Justice League Action debuted on Cartoon Network on Friday in a four-part "Shazam Slam" special. Unexpectedly, Booster Gold got in on the action!

Booster played a small role in episode 3, "Night of the Bat," where he is used exclusively as comic relief. (There's even a quick "Gold's Gym" visual pun.) Diedrich Bader's portrayal of Booster sounds a little more Californian than Boosters past. It's very in keeping with Booster's public image as an idiot.

Although Booster doesn't have much to do in this episode, JLA writer Jonathan Callan called the character "a breakout star" on Twitter.com. Booster voice actor Diedrich Bader responded by saying how much he loves playing the character.

Hopefully, this love fest will translate into bigger roles for Booster in future episodes. We'll be watching.

(Special thanks to Bob in Friday's comments for catching Booster's appearance.)

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After I had already posted on Friday, DCComics.com announced the upcoming animated Justice League Action for Cartoon Network. It's great that we'll be getting a new Justice League cartoon, but the news gets better. From their release:

Along with [Kevin] Conroy [as Batman], Cartoon Network have announced that several other beloved DC Animated voice actors will be contributing to the series, including Mark Hamill as the Joker (!!!), James Woods as Lex Luthor, Diedrich Bader as Booster Gold and much more.

What a great way to start February, huh?

We've known Warner Brothers had been working on a new Justice League series since at least September, but DC's announcement is the first indication that Booster Gold would be playing any part — by Batman: Brave and the Bold's Batman, no less!

No news yet on when this series will be aired (there's no telling with Cartoon Network), so we'll have to stay tuned for more news.

(And don't forget: whenever there's breaking Booster Gold news, it will probably be discussed in the Boosterrific Forum before I get it onto the front page. News cycles may move fast in the 21st century, but I still work at 20th-century speeds.)

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Booster Gold's role in the DC Universe is unique, but not because of his powers or abilities. After all, other heroes are invulnerable and have energy rays. Booster's contribution to the tapestry of the DCU is his unusual personality: part well-intentioned hero, part greedy cad. It is these characteristics more than anything else, that mark his value in a role-playing environment. And the game developers at Mayfair Games recognized this.

Well before Booster Gold was included as a character card in the second edition of the game, developers recognized the potential of this newcomer to the DC scene. Booster was made the star of his own game module in 1987, scant months after his comic book debut. The module, titled All That Glitters after the common misquoting of Shakespeare, featured Booster Gold struggling "with the dilemma of battling villains at the cost of losing valuable merchandising contracts." The module designer, Greg Gorden -- also one of the chief architects of the Mayfair Exponential Gaming System, went so far as to create rules, board, and pieces for the fictional Mayfly Games' Booster Gold Board Game featured in the game module. It's a clever bit of verisimilitude that further draws RPG gamers into the DC Universe. (The Booster Gold Board Game has been adapted into a single-player Flash-based game here at Boosterrific.com. You can find it here.)

The 1987 game module When a Stranger Calls by Ray Winninger also features Booster prominently. The module's scripted subplot is a crossover with All That Glitters and hinges on Booster's decision whether or not to temporarily abandon the Justice League International to continue on the promotional junket for the Booster Gold Board Game as detailed in All That Glitters. Whether the always-capricious Booster stays or goes is up to the player. Neither choice is out of character, and therein lies the role-playing enjoyment that Booster Gold represents.

BONUS BOOSTER GOLD!: Booster Gold is scheduled to make an appearance on tonight's episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, "Darkseid Descending!", on Cartoon Network at 7:00 PM EST. The episode features Booster and the rest of the Justice League International.

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Ah, Cartoon Network, you mess with my head again. Friday night's episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold was advance teased as an episode featuring the Birds of Prey. But what actually aired was "The Menace of the Madniks," a Booster Gold episode in which Booster and Batman argue over which hero is really Ted Kord's best friend. This Boosterrific episode was scheduled to air next week, giving me some time to warn Booster Gold fans about it. Curse you, Cartoon Network, and your unreliable scheduling!

"The Menace of the Madniks" is a bit of a continuity nightmare, really. The episode re-writes Ted's death as a heroic self-sacrifice to stop a missile, merges aspects of Blue Beetle I and II, and renames Steve Ditko's chaotic Madmen the "Madniks," probably to avoid any confusion with the more familiar Madman comic character by Mike Allred. The biggest flaw in the episode is that it whitewashes the legacy of the Blue Beetle by portraying Ted Kord as a saint, ignoring the hijinks that made the character so popular in the 80s & 90s.

Despite these changes, it's a very fun episode. (Are there any Brave and the Bold episodes that aren't?) I highly recommend it.

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I don't usually realize that Booster Gold will make appearances on Cartoon Network's Batman: the Brave and the Bold until I see him show up in an episode. (I hate spoilers so much, I can't even look at TV listings!) But since last week's episode ended in a bit of a cliffhanger, I can be pretty sure that he'll be on tonight's episode as well. It helps that Comicvine.com also happens to have a preview of tonight's episode that includes Booster Gold, so there was that bit of a tip off, too.

Remember: Batman: the Brave and the Bold, "The Siege of Starro!: Part 2," Cartoon Network, 7PM EDT, tonight.

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