Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Michael Jon Carter was a male human native to Earth where he was actually from the future of 2462. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
He was 4 years old when his father who was a compulsive gambler lost everything he ever had and abandoned his family. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
At Gotham University, he came to earn fame as a star quarterback player who was famous when he was only 20 years old. (Booster Gold v1 #6) Though skilled, he lacked money with his mother becoming more unwell over time and his sister forced to work two jobs to support them. This led to Michael deciding to bet on his matches which was illegal and securing him money as a result. With this, he came to spend money on his family where his mother was diagnosed with a degenerative disease where treatment for it required a great deal of money. Michael promised to get it and rigged another game where the people paying him decided to blackmail him to keep working for them otherwise they would expose him. This led to Booster having to continue with illegal rigged matches where he was paid for his efforts. With the money he gained, he secured his mothers treatment and explained to his family that he had been given a special college grant. Following his mothers treatment, he began to spend the money on himself. (Secret Origins v2 #35)
This fame would have secured him financially with him becoming a rich man from the pro football and commercial endorsements. However, a scandal emerged about him making bets on college football games some of which he played with this shocking the sports world. As a result, Michael Carter came to be expelled from Gotham University before any formal charges could be made against him. All the professional scouts and agents then vanished as no one approached him with his career being destroyed in the process. Gotham City that once loved him came to turn against him and he lost the rich life he had grown accustomed to as a celebrity. Afterwards, he came to grow up in a poor section of Gotham with his actions having upset his family. Harsh words were spoken causing Michael to leave his home and he turned his back on Gotham where he left to put as much as distance to his old life. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
After being tossed from school, Michael managed to cop a plea for probation and left for Metropolis. (Secret Origins v2 #35) Unable to play football again, he decided to find a new job Metropolis in order to support himself. He came to find employment as a night watchman at the Space Museum. During this time, he gained an interest in Earth's heroes of the past after seeing parents tell their children enthusiastic stories of them. Michael came to enrol at Metropolis University where he attended classes that specialised in super-heroes of the 20th century. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
Booster Gold
Their time sphere had to travel through a severe time storm that depleted their vessels batteries and deposited them on the outskirts of Metropolis on August 20, 1985. Arriving in the time, he took time to adjust to the period and used a credit card to check himself into a hotel. Whilst there, he had Skeets assisted him in assembling his suit where he looked to prevent the assassination of the President and Vice-President. However, Michael only had limited information as few records survived to the 25th century about this event but Booster was prepared to help stop it where he would use it to start his fame as a new superhero. Later on, the President and Vice-President arrived at the scene where Booster went to save them only for him to be confronted by time travelling members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
Later on, Maxwell Lord arranged for Booster Gold to join the ranks of the Justice League. (Justice League v1 #4)
Afterwards, Booster Gold became a founding member of Justice League International that were formed as a U.N. sanctioned peace-keeping force. (Justice League International v1 #7)
Booster stole Blue Beetle's ATM card to get the money to travel to a meeting for a new sunglasses campaign. Beetle confronted him, and Booster apologized, and made a weak excuse that he stole the card because he was tired of asking Beetle's help. After some soul searching Booster blew off the sunglasses campaign to help Beetle investigate a mysterious enemy who stole money from Kord Universal and was manipulating Wayne Enterprises. Booster and Beetle tried to come up with leads through computer hacking, but a lightning bolt struck Beetle's home, severely injuring Booster. Beetle visited Booster in the hospital and broke the news that someone had disassembled Skeets and used one of his parts to make a tracking device that was planted on Beetle. Booster was determined to help Beetle find out the identity of who was causing them problems, but when he rose from his hospital bed he collapsed. Beetle had a feeling he wouldn't come back from the confrontation with their enemy, so he told Booster's nurse to deliver a message. Whatever happened Booster was not to blame himself, and Beetle wanted Booster to know he was the best friend he ever had. (DC Countdown v1 #1)
Whilst journeying through the timestream, Hunter showed Booster the re-formed Multiverse as they travelled in a Time Sphere. They were then confronted by the Hyperfly evolved Mr. Mind who intended to feast on all realities. (52 v1 #52)
