Booster Gold

Booster Gold
Cover of Booster Gold #29 (April 2010), textless variant. Art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Booster Gold #1 (February 1986)
Created by	Dan Jurgens
In-story information
Full name	Michael Jon Carter
Team affiliations	Justice League The Conglomerate
Partnerships	Skeets Blue Beetle Michelle Carter Rip Hunter
Notable aliases	Supernova, Waverider
Abilities	Possesses advanced technology allowing flight, power blasts, force fields, enhanced strength, time-travel and other abilities. Slowed aging, Peak athletic condition, Skilled Hand to hand combatant

Booster Gold is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League.

He 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 created for himself.^[1]

Publication history

Booster Gold first appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986),^[2] being the first significant new character introduced into DC Universe continuity after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The next year, he began to appear regularly in the Justice League series remaining a team member until the group disbanded in 1996. 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 left the book after 12 issues (#1-10, #0, and a One Million issue). Jurgens and Rapmund stayed. Jurgens assumed writing duties following four issues by guests 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, in which Booster united with Fire, Ice and Captain Atom to defeat the resurrected Maxwell Lord. From July 2010 through February 2011, Booster starred alongside Rip Hunter, 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 the background for the 2011 DC crossover event Flashpoint.^[7] Jurgens returned to the main Booster Gold title with issue #44.^[7]

Fictional character biography

From the future

Michael Jon Carter was born poor in 25th century Gotham City. He and twin sister Michelle never knew their father because he left after gambling away all their money. Michael was a gifted athlete, attending Gotham University on a football scholarship. At Gotham U., Michael was a star quarterback until his father reentered his life and convinced him to deliberately lose games for gambling purposes. He was exposed, disgraced and expelled. Later he was able to secure a job as a night watchman at the Metropolis Space Museum, where he studied 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 Sphere, 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] He is a shameless self-promoter whose obsession with fame and wealth irritates other heroes.^[8]

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 US President Ronald Reagan to introduce him as "Booster Gold". The name stuck. In a running joke throughout the DC Universe, people erroneously call him "Buster" to his chagrin.

Celebrity

Booster is originally based in Superman's home city, Metropolis. 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 subsequent public exposure, Booster signs a multitude of commercial and movie deals. During his career, his sister Michelle Carter, powered by a magnetic suit, follows in his footsteps as the superheroine Goldstar. Booster is devastated when she dies battling creatures from another dimension. 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 that he siphoned money from Booster's accounts in hopes of leaving him no choice but to do the Manhunters' bidding. Although the Manhunters are ultimately defeated, Booster is left bankrupt.

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. The duo's notable appearances include a stint as superhero repo men, and as the minds behind the construction of a gaming resort, Club JLI, on the living island Kooey Kooey Kooey.

After one too many embarrassments and longing for his old reputation, 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 behave as legitimate heroes, but find that their sponsors compromise them 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, Booster coins the name Doomsday for it. While battling the entity, Booster's costume is destroyed. Blue Beetle is able to design a new, 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 replacement arm.

Extreme Justice

After the Justice League falls apart, Booster Gold joins Extreme Justice, a team led by Captain Atom.^[9] 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. Skeets acts as its systems controller, who aids Booster and is 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]

Countdown to Infinite Crisis: The OMAC Project

After the events depicted in the limited series Identity Crisis, in which Sue Dibny is murdered, Gold retires briefly, but then helps Blue Beetle discover who is manipulating KORD Industries.^[10] 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.

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 discovered that another friend, Maxwell Lord, is responsible for killing Blue Beetle and that in fact, Lord always hated metahumans and superheroes. 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", implying a return to the 25th century.^[11]

Infinite Crisis

In Infinite Crisis, 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".^[12] 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.^[13] The mission is successful and Booster plays a pivotal role in the destruction of the satellite.^[14]

52 and Supernova

In the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman temporarily retire their costumed identities, and the remaining heroes attend a memorial for Superboy in Metropolis.^[15] Booster 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,^[16][17] Booster searches fellow time traveler Rip Hunter's desert bunker for answers, finding it littered with enigmatic scrawled notes. Booster finds photos of himself and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault" with arrows pointing toward them.^[18]

