On Monday, I mentioned that Booster Gold: The Big Fall is released today. But that's not the only place you'll spot Booster Gold in your Local Comic Shop this week. Take along an extra $6 for the Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis #1

This one-shot issue is essentially an Elseworlds tale, re-imagining the unfortunate events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005) and its aftermath which took place in Scott Snyder's Dark Multiverse. The advance solicitation text (available at CBR.com) promises a prominent role for Booster Gold:

DC's mega-event "Infinite Crisis" saw the destruction of the Trinity, the rise of Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime, and the rebirth of the Multiverse...but it all started with Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, who saw it all coming and died with secrets that could've saved the world. But...things happened differently in the Dark Multiverse! Not only does Blue Beetle survive- he thrives! And after killing Maxwell Lord himself, Ted sets off a chain of events that irreversibly alters the lives of the Justice League and his best friend, Booster Gold. In trying to prevent a crisis, Blue Beetle becomes the Crisis...and the Dark Multiverse will never be the same.

There are no happy endings in the aptly named "dark" universe, so don't expect this What If...?-style story to be a positive for Booster or his buddy. (Think "Blue & Gold" from Booster Gold #0 to #1 Million but grimmer and grittier.)

If you have the stomach for it, buy this issue and make Dark Skeets happy.

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Booster Gold makes good clickbait. At least, that's what I deduce based on his inclusion in several recent lists at CBR.com.

First, Scoot Allan has compiled his "10 Of The Most 90s Costumes In Comic Book History." Booster gets a brief shout out in this list under item 5: Power Armor.

Armor was also really big in the 90s, with all kinds of heroes modifying their outfits into bulkier robotic Iron Man knock-offs. ... DC's Booster Gold also received a bulky version of his old superhero suit when he joined the equally 90s Justice League spin-off, Extreme Justice. The reasons for his bulkier suit made a bit more sense, as the materials needed to properly fix his futuristic suit didn't exist yet.

This isn't exactly wrong, though it does makes it sound as if two years didn't pass between Superman #74 and Extreme Justice #0. But I won't quibble with anyone showing Extreme Justice-era Booster some love.

Our hero comes in at 6 on J. Richland Anderson's list of "DC: 10 Characters Fans Hated At First (& Grew to Love)."

For a while, it seemed as though DC didn't know which direction to take Booster Gold in. While some were fans of his unique approach to crime fighting, some weren't too keen on his personality. It wasn't until Booster's backstory was developed in his second solo series where his character really began to take off.

After his motivations and relationship with his father were established, Booster suddenly became a much more interesting character. Though he still had some loyal fans from the time of his debut, more people began to warm up to him after he was more fleshed out. Today, Booster is a welcome experience in many books. Though he still makes his fair share of irresponsible mistakes, Booster's fun, lovable personality help brighten any book.

"Booster suddenly became a much more interesting character"? As one of Booster's "loyal fans," let me say only that I found Booster's "fun, lovable personality" clearly evident even in his early series. (That doesn't count as a quibble, does it?)

And finally, Booster appears in Brian Cronin's list of "2019 Top DC Characters", where he placed 31 out of 100 in a fan vote. In addition to pointing out that Booster was created to be different than other DC characters of his era, Cronin also explicitly reminds that the Bwah-Ha-Ha Era of the Justice League International was incredibly successful.

He eventually joined Justice League International, where he became good friends with Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle. The two men had a number of money-making schemes, including their infamous casino plot. ... "Blue and Gold" was very popular with the fans and at one point, they were one of the most in-demand pairings at DC Comics.

That's a lot of lists! No matter which you prefer, know that the one thing you can always count on is that there are some great Booster Gold comic books from every era out there for you to enjoy.

UPDATE November 2: CBR keeps on rolling. Paul DiSalvo adds Booster Gold at number 7 on his list of "The 10 Best Comedy Relief Superheroes in Comics". Indeed.

UPDATE November 5: And now Shawn S. Lealos uses Booster Gold as his example of ENFP in "DC: MBTI Of The Justice League." What do those acronyms mean? Shawn doesn't explain them, so let's just assume they're good things.

