What makes a hero super? The super powers! From awesome strength to zero-to-sixty speed, great superpowers are the most useful tricks in every famous costumed crime-fighter's tool kit. Michael Jon Carter knew this, and that's why he started his career with a telepathically-controlled flight ring.

As a student of history, Michael "Booster" Carter modeled his superhero persona on Superman. In addition to strength, invulnerability, and long-range energy beams, he'd also need to be able to fly. To that end, he stole a Legion of Super-Heroes Flight Ring, created by Brainiac 5 in the pages of Adventure Comics #329 (1965).

In its original design, the ring was a simple metal band that provided a telepathically-controlled anti-gravity effect for those Legionnaires who could not fly under their own power. They soon became standard issue equipment for all Legionnaires. Even Superboy had one, though he rarely had need of it except in those few cases where he lost his powers, such as the time he visited Earth's past and found it lit by a red sun.

(If you squint at the panel above, you can see a flight ring there on Superboy's hand in this panel from Adventure Comics #133, also in 1965. This is the first time Superboy wore a Flight Ring.)

Brainiac 5 wasn't content with having a ring that only allowed flight. He eventually gave the ring other abilities, including sending emergency distress signals. He also improved its appeal by converting it to a gold signet-style ring showing a raised letter "L" in the center (first appearance in Adventure Comics #347). That's how the ring looked when it found its way into Booster Gold's arsenal in Booster Gold #1 (1985), and that's more or less how it looked when Booster Gold joined the Justice League in Justice League #4 (1987) and escaped from a Bialyan prison in Justice League International #17 (1988).

Booster's ring was originally depicted with a letter from the Roman alphabet. However, it sometimes was seen showing Interlac, the "inter-galactic universal language of the 30th century" which first appeared in Adventure Comics #379 (1969). By Booster Gold volume 2 #1 (2007), Booster's ring had changed to the stylized "L" on a black background that had been in use since Legion of Super-Heroes #41 (1993).

How could one ring alter its appearance so much? Well, the Legion of Super-Heroes have a tendency for getting involved in reality-warping time travel shenanigans. In fact, that's how a Legion of Super-Heroes ring from the 30th century ended up in the 25th-century Space Museum in the first place.

When Booster's debut in the 20th century drew the attention of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac 5 realized he had to leave his own flight ring in 1985 for Booster to be able to steal it in 2462 (as seen in Booster Gold #6). Therefore, the ring was available for Booster Gold to steal only because he had already stolen it. (It's best not to think too hard about that.)

If it sounds like Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens was making things up as he went along, he was. His original plan, as revealed in Booster Gold: The Big Fall, was that instead of stealing Brainiac 5's ring from the Space Museum, Booster would have stolen Superboy's rarely used original ring from the Superman Museum!

That plan was scuttled by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which erased Superboy's adventures from history. Thus the original origin of Booster Gold's flight ring became just one more casualty of the universe-destroying Anti-Monitor. What a jerk.

If you'd like to read about the origins of other powers in Booster Gold's arsenal, check out previous spotlight posts on his Force Field Belt and Booster Shots.

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Superboy and the Ravers may not be widely recognized by comic book readers today, but it did have its moments, like this panel of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold hitting trying pick up lines on Aura in issue #8:

Art by Paul Pelletier and Dan Davis; Words by Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson

That issue was released 21 years ago today, which means it's now old enough to drink, unlike Aura, who remains a perpetual teenager. (She had to use a fake ID to get into Guy Gardner's bar. Someone warn Blue and Gold!)

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These polls don't often surprise me, but I wasn't prepared for the response that most of you are more invested in Booster Gold naming Doomsday than you were in KooeyKooeyKooey.

Last week's poll question: Which piece of Booster Gold's history are you least bothered to see omitted from the New 52 reboot? (40 votes)

I suspect that I underestimate the power "Death of Superman" had in invigorating the comics-buying public and the influence that the story still holds for DC Comics readers. I don't know why that should be. I personally still wear a "Reign of the Supermen" era Superboy black leather jacket with an "S"-shield on the back and a Superman #75-style mourning armband.

But enough about me. Let's talk about what I want to watch on television. Namely, a show starring my favorite hero!

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The solicitation for month two of the Convergence tie-in titles was released last week.

CONVERGENCE: BOOSTER GOLD #2
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by ALVARO MARTINEZ and RAUL FERNANDEZ
Cover by DAN JURGENS and DANNY MIKI
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 27 • $3.99 US

STARRING HEROES FROM CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS! Booster Golds...Time Masters...is it possible that the combined might of these heroes can put an end to the Convergence battles?

Note that the cover to this issue includes the pre-Crisis Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. As all DC fans know, the original incarnation of Superboy was erased from the DC Universe during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Why is that significant? Two reasons: one, according to DC editor Mark Waid in Secret Origins #35, Dan Jurgens' originally intended origin for Booster Gold had our hero in possession of the Legion Flight Ring of the pre-Crisis Superboy, the very same ring you can see on Superboy's right hand on this cover!

And two, this issue gives Booster the opportunity to interact with a character completely off-limits for his entire 30-year career. That sounds like exactly the sort of pairing that fans should want in a two-month event celebrating Crisis on Infinite Earths.

You can see a larger image accompanying the solicitation for this issue at ToplessRobot.com.

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It's been nearly 6 months since Booster Gold appeared in a DCnU-continuity book. This isn't the first time Booster has clocked out for an extended period. Back in 1997, Booster made only 2 DCU appearances, one of which was in Superboy and the Ravers #8.

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold made a cameo appearance tring to pick up one of the Ravers in Guy Gardner's bar, Warrior's. It may not have been their finest moment, but it was certainly one of their funniest.

This classic Blue and Gold moment was brought to you in part by Ravers co-writer Steve Mattsson, who celebrates his 54th birthday today. Mattsson made a name for himself in the 1980s with Boris the Bear, a title known for its scything commentary of contemporary pop-culture trends. That's a good pedigree for someone writing for Booster Gold!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Mattsson. Celebrate with a "Loose Cannon" on us!

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