Booster is seemingly angered when a mysterious new superhero named Supernova appears. His reputation ruined, Booster tries to regain the spotlight by containing an explosion, but appears to be killed in the attempt.^[19] 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 them, 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.^[20]

He appears in World War III. 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

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.^[23] Rip and Booster witness the birth of the new Multiverse, made up of 52 identical worlds. Mister Mind attempts to trap Booster and Rip in the Phantom Zone which he devoured when it was turned on him, but he is stopped by Supernova (now 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 52 worlds, altering their history in the process. The real Skeets gives Booster a pep talk which inspires him to stop Mister 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 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.^[24]

One Year Later

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 Justice League that they admit him and the group begrudgingly decide to monitor him over the following 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 League (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. 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 Kord moments before his death. They succeed, and the restored Blue/Gold duo deserts Rip Hunter to side with the Blue Beetles group. Rip retaliates by presenting Michael's ancestors Daniel Carter and Rose Levin with replicas of the Supernova and Booster Gold suits, stating that the Carter family's heroic legacy starts "right freakin' now."^[25] When time "solidifies" following Kord's rescue, 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 outdo Booster at making money off of heroic acts. When returned to the present, he is enraged by Rip's unsympathetic responses to his ordeal and quits. Batman tells Booster that he knew about Booster's attempts to prevent the crippling of Barbara Gordon and has long realized that Booster is not the fool he appears to be, offering his friendship. Booster resolves to continue working with Rip, even if it will not be "fun". Rip reveals that 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 Hunter is Booster's son: as Michelle and Michael go out to eat, Rip says "Keep it up, dad."^[26]

Booster has shown his dedication, now calling himself a "Time Master", (with Hunter), and trains his sister.^[27]

Blackest Night

In a tie-in to the Blackest Night event, Booster faces Ted Kord, reanimated as a Black Lantern. At first 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.^[28] Attacked by him, he removes Daniel and Rose from the scene and heads to Kord Industries to arm himself. 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 secure them. He 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. They find evidence at the warehouse of someone else entering, even though the doors were genetically coded, with only two people cleared for access: Ted and Booster.^[29]

Brightest Day

Booster next finds his sister living in Coast City mere hours before its destruction. Though unable to save her boyfriend, Booster and Michelle patch up their relationship, with her agreeing not to leave him. This arc introduces 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 father, 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.^[30]

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.^[31] 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.^[32]

Return of the JLI

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 has become the leader of the team.^[33]

When his team member, Jaime, is kidnapped and tortured by Max, Jaime signals 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, killing him in the same manner as his predecessor, Ted Kord.^[34] 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.^[35] As the team deals with the loss of Jaime, Booster Gold blames himself for leading the team into so much danger, and wants to abdicate as leader. The rest of the team overhear his ranting and convince him that they believe in him. Gold is still upset, saying they cannot win against Max, when Blue Beetle suddenly sits up, his wound healed, declaring he knows Max's ultimate plans and that they can stop him.^[36]

While the JLI learn that Jaime is alive, Batman and Power Girl join the team. Meanwhile, Max sends the OMACs to attack the JLI.^[37] While the JLI are battling against OMAC Prime, Booster locates Max's flying headquarters and attacks it to come face-to-face with Max.^[38] During the battle, Booster 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 to escape. Afterwards, Booster and Batman set out to re-form the JLI.^[39]

Flashpoint

After the Time Masters: Vanishing Point event, Rip Hunter informed them that someone sneaked into their base leaving a message on the chalkboard.^[40] When Earth entered an alternate timeline due to the actions of the Flash, Booster and Skeets awaken and are the only ones who remember the original timeline. Gold travels to Coast City, but US soldiers attack him mistaking him to be an Atlantean threat. Skeets is damaged when Gold is attacked by the military's Project Six, which is revealed to be Doomsday.^[41]

