Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a comic book character that first appeared in Booster Gold #1
Humiliated in his own time-period (the 25th century), Michael Jon Carter steals future technology and a security robot named Skeets, and travels back into the 20th century to become Booster Gold.
Origin
Booster Gold was created by Dan Jurgens in 1986, and his first appearance was in Booster Gold #1.
Booster was born Michael Jon Carter on December 29th, in the year 2442. He grew up to be a foolhardy and egotistical man, and his only stand out talents were his notorious silver tongue, and his ability to promote himself. Never having been the best student growing up, he took a much deeper liking to sports, and football more specifically. Eventually he acquired a scholarship, and proceeded to become a star of college football, and even gained the nickname 'Booster'. However, being the scheming and selfish man we've all come to know and love, Michael started actually betting on his own games. He was caught rather quickly, and banned from playing the sport altogether. Forced to take a part-time job at the Metropolis Space Museum, Michael 'Booster' Carter was down, out, and on his last leg.
On his nights alone at the museum, Michael began to to take an interest in 20th century history, particularly in that time period's Superheroes and Villains. After some time he became completely fed up with where his life was going, and began to concoct a scheme. Through the aid of a museum security robot called Skeets, Michael took a Legion Flight Ring from a display involving the Legion Of Super-Heroes and a Force Field Belt that belonged to Brainiac 5. Also acquiring a power suit that granted him Super Strength and wrist bands that released Force Bolts, he set off using Rip Hunter's Time Machine to go back to the 20th Century along with Skeets (who possessed historical records dating back to pre-20th Century history).
Upon arrival in our time, Michael used a credit card he had taken from the museum and used it to set himself up until he could make a living on his own. He adopted the name Jesus Alvarez on the credit card for a short time telling himself that he would pay him back as soon as he could. After he found a place to stay he quickly made use of his stolen technology from the future and Skeets' knowledge of events to come in order to mold himself into a successful Superhero. His first experience was saving the President's life from a villain named Chiller. The President honored him with the Medal of Honour. Booster was going to call himself Goldstar but he was so nervous all he got out was “uhh...Booster... No wait Gold...” So the President called him Booster Gold. Later his sister and friend Trixie Collins would wear a uniform made by Dr. Jack Soo of S.T.A.R. Labs and they would use the name Goldstar.
He proceeded then to found Goldstar, Incorporated (later known as Booster Gold International) as a holding company for himself, and also enlists a man named Dirk Davis as his agent. He sets up his company in the heart of Metropolis. Then he quickly makes a name for himself. He becomes the main guy for a short time because Superman is not around and no one knows were he is. Meanwhile his company would derive its funds from corporate sponsors and Booster's own shrewd investments.
When Superman gets back he has more than one run in with Booster and he is not a fan of how Booster is a Hero for profit. Booster really wants to get Superman to like him and he really want to get in the Justice League but both things elude him for a long time. Things even get worse when Lex Luther makes an android that looks like Booster with a piece of Kryptonite in it. This Android Booster runs a muck of the city and even kidnaps the mayor's daughter on Superman day. When Superman hears her screams he quickly takes on the Booster android as gets his blue butt kicked. Then the real Booster arrives and saves Superman. This eases tension between the two and sets them on a path were eventually Superman comes to respect Booster. Booster however always tells him not to let that get around.
After being attacked by a mob of anti-superhero radicals, Booster's power suit was depleted of energy, and he was physically injured. Traveling to the future again to repair his suit, he ran into his twin sister Michelle. She decided to go back to the 20th century with her brother, and become his super heroine sidekick 'Goldstar', Booster's original chosen name. However, much to her brother's devastation, she would soon die in one of their adventures.
However, in the midst of the 'Millennium' crisis, in which the Gaurdians Of The Universe left this dimension, Dirk unveils himself as a lackey for the Manhunter Androids in disguise. He had been redirecting Booster's finances in the hopes of getting him to bend to the Manhunter's demands. Using this to his advantage, Booster attempted to infiltrate the Manhunter's ranks, only to discover they had planted a destructive device at the core of the planet. In his attempts to foil their plans, Booster was declared a traitor by his new found superhero colleagues. He managed to dismantle the doomsday device, and was once again in their good graces. However, after the Millennium crisis is averted and the Manhunters are disposed of, Booster must declare bankruptcy for himself and his company due to the Manhunter's actions.
Justice League International and The Conglomerate
In 1987, Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis were tasked with revamping the Justice League Of America during the crossover event Legends. What spurned from it was a less America focused Justice League, even branching out to other parts of the world, such as Europe. Booster Gold was one of the main players of this particular era, including others such as Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Mr. Miracle, and the Martian Manhunter. Maxwell Lord acted as something of a manager for the Justice League and their new International embassy. He was responsible for Booster's original induction into the League.
