Justice League Quarterly

Cover Description: A giant toy soldier attacks Elongated Man, Flash III, and Fire. A panel on the left side of the cover identifies key characters, from top to bottom, Power Girl, Blue Beetle II, and Owlwoman. (No Booster Gold.)

Brief Synopsis: Blue Beetle struggles to get his weight under control.

Issue Summary: Blue Beetle Ted Kord visits the doctor and is told that he has been gaining weight despite his best intentions. General Glory puts Blue Beetle through a vigorous calisthenics routine, and Booster Gold shares weight-loss tips from the future, but Beetle's weight gain continues.

The doctor recommends a change of tact, and Beetle turns his weight loss goals into a competition with Power Girl. Beetle redoubles his efforts with a focus on crime-fighting.

Booster Gold celebrates Ted's victory with some fast food, but Beetle has learned his lesson. Reveal Potential Spoilers

Booster Gold's role in this story:
Supporting (Booster Gold plays a lesser role)

Page 40, panel 1
An overweight and unhappy Blue Beetle II is dining with Booster Gold. Beetle has been drinking and there are 8 brown beer bottles visible on the table. (Booster appears to be drinking from a glass.) Eight beers in one sitting would definitely go a long way towards explaining why Beetle is out of shape. For example, brown-bottled Budweiser, long among America's best-selling beers, has 145 calories per 12 ounce bottle: that's 1160 calories in one sitting for Beetle in beverage alone!

Page 40, panel 4
Booster explains that in the 25th century, weight loss is achieved by laminating the tongue to prevent taste. That sounds no more far-fetched than stapling the stomach shut to shrink the amount that it can hold (an increasingly common process called Vertical Banded Gastroplasty).

Page 46, panel 3
Booster buys Beetle a hot dog to celebrate his new weight loss. Unlike Beetle, Booster has little problem staying "fighting trim" despite having most of his powers aided by technology.