During the battle in Coast City, he discovers that Doomsday is controlled by General Nathaniel Adam. He escapes from Doomsday and then saves a woman named Alexandra Gianopoulos from Doomsday's attack. He learns the timeline has been changed, suspecting Professor Zoom. Alexandra and Booster split up, but she secretly has powers allowing her to take others' powers and follows him. Later, he flies to Gotham City when Doomsday attacks him. General Adam's control link is destroyed by Alexandra in an attempt to rescue Booster. Doomsday's true personality comes to the surface and he attacks Booster.^[42] During the fight, Doomsday beats him nearly to death, but he is rescued by Alexandra. He tries to prevent Doomsday from killing innocent people, and manages to put Doomsday's helmet back on. Doomsday's control is restored to Adam, who grabs Booster, hoping to kill him.^[43] Fortunately, Adam takes him back to the base for interrogation, allowing him to escape when the sight of "Project Superman" causes Doomsday's true personality to resurface. Alexandra defeats Doomsday by using the control helmet to make Doomsday tear himself apart, subsequently asking Booster to take him with her when he restores history to normal. Alexandra subsequently sacrifices herself to save Booster from an Atlantean attack, leaving him to return to Vanishing Point as history resets 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.^[44]

The New 52

Booster's next appearance was as part of the new Justice League International series launched in September 2011.^[45] In the post-Flashpoint continuity, Booster is portrayed with his original glory-seeking personality and is chosen by the U.N. to lead the JLI due to his PR sense and naiveté. He takes his leadership role seriously, and strives to become a better hero and role model.^[46] However, despite his best efforts and support from Batman, who officially defers to Booster's leadership after supporting Booster for leader, the JLI falls apart due to a string of attacks against the group that leaves members killed or wounded.^[47] Despite his best attempts to bring in new members however, Booster alienates Guy Gardner when he recruits Jaime Reyes into the roster and later watches in horror as the hero OMAC betrays the team and inflicts more carnage, including teleporting Blue Beetle to the homeworld of the villainous "Reach" species.

In the end, Gold is confronted with what appears to be an older version of him, an agent of ARGUS who warns his present self to prevent Superman and Wonder Woman from dating. Failure to prevent it would cause Booster Gold to cease existing. As the JLI monitor reveals Superman and Wonder Woman kissing, the future Gold disappears; saying he "shouldn't have trusted him"—referring to Rip Hunter. The present day Gold disappears moments later.^[48] Amanda Waller orders Chronos to search for Gold through time, but Chronos is captured by the Secret Society before carrying out his mission.^[49] The older Booster Gold mysteriously reappears in other timelines, like 19th Century Gotham City.^[50] In Booster Gold: Futures End #1, the older Booster clarifies he is not an older version of the New 52 Booster, but an older version of him from a universe which has ceased to exist (such as the pre-Flashpoint universe). The older Booster is sent careening through the timeline, eventually meeting up with his sister, Michelle, who is in a version of Metropolis which has been sealed in a bubble by a godlike version of Brainiac. They are teleported to where the younger, New 52 Booster is held captive by Brainiac. Brainiac threatens to kill Michelle unless the younger Booster gives up the location of Vanishing Point, which he concedes. The older Booster knows this could lead to the end of the Multiverse, setting up the events of Convergence, Earth 2: Worlds' End and The New 52: Futures End.

In Convergence: Booster Gold #2, following on from this event somewhat, the aged pre-Flashpoint Booster encounters the Zero Hour Ted Kord on the planet Telos, where Brainiac has gathered cities from across the history of the Multiverse. Booster explains to Kord that he has led a good life, married and had a son (Rip Hunter), and begins to age rapidly from time travel radiation sickness. Rip intervenes and forces the New 52 Booster to take his father into the raw chronal field contained at Vanishing Point; pre-Flashpoint Booster's body is destroyed, but he is reborn as Waverider, the all-knowing cosmic time traveller. Waverider then emerges on Telos in the final issue of Convergence along with the New 52 Booster and Goldstar to bring back Brainiac, and they convince him to save the Multiverse from its imminent destruction. Brainiac then sends Zero Hour Parallax and pre-Flashpoint Superman back to the conclusion of the Crisis on Infinite Earths to avert the original crisis event, and this results in many of the classic worlds of the Multiverse being reborn in their modern forms.

Alternate versions of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle as they were prior to Countdown to Infinite Crisis appear in the pages of Justice League 3000 #14, where they are awaken from a 1000-year suspended animation on Takron-Galtos in the 31st century. According to Keith Giffen, "they're J.M. DeMatteis and my Blue Beetle and Booster Gold".^[51]

Legacy

Since his origin, characters within the DC Universe have hinted that there is a greater purpose to Booster Gold than he knows.

