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Showing posts 1 - 5 of 26 matching: supporting

Friday, October 27, 2023

Character Spotlight on Mindancer

The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Mindancer.

The People in His Neighborhood: spotlighting the characters who have made Booster Gold such a star

They say you never forget your first time. First love. First paycheck. First stollen time machine you used to travel back in time to become a super hero. And even first defeat.

In Booster Gold's case, that means he'll always remember the first time he met Mindancer.

© DC Comics
© DC Comics

Blackguard gets all the fame for appearing on the cover of Booster Gold #1, but the real villain in Booster Gold's 1986 debut issue is the "unidentified, super-powered woman who," in the breathless words of WGBS television news reporter Cindy Miles, "took S.T.A.R.'s satellite guidance system from Booster Gold!"

That mysterious, garishly-costumed assailant is "an extremely dangerous" psychic mercenary codenamed Mindancer. According to Booster's sidekick Skeets, she can leach the mental energy from nearby bystanders to boost her innate telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

At the time she crossed swords with Booster Gold, she was working for The 1000, who also employed Blackguard. In fact, Booster's inaugural defeat of Blackguard led directly to his rematch with Mindancer when she was sent to spring Blackguard from Metropolis Prison in Booster Gold #2. They fight to a draw, and Mindancer escapes after Blackguard creates a distraction. Considering that escaping was her whole reason for being there, this should probably count as another win for Mindancer.

Their third encounter, inside the headquarters of The 1000 in Booster Gold #3, goes even worse for Booster, as he is left unconscious and placed in a 1000 death trap!

© DC Comics

Booster escapes thanks only to the timely intervention of Thorn (Booster Gold #4), who also defeats Mindancer in hand-to-hand combat. Thorn tears off Mindancer's mask, revealing that her red hair is only a wig. Mindancer's true face underneath is... well, this:

© DC Comics

Why does she look like that? We may never know. The humiliation of having her true face exposed empowers Mindancer, an "unskilled physical combatant" according to her entry in Who's Who Update '87 #4, to overwhelm Thorn and escape.

Mindancer has rarely been seen since. She next shows up in 1994's Green Lantern Volume 3 #52 as a (masked) inmate in Slabside Penitentiary for metahumans, indicating that at some point she was caught and brought to justice. It must have been a long sentence. She's not seen again until The Flash #800 (2023), where she is caught participating in a poker game with stolen goods and presumably re-imprisoned.

After nearly four decades, it doesn't look like Booster and Mindancer will be crossing paths again anytime soon. Therefore, the final record stands at Mindancer 3, Booster Gold 0, a result so lopsided, I'm sure Booster Gold would prefer to forget.


Other People in Booster Gold's Neighborhood:


Booster Gold's sidekick, Skeets
Booster Gold's twin sister, Michelle Carter
Booster Gold's mother, Ma Carter
Booster Gold's 20th-century ancestor, Daniel Carter
Booster Gold's "daughter," Rani
Booster Gold's boss (and son), Rip Hunter
Booster Gold's secretary, Trixie Collins
Booster Gold's business manager, Dirk Davis
Vice President of Booster Gold International, Mackenzie Garrison
Booster Gold's first love, Monica Lake
Booster Gold's first foe, Blackguard
creators of the Booster Gold comic book, Benny and Marty
the voice of Booster Gold's conscience, Nurse Devlin
the brilliant scientist who created Goldstar, Jack Soo
the mad scientist who hacked Skeets, Doctor Shocker
the bomber who almost killed Booster Gold, Mister Twister

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: mindancer people in his neighborhood supporting characters

Friday, October 6, 2023

Character Spotlight (Back) on Rani

I keep an eye on the Google search queries that lead people here to Boosterrific.com. Most of them are usually what you might expect: "best Booster Gold comics," "Booster Gold powers," "why do people like Booster gold?" But last month I spotted something odd: searches looking for information on "Rani."

As it happens, we haven't seen Rani in a comic book since 2011, so I can't guess what would have anyone searching her out in 2023. But mine is not to question why.

Instead, in order to help out whoever out there might be curious about Booster Gold's "daughter," let me re-run a post that I originally presented in 2019 as part of my "People in His Neighborhood" series on supporting characters in Booster Gold comics.


The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Rani.

The People in His Neighborhood: spotlighting the characters who have made Booster Gold such a star

In the 30th century, when the evil god Darkseid will take over the planet Daxam in what will become known as "The Great Darkness Saga," time-traveler Booster Gold will do what he can to save innocent lives (as seen in Booster Gold Volume 2, #32). Unfortunately for everyone, Booster is no match for an army of billions of super-powered Daxamites, and he manages to save only one child, little orphan Rani.