The Justice League International soon became known for its more humorous and lighthearted take on the League, such as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle's various schemes and cons, taking advantage of their own super heroism and Justice League membership. One of their more successful ventures was *"The Blue and the Gold,"* which was a Super-Human Repo service. Another of their infamous cons was set into motion when the living island of Kooey Kooey Kooey had its ownership transferred to the Justice League. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle constructed an enormous club and casino on the island that they named *Club JLI*. And while it certainly made them a nice quick buck, Maxwell Lord discovered their treachery, and punished them by assigning them to janitorial duty. The resort went bankrupt due to the actions of Major Disaster.After several of these embarrassing schemes went wrong, Booster eventually began to feel that although he was a fully fledged member of the League, he wasn't getting any respect from his fellow members, and was largely regarded as a joke of a hero. Because of this, he and Claire Montgomery (Maxwell Lord's ex-wife) created a new Superhero group known as the Conglomerate, which would be funded by corporate sponsors. It's members, including Booster, were Reverb, Maxi-Man, Echo, Praxis, Vapor, Gypsy, and Blue Beetle. Eventually though, after some moral dilemmas concerning their priorities as far as sponsorship and duty go, Booster rejoined the League, now under the guide of Superman. The Conglomerate had several later incarnations, although its current status is disbanded.
Doomsday's Onslaught, Extreme Justice, and Booster's new costumes
After Booster rejoined the League, now known as the JLA, the Earth soon came under the attack of a seemingly unstoppable alien force. Booster Gold dubbed the monster *Doomsday*, and the name stuck. During the battle between Earth's heroes and Doomsday, Booster was injured deeply, and nearly lost his life. His power suit, which contained all of his future tech and granted him his abilities, was completely destroyed. The Blue Beetle, after recovering from a coma induced by a beating from Doomsday, quickly built him a new suit that replicated his old abilities. Unfortunately, it was entirely too clunky and often malfunctioned.
Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday, and his victory, rocked the world and foundations of superheroes everywhere. Fortunately, his later return would herald a new hope among their ranks.
During a later battle the League was having with the Overmaster, a 600 million year-old Galactic conqueror, Booster would spearhead the initial attack against the invading force. However, his new suit was destroyed along with one of his arms in a vicious attack by the Devastator, one of the Overmaster's lackeys. His friend Blue Beetle again came to his aid building yet another suit that acted as a life-support system, and provided a robotic arm in the place of the one he lost. Booster was quoted as saying, "Good friends give you a hand; best friends give you an arm."
Booster is soon recruited by Captain Atom to join his new team *Extreme Justice* after the JLA once again splinters. While on the team, Booster struck a deal with super-villain Monarch, who was able to completely heal Gold, including his lost arm. He could finally remove the suit that was keeping him alive. A new suit, with a slight resemblance to his original, was constructed. Skeets was built into the suit, to allow more easy communication between the two of them. Although, once again, along with the disbanding of Extreme Justice, Booster's suit is again destroyed. Fortunately, Michael was able to recover his robotic companion from the remains.
Finally, Booster has a replacement suit built for him by Professor Hamilton from the remains of Blue Superman's containment suit. It was made to resemble his original costume, and grants him all of his original abilities.
The Superbuddies, Heroes for the Common Man!
Maxwell Lord, claiming that he finally wanted to do something for un-selfish reasons, enlisted the help of his old robotic friend L-Ron to recruit Superheroes from the International League era for a new team he was forming. He ended up successfully acquiring the Elongated Man, his wife Sue Dibny, Mary Marvel, Blue Beetle, Fire, Captain Atom, and of course, Booster Gold. Booster had apparently recently married a much older woman by the name of Gladys, with no interest in her aside from her money. She was supposedly a very demanding woman, apparently making him dress as Wonder Woman in the privacy of the bedroom. Booster agreed to join in a last ditch attempt to get back to his super heroic roots, and away from Gladys.
Maxwell established their headquarters in a Queens, New York strip mall, and dubbed the team '*The Superbuddies*'. He set up a 1-800 number for the team, and advertised them as 'Heroes for the Common Man', claiming that anybody could call them with a problem, and the Superbuddies would solve it.
It would seem that Blue Beetle, previously Booster's best friend and partner-in-crime, had developed a heart condition (something Booster made clear he doubted), and was trying to distance himself from his old, less mature ways. This caused several arguments between the two of them, many times with Blue Beetle claiming that he never liked Booster anyway and that he was now too mature for him. But even in his new found maturity, he still managed to argue with Booster like a 5-year-old.
The team ended up drawing the attention of Manga Khan, an old enemy of the Justice League International, who wanted L-Ron back in his service. Booster deeply angered Khan by accidentally damaging and destroying some of his robotic guards. This almost invoked a full invasion, had the actual Justice League not been there to bail out the new team.
Later, in an attempt to recruit Power Girl in order to bring some sense to the team, Blue Beetle began yet another argument with Gold. Booster, in anger, storms off into the halls of the Justice Society mansion. Coming across Dr. Fate's room, Booster picks up one of the artifacts he finds, thinking it to be nothing more than a fancy paperweight. Attempting to take out his anger, Booster holds the artifact above him and proclaims the entire Superbuddies team banished to Hell. The next moment, Booster and the remaining active members of the team after the Manga Khan incident, find themselves smack-dab in the middle of Hell. However, after serving at an Underworld Burger-Joint and battling parallel versions of themselves (called "The Power Posse"), Dr. Fate eventually brings them back to the main DCU after Maxwell enlists his help.
The Superbuddies have since been disbanded.
