Serious question: how long is long enough before something should no longer be considered a story spoiler?

Case in point: it's been nearly 2 months since the release of Blue and Gold #8 in which we learned the secret identity of one of Booster Gold's longest-running foes.

Is 2 months long enough that I can now update the site with the character's secret identity without spoiler warnings? Or should I at least wait until after the trade collection is released in September? Or maybe longer?

What do you think?

This week's poll question: Can I publicly discuss the Black Beetle's identity without a spoiler warning? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

UPDATE 2022-07-19: The results of this poll indicate that you overwhelmingly think that it's been long enough. While I *want* to talk about this, I don't *need* to talk about it yet, so I think I'll try to wait until the trade is released. The big reveal is a fun part of the series, and I really don't want to ruin it for anyone who doesn't want it ruined.

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Don't worry, there are no spoilers for Blue and Gold #8 in today's post, but I can't say the same for the following link to ComicBook.com!

Now that you've been appropriately warned, here's the link to ComicBook.com where Russ Burlingame has a recap of how it took DC thirteen years (!) to finally tell us who the Black Beetle was:

The original plan to reveal the Black Beetle's true identity, was to do it in Booster Gold #25. The mystery proved so intriguing to readers, and the story for #25 was already so full, that Jurgens and DC opted to put it off until a planned double-sized story in Booster Gold #50. Unfortunately for Booster fans, Flashpoint happened, and the series ended with Booster Gold #47 in 2011 as part of the line-wide "The New 52" reboot. This is the villain's first significant appearance since.

To add a little extra salt to that wound, I will remind you that Booster Gold #47 was actually the 49th issue for the title. In addition to the 47 conventionally sequential-numbered issues, there were also 0 and 1,000,000 issues as well. So we could have had the reveal in a double-sized 50th issue number 48 if DC had let the series go on for just one more month.

And while we're on the topic of salty wounds, can we even be sure that the Black Beetle we got in Blue and Gold was the same character who put together the villainous Time Stealers in Booster Gold Volume 2 #7? As Russ points out, DC History is not what it used to be.

Honestly, I was so angry that the New 52 reboot truncated the continuity of my favorite characters that I strongly considered swearing off DC Comics entirely. (I meant it, too. As several ex-friends can tell you, I'm the sort of guy who can hold a grudge forever. It's not healthy.)

Several reboots and rebirths later, I still don't buy as many DC comics as I used to, but I have happily bought multiple copies of each issue of Blue and Gold with no regrets, no matter who they say Black Beetle is. I feel that's been money well spent, and I'd be glad to give DC more if they decide they want to do it again.

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Blue and Gold #7 is coming your way this week, and AIPTComics.com already has the issue preview. And it looks like we're getting a very special Guest Star!

That bad guy monologing about ruling the Multiverse while making life miserable for poor Jaime Reyes can't possibly be anyone other than his greatest enemy... the Black Beetle!

While he hasn't been M.I.A. for quite so long as Theresa Collins was, we still hadn't seen good ol' Black Beetle since the cancellation of Booster Gold volume 2 in 2011, and his true identity remains one of that series' biggest unsolved mysteries. Boosterrific.com considered the possibilities in depth in a 3-part series in 2014 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

Is Dan Jurgens finally ready to pull off Black Beetle's mask and reveal the villain's true face? Will we believe it even if we see it? There's only one way to find out!

Buy this issue and make Skeets (and Buggles) happy!

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What does it take to make a villain a hero's arch-enemy? If it's familiarity, then the villains vying for Booster Gold's most-hated award must be one of these:

Royal Flush Gang and Jonar Jon Carter (aka Supernova III): These long-time foes are tied with 7 encounters each.

The Director (The 1000): The Director was certainly the most dominant of Booster's early villains, racking up 8 encounters before his untimely demise.

Black Beetle: The villain with the most central role in Booster Gold's second volume, Black Beetle crossed paths with our hero 12 times with hints of more to come. Unfortunately, his story will probably remain forever untold thanks to Flashpoint and the arrival of the New 52.

Mr. Mind: Mister Mind has a surprisingly high count of 19 encounters with Booster Gold, a statistic increased both by his tendency to masquerade undetected as Booster's allies and his role in the weekly 52 title.

Maxwell Lord IV: Few characters have such frequently recurring roles in Booster's adventures as Max Lord, who has amassed a total of 65 encounters with our hero to date. Sure, most of those appearances were in supporting roles for the Justice League International (and all of those appearances take place outside modern Rebirth DCnU continuity), but nothing makes for a better antagonist than a former friend and mentor gone bad.

Now that you've seen the numbers, what do you say? Which villain deserves the title of Booster Gold's arch-nemesis?

This week's poll question: Which villain do you consider to be Booster Gold's arch-enemy? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

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Friday, I gave you my personal picks to Booster Gold's public Rogues Gallery. But who should Booster be fighting in his "secret" identity?

Presented in alphabetical order, these are my top six suggestions to comprise the Rogues Gallery of Booster Gold, Time Master.

Black Beetle, Chronos (Walker Gabriel), Lady Chronos, Mr. Mind, Monarch, Weapons Master

Black Beetle. Whoever he is, Black Beetle has consistently been a thorn in Booster Gold's side since our hero's earliest adventures as Rip Hunter's time-traveling associate. Few villains have caused Booster such emotional distress or been such a threat to the time-space continuum. For those reasons alone, Black Beetle should be considered Booster's most dangerous foe.

Chronos II. A time-traveling thief with strong opposition to the Linear Men and his own city outside of time, Walker Gabriel makes a great candidate for long-running anti-hero who could work at odds to Booster Gold's directives to maintain an ideal history of the DCU. Who knows, given enough time, they could even learn to admit a grudging respect for one another's work.

Lady Chronos. Booster Gold needs a femme fatale working at cross paths to test both his abilities and his resolve. In her previous encounters with Booster Gold, Lady Chronos teased our hero with a glimpse of more relationship to come. Let the sparks fly! (Adding Gabriel to this dynamic could be even better: multiple Chronoses and Booster Gold all working to "fix" the same problem in their own way with their own motivations and ethics and romantic entanglements. Yeah, I'd read that.)

Mr. Mind. No villain has appeared in more issues with Booster Gold than the Venusian worm who has so bedeviled Captain Marvel. That association should continue, as it seems highly improbable that the devious Mind would ever forgive Booster for thwarting his universe-dominating plans — in multiple timelines!

Monarch. The alternate-universe Nathaniel Adam, normally associated with Captain Atom, may be the most unlikely name on my list, but keep in mind that his history is also interwoven with Booster Gold — who once foiled Monarch's plans only through an accident of his genetic history — and Waverider and the Linear Men. (And Booster's long association with Atom should probably allow him some crossover in foes. After all, the uber-militaristic Captain Atom is just as all-American as uber-capitalistic Booster Gold.) In his many iterations throughout the multiverse, Monarch has been incredibly powerful and hell-bent on universal domination, and no Time Master should ignore him. (Honestly, I'd put Monarch on this list if for no other reason than to see if Booster could "correct" the twist ending of Armageddon 2001.)

Weapons Master. He's not generally recognized as being in the same league as Mr. Mind or Monarch, but any recurring time-traveling foe of the Justice League should cause concern for anyone. More importantly, Weapons Master travels through time and steals history's greatest weapons to use against his foes, which means that he and Booster Gold think a lot alike. It would be fun to see the two of them matching wits across spacetime.

Those are my top picks. Do you agree? Who did I leave out?

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