Justice League Quarterly
“Double Trouble!”
Volume 1, Issue 8, Fall 1992
Released July 14, 1992
Cover Price: $3.50
Guide Price: $3.50 (as of 2003)
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Rod Whigham
Inker: Romeo Tanghal
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letterer: Bob Pinaha
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Cover Artists: Terry Austin, Dave Cockrum
Heroes: Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold, Elongated Man, Fire, Flash III, Green Lantern II, Ice, Power Girl
Villains: Deadeye, Elasti-Man, Element Man, Fiero, Frostbite, Scarab, Slipstream
Supporting: Claire Montgomery, Maxwell Lord, Norman the Doorman
Setting: New York, NY, USA, 20th-century
Cover Description: The Justice League faces off against the second Conglomerate. Pictured are, from left to right, Flash, Fire, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Ice, Maxwell Lord, Frostbite, Deadeye, Scarab, Fiero, and Slipstream. The cover is in homage to Marvel Comics' X-Men #100, also drawn by Dave Cockrum. The story of that book pits the original team of X-Men against their replacements, the All-New, All Different X-Men. Booster Gold stands in the place of the X-Man Angel.
Brief Synopsis: A charity event turns deadly when the Justice League faces off against the new Conglomerate.
Booster Gold's role in this story:
Featured (Booster Gold plays a prominent role)
Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit
Page 5, panel 3
FIRST APPEARANCE: First appearance from Norman the Doorman. Norman auditions for the new Conglomerate.
Page 7, panel 1
FIRST APPEARANCE: First appearance of Element Man, Fiero, Frostbite, and Slipstream. These characters are based on Metamorpho, Fire, Ice, and Flash II, respectively.
Page 8, panel 1
FIRST APPEARANCE: First appearance of Deadeye, Elasti-Man, and Scarab. These characters are based on Green Arrow, Elongated Man, and Blue Beetle I, respectively.
Page 11, panel 1
The Justice League International arrives in the fictional New York Sportatoarium to participate in a fundraising competition with the Conglomerate. Leaguers present include Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold, Elongated Man, Fire, Flash III, Ice, and Power Girl.
Page 11, panel 2
Booster encourages his teammates to put on a good show. No mention is made of the fact that Booster recently resigned as leader of the Conglomerate to re-join the Justice League.
Page 12, panel 2
FIRST APPEARANCE: First appearance of the second Conglomerate. Members include Deadeye, Elasti-Man, Element Man, Fiero, Frostbite, Scarab, and Slipstream. This team entirely replaces the first Conglomerate, much to the surprise of the Justice League.
Page 13, panel 4
Blue Beetle refers to the new members of the Conglomerate as "evil twins," demonstrating that even the characters in the story recognize the similarities in costumes, names, and powers between the two teams.
Page 19, panel 2
Element Man turns into a gas, preventing Booster Gold from tackling him in a game of football. That's about the only way that anyone could beat Booster, the self-proclaimed greatest football player of all-time.
Page 20, panel 2
Appearance of the Crime Syndicate (on a computer monitor). The Crime Syndicate were evil aliens from "the anti-matter universe of Qward" with the powers and abilities of the original Justice League. The Crime Syndicate first appeared in Justice League of America, Vol. 1, #29 in 1964. Pictured are Syndicate members Superwoman, Owl-Man, Ultraman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring (based on Leaguers Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Flash, and Green Lantern, respectively). Green Lantern II suggests to Oberon that the new members of the Conglomerate are also Qwardians.
Page 23, panel 1
Booster Gold is shot out of the air by Deadeye. If Booster had his force field up, this would be impossible. Why Booster would not have his force field active in this situation is a bit unfathomable.
Page 24, panel 1
The contest between the Justice League and the Conglomerate breaks down into a full melee. Booster, with force field up, fights Fiero. Green Lantern II has arrived and watches the scene with dismay.
Page 28, panel 5
Maxwell Lord discuses strategy with Justice Leaguers Blue Beetle, Elongated Man, Fire, Flash, Green Lantern, and Power Girl while Booster Gold is double-teamed by Slipstream and Scarab. In this case, once could say that Booster is taking two for the team.
Page 29, panel 4
Booster is presumably among the Leaguers who combine wills to use Green Lantern's power ring to push the Conglomerate members back into the universe from which they came via Norman the Doorman's portal.
Page 31, panel 3
The Justice League celebrates their victory against the Conglomerate with Norman the Doorman. Of course, it was Norman who was responsible for the situation in the first place, so this is a bit like rewarding the fabled Pied Piper for stealing children.
Boosterrific Review: The cover of this issue advertises "4 All-New Adventures!" Only two of those stories include Booster Gold, so nothing further will be mentioned about the Thunderbolt story "It's...It's...A Ballroom Blitz! (Or, The Rook's A Crook!)" or the Global Guardians story "The Real Return of... The Global Guardians!", both average stories showcasing some rather minor characters.
Booster Gold joins the Justice League against the new Conglomerate line-up in "Double Trouble!" It should come as no surprise that a story written by Mark Waid would mine Justice League history for story ideas. Waid revives the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths concept of the Qwardian Crime Syndicate as a means to pit the League against darkly reflected counterparts. This premise is a recurring favorite for fans of all ages, and it doesn't disappoint here.
Less satisfying is "Yesterday's News," a tale of JLI past and the love life of Maxwell Lord. As usual, an Elliot S! Maggin story isn't a slave to continuity and probably would be quite enjoyable if it had been coupled with better illustrations. As printed, the story struggles to achieve mediocrity.
Boosterrific Rating: Worth Its Weight In Gold.
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