 (Summer 1992)
- ^ "Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Wednesday, July 23, 2008". ComicsContinuum.com. http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0807/23/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ Geoff Johns (writer); Tom Welling (director) (2011-04-22). "Booster". Smallville. episode 18. season 10. The CW.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (July 25, 2010). "SDCC 10: Smallville - Darkseid, Blue Beetle and More Are Coming!". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/110/1107100p1.html. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (January 21, 2011). "Smallville Exclusive: Sebastian Spence Cast as Ted Kord". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Smallville-Spence-Kord-1028188.aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
- ^ Borys Kit (November 22, 2011). "Syfy Orders Script Based on DC Comics' 'Booster Gold' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/syfy-booster-gold-greg-berlanti-261801.
- ^ "Wizard's top 200 characters. External link consists of a forum site summing up the top 200 characters of Wizard Magazine since the real site that contains the list is broken.". Wizard magazine.. http://herochat.com/forum/index.php?topic=170859.0. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ "Booster Gold is number 59". IGN. http://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/59. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
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