UPDATE November 12: Booster is number 10 in J. Richland Anderson's "10 DC Characters Who Are Way Smarter Than They Let On." Shazam is weirdly #2. I never thought Captain Marvel played stupid — he's a bit naive, not dumb — but then I didn't make the list, either.

UPDATE December 9: Why am I still tracking these? Booster is in Karlton Jahmal's list of "5 DC Heroes Wolverine Would Team Up With (& 5 He Would Hate)." Frankly, Booster has far more to worry about than whether or not Wolverine would like him. Doesn't everyone?

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If you're the sort of person who enjoys Internet listicles, you may have noticed a recent trend. To the delight of Booster boosters everywhere, our hero may finally be getting the respect he deserves.

First we present CBR.com's list of "5 DC Heroes Deadpool Could Defeat (& 5 He Couldn't)" by Chris White. Number 3 on the tougher-than-Deadpool side of the equation is Booster Gold.

He can harness super strength and fire powerful force blasts thanks to his gauntlets, and not only that, his force field belt would stop Deadpool's physical attacks in their tracks and launch him into the air with great force. Booster Gold withstood an attack from Doomsday, so he'd easily repel DP's advances.

I pause only to point out that Booster has actually survived Doomsday twice! See Superman #74 and Booster Gold #45 for details.

Elsewhere, ScreenRant.com offers "The 10 Most Powerful Heroes on Justice League Unlimited, Ranked" by Scoot Allan. Booster makes that list, too! At number 10:

Booster Gold appeared in a number of team fight scenes and missions, he really displayed both his heroism and dedication to the team in "The Greatest Story Never Told." While Booster is working crowd control for the League, he manages to save the world from a separate catastrophe, although he receives none of the credit.

That's a pretty good showing for The Greatest Hero You're Never Heard Of.

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Last weekend, CW president Mark Pedowitz spoke to reporters about his network's plans following the conclusion to Arrow at the end of the 2019-20 season, and he hinted that the replacement show is likely to also take place in the DC Comics-inspired "Arrowverse."

As the Hollywood Reporter reported, Pedowitz said

"There is another property we're looking at for the following season."

As you might expect, that vague tease has sent DC fandom into a bit of a tizzy as everyone developed their own pet theory for what he could have in mind and what they'd like to see. Sites like CinemaBlend.com and CBR have suggested a bunch of possibilities, from Nightwing to the JSA. One name that comes up pretty consistently is, as you might expect, Booster Gold.

Booster seems as good a guess as anything. Arrow executive producer/writer/director Greg Berlanti has tried in the past to get a Booster Gold project off the ground. Last we heard, Booster was still in the works as a movie project at Warner Bros, but who knows?

Maybe this is Booster's opportunity. Maybe it isn't. There are a bunch of deserving DC Comics properties that remain chronically underexposed to mainstream audiences. Who will the lucky winner be? Keep watching the CW to find out.

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"Blue and Gold." It's a simple phrase that means silly good times and brotherhood.

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have been best friends since their earliest days together in the Justice League International, and fans soon took to the shorthand way to reference their unique brand of bromantic hijinks as "Blue and Gold" in letter columns and on issue covers. But when did the phrase first appear within the DC Universe itself?

That's the question that Brian Cronin, long the best part of the website now known as CBR.com, recently answered in his "When We First Met" series.

The answer: Justice League America #53, as spoken by Blue Beetle himself.

words by J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen
art by Chris Wozniak, Bruce D. Patterson, Gene D'Angelo, and Willie Schubert

Actually, the article says it first appears in Justice League America #52, but I just looked into my own long boxes, and I'm certain it was #53. To be fair, the image accompanying the text is for #53, and #53 was indeed the first issue of the "Breakdowns" story as indicated. So we're going to chalk it up to an accidental typo.

Forgiveness is very "Blue and Gold."

UPDATE: Cronin has corrected his typo. Making up for your past mistakes is also very "Blue and Gold."

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