© DC Comics

With Rani's foster parents having fallen victim to Darkseid's invasion, Booster has little choice but to take the poor girl home with him to 21st-century Arizona where she could be cared for by Time Master Rip Hunter, who unbeknownst to Booster is his real son. Rani nicknamed Rip "Boppy" after her own grandfather (Booster Gold #33). Hunter is concerned that Booster had damaged the space-time continuum by bringing Rani back into her past, but Booster's twin sister, Michelle, refuses to allow them to send the little girl back to a death sentence in the future (Booster Gold #34). Just like that, Rani became part of Booster's family, having free rein of Hunter's Arizona Time Lab compound.

Despite her young age, Rani has an advanced knowledge of technology (Booster Gold #35) and a drive to join the family business. In Booster Gold #38, she pilots a stolen time sphere to 1943 to confront Maxwell Lord's parents before he was born, and would later "borrow" Michelle's Goldstar costume (Booster Gold #39). In response, Michelle grounded her for two whole days.

© DC Comics

Rani was mature for her age, but she would understandably continue to be traumatized by her experiences on Daxam. For example, when Doctor Nishtikeit and his time-traveling Nazis attacked Hunter's Time Lab (in Booster Gold #41), Rani suffered a prolonged PTSD episode that only resolved when Booster returned to "rescue" her. As seen in Booster Gold #42, Rani cried for the entire duration of Booster's 25th-century prison sentence (though Booster was away for only 10 minutes of her relative time in the 21st century). So far as she is concerned, Booster is her new daddy, and he treats her like the daughter he never had.

In the last days before Flashpoint changed history and destroyed everyone's memories of the history of the world that was, Rani was fittingly last seen in Booster Gold #43 on 30th-century missing child poster.

© DC Comics

"The Great Darkness Saga" is still in Booster Gold's future. Will Rani be there? Will Booster Gold save her? Only time will tell.


Other People in Booster Gold's Neighborhood:


Booster Gold's sidekick, Skeets
Booster Gold's twin sister, Michelle Carter
Booster Gold's mother, Ma Carter
Booster Gold's 20th-century ancestor, Daniel Carter
Booster Gold's "daughter," Rani
Booster Gold's boss (and son), Rip Hunter
Booster Gold's secretary, Trixie Collins
Booster Gold's business manager, Dirk Davis
Vice President of Booster Gold International, Mackenzie Garrison
Booster Gold's first love, Monica Lake
Booster Gold's first foe, Blackguard
creators of the Booster Gold comic book, Benny and Marty
the voice of Booster Gold's conscience, Nurse Devlin
the brilliant scientist who created Goldstar, Jack Soo
the mad scientist who hacked Skeets, Doctor Shocker
the bomber who almost killed Booster Gold, Mister Twister

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: people in his neighborhood rani supporting characters

Friday, July 28, 2023

A Reader's Guide to Michelle Carter

Not so long ago, I was asked where a new reader interested in learning more about Michael "Booster" Carter's twin sister, Michelle, should start. That's a pretty reasonable request, if an especially rare one.

Michelle doesn't have many fans who haven't already read a bunch of Booster Gold comics, mostly because Michelle really hasn't appeared in all that many comics.† She's never appeared in a book without Booster in it.

In fact, she doesn't even appear in her first appearance! That's because we first see her portrait in a holographic globe alongside the twins' mother in Booster Gold Volume 1 #5.

© DC Comics

Michelle's early life in the 25th-century is seen via brief glimpses during Booster Gold origin-story flashbacks in (ordered chronologically relative to Michelle's life) Booster Gold Volume 2 #0, Secret Origins #35, Justice League Quarterly #10, and Booster Gold Volume 1 #6.

We don't get to meet Michelle in person until Booster Gold Volume 1 #15, when like a God in the Machine, she descends from the heavens to save her brother's life (plus the lives of Rip Hunter, Jack Soo, and original Goldstar Trixie Collins) and return with them to the 20th-century. Not bad, so far as grand first entrances go.

© DC Comics

Now living in the "present" day, Michelle takes over the Goldstar costume from Trixie and appears in most following issues of Volume 1 until the unfortunate events of Booster Gold #22 where — spoiler alert — she dies.

But being the twin sister of a Time Master means that there's always time for more adventures. Michelle is granted a reprieve in Booster Gold Volume 2 #1,000,000.

© DC Comics

Thereafter she played a recurring spring role in many issues of Booster Gold Volume 2, Time Masters: Vanishing Point, and Convergence.

We haven't seen her since Rebirth-Death Metal-Infinite Frontier-Dark Crisis fully restored the DC Multiverse, but we can be sure that she's still out there helping her brother make the world(s) a better place.

For more information about Michelle, read my "Character Spotlight on Michelle Carter."

