BOOSTERRIFIC! BLOG

I was recently perusing some back issues of Amazing Heroes magazine. I've previously reported on their disparaging review of Booster Gold's debut issue, but I found something else that Booster boosters might find interesting.

That something, as reported in Amazing Heroes #188, 1991, is Andy Mangels' "Backstage" column recap of an unfilmed 1990 Justice League movie script. Read on and you'll see why.

The Justice League of America

January 25, 1990 - James Cappe and David Arnott, teleplay; Jeff Freilich, James Cappe, and David Amott, story.

Planned for a two-hour telefilm, the Justice League script went thru four rewrites before the current plans were scrapped. Magnum Productions was working on the film for Lorimar, and was hampered by the use of so few characters. With Green Lantern, Flash, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman optioned, no references or usage of these characters would be allowed.

The story begins as Lord Industries is excavating an Egyptian cavern in Tibet. Professor David Cambell (and assistant Andy Helfer) uncover a dark helmet which, unbeknownst to them, houses the spirit of the Lord of Chaos. Meanwhile, on "A world a lot like our own ... only different," we meet the Oreo-loving Martian Manhunter stopping a crime and a pushy Booster Gold at Max Lord's museum-wing opening where the aforementioned helmet is about to be stolen. Despite Booster and scientist Ted Kord's "help," the helmet is spirited away. When the newly revived Lord of Chaos kidnaps Cambell and begins creating worldwide havoc, Maxwell Lord uses his friendship with the president to put together a force of vigilantes to protect the U.S.

He recruits the Martian Manhunter and Booster Gold, the actress/models Fire and Ice, Ted Kord's new identity of the Blue Beetle, and the altruistic-to-a-fault super-escape-artist Mr. Miracle and his pal Oberon (over objections from Miracle's wife, Barda). The newly christened Justice League of America soon faces their first trial... interviewing Mrs. Cambell.

Then, at a stop to gas up Blue Beetle's bug, the JLA gets in a fight with the Chaos-maddened Chicago Cubs. Despite Booster's affirmation that they "don't need their powers. It's the Cubs. These guys haven't won in 1100 years," the JLA gets fouled out and lets the Cubs escape.

Next, the League is off to the United Nations, where a terrorist has a bomb strapped to his chest. Fire, Ice, and Mr. Miracle enter the U.N. building while Beetle coordinates from the Bug, Booster protects the crowd outside with his force field, and Manhunter enters from the roof. Once most of the terrorists have been neutralized, Manhunter uses his shapechanging abilities to get Booster Gold close enough to stop the bomb-wearing madman. Police chief Stanley Marvel (wink wink, nudge nudge) begrudgingly thanks the team for their semi-efficient rescue, but the thanks is only short-lived as the Lord of Order reveals himself and escapes.

In Beetle's bug, the JLA searches for Chaos's hideout, where he's stashed the great minds and leaders of the world. They find the hideout in Arizona, but only as all of the nuclear missiles in the world are fired, aimed at each country's enemies, and more than a few allies. As Blue Beetle works on a way to upload a missile deflection system to broadcast from the Earth's communication satellites, the rest of the team forces their way into Chaos's mountain stronghold.

While Booster and Manhunter search for Dr. Cambell, Fire and Ice engage guards and Mr. Miracle defies deadly death traps to find the Chaos helmet ... only to find it's a fake. Eventually, all our heroes face off against Chaos and defeat him, but he has the last laugh; though Beetle's deflected most of the missiles, Chaos transports the JLA into the middle of Times Square, the target for the sole surviving nuclear missile.

There in the midst of New York, the League has a desperate battle with Chaos, finally defeating him once and for all. And although the New Yorkers don't much appreciate the team, the rest of the world does. The JLA is on its way.

Maybe I'm wearying of the comic antics of my once second-favorite super-team, but the Justice League is growing tired. The film keeps the same kind of attitude toward its heroes as the comic (some dialogue seems to have been lifted directly from the comics' pages), a kind of hipper-than-thou slapstick which is less funny than overused. While viewers of the film might find it refreshing and new, readers of the comic will find it's same-old same-old.