The OMAC Project and Infinite Crisis
Michael Jon Carter had retired his Superhero identity after the violent murder of Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis, and Skeets had been dismantled by the Checkmate organization due its comprised future technology. Michael was contacted by his old friend the Blue Beetle, who required his assistance. Ted told Michael that funds had been stolen from his company's (Kord Industries) accounts, and had left him bankrupt. Everybody else had turned Ted away when asked for help, so he contacted Booster. Michael agreed to help his old best friend, and donned the identity of Booster Gold once more. However, after setting off a trap somebody had set at Kord's home, Booster is severely injured in the resulting explosion. He warns Blue Beetle not to investigate any further, but Ted continues.
After tracing the clues all the way to Switzerland, Blue Beetle finds himself at the headquarters of the Checkmate organization. Ted soon discovers that Maxwell Lord is in fact the Black King, and throughout his time with the Justice League had been gathering data and enough power to assemble an Anti-Meta-human Strike Force. He considers them to be a threat, and reveals that he has all of the Justice League's files along with Batman's satellite known as the Brother Eye to monitor all Meta-human activity. Blue Beetle refuses to join him, and is shot in the head by Maxwell himself.
Booster wakes up, and after tracking down Guy Gardner in space, decides that he wants to investigate Kord's disappearance with the help of their old Justice League International teammates. After discovering Lord's treachery, Wonder Woman kills him in an attempt to stop his control over Superman's mind and the Brother Eye satellite. Superman is freed from Lord's control, but the satellite initiates a fail safe protocol, and becomes sentient. The OMACs that Brother Eye commands begin to wreak havoc upon meta-humans all over the globe. In the resulting battle, Booster loses many of his old friends, and is nearly killed himself. Blaming himself for not using Skeets plethora of historical data, Booster is left as a shell of a man. He informs Beatriz, otherwise known as Fire, his old teammate and friend, that he's "going home," and returns to the 25th Century.Sometime in the midst of the conflict with Checkmate, the JLA Watchtower is destroyed by an explosion. The Martian Manhunter disappears, and chaos breaks loose on Earth. Havok on the magical realm is being caused by the Spectre, OMACs are murdering meta-humans, and a society of villains is conspiring for an unknown cause. After her murder of Maxwell Lord, Wonder Woman finds herself under intense scrutiny. Superman finds himself losing his priorities. And Batman's paranoia, only intensifying after the hijacking of Brother Eye, is getting the better of him. As a result, the survivors of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-2 Superman (along with Earth 2 Lois), Superboy Prime, Alexander Luthor of Earth 3 leave their otherworldly refuge in an attempt to save this Universe from itself. Although Alex Luthor may have a separate agenda...
Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos, Booster Gold arrives from the future again. Apparently they didn't arrive when they were supposed to, as Booster expressed that he needed to be back in time to save Ted Kord, but failed. Finding himself in the wreckage of the JLA Watchtower, he and Skeets (now criminals in their time for the hijacking of historical records) set off to Earth to find the original Blue Beetle's mystic Scarab.
They manage to successfully track the Scarab to the home of Jaime Reyes, a teenager in El Paso, Texas. It has attached itself to his spine, so Booster takes the young Reyes with him. They arrive in the Batcave, and Booster informs Batman that young Jaime (whom to his discomfort, Booster refers to as "the new Blue Beetle") is the only one who can see the Brother Eye satellite. Booster has learned from the historical records that without Jaime's help, Batman never finds the satellite and the OMACs remain. Also, Booster takes the liberty of inviting the people who come alongside them according to historical data. Using Ted Kord's ship, Batman, Booster, and Jaime take on Brother Eye in outer space with the help of Batman and Booster's team. They manage to shut it down, and disable the OMACs.It is revealed that Alexander Luthor had orchestrated all the chaos across the Universe in the hopes of undoing the destruction of the Multiverse that occurred in the original Crisis. His plans are soon undone by the Earth's heroes, including Booster Gold among them. He is regarded as a hero worldwide, and his fame is returned to him.
52
Days after the Universe is saved, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman disappear, and remain gone for an entire year. That year is documented in the weekly comic maxi-series '52'.
Booster Gold, now stationed in a high-end apartment in Metropolis with Skeets, goes back to his original ways, selling screen time and even space on his uniform to corporate sponsors. However, when Booster Gold realizes that Superman has disappeared, when according to historical data he should be in Metropolis as usual, Skeets begins to malfunction. Several more events fail to occur when they are supposed to according to Skeets' records, and Booster Gold begins to suspect a fracturing in time that most likely occurred during the *Infinite Crisis*. Seeking the help of Rip Hunter, he and Skeets find Rip's desert bunker. The electronic door is locked, but an atomic clock has it set to open on January 1st, 52 B.C.. Skeets infiltrates the time-lock's systems, and gets the door to open for Booster. He enters, and finds it to be an abandoned mess. A Time-Sphere appears broken, and various notes and objects lay strewn throughout the lab. Two chalk boards stand covered in notes and questions, along with the number 52 scribbled in various areas. Across the top of the chalk-board, the words "TIME IS BROKEN" are written. Booster also discovers several pictures of himself and Skeets, with the words "It's his fault" scrawled across them, and arrows pointing toward him. Booster disregards what he finds in the lab, and he and Skeets return to Metropolis.Back in the city, a new masked vigilante by the name of Supernova makes his first appearance, much to Booster's dismay. The fledgling hero, who exhibits a bizarre array of abilities stemming around bright lights and applied teleportation, begins to take away from Booster's face time with the press. This forces Gold to work twice as hard as before to gain the public's attention, and causes him to disregard his old friends when asked for help.
