If we're going to find out who Black Beetle is, we have to start with a few basic assumptions, the first and foremost of which is that such a deduction is possible. If Black Beetle is someone we've never met before, any further detective work is folly. Fortunately for us, this primary assumption is reinforced by genre convention as well as on panel in Booster Gold #17 (in Scar's vision of the future) and Booster Gold #25 (when Skeets scans Black Beetle). Therefore, it's fairly safe to say that we'll know who Black Beetle is when we finally meet him (especially since that's what Dan Jurgens has said, according to "Gold Exchange" columnist Russ Burlingame in 2009).

Assuming that Black Beetle is likely to be someone we already know, we can begin our list of suspects with characters who have already crossed the path of Booster Gold. That includes characters we are really familiar with, like:

Let's start here, if for no other reason than to scratch it off the list. There is almost no reason to believe this is possible.

Yes, in Booster Gold #10, Black Beetle insists that Ted Kord must not die, but that's probably not self-preservation so much as it is hatred of Jaime Reyes. Yes, in Booster Gold #25, Black Beetle teases Jaime about a future meeting with Ted Kord, but that's a tease about the upcoming "Blackest Night" event crossover, not his own future. And yes, someone broke into Kord Industries in Booster Gold #1,000,000, but that was probably Booster Gold from the future, not an evil Ted Kord.

Besides, Ted is dead. Introducing Ted Kord as Jaime Reyes' greatest enemy in the middle of an adventure in which Booster Gold breaks time in order to save Ted Kord... well, that's a hard sell, even in a comic book about time paradoxes.

No, if any Blue Beetle is the Black Beetle:

In Booster Gold #10, Black Beetle calls himself Jaime Reyes' greatest enemy. He claims to have the same alien Reach scarab as the other Blue Beetles (Booster Gold #6), and he's certainly done his homework about the Blue Beetles and their fate (Booster Gold #4 and #5). He even wears a costume that looks strikingly similar to Jaime's. That's all circumstantial evidence at best, but there's more.

The strongest evidence that Black Beetle is Jaime Reyes comes from the Black Beetle himself when he taunts Jaime in Booster Gold #25. To hear Black Beetle tell it, he has traveled back in time to attack Reyes' family in order to ensure that Jaime Reyes is set on the path that will ultimately "turn a future hero into a monster." That would make the Black Beetle the future incarnation of Jaime Reyes himself!

In addition to being another time paradox, it's not the most convincing story. (If the Black Beetle has Jaime's sentient scarab, why doesn't he talk to it or use it in the same ways that Jaime does?) However, it does explain why Black Beetle suddenly materialized from thin air to pointlessly taunt Jaime in the previous issue, and it does tie-in well with the unexpected emergence of bloodlust in Jaime's scarab.

So is the Black Beetle a liar? Probably. But maybe he's lying to disguise a more plausible origin story that he all but confirmed in the previous issue. We'll cover that possibility tomorrow.

[Follow this link to read Part 2 of this series.]

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Remember last month when Bleeding Cool told us that Booster Gold and Blue Beetle would be turning up in Justice League 3000 #12? Well, Vaneta Rogers and Newsarama.com finally confirmed it at 10AM this morning.

Newsarama: Keith, we've been hearing that issue #12 has some new characters that people should be happy to see. And now that issue #12 is about to be solicited, are you ready to reveal who's coming to Justice League 3000?

Keith Giffen: Yes! Booster Gold and Blue Beetle are coming to Justice League 3000, as of issue #12.

I'm not going to keep this a secret anymore. I mean, if Beetle and Booster are coming back, we should scream it from the rooftops, right? Maybe more people will buy it who are Beetle and Booster fans, and not be surprised and miss the issue. So I'm not really big on hiding stuff anymore.

O frabjous day! I'm already reserving a place in line to buy Justice League 3000 #12 when it hits stands in December.

I know that many fans weaned on the Johns/Katz volume of Booster Gold don't care for Giffen/DeMatteis' take, and that's okay. However, even the news that Justice League 3000 takes place in an alternate universe free from the shenanigans of the New 52 fills me with unbridled glee.

This revelation means that despite all of DC's posturing in recent years over the inviolability of the New 52, the multiverse — or hypertime or elseworlds or whatever you want to call it — is alive and well and somewhere the "real" Justice League International continues its never-ending battle for truth, justice, and a little bit of respect! Somewhere, Wally West is still the Fastest Man Alive and Captain Atom isn't Dr. Manhattan.

It also means that somewhere, Michelle, Rani, and Rip Hunter are running from rampaging dinosaurs, and that the Black Beetle and Rex Hunter could return to take their revenge on Booster Gold's wife. What's not to love?

For complete details, I recommend that you read the rest of the article at Newsarama.com.

EDIT: This post original ran on Friday, September 12 at 4PM EDT.

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Recently, I received an email from Ryan Sias:

"the fact dc never resolved who the Black beetle is still haunts me. ... I was wondering if you had any idea or if you could post something on the blog and as a group we could figure it out."

That's a good suggestion, Ryan. It's been over six years since Black Beetle first appeared in Booster Gold #4 to muck with time and more than three years since his last appearance. It's about time someone got around to discovering the truth of Black Beetle's secret identity. Perhaps Booster Gold's fans can solve the mystery that eluded our hero.

Starting Monday, I'll begin walking through the clues scattered throughout issues of Booster Gold to see where they lead. Do you have a theory? If so, feel free to leave them in the comments. (How else are you going to be able to gloat when we prove you right?)

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When some people win the lottery, they buy a house. I'd hire George Perez to redraw Crisis on Infinite Earths with every character replaced by Booster Gold.

Last week's poll question: How much do you spend a year on commissioned art from comic artists? (40 votes)

I know that I've devoted a bunch of posts to Smallville Season 11 recently, but that's because it's the only place we've been seeing Booster Gold. Would you rather that I ignored them?

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Did you buy Smallville: Chaos online? If you've been waiting for the print versions, be aware that Chapters 4 through 6 are coming to your LCS today as Smallville Season 11: Chaos #2.

In this issue, Booster doesn't have a steady spotlight, but we do get to see him in battle against Lex Luthor's Yellow Lantern Corps!

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

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