Action Comics
“Booster Shot, Conclusion”
Volume 1, Issue 998, April 2018
Released February 28, 2018
Cover Price: $2.99
Estimated Issue Sales: 44,428
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciller: Will Conrad
Inker: Will Conrad
Colorist: Ivan Nunes
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Heroes: Booster Gold, Eradicator II, Flash II, Superman
Villains: Eradicator, General Zod, Lor-Zod, Ursa
Supporting: Skeets III
Settings: Krypton, DCU, Space, Unknown Era, ; JLA Watchtower, DCU, Earth orbit, 21st-century; Logamba, DCU, 21st-century; Jekuul, DCU, Space, 21st-century
Cover Description: This issue has two covers showcasing Superman. Neither features Booster Gold.
Booster Gold's role in this story:
Featured (Booster Gold plays a prominent role)
Costume Worn: MARK I.v2 power-suit
This story has been reprinted in:
Superman: Action Comics: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition (2019)
Superman: Action Comics Volume 5: Booster Shot (2018)
Page 1, panel 1
POWER UP: Maintaining its general trend, this story starts exactly where the previous issue ended with Superman and Booster Gold facing execution by heat vision courtesy of General Zod, his son Lor-Zod, and his wife Ursa. Only Booster's force field has saved them to this point.
Page 3, panel 8
It's funny, but I hadn't noticed until now just how much the heads of those Kryptonian Eradicator robots resemble shiny footballs....
Page 8, panel 3
POWER UP: Skeets duplicates its own operating system into multiple units simultaneously, coordinating their attacks. Considering the Internet of Things that exists in 2018, that's a pretty incredible power. Skeets could be in your toaster right now.
Page 9, panel 1
Booster's not above playing dirty. He threatens Zod's life with a shard of Kryptonite. Lor-Zod calls his bluff but Ursa takes him seriously. Why? What does she think is going to happen? Does Superman normally pal around with murderers? Whatever the case, threatening a Kyrptonian with kryptonite... that's pretty gangsta, Booster.
Page 10, panel 4
LIQUIFIED TIME: Booster tells Superman that only the past is "solidifed" time. "The future is liquid." The problem with this explanation is that to a time-traveler, there is no practical difference between the past and future. It's all relative in an continuous string of causality. Booster himself is from the 25th century. Shouldn't that mean that nothing that Superman does can change any of Booster's history? And if that's true, Booster shouldn't be able to change any history that would affect people in his future.
Page 11, panel 6
Booster, Superman, and Skeets return to Krypton at the moment of its destruction to witness the death of his mother and the "theft" of his father.
Page 14, panel 6
DC Comics fans know that Alfred is the butler of Bruce Wayne (Batman). Jarvis is the butler of Marvel Comics' Tony Stark (Iron Man). Jarvis plays a key role in the top-grossing Avengers movies, but those wouldn't exist in the DC Universe. Therefore, it seems likely that Booster has met Iron Man (and maybe even Jarvis) in an as yet undisclosed inter-company crossover!
Page 16, panel 3
Booster and Skeets visit war-torn Logamba. Though the country of Logamba has played a role in the Lois Lane subplot of this story, it is never clear where in the world Logamba is supposed to be. The unstable third-world country has jungles and a city. It is ruled by a king. Its citizenry is dark-skinned, and the only woman seen wears a full-body covering. These clues would seem to imply that Logamba is in Africa or Asia. However, we also know it is within about 2,500 miles of Metropolis (the range of a C-130 cargo plane, as seen in Action Comics #995) and can be reached within a half-day's flight. So, somewhere in the Caribbean?
Page 17, panel 5
SPOILER WARNING!: Reveal
Page 20, panel 3
Back at the Justice League Watchtower, Booster teases the Flash about changing time. It was implied after the events of Flashpoint that only Booster and Flash (actually several Flashes) remembered the changes that were made to the old DC Universe.
Page 20, panel 4
Booster and Skeets depart for "the Center." What could that be? Last we heard, Booster was headquartered at Vanishing Point.
Boosterrific Review: I liked it. Mostly. Booster's relationship with Superman and Skeets was a lot of fun. The action was good. But that the story didn't answer very many (if any) of the time travel questions that it raised left me less than completely satisfied.
Boosterrific Rating: Worth Its Weight In Gold.
SPOILER WARNING: The content at Boosterrific.com may contain story spoilers for DC Comics publications.
Booster Gold, Skeets, and all related titles, characters, images, slogans, logos are trademark ™ and copyright © DC Comics unless otherwise noted and are used without expressed permission. This site is a reference to published information and is intended as a tribute to the artists and storytellers employed by DC Comics, both past and present. (We love you, DC.) Contents of this page and all text herein not reserved as intellectual property of DC Comics is copyright © 2007-2024 BOOSTERRIFIC.com. This page, analysis, commentary, and accompanying statistical data is designed for the private use of individuals and may not be duplicated or reproduced for profit without consent.