He went to Will Magnus to get help in repairing the destroyed Skeets where the scientist revealed that he had made a back-up of Booster's robot companion around a year ago. Thus, he was able to restore Skeets though he would not have any memories of the last year from before the time of Mr. Mind consuming his hard drive. Upon being activated, he re-joined Booster Gold who went about explaining the events of the last year. (52 v1 #52)
An army of Earth’s heroes, including Booster Gold and Skeets appeared to take Superboy down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn’t at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he’d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy’s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible foir boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime. (Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime v1 #1)
In the aftermath, Booster Gold looked to aid in the hunt for the resurrected Maxwell Lord but the Justice League instead kept him in the side lines. He came to respond to an incident at the decommissioned J.L.I. embassy in Moscow, Russia that was attacked by mercenaries. However, he came to be reprimanded for acting on his own as Booster was looking for Lord's whereabouts. He later came to conclude that Maxwell Lord had anticipated that the Justice League would search the New York embassy and intended to go there after they found nothing. This led to Booster looking to confront him there but Lord ambushed him and left him badly injured. Booster Gold was then tended to by Ice, Fire and Captain Atom who had similarly tracked Lord to the site. At this point though, Lord had caused his powers to go to their peak where he managed to erase his existence from the minds of everyone in the world except for Booster Gold, Ice, Fire and Captain Atom. (Justice League: Generation Lost v1 #1)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Michael Carter was a human born in the 25th century where he was the star college football player until he gambled on his own games to pay for his mother's medical bills. Initially, he intended to stop after his mother's bills had been paid but his father convinced him to continue with the scam. This led to Michael getting caught where he came to be banned from football and was forced to take a job as a night janitor. He would end up robbing a museum he worked in and fled to the 21st century in order to become a celebrity superhero. (Action Comics v1 #995)
He was chosen by the U.N. to the leader of their own team of superheroes known as the Justice League International. Arriving at the Hall of Justice, he worked on the mistaken authority that he was joining the Justice League. Upon joining the team, he clashed with Guy Gardner over leadership of the Justice League International with their first mission being against the Signal Men that were wreaking havoc on the planet. (Justice League International v3 #1) Afterwards, his position as team leader came into question though August General in Iron came to support him. (Justice League International v3 #2)
Booster leads the team to regain U.N. approval, but they were disbanded when Brother Eye took control of O.M.A.C. and destroyed them. Using Skeets to infect his programming, he purged O.M.A.C. after the entire team was devastated. He was then visited by a version of himself from the future who works with Rip Hunter as a member of A.R.G.U.S.. This future self warned him that Superman and Wonder Woman must be stopped, then both of them faded away into nothing. (Justice League International Annual v3 #1)
During Batman and Catwoman's wedding, Booster Gold decided to rescue Bruce's parents from the past, convinced that it would make him a hero in his eyes. However, the new world is a doomed timeline so twisted that an Alternate Hal Jordan, corrupted by Joker gas, offs himself in front of Booster. Still insisting that this was a great idea, he accidentally frees a murderous version of Catwoman and together they murder Bruce's parents and the new Batman. Alternate Bruce Wayne, distraught, holds Booster captive and fixes his time machine, but instead of traveling to before Catwoman's rampage, they travel to when Bruce Wayne's parents were originally killed and fail to save them. The alternate Bruce Wayne killed himself in front of Booster who later told Batman and Catwoman about his adventure, deeply traumatized by the events. (Batman v3 #45) Afterwards, Batman recommends him to Sanctuary to deal with his problems. Unfortunately, a massacre happens that kills most of the residents and he might actually be the killer. He was attacked by Harley Quinn, and narrowly survived. (Heroes in Crisis v1 #1) He was saved by Skeets. He later informs Flash about the massacre and was punched when he implied he killed Wally. (Heroes in Crisis v1 #2) Afterwards, he was interrogated by Wonder Woman about what he saw at Sanctuary but came to be freed by Blue Beetle. (Heroes in Crisis v1 #4)
After Superman is framed and rendered comatose, Booster Gold joined the group of heroes heading towards Mars to confront their mysterious enemy. The heroes meet and engage Doctor Manhattan, but they are easily defeated. (Doomsday Clock v1 #9)
