If you've seen any movie filmed in New York City during the 1970s and 80s, you know that town was an absolute cesspool overflowing with garbage and urban blight. Thankfully, one visionary man bucked the system, seized power, and began cleaning up the city in the mid 1990s.

Yes, Booster. That man was the dictator Monarch. And readers of Extreme Justice #7, released on this date in 1995, would have recognized him as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Therefore, the question at the heart of this story isn't whether or not the familiar Monarch had become a sheep, but just which wolf he was.

First, a bit of backstory. Debuting in Armageddon 2001 #1 (1991), Monarch was a corrupted hero who had grown so frustrated at how bad the world was being run, he was determined to take it over himself. The time-traveling would-be world dictator (co-created by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Archie Goodwin with shades of Doctor Doom and Kang the Conqueror) had already had run-ins with almost every super hero on Earth.

What makes Monarch particularly unique in the DC Universe isn't the character's origins or motivations, but his very complicated relationship with Captain Atom. See, as originally planned, Monarch *was* Captain Atom. DC's writers and artists seeded clues to Monarch's true identity for months, but when news of the planned reveal leaked to the general public, editors made a last-minute change to his secret identity.

However, no one liked the change (perhaps because of all the strong clues already in print to the contrary), and thus would begin years of stories revising Monarch's identity and intentions. Stories like this one.

Those who remember Extreme Justice often remember the "extreme" art, which makes it easy to say that the strength of the series was writer Dan Vado's character-driven melodramas and morality plays. What is the cost of being a hero? What defines a villain? Who are we all, really? This issue doesn't answer those questions, but life is about the journey, not the destination.

Just remember to never, ever trust a tyrant like Monarch.

Especially not if your name is Booster Gold.

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When I first made my list of the twelve best Booster Gold comics, I decided that the Formerly Known as the Justice League mini-series belonged at number 7. But I wasn't sure which issue to spotlight.

Frankly, the entire mini-series is worth a read. It's a great call back to the best of the humorous yet heroic "Bwah-Ha-Ha" era of the Justice League International by the very creators who made that series such a hit.

Ultimately I've chosen to highlight issue #4 in part because it does such a good job of making the badly threadbare plot of a hero-vs-hero fistfight into a truly delightful read.

The issue sees the newly formed "Superbuddies" super team abducted by the villanous Roulette and forced to fight one another to the death. The joke is that no one takes the Superbuddies seriously or expects them to win. This is in keeping with the reputation of the JLI itself, which was at something of a nadir when the issue was published. Of course, fans — and team creators Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis — knew that the JLI was far more competent than their reputation (even if the team itself didn't).

In addition to the ton of jokes and familiar characterization of a bunch of friends who also happen to be teammates, this issue really highlights the strengths of original Justice League International artist Kevin Maguire's storytelling ability. His expressions, body language, pacing... it's all perfect.

(And the cover's not bad either!)

If there's any complaint to be made about this series, it's that the comedic roles of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle have been swapped. Back in the day, Booster was the straight man. Here he's the fool. Some might find that offputting, but Booster boosters know it's only an act. Booster will do anything to be the center of attention.

Besides, you know it's only a comic book.

As far as comic books go, it's a pretty good one. It easily deserves to be counted among the The Best Booster Gold Stories Ever.

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Booster Gold was nowhere to be found in Local Comic Shops this past week... but his Earth-32 counterpart was, in this one panel from Dial H For Hero #10:

Dial H For Hero #10 written by Sam Humphries; art by Joe Quinones, Jordan Gibson, Dave Sharpe

Earth-32 was first seen in the 1994 Elseworlds' Batman: In Darkest Night, where Bruce Wayne became a Green Lantern. In fact, all the heroes and villains of Earth-32 are amalgams of two or more familiar characters. For example, here we see the Young Justice League International team comprised of heroes like Super-Martian, Wonderhawk, Aquaflash, Mr. Tornado, Dr. Fatestorm, and Starborg.

JLI fans will also recognize a Plastic Man/Blue Beetle hero and another based on some combination of Captain Atom and Booster Gold.

In this issue, Earth-32 is undergoing a Crisis of its own, so if you'd like to get your hands on the sole printed Plastic+Atom team-up, you better rush to your LCS to pick up Dial H #10 while their supply — or the universe — lasts.

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Booster booster José got in touch to tell Boosterrific of a hole in our collection of Booster Gold comics. Somehow, we missed Booster Gold's appearance in 1987's Captain Atom #10. That's a 30-year-old oversight!

In our defense, Booster doesn't actually appear in the issue. What you see above is a static image of Booster (and his teammates) being reviewed on a video monitor inside the Pentagon as they discuss Captain Atom's recent addition to the United Nations-sanctioned Justice League International.

Elsewhere in the issue, news reports (and a helpful editorial box) peg the events of this issue as taking place simultaneously with those seen in Justice League International #8. So while the United States military was worrying about Booster's anti-American activities, we know our hero was busy in Paris hitting on (and being shot down by) Catherine Cobert, the administrative head of the local JLI Embassy. It's a small DC Universe!

Thanks for the spot, José. Follow his lead, Boosterphiles; if you see Booster somewhere and you don't think Boosterrific knows it, you can always drop a tip via the site's Contact form.

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It's been 544 days since Booster Gold's last significant appearance in a DC comic book. That's 1 year, 5 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days — and counting!

With Booster Gold all but blacklisted from the DCnU, it's comforting to think back to a time when our hero was often seen actively protecting the innocent people of the DC Universe.

Take, for example, this scene from Captain Atom #16, released on this date in 1988:

Captain Atom #16 by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Shelley Eiber, and Duncan Andrews

Fear not, Booster boosters. Whether you see him or not, Booster Gold will never rest so long as there are still trees to smash. I feel better already!

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