Later, Ralph Dibny, who is investigating a cult that has some connection to his dead wife, visits Booster in his apartment. Dibny attacks Booster after discovering that he might have been able to prevent the murder of his wife had he paid more attention to the historical records he possessed. Gold finds himself becoming more angry and frustrated with where his life and career are going, and in an attempt to make an extra buck, he hires an actor to play a fictitious villain named *Manthrax*. The two stage a fight, which Booster wins. However, the check Booster pays the actor with bounces, and he proceeds to oust him in public. The actor and Ralph Dibny expose Booster as a fraud to the press, and he soon finds himself going bankrupt once more.The Death of Booster Gold?
Finally, in one last ditch attempt to restore his name, Booster uses Skeets to find a disaster for him to avert. They discover a sea monster attacking Metropolis, carrying a nuclear submarine grafted to its back. Booster engages the beast, but to no avail. Supernova intervenes, and manages to make the creature simply disappear. The submarine remains however, and is on the verge of meltdown. Booster, pushing Supernova out of the way, carries the submarine into the sky with his force field, and attempts to contain the explosion. The sub explodes, and the destruction is contained. However, onlookers witness what looks like Booster falling to the ground, and Supernova quickly flies to catch him. When he arrives back to Skeets though, it becomes apparent that Booster died in the massive explosion, as all that remains inside his costume is a charred skeleton.Skeets' Hunt for Rip Hunter
Clark Kent assists Skeets in carrying out a small ceremony for Booster, which is only attended by a small number of paid superheroes whom Booster never knew. In his exposure as a fraud, he lost many friends and supporters. After the memorial however, Skeets discovers a young man by the name of Daniel Carter, who is revealed to in fact be Booster Gold's ancestor. In an attempt to discover where Booster went astray from history, he enlists the help of Daniel to investigate further into Rip Hunter's desert laboratory. As Daniel explores the abandoned bunker, Skeets watches on through his visor. Suddenly, Skeets realizes that Booster failed to mention any of the things he found there. What strikes him the most though, are the pictures of Skeets and Booster on the wall, proclaiming that "it's his fault." Upon closer inspection, Skeets sees that the messages were in fact saying that it was not Booster at fault, but Skeets himself. He then locks the bunker with Daniel inside, setting to open only on 1,000,000 A.D.. A time-vortex trap is set off, and Daniel is stuck reliving one moment over and over again. As Skeets leaves the bunker, his final words are "He knows."
Later in the weekly comic 52, Skeets is seen in Metropolis possessing much more advanced technology. He brings with him an onslaught of pirates from the past and robots from the future, in an attempt to flush out Rip Hunter from wherever it is he is hiding. It ends in the massacre of several scores of civilians, and the murder of the new Super-Chief.
Two weeks following, Skeets murders the Time Commander, and tortures Waverider for information regarding Rip Hunter's whereabouts. Waverider claims that no one knows where or when Rip is, or even what his real name is. Skeets then proceeds to maliciously harm him, and implies that Waverider's own skin in fact comprises Skeets' body, after being discovered hundreds of years later.
In Week 36 of 52, it is revealed that Supernova has been under the employ of Rip Hunter for the duration of the series. Supernova has been gathering various objects, such as the Staffs of the Starmen, Lex Luthor's Kryptonite Gauntlet, and the Shadowthief's Dimensiometer, in order to create a machine that can destroy Skeets. Rip Hunter has been hiding within the shrunken city of Kandor inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude in an attempt to stave off Skeets crusade to find him. It appears also that Rip is having problems "staying linear", and must focus in order not to speak a bizarre backwards gibberish. On the last page of the issue, Skeets can be seen floating above the bottled city, listening to the conversation between Rip and Supernova.
The Return of Booster Gold
As Rip Hunter and Supernova frantically prepare for a battle they know will happen with Skeets, their refuge in the bottled city of Kandor comes under a fierce attack. Buildings begin to fall, and to the horror of Rip and his masked assistant, they hear the voice of Skeets outside the city. He proclaims that if Rip does does not surrender himself, he will destroy Kandor completely. Panicking, Hunter tells Supernova to leave Kandor, and distract Skeets. Using the Atom's Size-Belt, the man under Supernova's mask leaves the city, and reveals himself to be none other than Booster Gold, much to Skeets' surprise.
In attempt to stall Skeets long enough to allow Rip to finish his device, Booster reveals how he became Supernova. In Week 3, when Booster entered Rip Hunter's desert laboratory, he saw many clues telling him that Skeets was responsible for the fracturing in time. Before Gold could say anything though, he was quickly hidden inside of a Chronal Field, and contacted by Rip. Rip told him all about Skeets and his plans, and what they had to do to stop him. Their plan was for Booster to leave the bunker, and withhold all information found from Skeets. Gold would then run his career into the ground, and play dumb to all that was going on around him. Finally it culminated to one final piece of the plan -- faking Booster's death. He carried the explosive submarine into the air, and at one crucial point before the explosion, his present body was switched with his real corpse after his actual death in the future (something Booster didn't seem too happy about). He was then sent 12 weeks into the past, and donned the costume of Supernova. The new powers, he explained, were a combination of various technologies plundered from Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and the Phantom Zone Projector itself, used to create great rays of light, and move things from one place to another, or move them to the Zone itself. Their goal was to gather as many items of power from around Earth as possible, including Nth Metal, Luthor's K-Gauntlet, and Starman's Staff, to build something powerful enough to confront Skeets with.