Fire and Ice are a little less like Lucy and Ethel, while the Martian Manhunter is somewhat less dispassionate-though just as Oreo-loving. Mr. Miracle is portrayed as a naive goof who is as trusting and philanthropic as an old lady. Barda's revelation of her pregnancy halfway through the script is barely referred to again, although Oberon is as obnoxious as ever. Ditto Maxwell Lord, whose powers are hinted at late in the script.

Blue Beetle is relatively unchanged, and actually has some of the best lines ( especially one where he finds a surprise stress-test for his body armor), but his relationship with Booster Gold is ruined. You see, in this script, Booster Gold is spelled G-u-y G-a-r-d-n-e-r. Booster, a mildly obnoxious and scheming character in the current JLA, here becomes a groping, bragging, swaggering jerk whose recklessness and attitude are more a hindrance to the team than a help. Apparently, without the use of the real Guy Gardner, the scripters felt they had to have one supremely obnoxious putz in the group, and Booster was available.

Despite my criticisms, the Justice League of America script in this form would be a tremendous hit in this age of Married with Children, Roseanne, Cheers, and similar sitcoms. It's sarcastic enough, the characters are neanderthal enough, the women are pretty enough, and the script fairly screams for a laugh track. A dark JLA a la Flash, Superboy, or Batman woμldn't work at all, so the writers have taken the correct measures to find their hit.

Late-breaking news finds a DC source relating that the show may not be as dead as previously thought. In today's Hollywood, comics are again being perceived as a hot item, and DC's characters being on the forefront of that list. Now it's up to the Blue and Gold guys to fight it out with the Justice League guys to see who gets which rights first.

If you're especially immersed in Justice League lore, you may know that the Justice League did finally in 1997 get a made-for-television movie. It was loosely based on the late-era International League, with featured roles for "B.B. DaCosta" Fire and "Tori Olafsdotter" Ice. It was incredibly bad with worse special effects, and Booster Gold thankfully played no part.

Thirty-two years later, Booster still hasn't appeared in a live-action movie. Hopefully when he does, he'll be recognizable as the Corporate Crusader we all know and love.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: amazing heroes andy mangles justice league international movies

Unless you're planning on picking up the new DCeased boxed set collection (of previously released trades), don't expect to see Booster Gold in any DC Comics this week. At least not in your Local Comic Shop.

However, Booster does appear on the cover of a recent issue of Ross Pearsall's Super-Team Family Presents... at braveandboldlost.blogspot.com:

There's a lot to like about this potential crossover. In addition to the fact that both Booster Gold and Phillip J. Fry are temporally-displaced persons with robot sidekicks, Futurama has never shied away from criticizing the sort of runaway commercialism that Booster Gold often represents.

And, of course, that pic of Booster comes from 2008's Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st-Century #19, and Futurama is set in... you guessed it... the 31st century.

Yeah, I'd definitely buy that comic. I might even be willing to pay quite a bit more than 60Â¢.

UPDATE 2023-10-17: Booster booster Marty writes in to let us know that a picture of Booster does appear in Batman Superman World's Finest #20. So buy that and make Skeets happy!

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: alex serra blogspot.com fan art futurama ross pearsall super-team family

Back in 2020, I created the following list of what I consider to be the best Booster Gold stories of all time. In the wake of Booster's introduction on Legends of Tomorrow, I'd like to dust that list off for new fans who are discovering our hero for the very first time.

The Boosterrific List of the 12 Best Booster Gold Comics Ever!

Presented in reading order:

1. Justice League #4 (1987)
Booster Gold's introduction to the Justice League is the best place to for new readers to meet our hero. He's truly at his best here, showcasing his powers, fighting spirit, quick mind, and dedication to team. The best of the best. (Read more about it here.)

2. Booster Gold #6 (1986)
Want to know Booster's origin? So does Superman. Booster is a hero with feet of clay and his head in the clouds. Who can't relate to that? (Read more about it here.)

3. Booster Gold #18 (1987)
There are two sides to every story, and this is the flip side of Booster Gold's. The issue follows a federal agent, Broderick, determined to make Booster pay for his crimes. What price is justice? (Read more about it here.)