Afterwards, Michael started a new business venture which was streaming his superheroic adventures where he responded to an alien ship attacking Earth that seemingly captured the Justice League. During the fight, he was nearly killed but Skeets brought Blue Beetle Ted Kord to the scene where the two worked together to fight off the threat. Together, they helped save the League but the alien ship managed to escape though Booster had hoped that their actions would earn themselves a place on the Justice League. However, the League was not recruiting with Booster deciding instead to work on a team with Ted Kord as they decided to strike out on their own. (Blue & Gold v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He earned the name Booster during his time as an all-American quarterback. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
Michael was said to had gained an interest in the heroes of Earth's past whilst working at the Space Museum. He came to see an opportunity as he determined that superheroes were public figures and a model of excellence. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
He had sworn of making bets because of his father. (Secret Origins v2 #35)
Carter was shown to be a bit of a charmer. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
As a superhero, he was shown to be a shameless self-promoter whose obsession with fame and wealth irritates other heroes. (Booster Gold v1 #1)
It was known that his father abandoned the family when Michael was only 4 years old leaving him and his twin sister to be raised by their mother. Whilst growing up, his mother and sister were noted to had been proud of his career as a footballer where he pledged to support them when he gained a fortune. This changed though when his gambling actions destroyed his career and nearly ruined the family. They only came to be further disappointed in him when he tried to justify his questionable actions and for gambling even after knowing what it had done to their family in the past. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
He did not believe in a god and identified himself as an atheist. (Justice League International Annual v1 #2)
He used to urge his mother to re-marry but she claimed that she was fine without a man in her life. She came to disown Michael after finding out that he had been gambling and she cut ties with him after being ashamed of him when he got arrested. (Secret Origins v2 #35)
His 21st century ancestor was Daniel Carter. (52 v1 #52)
Arriving in the present, his closest companion was the security bot Skeets. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
Powers and abilities
Booster Gold had no inherent abilities but was an ordinary human being. During his earlier career, he was noted for being an athlete of tremendous capabilities and infinite potential. (Booster Gold v1 #6) In his native future, the sport of football came to had been resurrected by the year 2400 with Michael Jon Carter being the best quarterback at Gotham University. (Secret Origins v2 #35)
Though lacking superhuman powers, he gained abilities from a number of advanced technology provided by equipment from the 25th century. (Booster Gold v1 #6) From the Space Museum, he gathered a number of items for his use a a superhero. These included an alien invaders power suit that used a special fabric and microcircuit weave to create strength. (Booster Gold v1 #6) The fiberweave microcircuits in the suit's fabric enabled him to easily lift several tons. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
Part of the set included gloves, control bands and energy rods that were used to power his arsenal. (Secret Origins v2 #35) The gloves and control bands were said to had been worn by an alien menace who once threatened Earth. (Booster Gold v1 #6) The blasters could vary their power level ranging from stun to being strong enough to blow through 2 feet of solid concrete. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
For protection, he wore a forcefield belt originally created by Brainiac 5 of the 30th century. This created a force field able to protect him from harm. Booster was able to increase the power for his force field in the face of more powerful super-powered opponents. Alternatively, Booster was able to reverse the polarity of the force field whereby it could absorb an objects mass into the field and ejected it either in its original form or 'melted' to its base weight. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
The hood and visor were said to contain delicate cybernetic circuitry. This included goggles that had infrared capabilities and enlargement lenses similar to a binocular. In addition, the suit had a communicator that allowed him to monitor all frequencies. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
The ring was responsible for giving him he power of flight. (Secret Origins v2 #35) The ring allowed him to fly whilst a force field belt protected him from harm with these two items having once belonged to a green-skinned alien who helped to save the President's life. (Booster Gold v1 #6)
Skeets was originally a security robot that helped guard the Space Museum until he was deactivated and reprogrammed to help Michael. (Booster Gold v1 #6) This saw robot being turned into Booster's flying library and computer. (Secret Origins v2 #35) The BX9 security bot was meant to assist Michael and to provide him technical guidance. (Booster Gold v1 #8)
Notes
- Booster Gold was created by Dan Jurgens where he made his first appearance in Booster Gold v1 #1 (February, 1986).