Finally, after Booster narrowly escapes several of Skeets' attacks, Rip Hunter appears out of Kandor, carrying the Phantom Zone Projector. As he flips it on, Skeets does everything he can not to get absorbed into the Zone. And then somehow, much to the surprise of Rip Hunter and Booster, Skeets absorbs the Phantom Zone into himself. This causes Skeets to be momentarily immobile, an advantage Hunter uses to ready their retreat. He clicks a small device, and begins counting backwards from fifty-two, and he and Booster begin to disappear. However, just before they're gone completely, Skeets manages to follow them into the time-stream.
World War Three
In the 13 weeks between Booster Gold's return, and week 50 of 52, Black Adam's wife and brother in-law, Isis and Osiris, were killed by the Four Horsemen of Apokalips. Isis' last words to Black Adam instructed him to avenge them. Black Adam then proceeded to hunt down and slaughter the remaining Horsemen within the country of Bialya. Bialya saw this as an act of war on Adam's part, and showed no remorse in harbouring the Horsemen. Adam killed every single man, woman, and child within the country in retaliation. Adam refused to be taken into custody, and when the other Marvels and the JSA found this unacceptable, they fought him. Chasing him around the world, Black Adam left complete and utter annihilation in his wake. Thus began World War Three.
In Pisa, Italy, on Day 4 of the War, Black Adam is found battling members of the Doom Patrol. Briefly, a portal opens in the sky, and Booster Gold appears from it. He mutters to himself that he's "too soon", and this isn't the "right time". The portal opens again, and he disappears.At the Greek Parthenon, on Day 5, the Teen Titans recover from a brutal defeat at the hands of Black Adam. Then, in a quick flash of light, Booster Gold appears once more. Riding atop the wing of a jet-plane, he states that this is "still not the right time!", and rides into another time-portal.
Finally, on Day 7 of the War, in China, the final vestige of heroes attack Black Adam. In the heat of the battle, Steel and his niece Natasha prepare a missile they've built to take down Adam. It's purpose is to release a series of nanites within a special gas, whose A.I. will direct them to his brain, and disable his motor-functions. Just before they can launch the missile, Booster Gold leaps from a time-portal directly behind them. Steel and Natasha are surprised to see him, having considered him dead. He tells them that he isn't dead yet, and grabs they're specialized missile. He informs them that it wouldn't have worked on Adam anyway, and that he needs it more than them. He quickly disappears once more into a portal. After Adam's defeat, T.O. Morrow arrives in his home within the Rocky Mountains, in possession of Red Tornado's remains. He peers within the robot's last recorded vision from deep space during the Infinite Crisis, and finds himself dumbfounded at what he sees. Suddenly, Rip Hunter and Booster Gold reveal themselves behind Morrow. Rip tells Morrow to "Get your ass in gear, Prof. 'Cause we're already *way* outta time."One week later, Skeets arrives in the headquarters of T.O. Morrow. Finding Morrow in a depressed stupor, and Red Tornado repeating "52" over and over again, he inquires about what the android saw in space. Apparently Tornado created a "map", which Skeets wants. Morrow is unresponsive, and mumbles to himself:
"Here he comes. This is exactly how they said it would happen. 52 worlds... 52 Morrows... And it all comes down to me."
Then, Rip Hunter and Booster emerge from a corridor in the back of the quarters. Rip thanks Morrow for luring Skeets, and to "pray for the sake of the 52, we don't screw up this time!" Booster tries to calm Skeets down, at which point the robot explains why he's been acting so strangely.
At some undisclosed point early on in *52*, the alien bug-genius known as Mr. Mind invaded Skeets' shell, and has been completing his gestation process, and transforming into his next stage. Skeets body falls away, revealing Mind's newest form. He explains that he's hungry enough to devour an entire Universe, and that this one will be the first. Rip, frustrated at another apparent failure on their part, commands Booster to collect Skeets' remains, and they retreat to his Time-Sphere. When Booster asks where they're going, Rip tells him, "Back. Back to where it all started."The New Beginning
As Booster and Rip escape from the newly transformed Mr. Mind, they find themselves in-between worlds, and also within the time-stream. Among them are scores of different Universes, which Rip explains signify the birth of the new Multiverse. They've travelled one year into the past, just after Alexander Luthor recreated the multiverse, then collapsed it again. Apparently, the remaining energy created by this massive manifestation out poured into the time-stream, and created 51 new Universes, not including New Earth. Every one of these Universes and Earths are identical in every way. Soon, all the Earths will be perfectly aligned, all occupying the same space, on different vibrational planes. Rip explains that when Red Tornado witnessed the birth of this new Multiverse, he created a map which they need in order to navigate through the different worlds. They're going to have to travel between all these Universes if they plan on saving them from Mr. Mind, who plans on feeding off of them for all of Eternity. Suddenly, Mr. Mind appears, and regurgitates the Phantom Zone at them. However, out of nowhere, Supernova leaps in front of the blast, and deflects it, sending the Phantom Zone elsewhere. He boards the Time-Sphere, joining Rip and Booster. Gold is rightfully confused by Supernova's presence, having believed himself to be the masked hero. Supernova removes his mask, revealing himself to be Daniel Carter. Rip saved him from the endless 52-second loop that Mr. Mind trapped him in almost a year ago, and outfitted him with Supernova's specialized costume. Rip's part of the deal was that he would bring him back to his home in Pittsburgh. However, Hunter goes back on their deal, saying that they still need somebody in Supernova's costume due to it's special capabilities. As the trio try and stay ahead of Mr. Mind, they find that he's beginning to alter his own vibrational frequency, effectively changing Universes. Rip has Tornado match the frequency, and they follow the monster to Earth-17. Mind begins to devour the Earth's history, changing entire events and altering centuries of time. Before he can finish, Booster, Daniel and Rip Jump to Earth-3, where they find the Justice League. Suddenly, Mr. Mind arrives, and starts absorbing history once more. He is stopped abruptly, changing the League into the Crime Syndicate of Amerika. They Jump once more, drawing Mind all manner of different Universes. Earth-10 becomes the home of the Freedom Fighters, Earth-50 houses the Wildstorm Universe, and Earth-5 becomes the world of the Marvel Family and other Fawcett creations. Earth-22 is eventually lead into the events of Kingdom Come, Earth-2 holds a variation of the Justice Society, where Superman and Power-Girl are missing. We also witness Earth-4, which becomes the world of various Charlton heroes, including the original Blue Beetle and the Question.Eventually, Booster and co. draw themselves and Mr Mind back into the Multiverse, where they must make their last stand.