During the Millennium event, Harbinger reveals to Martian Manhunter that Booster is descended from the Chosen and that he must be protected. It is revealed that Booster is destined to come to the past to protect him from an unknown event in the future.^[52] In 52 Rip states that the moment Booster helped save the multiverse from Mister Mind would be remembered in the future as the start of Gold's "glory years."^[24] Later, in the new Booster Gold series, Rip hints at a "Carter heroic legacy."^[25] It is then revealed that Booster is important to the Time Masters, as he will train "the greatest of them all,"^[26] being the father and the teacher of Rip Hunter himself, who willingly chose to protect his identity against other time-travellers, to pass through history as the only loser of the clan. Despite the general distrust of Booster, Rip and his descendants apparently know the truth, always honoring him.^[53]

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 gives 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 Superboy's seemingly-destroyed "super-goggles".^[54]

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 personally tasked Rip to school his past self. 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 divergent timelines from each universe in the Multiverse.^[54]

Powers and equipment

While Booster Gold has no superhuman abilities, he is an excellent athlete. He demonstrates enough willpower to use his Legion flight ring at range, a feat few have been able to demonstrate.

Booster 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. Circuitry from a force field belt 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. 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,^[55] although this depletes his force field for a time afterward.^[56]

Booster's original uniform included a cape which was taken by Superman after telling Booster, "You can't handle a cape."^[57] Booster's later costumes use many different technologies to supply 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.

As Supernova, Michael Carter uses a Phantom Zone Projector built into his suit to teleport matter from one place to another.^[20]

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, 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.^[58] This prompted Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, and Ultra Boy to travel 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 as 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 and Daniel in an attempt to reverse a "Time Stealer's" plan intended to erase Booster from the continuity by damaging the Time Sphere held in the museum.^[26]

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, made of a particular alloy named "valorium", bestows its owner with flight abilities. It is the only piece of equipment stolen from the Space Museum that 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. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 himself arranged the events leading Booster to steal a random flight ring, knowing about his heroic life in the 21st century from historical sources.
• Power suit: Instead of any superhuman powers, Booster Gold uses an advanced microcircuitry-powered all-purpose combat suit. The suit bestows enhanced strength, at least twenty tons without exertion, and protection to the wearer, and is durable, lightweight and easy to wear. The suit is able to withstand bullets without losing its integrity (although being shot hurts). It is equipped with a force field, courtesy of the Brainiac 5 belt, able to withstand powerful impact forces and supplying air for no-air atmospheres and defending Booster from germs and pollution: this particular feature was later downplayed, as Booster prefers now engaging the shield only when necessary to avoid weakening his immune system. Originally, it was the war-suit of an alien invader, put on display on the museum from 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, of unknown origin, is a close replica of the original. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 arranged the events leading Booster into stealing a huge array of power cells used by the Science Police to fuel his suit.
• Time-travel circuitry: Originally reliant on a Time-Sphere for chronal transportation, Booster showed during the 52 series the ability to travel back and forth in time on his own volition. His association with Rip 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's equipment.
• Gauntlets: Originally on display as the exotic weaponry of an alien warlord, and using the same energy cells as the suit, the gauntlets contain blasters that can plow through two feet of solid concrete. In the alternate continuity of the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, Brainiac 5 arranged the events leading Booster to steal a pair of gauntlets built by LexCorp.
• Visor devices: Booster's visor is outfitted with both sensory amplification devices (both auditory and visual) and a heads-up-display 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 is unable to protect the wearer from 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.

Sponsors

• While working for The Conglomerate Booster Gold's sponsors were American Steel, Dante Foods, Dupree Chemical, Ferris Aircraft, LexCorp, Ovel Oil, Pax Entertainment, Stagg Industries, S.T.A.R. Labs.^[59][60]
• Booster Gold's casket is covered in stickers from corporate sponsors including Big Belly Burger, Cap's Hobby Shoppe, EZ Caskets, Guardian Cigarettes, Lit Beer, Pep Cereals, Soder Cola, and Vertigo Comics.^[60][61]
• Booster Gold is regularly featured in his own in-universe comic book title produced by Blaze Comics.

