Big announcement today about our favorite hero coming to HBO! Says the press release:

The story will center on Booster Gold, a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest super hero of all time. Instead of chasing criminals, however, his main priority is chasing fame and money. But Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile, and that the future doesn't happen without first protecting the present.

Oh, wait. Sorry. That one was from the press release from 2011 when Booster Gold was coming to SyFy. Obviously, that one never materialized. I'm sure this new one by *checks notes* James Gunn is totally better and will really happen this time.

Don't let my snark fool you. I'm pleased as punch that Booster might be finally coming to a... whatever screen it is you can watch HBO Max on. Tablet? Cell phone? That seems appropriate for Booster.

You can see for yourself Gunn's announcement of DCEU "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" — which one is Booster? God or monster? — on Youtube.com, and you can read a pretty good write-up about what all it entails on Variety.com. In both Gunn describes the upcoming Booster story as:

Booster Gold is one of comics really popular cult heroes. He is a fascinating guy. He is a loser from the future who uses future technology to come back to present day and become a superhero so that people will love him. It is basically a superhero story of Impostor Syndrome on an HBO Max series.

That does sound like an angle that HBO would want to tackle. And I don't disagree with that take on the character, although I might have worded it a little differently. Personally, I prefer how Booster's creator Dan Jurgens described his hero to Russ Burlingame at ComicBook.com:

With a character like Booster, who's more complex that many people realize, clarity is essential. Many writers have made the mistake of treating him like an idiot, which he most certainly isn't. It's just that his journey from problem to solution sometimes gets a bit tangled up, which is what happens to most of us in our own lives.

Heck, that might be the best, most succinct description of Booster Gold ever. Nobody gets him like Dan does.

If the ten different projects Gunn mentioned are released in order, it sounds like we shouldn't expect Booster Gold sooner than 2025. We've all got plenty of time to get excited.

Thanks to all who made sure I knew the news.

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A primary motivation for my maintenance of this blog promoting DC Comics' Booster Gold is to build a catalog of Booster references outside the world of comic books. So, of course, when I saw yesterday's CBR.com article, "Going For Gold: Booster Gold's Long History Of TV Appearances," I knew I'd have to mention it here.

The article briefly covers the television shows that have included significant Booster Gold appearances, from Justice League Unlimited (2004) to Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2009) to Teen Titans Go!, which gave Booster his first speaking part just this year. It also mentions Booster's two live-action appearances, in the final season Smallville episode "Booster" (2011) and the final season Legends of Tomorrow episode "Knocked Down, Knocked Up" (2022), which had a very, very brief follow-up in The Flash episode "Impulsive Excessive Disorder."

To its credit, the article contains no inaccuracies. However, I expected more, especially considering that there really aren't that many televised Booster Gold appearances. Boosterrific.com maintains a whole page tracking them. I mean, while the article spends a whole paragraph on an obscure cameo appearance in from the 2006 Legion of Super-Heroes, it doesn't mention other cameos in Cartoon Networks' MAD or DC Super Hero Girls. Oh, well, we can't have everything.

If we wanted everything, we'd have to mention things like Booster's 52 cover cameo in MTV's long-forgotten The Hard Times of RJ Berger or Booster's participation the 2012 Robot Chicken DC Comics Special. By the way, Booster almost had a speaking part in that one, a sketch in which he badly defends *not* going back in time and killing Hitler. The sketch was cut for being "too talky," but you can currently see it on Youtube (starting at 5:34).

Anyway, nitpicks aside, I offer congratulations to article writer Alex Russell for spreading the gospel of Booster Gold to those who may not be inclined to read comic books. Russell is a real Booster booster whose CBR bio says he's "still waiting on a Booster Gold movie." You and me both, buddy.

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Booster booster Marty writes

not sure if anyone's tipped you off to this yet, but booster had a speaking appearance in a recent episode of teen titans go! (season 7, episode 46, "TV Knight 7") i can't speak to the quality of the episode as a whole as i've only seen the relevant part (i.e. where booster was on screen), but i'll admit to getting a chuckle or two out of it.

I found some confusion as to whether "TV Knight 7" is Teen Titans Go! season 7 episode 46 as reported on Fandom.com or episode 45 as counted by CartoonNetwork.com. Whatever number it is, it does indeed give Booster Gold his first speaking part in the series.

The Cartoon Network link above will take you to a preview of the episode, in which you can hear Booster in action, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Unlike Marty, I have watched the entire episode, written by Luke Cormican and Josh Weisbrod and directed by Cormican. It's got a real Robot Chicken feel to it, and like most anthologies, its short, unconnected gags — a Mad-style blend of television and comics tropes — can be a bit hit or miss. I thought the Booster Gold segment was the episode's highlight, but I admit I may have a bit of a bias there.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll thank Marty for bringing this to your attention.

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Today is a slow news day, so I'll take this opportunity to clean out my "images to post" folder and share this Special Director's Cutâ„¢ panel that didn't make the final edit in my annual April Fools Day post.

Booster Gold #2 (1986)

Yeah, that probably deserved to stay on the cutting room floor. Oh well. They can't all be winners, can they, CW?

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Two months ago, we learned how DC's Legends of Tomorrow executive producers Phil Klemmer and showrunner Keto Shimizu got DC to agree to allow Booster Gold to finally appear on their show.

Late last week, we learned why.

In response to fans questions on Twitter, Shimizu herself tweeted:

DC was in our corner trying to help our chances of renewal. They and WB wanted us to survive. We were asked for a new character to "excite" the audience, and attract more viewers. We requested Booster and DC agreed. It was all in an attempt to save the show.

That's right: they were counting on Booster Gold to help save them. And Booster failed.

As a Booster Gold fan, I should probably point out if you want to stir up public support, it would definitely help to actually tell us in advance to tune in to see our hero. (Early notices only teased a fallen hero whose "golden years are in the rearview mirror.") It's also really hard to boost week-over-week ratings if a character appears only in the season finale. (Booster's episode, "Knocked Up, Knocked Down," had the second-smallest audience of the season; the next-to-last episode was the smallest, meaning Booster actually did bring it up somewhat, and I certainly would have watched the following week if there had been one.)

That said, failure is kind of Booster's story, right? His heart is always in the right place, but he often overestimates his own abilities while underestimating the consequences, sometimes making a bad situation worse. Sometimes much worse. Cancellation worse.

However, Booster Gold's most sterling quality is that he is no quitter. After ruining the day, he'll dust himself off, take ownership of what he did wrong, and set out to make it right. It's the prototypical hero's journey. Everyone loves a redemption story.

And that's why I'm now strongly hoping that Legends of Tomorrow does find a way to return to the screen, at least long enough to give its fans the ending they deserve. We can all rest assured that Booster Gold will continue working behind the scenes until he has helped all those who need rescuing. Because that's what real heroes do.

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