Before they initiate Rip's plan, he plays the Carters a simulation of what the Multiverse will look like if Mind wins. A terrible vision is shown to them, scores of "Hyperflies" (Mind's spawn) feeding off of the energy of the collective Multiverse, leaving all of creation in a mindless darkness for all time. Booster suddenly feels the weight of his responsibility coming down on him, and begins to doubt Rip's choice in him.
Rip tries to reassure him, but to no avail. Having let down Ted Kord, and allowing his only remaining friend, Skeets, to be destroyed, Booster feels that he's simply destined to fail. Suddenly, Skeets' remains fizzle and light up, and he utters what words of esteem he can to Booster. Gold, now endowed with new faith in himself, formulates a plan. Rip needs an energy source, and Booster knows right where to find it. He turns on his time travel circuitry, and goes back even further. After he disappears, Rip confides in Daniel that this moment is the beginning of something seen in the future as the beginning of Booster Gold's "Glory Days", and the dawn of the Megaverse. Rip then departs himself, leaving Daniel in charge of the Time-Sphere as he goes to retrieve the last thing they need to defeat Mr. Mind: Suspendium, artificial time.Elsewhen, Booster arrives at the penultimate moment of the original Crisis, find Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle. Ted is looking for his Scarab, and asks Gold for help. Booster uses this as one last chance to talk to his old friend, and to finally say goodbye. The two joke around a little, and then Booster departs after finding the Scarab, and keeps it for the needed energy source. He arrives back at the Time-Sphere, along with Rip, and the two put their plan into motion. Booster plugs Ted's Scarab into Daniel's Supernova costume, so they can draw Mind to its power.
Booster's New Series
Two months following the conclusion of *52*, it's Day 1 of Week 60. Booster and Skeets have been in hiding at the home of Daniel Carter, waiting for the right time to show their faces once more. They re-debut themselves by taking on the Royal Flush Gang in Atlantic City, but apparently before the battle started, Michael set off his JLA Emergency signal. After the Gang is dispatched, the League arrives, disappointed that Booster would use his Emergency Signal when there is in fact no emergency, and they inquire as to his motives. He asks to join the League once again, much to their disdain. It appears that rumors have surfaced saying that Booster faked his death for sympathy, after Steel saw him during WWIII "flying *the other way*". Batman and Superman however have faith in Booster, and tell him that he has one week to prove himself.Back at Daniel's house, he and Michael get into an argument about Daniel's laziness. He refuses to take off the Supernova suit, as it evidently "freezes time" for the wearer, effectively allowing them to go as long as they want without getting tired, hungry or thirsty. Booster had assumed the Daniel would do some good with the suit, but all he does is play video games all the time. Skeets' historical records are also apparently still malfunctioning, making it difficult to use them to their advantage when trying to stop disasters. Michael refuses to use them anyhow, as he considers it "cheating".
Suddenly, in the middle of Daniel's living room, Rip Hunter arrives in his Time Sphere. Booster has nothing but ill feelings toward Rip now, after "leaving Skeets and [Booster's] reputation in pieces". Rip scolds Booster for showing his face to the League, saying that he needed to stay in hiding to protect his knowledge of the Multiverse. Hunter takes Booster with him into the Sphere, leaving Daniel in a broken living room. After they disappear though, a shadowy figure knocks out Daniel, and steals the suit. Elsewhere, as Booster and Rip traverse the time-stream, Rip reveals that one or more malevolent time-travelers are taking advantage of various "worm-holes" left in the aftermath of Mr. Mind's feast. Then, right in the middle of what he's saying, Rip drops Booster into one of the worm-holes. He finds himself in the midst of World War III once more, near a plummeting 747. He's told by Rip that history shows Booster saving the plane. After dropping the aircraft off at a Tokyo airport, an investigative reporter by the name of Rose Levin thanks Booster for his bravery. He is quickly pulled back into the time-stream though, and Rip tells him that woman is another of his ancestors, and she is to start Michael's direct lineage with Daniel Carter. Rip reveals that he needs Booster's help to repair the damage to the time-stream, and stop whoever is destroying it. Unfortunately, one of the stipulations is that Michael must shed any popularity he might be regaining with his old allies, so they might continue to believe him a harmless idiot. Booster refuses, not willing to sacrifice any more of his reputation just to stay incognito. Rip drops him off at home, disappointed.