† Michelle has appeared in a total of 42 comics since her debut in 1986. Most were written by her creator, Dan Jurgens. The rest were by Mark Waid, Geoff Johns & Jeff Katz, Chuck Dixon, Rick Remender, J.M. DeMatteis & Keith Giffen, and Jeff King & Scott Lobdell.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: goldstar michelle carter supporting characters

Monday, December 20, 2021

Character Spotlight on Benny and Marty

The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at two of those, Benny and Marty.

The People in His Neighborhood: spotlighting the characters who have made Booster Gold such a star

From the moment Booster Gold made his public debut, publisher Skip Andrews realized the larger-than-life hero would be a perfect addition to the Blaze Comics universe of characters. And thus did Andrews unwittingly set in motion the events that would lead to the death of his star writer/artist team of Benny Lindgren and Marty Kramer.

This is their story.

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #4
, 1986

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #7
, 1986

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #9
, 1986

© DC Comics
Booster Gold #10
, 1986

Being a comic book creator is a dangerous life!

By the way, in 2015, I asked Booster Gold writer Dan Jurgens whether Benny and Marty were based on real world New Teen Titans creators Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Jurgens answered:

I wouldn't go that far with Benny and Marty, though there may be a hint of truth to it. In a way, they were based more on the idea of team books and their creative teams of that era.

Thanks, Dan. And thanks to Marv and George for being so inspiring!

Are you interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Follow these links to get to know Mrs. Carter, Daniel Carter, Michelle Carter, Trixie Collins, Nurse Devlin, Dirk Davis, Rani, Skeets, Jack Soo, Mackenzie Garrison, Rip Hunter, Monica Lake, Doctor Shocker, Blackguard, and Mister Twister.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: benny and marty dan jurgens george perez marv wolfman people in his neighborhood supporting characters

Monday, November 1, 2021

Character Spotlight on Mister Twister

The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Mister Twister.

The People in His Neighborhood: spotlighting the characters who have made Booster Gold such a star

Who is Mister Twister, you ask? Here's the man himself, from his first (and so far only) confrontation with Booster Gold in 1987's Booster Gold #5:

© DC Comics

That Mister Twister was a "bizarre lunatic" with a giant bomb who attempted to hold the Metropolis Mammoths ice hockey team and its arena full of fans hostage for $3,000,000.

But was he really "The one, the only"? It's hard to tell.

As it happens, the very first person to use the alias Mister Twister was a novelist named Dan Judd who took to a life of crime and bedeviled Superman... in 1946 on Earth-2!

© DC Comics

Judd was only as criminal as was necessary to get material for his book, and hung up his alter ego when his manuscript was published. For more details on this bit of alternate-Earth history, track down a copy of Action Comics #96!

Many years later, someone more significant — and much more malignant — would adopt the name Mister Twister. His story began when the government of a typical American community called Hatton Corners declined to respect a contract made by their founders.

© DC Comics
The Brave and the Bold #54, 1964

When Hatton Corners didn't make good its debt, Bromwell "Brom" Stikk did what any wronged landowner would do: he used mysticism to control the weather and enslave the town's teenagers!

© DC Comics

Unfortunately for Stikk, Hattons Corners' teenagers had friends in the teenaged sidekicks of the Justice League. Mister Twister ultimately proved no match for Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. The teens' teamwork in saving Hatton Corners paved the way for the formation of the Teen Titans, but the horrible Mister Twister was arrested by the authorities and would not be seen again for some time, at least not as Bromwell Stikk.

When Twister finally reappeared in the months after the Crisis on Infinite Earths re-wrote the entire DC Universe in 1985, his mystical powers had been replaced by technology. Twister's face and powers may have changed, but his methodology hadn't. His goal was still holding young men and women hostage for money. And he was still no match for sidekicks.

© DC Comics

Was this mad bomber calling himself "Mister Twister" the post-Crisis incarnation of Bromwell Stikk? It's possible. It certainly wouldn't be the craziest twist in Stikk's story.

Years after the Metroplex bombing attempt, the Teen Titans would learn (in Secret Origins Annual #3, 1989) that their longtime foe Gargoyle was actually Stikk disguised and empowered by a cosmic entity called the Antithesis. Stikk would finally free himself from the Antithesis' control and beg Roy Harper for forgiveness for his past wickedness (in Justice League of America #16, 2008).

As so often happens in the DCU, past wickedness would not be forgotten, and Mister Twister was reborn again in the wake of Convergence as a literal demon — and the explanation for why the New 52 Titans hadn't remembered their past adventures together.

© DC ComicsTitans Hunt #8, 2016

Even as a demon, Mister Twister was defeated by a team of former sidekicks. Some things *never* change.

Are you interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Follow these links to get to know Mrs. Carter, Daniel Carter, Michelle Carter, Trixie Collins, Nurse Devlin, Dirk Davis, Rani, Skeets, Jack Soo, Mackenzie Garrison, Rip Hunter, Monica Lake, Doctor Shocker, and Blackguard.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: mister twister people in his neighborhood supporting characters teen titans


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