Alternate Versions
- In Kingdom Come #1 (1996), an alternate version of Booster Gold appeared as an inhabitant of the Kingdom Come reality designated as Earth-22 in the Multiverse. In later years, he became the owner and operator of a superhero-themed restaurant called Planet Krypton which was still in operation at the time of Superman's return to the public scene, when Beatriz da Costa came to seek him.
- In Blue & Gold v1 #8 (2022), an alternate version of Michael Carter was shown to be an inhabitant of Earth-3 in the Multiverse. This version as an inhabitant of his future who travelled into the present day to attain great power like the great villains of the Crime Syndicate. They, however, refused to have him join their ranks and he sought power through other means where he acquired a Reach Scarab and became the Black Beetle. He then began pursuing his Prime Earth counterpart who he believed had wasted his talents.
In other media
Television
- In Justice League Unlimited, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced by actor Tom Everett Scott. Because of his hunger for fame, Booster was only entrusted with low-profile cases, and despite his best efforts, he was always mistaken for Green Lantern. When the sorcerer Mordru ran afoul on Metropolis, requiring the mobilization of the entire League, Booster saw this as the high-profile mission that would launch his celebrity. However, upon landing he was assigned to crowd control. When a stray magic blast started a fire at S.T.A.R. Labs, Booster ran to help and met Dr. Tracy Simmons, a scientist who, together with her boss, was experimenting with an unstable alternate energy source. Dr. Brown was caught in an accident that attached that source ― a black hole ― to his chest, and started sucking in everything in sight. Booster Gold was determined to help out the scientist ― mainly to impress her ― and so he set off to place a gravity inhibitor collar on Dr. Brown.
- In Smallville, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the live-action television series in the episode "Booster" where he was portrayed by actor Eric Martsolf and voiced by actor Ross Douglas.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the animated television series start from the episode "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!" where he was voiced again by actor Tom Everett Scott.
- In Justice League: Action, Booster Gold appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Diedrich Bader.
- In Legends of Tomorrow, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the CW live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where he was portrayed by actor Donald Faison.
Films
- In Batman and Harley Quinn, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Bruce Timm.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Booster Gold appeared in the setting of the MMORPG where he was voiced by actor Tracy W. Bush. As a commercial magnate, Booster has information "tourist" booths located throughout Gotham City and Metropolis that provide information about an area to anyone who requests it. During the Duo mission to combat Queen Bee and stop the H.I.V.E. from stealing exobytes for Brainiac, Booster becomes enslaved by the Queen's pollen and fights the players until they can break him out of the spell.
- In Injustice 2, Booster Gold appeared as a playable character in the mobile version of the fighting video game.
Appearances
- Booster Gold v1: (1986)
- Justice League v1:
- Secret Origins v2: (1989)
- Justice League International v1:
- Booster Gold v2:
- Justice League: Generation Lost v1:
- Justice League International:
- Justice League 3000 v1:
- Action Comics v2:
- Batman v4:
- Heroes in Crisis v1:
- Harley Quinn:
- Blue & Gold v1: (2021)
External Links
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