One week later, Booster arrives at the Hall of Justice to hear the League's decision. With smiles across their faces, they hand Booster an invitation to the Justice League of America. However, before his eyes, the certificate transforms into the Death Certificate of Hal Jordan. Terrified, and convinced of Rip's warnings, Booster leaves the Hall, and lies that he simply wanted to be able to turn them down. He arrives at Rip's old bunker, and demands that if Hunter wants his help, they were going to have to break some of the rules first. Booster wants to save Ted Kord from Maxwell Lord, 8 weeks before the Infinite Crisis ended.Elsewhen, the being who stole the Supernova suit encounters Sinestro, still a Green Lantern, on Korugar.
Back in the Time-Stream...
Rip Hunter, who refuses to break the cardinal rule of time-travel, denies Booster the chance to save his old friend Ted Kord. He is convinced however, when Booster threatens to leave the mission altogether. Rip gives Gold his solemn word to help him save Ted, but tells him to prepare for the consequences.
Just as they finish their negotiation, Rip's time-screens (courtesy of T.O. Morrow) reveal that history is undergoing massive change. The Death Certificate of Hal Jordan is their first clue. Rip informs Skeets and Booster that due to their extensive traveling through the time stream, they "chronally contaminate" the things around them, which is why his invitation to the League transformed into Jordan's death certificate. As they watch the time screens, the very title of the "Greatest Green Lantern of All Time" shifts from Hal Jordan altogether, and becomes Guy Gardner! Apparently, some one or some thing has caused Sinestro to interact with Gardner years before he should. This sets off a chain reaction that causes Abin Sur's ring to not find Hal Jordan, but Gardner instead. Because of this, Guy becomes one of the greatest Lanterns of all time, but ends up contracting a "yellow plague" from the planet Ghera, and dies decades before he should. Sinestro goes renegade without opposition, and forges the Sinestro Corps long before the current time-line. He ends up conquering the whole of the universe, turning everything into a militant state.Booster accepts his mission, and Rip goes "time-diving" to find out who has been tampering with things.
8 Years ago
Pasadena, California
Guy Gardner skips Christmas with his mother and father to watch the Rose Bowl between U of Michigan and Washington. Booster watches from afar, observing that Gardner looks distraught, and constantly eying pay phones. Suddenly, Sinestro enters Earth's atmosphere, and Booster intercepts him before he finds Gardner. Sinestro becomes irritated, and engages Booster, leveling half of the stadium in the process. Booster manages to survive after Skeets reveals that the Green Lanterns are still susceptible to the yellow impurity. Sinestro explains that somebody in white with a mask warned him that Gardner would surpass him as Green Lantern, and he has come to deduce how it would be possible to usurp him.
Back in the time-stream
Rip Hunter continues diving, passing several wormholes and alternate dimensions and time-lines. Suddenly, his machines start detecting something of-the-charts, and he discovers a huge spherical structure residing within the time-stream.
Elsewhen, back in Pasadena
Sinestro continues his zeal to encounter Guy Gardner, but Booster Gold once again interferes. Just before Sinestro once again beats him to a pulp, Booster shouts that he is, in fact, Sinestro's biggest fan. He lies that in the future, everybody worships the legend of Sinestro, and that he has come from the future to warn Great Sinestro that the Qwardians would deceive him, and try to reveal his own fears. By seeking out Guy, he would show his fear of being replaced, and Booster has come to tell him "what he already knows in his heart", and that is that Sinestro can never be replaced. Sinestro, content with himself, notices Booster's yellow flight-ring. Booster explains that they all wear rings as tribute to him in the future, and that they're all members of the "Sinestro Corps", incidentally inspiring Sinestro to forge the faction in the future.
Sinestro departs Earth, and Booster seeks out Guy. Borrowing some clothes, Michael finds him drinking in a local bar. Booster manages to get Guy to talk about his problems, which stem from his relationship with his father. Apparently Gardner's father is dying, and wants to reconcile with his son. Booster reveals something about his own father, which he notes that he's never even told Ted. Gold's own father was a crook and a gambler, and he died without the chance to see him again. This inspires Guy to go see his father one last time, and gives Booster his Rose Bowl tickets. Apparently this sets in motion the events that cause Hal Jordan to receive Abin Sur's ring, putting Gardner in the second spot he so openly loathes.
Booster returns to Rip's time-sphere, when suddenly his invitation once again transforms, but this time into the Death Certificate of Superman! Booster finds that Rip is gone, but when he looks outside of the sphere, he finds Hunter idly floating and injured, and Supernova chasing him! Skeets deduces that the being inside the suit is not Daniel Carter, but before they can investigate any further, "Supernova" enters a wormhole and disappears into the wild west. He shifts into some cowboy appropriate attire, and enters a bar, proclaiming that he needs a "gun-fer-hire". Across the bar, none other than Jonah Hex accepts the bounty.