4. Justice League International #34 (1989)
If you've only heard one thing about Booster Gold, it's probably that he's best friends with Blue Beetle. This is the height (nadir?) of their misadventures as they turn an island paradise into a Justice League-themed casino. (Read more about it here.)

5. Justice League Quarterly #1 (1990)
Whatever his many flaws, Booster Gold has always been a born leader. His first real chance to show it was as leader of the Conglomerate. Booster was a perfect fit for this international super-team fighting not for truth and justice but the interests of Big Business. (Read more about it here.)

6. Superman #74 (1992)
The 1990s were mostly lost years for Booster Gold, and much of that can be blamed on the rampaging monster Doomsday. The fateful collision between the two can be seen here, and like many train wrecks, it's impossible to look away. Old-fashioned super hero slugfests at their best. (Read more about it here.)

7. Formerly Known as the Justice League #4 (2003)
With Countdown to Infinite Crisis in the near future, this mini-series represents the last gasp of both the Justice League International family and the Blue and Gold team. Their last adventure was among the best. (Read more about it here.)

8. 52 Week 15 (2006)
It's hard to single out any single issue of 52 as better than any other, but if one has to be the best, start at the end: Booster's end. That's right, he dies in this issue. It's powerful stuff. (Read more about it here.)

9. Booster Gold Volume 2, #1 (2007)
Spoiler alert: Booster survived 52 (*cough* time-travel *cough*), and the experience molded him into a better hero than ever. His new adventures as champion of established history begin here. (Read more about it here.)

10. Booster Gold Volume 2, #5 (2008)
What are the rules of time travel? What would it take to break them? What kind of hero would try? A groundbreaking issue justly remembered as one of the best of its generation. (Read more about it here.)

11. Justice League: Generation Lost #23 (2011)
Like 52, it's hard to choose just one Justice League: Generation Lost issue as the best, and readers should start at the beginning and read the whole thing as the old JLI reunites to clean up their own legacy. But the payoff come at the end, starting with this penultimate issue. (Read more about it here.)

12. Action Comics #995 (2018)
Everything that Booster ever was or ever will be is in this multi-part Superman epic written by Dan Jurgens. It's the best Booster Gold story of the New 52/Rebirth era. (Read more about it here.)

Keep in mind that this is a completely subjective list; it's *my* list. I strongly encourage to read all the Booster Gold comics you can find and form your own opinion.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: best of lists reading list stories

Cort posted on Mar. 12, 2022 at 8:05 PM
Gotta say, I was trying to think of a better top 10 (or 12) list myself, and I can't. This is likely the best of the best stories for me too.

The only I'd add is Quarterly #10. Waid delivers such a great story about Booster. Who he was when he first came to the past and his journey as a hero from all of V1 and throughout the JLI. It has some solid moments with him confronting his past (their future) and a solid pep talk with Beetle about how far he's come. It's so good. I highly recommend it for all Booster boosters.

Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on Mar. 12, 2022 at 10:02 PM
Justice League Quarterly #10 is a mixed bag (as is usually the case with anthology titles). There are 4 stories in that issue, and Booster features prominently in two of them (both written by Mark Waid): I think "Time and Chance!" is a mess of unsteady characterization (and weak art), but "When Titans Date" is just about everything that makes the International-era League the very best. It is indeed a great Booster Gold (and Ted Kord) story.

Cort posted on Mar. 13, 2022 at 11:02 PM
Fair. I didnt really consider the other stories, as is the issue with anthologies true. But I love those two stories, despite the art flaws and kinda messy characterisation. They do show a lot of the strength and progress Booster has made at that point, and how strong and genuine Beetle and He are as friends. It really stood out to young me in a big way. Especially the date portion, I enjoy Waid's insights on the JLI. Its something you just wouldnt get anymore in a team title.

While researching which 2019 Boosterrific.com posts were the most read (for the 2019 Year In Review), I noticed a trend of people apparently looking for a Booster Gold reading list.

Booster Gold's newest fans are always concerned about the best places to start familiarizing themselves with Booster's adventures, and older fans are always keen for entry points to entice their friends into Booster fandom. I can help.

This is my completely subjective list of the best Booster Gold comic book stories in reading order: