Let's turn back the clock a little to last week's The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special, which turns back the clock a lot.

The book, if you didn't know, is an opportunity for the creators involved in that seminal event to tell additional stories related to it. Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding give us the moment Jon Kent learns his dad once died (with a Booster flashback!). Jerry Ordway and Tom Grummet show us what the elder Kents were thinking while the fight went down. Roger Stern and Jackson "Butch" Guice revisit the events of the day from the Guardian's POV (with a Booster flashback!). And Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove return John Henry Irons to the day Superman died.

As you might expect, most of those creators are very loyal to the story as it was originally told in 1992, which is what made this panel in the Simonson/Bogdanove story stand out for me:

As you can see, in addition to being a re-creation of panels from Adventures of Superman #500, it gives the credit for naming Doomsday to... Lois Lane?!

While most sources in the DCU recognize Superman for popularizing the name, every Booster booster knows the real naming honor rightfully belongs to Booster Gold (as recorded in Justice League America #69)!

Even Booster will admit that his casual aside to Superman wasn't loud enough for everyone in the world to hear, so how *did* the name "Doomsday" reach the general public? I assure you, Lois Lane didn't have anything to do with it (but to be fair to the Man of Tomorrow, Superman himself very much did).

Justice League America #69 leads directly into Superman #74, where Superman calls the monster "Doomsday" directly to its still-masked face.

By the start of the next chapter in the story, Adventures of Superman #497, everyone present for that momentous meeting is also calling the monster "Doomsday," including young civilian Mitch Anderson. A badly beaten Guy Gardner soon uses the name in front of emergency first responders, who are instructed to get in touch with Maxwell Lord. Two pages later, Superman yells the name in front of the Kirby County Chief of Police, who immediately informs his state governor.

Whether it's Mitch, the doctors, Maxwell Lord, the police, or the politicians, someone promptly reveals to the media that "Doomsday" has come, as we find out when Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane travels to the Galaxy Communications Building in Metropolis on page 16 of that issue:

The reporter who breaks the news to the general public is not newspaper reporter Lois Lane but WGBS-TV sportscaster-turned-anchor Steve Lombard!

The name stuck. By Superman: The Man of Steel #19, Lex Luthor is using it in television interviews, and Metropolis bystanders use it when calling for help. So it comes as no great surprise that John Henry Irons knew the name before the monster set off a gas main explosion that dropped a building on him (occurring off panel in Superman: The Man of Steel #19 as later revealed in Superman: The Man of Steel #22).

And it makes sense that it would be the first word out of John Henry's mouth when we first meet him — after Superman's funeral! — in Adventures of Superman #500:

I'm willing to cut John Henry some slack here. I mean, he did just have a building dropped on his head, so it's understandable that he's a little confused. But Lois Lane didn't name Doomsday.

Nope. That credit belongs to someone else.

Superman: Day of Doom #1, 2002

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This series is about choosing my favorite full page, not the page with my favorite panels. For that reason, I am not showcasing Benny hitting on Trixie Collins from page 6, or Jack Soo's fat check from page 7, or the cover of Blaze Comics' "Blazing First Issue" from page 11.

Those are all great pages in Booster Gold volume 1, number 7. But the true star is page 21:

Every single panel on this page is delightful. Panel 1: Lois recognizing Booster's brand attributes. Panel 2: Booster charms his fans. Panel 3: Lois implying Superman is boring. Panel 4: Superman being pissed. Panel 5: Booster hitting on Lois Lane. Panel 4: Skeets stating the obvious! Each a mini-masterpiece!

So many great character moments. Honestly, I almost forget that the bulk of the issue is Booster and Superman throwing down on an alien planet.

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One of the responses to my list of my Booster Gold's rogues gallery posts last week came from Boosterfett:

One big glaring omission-- The 100! They were instrumental in fleshing out our hero's early motivations and if they were updated, could be a major contender for that evil organization that could be the Hydra to Michael's Captain America!

