It's been a wild week for Booster Gold fans with Booster making an appearance in one book and Skeets in another.

I'll save my thoughts on Summer of Superman Special #1 for a later post, in part because I want to put some space between now and then because what I have to say about it would definitely count as "spoilers." (Hint: I'm even more frustrated than I was before.)

Skeets' appearance in Challengers of the Unknown Volume 5, #5, on the other hand, well, it can't count as a spoiler because there's nothing to spoil. See for yourself: here it is, panel 1 of page 20 (of 22 in the issue):

That's it. That's Skeets' only appearance in the issue. It's Skeets' only appearance in the whole mini-series.

Story wise, original Challenger Rocky Davis has just been attacked (killed?) by longtime Challengers foe Ultivac just as the new Justice League Unlimited Watchtower explodes. And then... Skeets?

It has to mean something, right? The artists (Sean Izaakse, Amancay Nahuelpan) didn't just decide to place a random, obscure sidekick there that the writer (Christopher Cantwell) didn't ask for and the editors (Chris Rosa, Paul Kaminski) didn't catch. But the story gives no clue what this means other than to suggest that time travel might be involved. Or is it a metaphysical representation of life after death? Or maybe, since we're talking about the past, is it all a dream state? It's all punishingly vague.

Can we grasp at straws? It doesn't make any sense for Rocky to be thinking about Skeets because so far as we know, the pair have never even met. (Skeets was deactivated at the only time Rocky Davis and Booster Gold joined forces on panel in 1992's Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2). Skeets is 25th century (or better) technology with no connection to Ultivac (who was the robot villain of the second published Challengers of the Unknown adventure in Showcase #7 in 1957!). Skeets does not have telepathy and cannot independently time travel without the aid of Rip Hunter's technology. So far as readers are aware, Skeets has been lost somewhere in the Multiverse with (or without) Booster Gold since last year's DC All In Special. (And, although I said I wasn't going to talk about Summer of Superman Special, if the events there are what they appear to be, how could Skeets exist in the 20th century at all?) So what in creation is Booster Gold's robot sidekick doing here?

Maybe it's not Skeets? Maybe it's one of Skeet's outdated exterior casings, such as used to be kept in the previous Justice League watchtower's trophy room (in JLA Secreat Files #2 and Justice League of America Volume 2, #7). In the New 52 era, Skeets was one of a kind, but that was not so before or since; maybe what appears to be Skeets here is just another 25th-century BX9 Security Robot? For all I know, this could be the return of Mr. Mind doing the same Skeets cosplay he wore in the pages of 52.

Or Proty. Yeah, sure, why not. It could be Proty. That would make as much sense as it being Skeets.

According to multiple new sources and despite being solicited as a 6-issue mini-series, Challengers of the Unknown has been canceled after 5 issues, so we're not likely to learn anytime soon why Skeets was here. If anyone does ever turn up a clue, let us know.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: challengers of the unknown new releases skeets

As you may have heard, Superman For All Seasons artist Tim Sale passed away yesterday, which means this panel from Challengers of the Unknown #5 (1991) is as close as we're ever going to get to his take on Booster Gold in a DC publication.

Obviously that's *not* Booster Gold. I can't even find a Booster Gold commission drawn by Sale. If you know of one, please leave a link in the comments. I hate to think that we've permanently missed a chance to get his distinctive take on our favorite hero.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: challengers of the unknown tim sale

Long before they became breakout stars on the Batman: The Long Halloween, the team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale honed their long-form revisionist mysteries style on Challengers of the Unknown.

The limited series focuses on the aftermath of an unintentional tragedy that disbanded the titular Silver Age super team. Booster Gold never appeared in any of the mini-series' 8-issues, but Skeets did. Kind of.

Challengers of the Unknown #5, 1991

Metal Men? Inferior Five? Ragman? Brother Power the Geek? That's quite an odd assortment of lesser-known DC heroes. And that's Guy's point. When he made the statement in 1991, those characters had been barely seen for years.

Other than a single panel cameo alongside other Silver Age castaways in Millennium #8 (1988), the Challengers hadn't been seen since Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986, and few of the others had done much better.

In fact, the only character Guy lists who had accrued any significant post-Crisis continuity was Skeets, who had been the sidekick of DC's first post-Crisis hero in 1986. Skeets was mothballed after the cancellation of Booster Gold volume 1 in 1988 and had ever since been stored in a JLI closet (as revealed in Adventures of Superman #476, 1991).

So while it seems like Guy is just being a jerk to reporter Harold Moffet, I like to think he's really concerned about the missing Skeets' welfare. What a good Guy!

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: challengers of the unknown guy gardner jeph loeb talking booster gold tim sale