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Showing posts 1 - 5 of 11 matching: suicide squad

Monday, February 12, 2024

Going out of Business

The algorithms that run the Internet have decided that I'm the target audience for the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game. Despite it being a game built on DC Comic book super heroes, they are wrong.

I didn't care for Injustice or DCeased or DC Vs. Vampires, so It probably won't surprise you that I am not interested in playing as a villain and assassinating the heroes of the DC Universe. But GameRant.com has proven that it isn't entirely without value.

screenshot via GameRant.com

Booster Gold International has been out of business since Millennium in 1988, so I guess the events of Kill the Justice League must take place on an alternate Earth, perhaps one where Millennium never happened (or one where the Manhunters won?).

That's still not enough to make me want to roleplay as an unrepentantly psychopathic murderer with a bomb in my head, but I can't say that Kill the Justice League has nothing going for it anymore.

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: booster gold international gamerant.com suicide squad kill the justice league video games

Friday, September 8, 2023

My Favorite Pages: Suicide Squad 13

My Favorite Pages

As I promised last week, Suicide Squad #13 has Booster Gold's biggest on-panel presence in months as the Justice League International goes toe-to-toe with a badly overmatched Suicide Squad, as you can already see on page 3:

© DC Comics

After weeks on the sideline, Booster Gold comes off as something of a beast in this issue as literally no one on the Suicide Squad's roster can touch him (thanks to his force field). For what it's worth, Booster Gold is ultimately paired off against Javelin because somebody's gotta fight him (that's how these sorts of stories work). Were they paired just because they dress alike?

If you're a fan of the Green Lantern/Booster Gold running gag introduced in the 2004 Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told," you'll appreciate that Javelin debuted as a Green Lantern villain (in 1984's Green Lantern #173) who gave the Lantern considerably more trouble than he gives Booster Gold here.

© DC Comics

Fip whang whiii, indeed.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: favorite pages javelin suicide squad

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Coming Soon to a Streaming Service Near You

Do you remember the alternate cover of Blue and Gold #2 back in August showcased the Suicide Squad in order to promote the movie of the same name? If it was in your Local Comic Shop, it was because they specifically ordered it (instead of or in addition to the standard Ryan Sook cover). I would have thought that a cover to a comic that gave no indication of what was inside would be a turn-off to buyers, but it must have sold well, because DC is doing it again next month with Blue and Gold #5:

© DC Comics
variant cover by Simone Di Meo (via LunarDistribution.com)

The Suicide Squad cover at least depicted the movie's version of Booster's old foe, Blackguard. This cover's connection to our hero is slightly more obscure.

If you saw the Suicide Squad movie, you've already met Peacemaker, "a man who loves peace so much that he is willing to fight for it!" However, you may not recognize the man in black reflected in Peacemaker's silver helmet. That's Vigilante, the masked alter ego of Adrian Chase, an early 80s Marv Wolfman and George Pérez creation who became in many ways DC's version of the Punisher.

Like Booster's best friend, the second Blue Beetle, Peacemaker was originally a Charlton character who jumped into the DC Universe following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. His first appearance in the DCU continuity was in Vigilante #36 (where he killed someone who was not Adrian Chase wearing the Vigilante costume). Peacemaker would later become a mentor to the third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, who was revealed to the world by none other than Booster Gold.

Are those trivial connections to Booster Gold and Blue Beetle a good enough reason to put Peacemaker and Vigilante on the cover to Blue and Gold? I wouldn't think so, but then again, I don't have access to DC's sales numbers.

Both covers to Blue and Gold #5 should be available in fine comic shops everywhere on January 18, 2022.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue and gold peacemaker simone di meo suicide squad vigilante

Monday, August 9, 2021

Character Spotlight on Blackguard

The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Blackguard.

The People in His Neighborhood: spotlighting the characters who have made Booster Gold such a star

When you hear "Batman villain," you probably think of the Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor, and Wonder Woman has Cheetah. It's an old adage that all heroes are defined by their opponents. But before you can battle the king, you have to work your way up the hill.

Long before Joker, Batman started his career against Doctor Death. Superman originally matched wits with the Ulra-Humanite; Wonder Woman had Princess Maru. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Booster Gold started with Blackguard in the pages of Booster Gold #1.

© DC Comics
© DC Comics
© DC Comics

Blackguard's technology was a gift of his sponsor, the criminal organization 1000, who had hired him to steal technology from Metropolis' S.T.A.R. Labs. A clumsy getaway resulted in his first, accidental encounter with rookie hero Booster Gold.

The inaugural confrontation between hero and villain took up most of the pages in Booster Gold #1 as the matched pair took turns showcasing their super powers and abilities. Both had scientifically advanced power suits. Booster was lithe; Blackguard was strong. Booster had energy lasers; Blackguard had an energy mace. Booster was smarter, and Blackguard was ultimately defeated.

© DC Comics

Everyone's got to have a gimmick, and "being defeated" would soon become Blackguard's. Despite his considerable cybernetic strength and amazing, mentally-controlled energy constructs, Blackguard's general incompetence would lead to his defeat again...

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #2

...and again...

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #3

...and again.

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #4

Blackguard appeared on three of the first four covers of Booster Gold beginning in 1985, but unlike our hero, Blackguard's journey would be out of the public eye. While Booster was growing rich and/or famous, the forgotten villain spent most of the next few decades — except for a *very* brief stint as a henchman for the devil Neron — in maximum security prisons The Slab or Belle Reve. He gave himself the aspirational nickname, "The Human Killing Spree" (in Guy Gardner: Warrior #36) but given his track record, it's hard to believe he could ever successfully kill even a single person — unless it was by accident.

When he was finally paroled in 2005, Blackguard turned over a new leaf. Using his given name, Richard "Dick" Hertz, he partnered with experienced restaurateur Guy Gardner and opened a bar in the building next door to Booster Gold's Super Buddies team headquarters.

© DC Comics
© DC Comics
© DC Comics
© DC Comics
JLA Classified #4

Like so many other would-be reformed villains, Blackguard was eventually given a second chance to do bad, and he still tried to make the best of it as an agent of Task Force X, better known as the Suicide Squad. In Blackguard's case, it lived up to its name.

Ironically, Blackguard has become more famous in death than he ever was in life. He made his live-action movie debut in last week's The Suicide Squad, where he is portrayed by Pete Davidson.

© Warner Bros

Meanwhile, glory-seeking Booster Gold is still waiting for his shot at movie stardom. Blackguard didn't win at much, but at least he's got that.

© DC Comics

Are you interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Follow these links to get to know Trixie Collins, Daniel Carter, Jack Soo, Rani, Dirk Davis, Skeets, Mackenzie Garrison, Rip Hunter, Michelle Carter, Nurse Devlin, Monica Lake, and Doctor Shocker.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: 1000 blackguard people in his neighborhood pete davidson suicide squad suicide squad supporting characters

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

New Release: The Flash 769

UPDATE 2021-04-21: This post was originally sent live on April 21, 2021, but I have backdated it to clear the deck for some more important news!

The Flash 769 arrives in your Local Comic Shop this week. As you can see from the cover, Gold Beetle features prominently.

© DC Comics

Says Barry Allen: "She looks like...well...like both of...you know." And that's as close as this issue gets to name-dropping Booster Gold.

The Gold Beetle in this issue is a fast talking, brash time traveler with a painfully strong Dr. Who vibe. The accoutrements and mannerisms aren't a perfect match to GB's first appearance (in Future State Suicide Squad, also written by Jeremy Adams), but as with the encounters with The Doctor, there's no guarantee we're meeting her in chronological order. Time Travel Is Complicated.â„¢

Which brings us to today's big question: should Boosterrific.com be tracking Gold Beetle appearances? When I put the site together 14 years ago, it honestly didn't occur to me that I might need to be tracking Booster Gold legacy characters. It didn't occur to me until earlier this year, in fact.

I do track Booster's sidekicks. I've logged independent Skeets appearances (though that's only happened a few times in JLA trophy rooms), but Goldstar had never yet appeared in a book without Booster. Should I be logging Gold Beetle appearances somewhere? Given that this is only GB's third appearance, maybe I can put that decision off until later.

Meanwhile, if you absolutely have to have a new comic with Booster Gold in it, there's always the Who's Who Omnibus Volume 1, a 1320-page hardcover reprint of most of DC's late 80's Who's Who encyclopedias, including Booster's entry in the Who's Who Update '87. It costs $150, but such is the price of nostalgia on glossy archival paper.

Comments (5) | Add a Comment | Tags: flash future state gold beetle jeremy adams suicide squad who's who


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