Even by comic book standards, "Booster Gold" is kind of a funny name. In the now-classic origin story in Booster Gold #9, Booster himself tells us that the name was an accident!

I always wondered if there was any real-world truth to this scene. Was Goldstar the original working title for Booster Gold? Did Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens flub the pitch to DC executives, resulting in a "Booster Gold" comic instead of the intended "Goldstar" comic? For the answer, I went straight to the source and asked Jurgens directly. In a nutshell, the answer was "no." Here's what he said:

I was really hooked on "Booster Gold" right from the start. I liked the way it rolled off the tongue and, more importantly, touched on two aspects of his character:

1) "Booster" signifies both the concept of stealing something (to boost a ring, for example) as well as the the self-promoting aspect of it.

2) "Gold" clearly pertained to his quest for star status and money.

In other words-- it fit!

There's only one Booster Gold. Accept no imitations.

Thanks to Dan Jurgens for indulging my quest to document every little thing I can about the history of the original Corporate Crusader.

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