Booster Gold (Michael Jon "Booster" Carter) is a 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 based in Superman's home city, Metropolis, staging high-publicity heroics through his knowledge of historical events and futuristic technology. Carter develops over the course of his publication history and through personal tragedies to become a hero weighed down by his reputation.
The character has been portrayed in live action television by Eric Martsolf in Smallville and by Donald Faison in the seventh season of the Arrowverse series Legends of Tomorrow. Additionally, Tom Everett Scott, Diedrich Bader, and Bruce Timm have voiced Booster Gold in animation.
Publication history
Booster Gold first appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986), being the first significant new character introduced into DC Universe continuity after 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".
At Wizard World Los Angeles in March 2007, 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. The series focuses primarily on Booster Gold's clandestine time travel within the DC Universe. 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!". 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 worked 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. Jurgens returned to the main Booster Gold title with issue #44.
Development Jurgens's 1984 series proposal for Booster Gold compared the hero to U.S. Olympic Gold athletes such as Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, and Bruce Jenner, who had turned "Olympic gold into commercial gold", selling multiple products based on their fame and past accomplishments. Booster's origin as a security guard at a future Superman museum was altered when writer/artist John Byrne was brought to DC to reboot Superman's origin in The Man of Steel.
Legacy Since his origin, other 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.Booster Gold #25 (February 1988) 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."52 #52 (July 2007) Later, in the new Booster Gold series, Rip hints at a "Carter heroic legacy."Booster Gold (vol. 2) #6 (March 2008) It is then revealed that Booster is important to the Time Masters, as he will train "the greatest of them all",Booster Gold (vol. 2) #10 (July 2008) being the father and the teacher of Rip Hunter himself, who willingly chose to protect his identity against other time-travelers, 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.Booster Gold (vol. 2) #1000000 (September 2008)
Due to the complicated time-travel 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".Booster Gold (vol. 2) #30 (March 2010)
Due to a temporal 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.
Fictional character biography From the future Michael Jon Carter was born poor in 25th-century Gotham City. He and his twin sister, the slightly younger 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. His twin sister Michelle, the more responsible of the two, took on multiple jobs to support their ailing mother. 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.
Michael's sidekick is a robot named Skeets. Skeets is a 25th-century security robot (sometimes "valet unit") with artificial intelligence. He is capable of flight, cognition, and voice projection, which are all considered highly advanced for 21st century Earth. He also has historical records which give him a vast knowledge of what will happen between the 21st and 25th centuries, though its reliability has become questionable. He possesses numerous miniature tools and weapons kept within his shell, and is also equipped with a powerful energy blaster. He is apparently immune to reality and temporal manipulation.
With the help of 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. He is a shameless self-promoter whose obsession with fame and wealth irritates other heroes.Booster Gold #1 (February 1986)
Carter's nickname as a football player was "Booster", but his chosen 20th century superhero name was "Goldstar". After saving Ronald Reagan, Carter mangled the two names, causing Reagan to introduce him as "Booster Gold".Booster Gold #8-9 (September–October 1986) 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 Ted Kord (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. 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. Ted 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, Ted 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 prosthetic for his lost arm.
Extreme Justice After the Justice League falls apart, Booster Gold joins Extreme Justice, a team led by Captain Atom. 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 Ted. 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. Professor Hamilton subsequently creates a new one 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 later tweaked to closer resemble Booster's original costume.
Countdown to Infinite Crisis: The OMAC Project After the events depicted in the limited series Identity Crisis, in which Sue Dibny is murdered, Booster Gold retires briefly, but then helps Ted discover who is manipulating KORD Industries.Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (May 2005) 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 Checkmate.