In the wake of DC Cybernetic Summer, the past week has become all about Blue and Gold, so now would seem to be the appropriate time for me to make my argument in defense of their canonical, platonic relationship. In a nutshell, I say not everything has to be about sex.

In published canon, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle have been inseparable since the very first year of Justice League International stories. Their intimate platonic love, better known as "friendship," has been the basis for a lot of stories in the decades since in no small part because everyone enjoys spending time with people who so very much enjoy spending time with one other. We like Blue and Gold because they like Blue and Gold, and that's great.

Romantic love is also great. Who doesn't enjoy a good love story where two people find that they each complement the other and form a lasting paired set? Everyone wants to live happily ever after.

But not every great relationship has to be a romantic one. The difference between platonic and romantic love is physical. It's natural for a human to seek out romantic love; we're biologically programmed to want to reproduce. However, a sexual relationship isn't a prerequisite for lifelong happiness, and an intimate emotional connection needn't be merely a stepping stone to a consummated marriage. Perhaps I've read too many chivalric fantasies, but I happen to think that sort of chaste, close relationship is just as worthy of celebration as the romantic kind.

So let Booster Gold date Harley Quinn. (Or not.) But the real love of his life is and always should be Blue Beetle. No romantic feelings or sloppy kisses are necessary to cement that bond.

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DC has been doing their part in COVID-19 pandemic messaging by including "social distancing" PSAs in their comics and shipping posters to comic shops. It's an admirable incentive to get important information to superhero fans, but I think their choice of spokespersons could use some improvement.

One poster features Superman and Wonder Woman playing tug o' war. As much as I admire their wisdom, they aren't the pair I would pick to pose for an anti-virus PSA. He's invulnerable and she's immortal. Their unique talents are better used preventing authoritarian armies from trampling peaceful protesters than preaching to the public about the dangers of airborne pestilence particles.

Another poster tries again with Batman and Robin. Two of the things that Batman is most famous for are 1) not being much of a hugger, and 2) never wearing a mask over his mouth. He might the world's greatest detective, but a reclusive man who dresses like a mouth-breathing flying rat is probably not the guy we need leading the charge of a public education campaign.

While I applaud all those heroes' good intentions, I think if you want to sell people on the importance of maintaining a six-foot halo to impair the spread of communicable disease, the spokespersons you need should be both vulnerable and relatable. And a healthy sense of humor would certainly help their delivery.

Hmm. Do we know any heroes who fit that bill? You bet we do!

Art by Kevin Maguire via Antonio Perianes at comicartfans.com, template by DC Comics

Fixed it for you, DC.

Do what Booster and Beetle say. They've only got your best interest at heart.

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Curious what enduring friendship looks like? Look no further than DC Cybernetic Summer #1, "Boys of Summer by Heath Corson, Scott Koblish, et al.

Blue and Gold Now:

+1 Year:

+10 Years:

+20 Years:

+30 Years:

+40 Years:

Unapologetically silly and sincere, this is my favorite kind of super hero comic story. The way comics are packaged and sold these days, it could only appear in one of DC's seasonal anthology books, so a hearty thanks to DC Cybernetic Summer for making the space for it.

If you don't have your own yet, inquire at your Local Comic Shop. This comic is 100% Boosterrific.

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"Is Harley Quinn The Mother of Booster Gold's Son?"

That's the question that Russ Burlingame asks and tries to answer in an article this week on ComicBook.com. As he puts it:

That is, an older, future version of Booster Gold once revealed that he has a son. In fact, his son is Rip Hunter who, because of the magic of time-travel, is one of Booster's mentors in the whole Time Masters business. So, as with any woman who enters into a relationship with Booster, we have to ask: does this mean Harley could be Rip Hunter's mom?

Essentially, Burlingame is tugging at the dangling plot thread first teased in Time Masters: Vanishing Point, a mini-series published 10 years ago. The history of the DC universe has been rebooted at least three times since then. And Harley Quinn has always played by its own continuity rules anyway. Why does that decade-old, unanswered thread still itch?

Like the final fate of Amelia Earhart or the purpose behind the heads on Easter Island, it's the unanswered mysteries that continue to hold our attention even when the truth probably doesn't really matter anymore.

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Released yesterday to a Local Comic Shop near you: DC Cybernetic Summer #1, including Booster Gold & Blue Beetle [and Skeets] in "The Boys of Summer" by Heath Corson, Scott Koblish, Hi-Fi, and Carlos M. Mangual.

CBR.com has the issue preview, but with Skeets on the cover, I'm sure you don't need it. (Which is good, because neither Booster nor Skeets is actually in the preview. Just Batman. Because Batman = DC Comics. I mean, who else would they let drive that Metal Men Jeep? Superman doesn't even own a car. Speaking of which, who formed the tires? It must be that newest Metal Man: Steel-Belted Radials.)

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

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