Booster then heads back to his ancestor's, Daniel Carter's, wrecked home to inquire about the Supernova suit. Daniel, completely oblivious as to who has taken the suit, answers a knock at his door to reveal Rose Levin, his future wife, and wannabe journalist. Booster and Rip leave for the wild west prior to her entering.
Looking once again at the death certificate of Superman, Rip notices that there are no anomalies near Superman's lifeline. In fact the fluctuation appears around Jonathan Kent, more specifically his great-grandfather's birth and his doctor, Doctor Westfield, at the time. Without the Doctor, whom Jonah Hex refused to kill, his great-grandfather would have suffered a problematic birth, leading to his death. Superman, when landing in the field on the Kent Farm, wouldn't have been greeted by the Kent's, but rather by Lionel Luther, coincidentally in passing.
Taken into his home, Superman and Lex Luthor would become close brothers until Lex found out Superman's secret on one of his birthday's, thus devoting his life to destroying him...succeeding only a year later.
In order to get any information from Jonah Hex, Booster is required to out-drink him and pay for the whiskey. Doing so he learns that Jonah did decline the kill. Now heading for Doctor Westfield's house, Booster and Skeets have an entertaining moment, noting that Booster is still hammered drunk from the whiskey.
Arriving at the house, Supernova arrives, deciding to kill Doctor Westfield himself by teleporting buffalo to trample him. Booster dives into them, and saves Doctor Westfield and his wife, right as Supernova took off into the time stream.
Booster and Skeets return to Rip's time sphere, prompting Doctor Westfield to say, after getting off the ground, all muddied up, "I've had enough of Kansas, we're movin' back to Smallville." putting him right where he'd be needed to help deliver the next Kent.
Back in the time sphere, Booster, still drunk, takes the wheel of the time sphere and promptly is crashed into by Wally West and Barry Allen, The Flash and Kid Flash.
Booster and Rip manage to rescue Ted Kord, it is later revealed that with out the death of Ted Kord, Max Lord accomplishes his early plan in killing many of the DCU's heroes. Ted Kord then decides to sacrafice himself and returns to the time were he is killed by Maxwell Lord, in order to save the heroes of Earth. But Booster was not left alone, as Rip Hunter surprises Booster by rescuing Booster's sister Michelle right before she died in one of Booster Gold's early adventures.
It is later revealed that Booster is in fact Rip Hunter's father. Although Booster is unaware of this, Rip Hunter seems to know..
Powers and Abilities
Booster Gold, in his original incarnation, possessed a Legion Flight Ring, Brainiac 5's Force Field Belt, a power suit granting him enhanced strength, and wrist projectors that allow him to release powerful force bolts.
He has since had many other suits, but his most recent provides all the same functions that his original suit and technology provided. The suit enhances his strength, allowing him to lift c. 20 tons without exerting himself. The suit is highly durable, withstanding bullets without losing its integrity. The suit also is equipped with a force field, able to withstand powerful impact forces. The field once withstood a punch from Doomsday, protecting Booster Gold from the latter's attacks. The field can also filter atmospheric air to clean it from germs and pollution.
While he doesn't use his wrist blasters often, Booster's force fields are immensely powerful, and have saved him on many occasions. He once used a regular field to contain Metamorpho completely with no problem.For the better part of his time in the 20th and 21st century, Booster has had with him a Space Museum Security robot by the name of Skeets, who possessed vast historical knowledge. Booster repeatedly uses Skeets' records to inform him of future events.
Gold also possessed limited and vague Time Travel technology, although it is unclear what exactly he used to travel back to the 25th century, having apparently used Rip Hunter's time sphere to get to the 20th century initially.
Other Media
DC Animated Universe
Booster Gold was in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon along with Fire and Ice. Blue Beetle, however, could not be included in the show because of copyright conflicts with the 1940 Blue Beetle show. Within the series, Booster only starred in one episode, "The Greatest Story Never Told." In this episode, Booster is not well respected in the League due to his superficial, self-centered nature. When Metropolis is threatened by a powerful menace, the entire Justice League is called in to save the day. Unfortunately Booster, Skeets and Elongated Man are assigned to crowd control, instead of entering the battle. Eventually Wonder Woman comes to take Elongated Man into the fight, leaving only Booster and Skeets on crowd control.
Things become worse when a new crisis that could destroy the world pops up and Booster is unable to get anyone to help, because they don't believe him. Booster is forced to save the day all by himself, which he manages to do. However, only the woman who helped him save the world, Dr. Tracey Simmons and Skeets believe that he saved the world, and he is even scolded by Batman for abandoning his position doing crowd control. However, the attractive doctor, whom Booster had early expressed an interest in, asks Booster out to dinner. He accepts, leaving Elongated Man cleaning up after the city.
Booster also has a small appearance in Justice League Unlimited episodes "Dark Heart", "Flashpoint", "Panic in the Sky", "Divided We Fall", "The Doomsday Sanction" and "Destroyer"
He makes a cameo appearence in the first episode of Legion Superheroes.
He appears in Batman the Brave and the Bold.
| Super Name: | Booster Gold |
| Real Name: | Michael Jon Carter |
| Aliases: |
Michael Jon Carter Supernova Jesus Alvarez Killer Moth |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character Type: | Human |
| 1st Appearance: | Booster Gold #1 |
| Appears in: | 361 issues |
| Birthday: | 12/29/2442 |
| Died: |
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