Superman

Cover Description: This book has several covers, none of which feature Booster Gold.

Brief Synopsis: Superman and Superboy Prime travel to a future dominated by Darkseid's minions.

Issue Summary: The Time Trapper unites Superman with Superboy-Prime and sends them to the 31st century to confront Darkseid's Legion of Superheroes. On the way, Superboy-Prime tells Superman they need to prioritize rescuing Booster Gold, who Superman has completely forgotten. When they arrive, they find the corpses of multiple iterations of the Legion from across the Multiverse before joining the remaining members still in resistance to Darkseid. Superman leads towards the Time Institute where Booster Gold is being held prisoner, but the team is betrayed by an imposter who kills a Brainiac 5. Following Super-boy's orders, Superman leaves the team to find Booster. Unfortunately, their escape is prevented by the full roster of the Dark Legion of Super-Heroes and yet another betrayal. Reveal Potential Spoilers

Booster Gold's role in this story:
Featured (Booster Gold plays a prominent role)

Costume Worn: MARK I.v2 power-suit

Issue Notes: Although Booster only appears on three pages, roughly half of one of which being a recap of DC All In Special, he is very prominent in the story as the McGuffin that drives Superman to confront the Dark Legion of Super-Heroes.

Page 4, panel 1
Superboy-Prime's ability to punch his way through the membrane between realities was first demonstrated in Infinite Crisis Secret Files in 2006, when Alexander Luthor goaded him into smashing their way out of the bubble pocket universe Luther had created at the conclusion of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Ripple effects of the "Superboy punch" can have the unintended effect of damaging continuity (such as resurrecting Batman's second Robin, Jason Todd), the sort of thing that Rip Hunter and the Time Masters generally work to prevent. Did a Superboy punch make everyone forget about Booster Gold?

Page 5, panel 1
Superboy-Prime, who has spent time recently in his own pocket universe (modeled on the Earth where you are reading this right now) has followed the adventures of DC heroes through comic books. This explains how he knows that Booster Gold is "The Greatest Hero The World Has Never Heard Of!" (I wonder if Superboy-Prime reads Boosterrific.com?)

Page 9, panel 1
The prominent green sign in the background of Superboy-Prime's flashback to the original Superboy's time with the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century (a history that was not part of the DCU between 1985 and 2025) would at first glance appear to be written in Interlac. But on closer inspection, the letters are meaningless gibberish reminiscent of contemporary AI-generated images.

Page 9, panel 2
So there was a giant battle between all of the Legions of Super-Heroes of the entire DC Multiverse against one Dark Legion of Super-Heroes from the Absolute Universe, and the evil ones won? And none of those time-traveling multiversal Legionnaires thought to go get help from other heroes from across the Multiverse? And it all happened off panel? Ok, sure, whatever. "Tell, don't show," I guess.

Page 15, panel 2
Upon learning from a Brainiac 5 (there are at least five of them in this story, not counting however many dead ones line the streets off panel), Superboy questions why Darkseid hasn't killed Booster Gold yet. It's a very good question and, Spoiler Warning, this issue does not answer it.

Page 18, panel 1
On the previous page, Superman was flying through the damaged remains of Metropolis yelling about seeking out Darkseid. On this page, Booster Gold is chained to a wall (presumably inside the Time Institute) looking off panel and directly addressing Superman. Is he talking to himself? Can he see through walls? Has he gone insane?

Page 18, panel 2
Oh, there's Superman, helpfully destroying Booster's chains despite having no idea who Booster is or what he looks like. (He just doesn't like chains.) I guess he forgot about Darkseid, too.

Page 19, panel 3
Superman deduces that "whatever Darkseid did, it erased" Booster Gold from his memories, so Booster helpfully recaps the events of DC All In Special #1. (The Editorial box explicitly reference to the reprint collection All In Saga, presumably because it is still in print.)

Page 19, panel 4
NOT ALTERNATE REALITY?: Booster explains that despite what was implied in DC All In Special #1, he never visited an alternate universe but has always been trapped in the future. Which does not explain why the designs of his costume and Flight Ring were changed in that issue or why everyone forgot him.

Page 19, panel 5
HIS STORY: DC All In Special #1 was released October 2, 2024, and this issue was released 10 months, 26 days later, but for Booster Gold time has passed differently. For two years, he helped the Legion of Super-Heroes fight Darkseid (in a giant war that happened off panel), and he's been chained in the Time Institute for another unspecified period of time. That powersuit probably needs a good laundering in addition to new batteries.

Page 20, panel 5
While trying to flee, Booster Gold is electrocuted by the evil Lightning Lad from Darkseid's Absolute Universe. (Lightning Lad Omega used his powers in a similar way to torture but not kill Validus in Summer of Superman Special #1, so Booster probably isn't dead but is just wishing he was.)