Earlier today, James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled DC Studios’ initial slate of film and TV projects. With a mix of safe and strange choices, the slate is bound to be analyzed by fanboys and industry insiders for the next couple of years, at least until Superman: Legacy drops in theaters and we start to get a sense for how it’s working. Among the revelations for Booster Gold, the greatest hero you’ve never heard of. The hero will headline his own show, which Gunn described as a “character study.”
This is not Booster’s first time on TV. The character had an appearance in the final season of Smallville, where he went head to head with Clark Kent and had to save Jaime Reyes from his out-of-control Blue Beetle scarab. He also appeared in the series finale of Legends of Tomorrow, albeit out of costume and in the custody of some joyless time cops. But it’s the first time that his everyday life as a member of society in the 21st Century has been emphasized.
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“I have always felt that Booster belongs in media because, in many ways, that’s exactly what the character is all about,” Booster’s creator Dan Jurgens told ComicBook.com. “Not only that, but in many ways, the character has more relevance now because of the way multiple media platforms have exploded and grown. So, I’m very excited to see how this plays out. Booster’s sense of voice, demeanor and presence have always been very clear in my mind, so it’ll be fun to see how it comes together and matches up.”
“Think of it basically as a story of a superheroes imposter syndrome,” Gunn said of his take. “And how do you deal with that? How does he try to use this future technology to be loved by people today? And what is really the base of that and it’s a character study. that’s going to be a very different type of show. and we are talking to an actor about this right now and I think that’s going to happen.”
With a B-list hero all over the news, we took the time to round up a rundown of some of Booster Gold’s most essential adventures, so that those who aren’t already into the “greatest hero you’ve never hear of” can get a sense for what might be coming down the pike. Here goes:
The Big Fall/Future Lost
Out of print for years, the original 1980s Booster Gold comic books were finally available in hardcover collected editions in 2020 — and have just recently gone out of print. You can still snag them on Amazon or eBay if you’re willing to pay a little extra, or you can get either the collections or their individual digital comics on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or other digital comics retailers.
These stories tell of Booster’s earliest days, when he first came to the past to become a hero. They deal with him navigating life as a businessman in a world where everyone he knows, only knows him as an employer or source of income. It also introduces Booster’s complicated family dynamic, and gives you plenty of moments that are funny and relevant as Booster makes himself the world’s most famous superhero pitchman.
Justice League International by Giffen, DeMatteis et. al.
After his solo series ended, Booster headed to Justice League, which was almost immediately retitled Justice League International.
This is where Booster became known as a practical joker, and his get-rich-quick schemes earned him the reputation for being shortsighted. But it’s also where he developed his lifelong relationship with Blue Beetle Ted Kord. As an added bonus, it’s one of the best and funniest mainstream superhero comic runs you’ll ever read.
The Death of Superman
The hero from the future came face to face with something that he couldn’t help stop, even though he knew what was coming. He even helped name the beast: Doomsday. The story that killed Superman and made Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens a superstar, also took Booster off the table for a while and set him on a course that would make for some of the most difficult times of his life.
The recent anniversary edition of The Death of Superman also included Superman: Day of Doom, a story that looked back on Doomsday for the tenth anniversary of Superman’s death. In it, you get a lot more of an idea of what was going through Booster’s mind at the time. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t before.
Countdown to Infinite Crisis
Where he lost everything.
In Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Booster is injured by an explosion and laid up in bed when Ted Kord is murdered, changing Booster’s life forever. He is not the main character in this story — Ted is — but his characterization here is sharp, and it leads into some great stories that would come later.
52
In 52, Booster died.
Well, that’s not all he did. It also is not exactly accurate. But Booster’s security droid and sidekick Skeets was compromised by a supervillain, and in order to act behind the scenes to stop Mr. Mind without blowing his cover, Booster had to work with Rip Hunter to fake his own death. Booster’s story in 52 is a whirlwind, and we don’t want to spoil everything (even though we did just spoil the biggest parts). If you haven’t read the series, it’s well worth revisiting.
Booster Gold vol. 2
Not only is Booster Gold vol. 2 a great run from start to finish, but it’s also key to the contemporary understanding of Booster Gold. Well…mostly the Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens issues. The Giffen/DeMatteis stuff from this run has been largely forgotten, as they served as a fill-in team while Jurgens was off doing a Flashpoint-adjacent miniseries.
In any case, this volume established Booster as a Time Master and showed that he has to constantly lean into his own bad reputation and humble himself again and again, in the interest of doing what’s right for the multiverse. It’s also where he established a close (secret) friendship with Batman, one of the only people who knows his secret.
Time Masters: Vanishing Point
A key inspiration for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, this miniseries stars Booster alongside Green Lantern and Superman, and bridged the gap between The Return of Bruce Wayne (a Final Crisis follow-up) and Flashpoint. It is not especially significant in terms of plot, but it has great characterization and gives a rare glimpse into how “Time Master” Booster would interact with major superheroes in the future.
A thematic follow-up to this took place in Jurgens’s final issues of his Action Comics run. In a story called “Booster Shot,” Booster tried (and failed) to stop Superman from accidentally breaking time when he traveled back to the moment of Krypton’s destruction. As a result, the pair had to face off with General Zod, who had teamed up with Booster’s supervillain father.
Blue & Gold
Between Flashpoint and Blue & Gold, there are some fun stories — Jurgens penned a Justice League International adventure, and Booster’s story in Convergence was quite good — but none of them are especially relevant to who the character is in the popular consciousness.
Blue & Gold, on the other hand, perfectly sums up Booster. We get to see him chasing fortune and glory, teaming up with Ted Kord, and secretly working with Rip Hunter to protect the timestream and finally get to the bottom of a secret that has been lingering over the character for almost a decade.
Honorable Mention: Heroes in Crisis
This is not really a Booster Gold story, but it’s worth at least considering, since Gunn has described the TV show as a character study and a look at how Booster is damaged and seeks love and validation through his heroics.
In Heroes in Crisis, Booster is one of a handful of main characters, in a story that centers around time travel, betrayal, and a mental health facility for superheroes. Things go horribly awry at the facility, leaving some people dead, and Booster Gold and Harley Quinn have to figure out who the killer was so they can clear their names.
