'Legends of Tomorrow': Could Ava Be Connected to Booster Gold?

Fans rejoiced when Sara (Caity Lotz) and Ava (Jes Macallan) finally got together on Legends of Tomorrow, but even as the "AvaLance" relationship came to fruition, something arose in the background that just might threaten the pairing. At the end of "No Country for Old Dads", Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) tells Gideon to delete a file on the ship's hard drive as Sara can't discover the truth about her girlfriend.

But what is that truth? New promotional photos from The CW as well as the episode title for the upcoming "I, Ava" seem to hint that whoever Agent Sharpe is might just include her being a robot or a clone. Fans have been speculating what it all might mean, but there's one theory that is worth a closer look: could Ava really be Michelle Carter?

If you're not familiar with Michelle Carter, her brother Booster Gold might ring a bell. In comics, Michelle Carter is the twin sister of Michael Jon Carter, better known as the hero Booster Gold who just so happens to be the father of none other than Rip Hunter. While Booster has never made an actual appearance nor has his comic book connection to Rip been established on Legends of Tomorrow, the show did make an oblique reference to the hero during the Season Three premiere. The reference? Rip was describing the Time Bureau as "we are the most important security organization that no one's ever heard of," which was kind of a sly reference to Booster's own series in comics which had the tagline of "The Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of."

But what does any of that have to do with Ava? Well, Michelle Carter, being Booster's twin, followed in her brother's footsteps and traveled back in time from the 25th Century and was interested in becoming a superhero herself. She "borrowed" a costume and became the hero Goldstar, but was killed during her adventures. However, in comics her "death" is considered something of a question mark as her nephew, Rip, saved her at the very last moment, and by the nature of time travel may never have happened at all.

The idea of Rip trying to alter the timeline in order to save his family members is a firmly established element of Legends of Tomorrow. It's arguably what the show's entire first season was about with Rip creating the Legends for the purpose of stopping Vandal Savage and, thus, saving his wife and child in the future. If Michelle Carter exists within the world of Legends, it's likely that Rip might want to save her, particularly if her existence is important to preserving the timeline in some fashion. It's also possible that Ava isn't Michelle directly but is, instead, an aberration or a glitch in the timeline. In comics, the villainous Rex Hunter forces Michelle to witness the death she escaped. It left her very traumatized and believing that she was a glitch in the timeline. If that is something Legends explores, it's possible that the trauma destroyed the real Michelle, leading Rip to create a duplicate through time travel or other means as a way to preserve her and stabilize time. It would also explain why Rip wouldn't want Sara or even Ava herself to find out the truth, especially since in comics Michelle feels betrayed by Rip for having hidden her real fate.

Whatever the secret to who or what Ava is, fans will find out more in "I, Ava", which will air on March 26th.

Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.