Without a doubt, the 1000 was integral to the development of Booster Gold. They were the first criminal organization he fought as a 20th-century hero. It was their planned assassination of Ronald Reagan that introduced Booster Gold to the public. Nearly half of Booster's original run was devoted to the 1000's attempts to destroy our hero.

But no, I didn't include them in my rogues gallery. I didn't include them specifically because Booster isn't the biggest Thorn in their side.

from "Death House Honeymoon," Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #105 (1970)

The 1000 debuted as the 100, "The Centipede of Crime," in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #105. Star Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent described them as "hoods [who] have a finger in every racket" in Metropolis. In other words, they were too big for even Superman to snuff out.

When Metropolis police detective Phil Forrest was murdered by a 100 assassin, the trauma was too much for his daughter, Rose. Her psyche was split into two personalities. After that, each night Rose became Thorn, a hardened vigilante with only one enemy: The 100.

from "Nightmare Alley", Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 (1973)

Thorn's crusade continued through the next three years of Lois Lane comics until the trail of the 100 grew cold in issue #130 (1973). As Thorn moved further into the background of the DCU, Thorn's father remained unavenged. The 100, however, would have a second act.

from "Black Lightning", Black Lightning #1 (1977)

Enter Black Lightning. Four years after Thorn lost their trail, Jefferson Pierce would run afoul of 100 associate Tobias Whale in Black Lightning #1 (1977). Black Lightning locked horns with the Whale for 8 of his 11 issues, and their feud continued in various appearances across the DCU even after the infamous DC Implosion of 1979. The 100 didn't care for the attention that the Whale brought them, and they eventually parted ways with their former associate, paving the way for their rebirth.

from "Death Ransom", World's Finest Comics #257 (1979)

When the 100 reemerged as the high-tech 1000 in Booster Gold Volume 1, #1 in 1985, their oldest foe reappeared with them. Booster Gold was the star of the series, but both Rose Forrest and Thorn joined his early supporting cast. (In this way, even Booster's first enemy "borrowed" heavily from pre-Crisis on Infinite Earth DC continuity.) Together and apart, they opposed the Director's nefarious plans for world domination through almost a full year's worth of comics.

from "Crash", Booster Gold #4 (1986)

Like Tobias Whale before him, the 1000's leader, the Director of Death, would become obsessed with one hero. Unlike Tobias, Director's obsession was largely one-sided. (Booster Gold was largely indifferent to the Director's goals and was content to ignore him until he turned to kidnapping his staff. ) The Director eventually died in the pursuit of his obsession. The 1000 died with him, and Booster Gold hasn't given them a second thought since.

Not so, Thorn.

The 100 survived the Director's death, and they remain Thorn's driving motivation. She has been seen continuing her crusade against them in appearances in the Showcase anthology of the middle 1990s and Birds of Prey issues in the 2000s.

from "Hero Hunters Part 4: She Rides the Eye of a Hurricane", Birds of Prey #79 (2005)

Yes, the 1000 could be updated to bedevil Booster Gold once more, but why should they when they're still locked in a life-and-death struggle with another hero even more deserving of their hatred. For nearly a half century, the 100(0) has been Thorn's Lex Luthor, and she has been their Superman. For that reason, any incarnation of the 100 belongs in her rogues gallery, not Booster Gold's.

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Bryan Q. Miller is clearly a big Booster Gold fan. He keeps squeezing references to Booster into his issues of Smallville: Season 11. Take, for instance, this panel from last week's digital release of Smallville: Chaos #1.

Smallville: Chaos #1. Writer: Bryan Q. Miller, Pencils: Agustin Padilla, Inks: Jose Aviles, Colors: Carrie Strachan

That's Smallville's versions of Ted Kord on the left and Michael Holt on the right. You might better know them by their DCU noms de guerre of Blue Beetle and Mister Terrific, respectively. (By the way, that's Lois Lane asking the question. I hope I don't have to explain who she is.)

If you want your own copy of this comic, you can find it online at Comixology.com for 99¢. Or you can pick up a printed version in your Local Comic Shop this August.

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