As webmaster of the Internet's premiere website dedicated solely to Booster Gold, I get several automated lists a week keeping me informed of Booster Gold references around the World Wide Web.

Some of these notifications are useful; others, less so. Automated bots and the rise of aggregator websites generally mean that I have a bunch of gibberish links to sort through each week. But they're not my least favorite return. That dishonor belongs to CBR.com listicles, especially when they're wrong.

Take, for example, "10 Superheroes With Siblings We All Forget About," which includes Booster Gold at number 6:

Seeing old news reports of her older brother being a big-time superhero in the 21st century, Michelle Carter decided to follow his path and become a hero herself. Calling herself Goldstar, Michelle's superhero career didn't last nearly as long as Booster's. After Booster's future suit was destroyed by Doomsday, he repurposed his sister's to build a new one.

That's wrong.

Goldstar's Jack Soo-created costume had nothing to do with Booster's post-Doomsday powersuits (most designed by tech wizard Ted Kord). Not only did Booster never show any hint of Goldstar's magnetism powers, that one-of-a-kind suit was seen destroyed during Michelle's fatal encounter with the Dimension X aliens in Booster Gold #22.

Another incorrect fact is reported in "10 DC Characters Who Have Never Actually Died," which lists Booster at 8:

He has faked his death before, but he's never actually died, which is a pretty big accomplishment for someone who has fought the kind of threats he has; whether it be against the enemies of the Justice League or saving the timestream, Booster Gold does one thing better than mostーsurvives.

That's also wrong, if only by technicalities.

An ill-fated confrontation on Mount Everest between Booster Gold and the villainous Devastator left our hero in such bad shape that the world's best surgeons couldn't save him. He was pronounced clinically dead in Justice League International #65.

Booster Gold cheated death in that situation thanks to the coincidental intervention of the Overmaster, who stopped everyone on the planet from dying until he was defeated, by which time Booster was safely strapped into new life-supporting armor designed by — guess who? — the Blue Beetle, Ted Kord.

But Beetle wasn't around to save Booster in 52 Week 15. Sure, there were some time-travel shenanigans in that story, but it's hard to argue that someone is "faking" death when you're looking at his actual corpse.

Which brings us to perhaps my least favorite of the recent listicles, "10 Unlikable DC Heroes You're Supposed To Root For," which once again puts Booster Gold at number 8.

He's also done quite a bit to mess up the DC timeline. As annoying as he is with pulling pranks and constantly searching to get paid from big sponsorships, he has also selfishly made small adjustments that had drastic effects on the universe.

That's... reasonably accurate, assuming you ignore the fact that Booster has always admitted to and cleaned up after his own mistakes.

From the beginning, Booster Gold was *designed* to be unlikable. That's pretty much the original point of the character: Could a flawed person in a flawed society still be a force for good? Booster Gold is Dan Jurgens' answer.

What's really wrong with this listicle is buried all the way at the end of the article. While I might personally argue with the inclusion of several of the other heroes on this highly subjective list, number one on the countdown is none other than Superman, declared unlikable for "being near perfect in his morals and his abilities." How could anyone with the compassion and drive to help advance mankind ethically be "unlikable"? Boring, maybe. Sometimes preachy and often square, sure. But even Booster Gold *likes* Superman!

Booster Gold #6

Make up your mind, CBR. If you hate on Booster for being too flawed and Superman for being too perfect, all you're saying is that you don't really like comic book super heroes. Around here, nothing could be more wrong than that.

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No Booster Gold comics this week, but Cort has come to our rescue with new entries in his Booster Gold sketchbook!

Let's take a peek inside (with Cort's commentary):

Brett Booth

Got this beauty from Brett Booth. The staggering detail in the background is awesome. Beetle being hidden in there made me laugh.

Bart Sears

A Bart Sears Booster commish I got for supporting the Hero Initiative, also got to chat with Sears, it was pretty rad.

Yale Stewart

A wicked and stylish, smug, and funny Booster from Yale Stewart of JL8 fame.

If you want to see even more of Cort's sketchbook, visit imgur.com.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: bart sears brett booth commissions cort carpenter fan art heroinitiative.com jl8 yale stewart

Last week, we considered the question:

Who is... Gold Beetle in Future State?

Thanks to GamesRadar.com, we now have the beginning of an answer. As we suspected, she very much looks to have something to do with Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. Perhaps their great-great-great-something granddaughter? (The 30th century is very far away.)

THE FLASH #769
written by JEREMY ADAMS
art by DAVID LaFUENTE
and BRANDON PETERSON
cover by BRANDON PETERSON
card stock variant cover by ZI XU
After an accident pushes Wally West into the time stream, the former Kid Flash lands in the body of his onetime partner, Impulse. Now sprinting through the 30th century side by side with the mysterious (and, yeah, ridiculous) Gold Beetle, Wally must uncover what's causing the destructive explosions that keep propelling him through time and the bodies of other speedsters.
On sale April 20, $3.99 US
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US

So now we know that Gold Beetle won't be appearing until *after* Future State runs its two-month course. Unless she gets a cameo appearance at the end of Future State: The Flash #2, which I suppose we'll know when that issue is released on February 2.

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When we were growing up, my brother had a collection of Mr. Men books and merchandise. I distinctly recall forcing Mr. Bump playing the role of mutant burn victim in our G.I. Joe Mobile Command Center.

It seems I'm not the only one with a fond appreciation for the Mr. Men / Little Miss series. Over on DeviantArt.com, artist DCMrMenLittleMiss has been rendering DC heroes and villains in Mr. Men's distinctive style. Including, of course, Booster Gold:

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Booster Gold.

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Believe it or not, this is the first week in the past nine that hasn't included a comic released from DC with a Booster Gold appearance. That's over two solid months of Booster Gold. Boosterrific!

To put that in perspective, there was a time not so long ago where we'd go months and months between Booster Gold panels. There was a 112 day break as recently as 2019, a 119 day break between issues in 2018, a 238 day break in 2017, and a 161 day break in 2016. The record, of course, is the 413 day break that began in 2015. Yee-ouch.

Say what you will about how horrible 2020 was — and I assure you, I have — but at least Booster boosters had something to read.

Booster Gold #7, 1986

We love it, too, Dirk.

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