DC's 'Twas The 'Mite Before Christmas
“The Santa Copies”
Volume 1, Issue 1, Holiday 2023
Released December 12, 2023
Cover Price: $9.99
Writer: Jillian Grant
Artist: Rebekah Isaacs
Colorist: Kurt Michael Russell
Letterer: Ferran Delgado
Editor: Katie Kubert
Heroes: Booster Gold, Rip Hunter
Villain: Anya and Theo
Supporting: Santa Claus, Skeets III
Setting: New York, NY, USA, 21st-century
Cover Description: Superman delivers Christmas presents. (No Booster Gold.)
Brief Synopsis: A time travel accident results in Booster Gold becoming Santa Claus.
Booster Gold's role in this story:
Featured (Booster Gold plays a prominent role)
Costume Worn: MARK I.v2 power-suit
Issue Notes: This issue is an "80-page giant" anthology of 10-page holiday-themed stores.
Page 41, panel 4
On Christmas Eve in New York City, Booster Gold and Skeets are on their way to pick up some dinner, killing time by sightseeing outdoor Christmas decorations. The pair are alone because there are no pending Blue and Gold Restoration jobs, Ted Kord has the flu, and Terri Collins is "on vacation."
Page 41, panel 7
By complete coincidence, the duo witness Santa Claus being struck down by something falling out of the sky.
Page 42, panel 2
Did I say "complete coincidence"? Moments later, Time Master Rip Hunter arrives in his Time Sphere, explaining that the falling object was a "Replication Device" from the 27th century. Why the device would arrive in the 21st century in front of Rip's time-travelling protege, Booster Gold, just as he encounters Santa Claus seems too darn improbable to be mere coincidence. Did Rip do this on purpose, or are there other forces at play?
Page 42, panel 3
Booster's natural instinct to ensure that the unconscious Santa Claus isn't seriously harmed turns out in this case to be a bad thing...
Page 43, panel 2
...as Hunter explains that the Replication Device will turn anyone who touches it into a copy of its victim. In this case, that means...
Page 43, panel 4
...Booster starts turning into Santa Claus. How this is happening is unclear, but the Replication Device is from the 27th century, and as everyone familiar with the works of Arthur C. Clark knows, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. (Case in point, in Action Comics #354, Superman visited the 27th century where his powers could easily be replicated and surpassed by technology. If Superman can be defeated by 27th-century technology, Booster Gold doesn't have much of a chance.)
Page 45, panel 2
While Rip and Skeets work to hack the unfamiliar 27th-century technology, Booster flies into action to stop a nearby home break-in by the criminals Anya and Theo, all the while becoming more and more like Santa Claus.
Page 46, panel 3
Although Booster means well (and as Skeets will explain, he can't help but mean well as he becomes more and more like Santa Claus), any physical contact he has with other people spreads the Replication Device's infection...
Page 47, panel 3
...leading the two would-be burglars to join him in delivering Christmas presents to deserving children...
Page 48, panel 2
...unintentionally spreading the infection further.
Page 48, panel 7
SPOILER WARNING!: Reveal
Page 50, panel 2
Booster Gold orders a Big Belly Burger "Jolly Meal." Ever since McDonald's restaurants introduced their trademarked Happy Meal in 1977, other fast-food restaurant chains have followed their lead in offering a special kid's meal with toy. In this case...
Page 50, panel 6
...the toy is a tiny ray gun. Its retro-space styling is reminiscent of mid-20th century designs appearing in Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers comic strips, certainly fitting for a certain Time Master who first debuted in a 1959 comic book.
Boosterrific Review: This is a lightweight, fun adventure pairing selfish Booster Gold with selfless Santa Claus, with the added bonus of seeing Booster Gold unwittingly give his son a Christmas present. A holiday treat!
Boosterrific Rating: Worth Its Weight In Gold.
SPOILER WARNING: The content at Boosterrific.com may contain story spoilers for DC Comics publications.
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