In this week's final issue of Justice League: Last Ride, when the chips are down and the cavalry is needed, in rides Green Lantern with an army of lantern-constructs of everyone who has ever been in the Justice League.

How do we know it's the whole league? Take a look:

story by Chip Zdarsky, art by Miguel Mendonça, Enrica Angiolini, Andworld Design

They're all there, every lesser-known leaguer from Aztek to Zatanna. There's even a Blue Beetle! So even though we don't see a construct of Booster Gold, he has to be in there somewhere, right?

That means that, technically, Booster Gold arrives on the scene to save the day! Whoo-hoo!

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Blue and Gold #4 was originally solicited for October 19, but when issue 3 slid to October 12, it was easy to see that that issue 4 would be significantly off target, too. Expect to see it next week.

In the meantime, may I suggest that you read a book. Maybe the kind without pictures. Perhaps a book like The Death and Life of Superman (1993, ISBN 0-553-09582-X) by Action Comics writer Roger Stern?

You'll find this historic passage early in Chapter 8:

Now that's what I call literature!

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Up front, let me say that I bought two copies of the first issue of Human Target, one by Greg Smallwood — showing Booster Gold's fist! — and one by Hairsine, Miki and Beredo — showing Booster Gold's leg! (I like to think of them as parts of a "Build-A-Figure" cover.) Having read the issue, I do not regret that decision.

However, that should not mean that I'm ready to endorse the story based on the first issue alone. I am on record as no fan of Tom King's storytelling, especially in reference to the way he handles Booster Gold. It is very clear that King and I have very different interpretations of the character (and most of the other inhabitants of the DC Universe).

Earlier this week, King was interviewed by Jenna Anderson for comicbook.com, and he explained why he chose the Justice League International for his story:

"What Giffen and DeMatteis put into these characters, they all feel very fleshed out," King added. "They all feel very real. When you picture them in your head, you just see that Kevin Maguire face looking up at you. They're very easy and very fun to write. The thing I most love to do in comics is to take silly ideas seriously and find the depths in them, and that concept was all over this — the idea that these little silly flaws that are implanted in these characters actually show real heart and real depth. Like I wrote this thing for Booster, why Booster's good. And the idea is, Human Target expressed my opinion on Booster as 'Booster is a joke. He makes mistakes all the time, but he doesn't hide them. He shows himself. He is himself. Booster is Booster. Yeah, he's a joke, but everyone is. At least Booster's funny.' That kind of stuff is incredibly fun to do. These characters have such potential — each one of them could launch their own series."

Ahem. Almost all of them have launched a series. Or two. Or more.

I have to admit, I can kind of see where King is coming from calling Booster "a joke." Yes, he has some terrible ideas, and yes, he takes advantage of his friends, and he even occasionally misjudges his own abilities. But those traits could just as easily describe Batman.

Maybe it's my incredible dissatisfaction with the way King depicted Booster Gold during his run on Batman or my anger at the horrible handling of the promotion and resolution of Heroes in Crisis that make me suspicious that Booster will be treated badly by Human Target. But at least I can rest assured that this will be the last time King will use Booster in a story, right?

King continued. "Booster Gold [is] my favorite character to write in all of fiction — who is always trying to do good, and always slipping on the banana peel."

Grr. You can't always get what you want. Sometimes, you can't even get what you need.

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Tom King is up to his old tricks in today's Human Target #1. Someone has tried to kill Lex Luthor, and who are the usual suspects? Hint:

Art by Greg Smallwood

I wonder which character will need a rehabilitation mini-series this time?

Booster Gold's arm is on the standard cover, and his legs are on the variant. Buy either one and make Skeets happy!

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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.

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:

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

Titans 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.

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