Enemies

• 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 who has been tasked on several occasions to apprehend Booster for his misuse of time travel technology.
• Time Stealers - A villainous counterpart to the 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 Gold's partner Skeets.

Other versions

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 from these timelines make appearances.

In I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League,^[62] 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, pimp slapping a female employee simply because Lord commands it. This alternate version of JLI 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,^[63] but many of the events in this series do not seem to tie directly into continuity.

Elseworlds

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 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 Ted Kord. 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."

One Million

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.

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,^[64] 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 (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.

Reception

Booster Gold was ranked as the 173rd greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.^[65] IGN also ranked him as the 59th greatest comic book hero.^[66]

In other media

Television

• 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 spoke in one episode, "The Greatest Story Never Told", which 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 that physicist Dr. Tracy Simmons' experiment had gone wrong, causing her partner Dr. Daniel Brown, to uncontrollably walk around while having a black hole on his chest. Booster 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 knew what he had achieved. Following Mordru's defeat, Batman approached Booster wondering why he left crowd control. When he is unable to explain what happened while the other superheroes were fighting Mordru, Batman tells him that he will speak to him later. To Booster's delight, Tracy asks him out to thank him. 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, in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!".^[67] 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 celebrity. After Kru'll kidnaps Skeets, 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 fails to solve the riddles, 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 knocks 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 transport back in time to see Blue Beetle, they visit 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 reverse the polarity of the Nuclear Plant to return the Madniks to normal. He joins JLI in "Darkseid Descending!" to fight 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. This is later revealed to be a hallucination Batman got from a vampire bite.

• Booster Gold appeared alongside 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.^[68][69][70] Much like in the comics, Booster is portrayed as a fame-seeker 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 of taking Superman's place in the timestream. Booster chooses to stay in the 21st century to help Jaime learn to use his powers for good. Skeets does not appear physically, but instead exists as a 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. 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.
• Legends of Tomorrow's executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Phil Klemmer talked about bringing Booster Gold into the series. Rip Hunter's true name being Michael is a callback to Booster being his father. Also, some of Booster's character traits are mixed into that of Rip's. ^[71]
• Booster Gold appears in episode 46 of Mad. He joins the other superheroes in a musical number that asks Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman why they are called "Super Friends." Booster states that the membership changes frequently and that "commitment is a sham."
• Booster Gold appears in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, where he can be seen alongside other members of Justice League, fighting the Legion of Doom.
• Booster Gold appears in Justice League: Action, voiced by Diedrich Bader.^[72]

Film

In May 2016, it was reported that Zack Stentz would write a Booster Gold film with Greg Berlanti producing as well as possibly directing.^[73] In September 2016, Berlanti stated the film did not have any "connective tissue" to the DC Extended Universe at that time, and the origins of the project emerged from the television project he and Andrew Kreisberg had in development for SyFy.^[74] That project had been ordered by SyFy in November 2011,^[75] with Kreisberg submitting a script in early June 2013.^[76]

Video games

• Booster Gold appears in DC Universe Online voiced by Tracy W. Bush. He gives virtual tours of Metropolis and Gotham City and as a mini boss in duo mode of the H.I.V.E. Base Mission.
• Booster Gold (along with Skeets) appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Travis Willingham.

Miscellaneous

The Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century series, based upon the television series of the same name presents another Booster incarnation. This time, he appears as a 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 stolen technology to the same villains he fights in exchange for payment of his father's gambling debts. Before the Legion can confront him about his thefts, using a stolen Green Lantern ring with limited time-travel abilities, he tries to follow the Chief Scavenger, escaping in a Time Bubble like the one often used by the main continuity Booster. 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 Booster's technology thefts, but having read in historical chronicles how Booster Gold is destined to redeem himself acting as one of the greatest and most selfless crimefighters of the 21st century, he arranges for Booster to find and easily steal 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.

References

External links

• Booster Gold's secret origin at DC Comics.com
• The Daily Planet: Remembering Booster Gold, Newsarama, August 16, 2006
• Dan Jurgens on the death of Booster Gold, Newsarama, August 29, 2006
• Booster Gold at the Grand Comics Database

• Booster Gold at the Comic Book DB
• Toonopedia entry