DC Comics: Who is Booster Gold?

Booster Gold is “The Greatest Hero You’ve Never Heard Of” and despite his off-putting “charisma,” his obscurity is actually intentional. His story is complicated and strange, but once you can push past the arrogant facade, there’s quite a bit of depth to this hero and his robotic sidekick.

Since James Gunn’s recent DCU announcement promised a series about Booster Gold, there’s no better time to learn about him than now. So, let’s dive into this hero’s history and discover who Michael Carter really is.

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Football Star

Michael Carter was born on December 29, 2442. And even that far in the future, some things remain constant. Just like Cyborg, Michael was the star football player in Gotham. He was practically famous and earned himself the nickname Booster. Michael was set to hit the big leagues one day, but his mother was sick and the hospital bills were expensive. There was no time to wait until the big leagues to make big league money, so he came up with a plan. 

Booster decided he would bet on his own college football games. Interestingly, he bet against himself. Every game, he intentionally started losing. He sacrificed himself and his own happiness and reputation just to pay for his mother’s treatments. It was enough to cure her, but it cost him his career. Michael was arrested and jailed for gambling.

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Thief

After he was released from jail, Michael decided he’d go into honest work. Michael found a job as a security officer at the Metropolis Space Museum, where they displayed countless artifacts from 20th-century super heroes. His honesty streak didn’t last all that much longer. After all, he had come up with a brilliant new plan.

Booster planned to steal super hero equipment from the museum and travel back in time. By venturing to the past, he could gain fame and fortune as a super hero! He stole a Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring, a security robot named Skeets, and most importantly, a Power Suit that gave him abilities of extraordinary strength, speed, powerful energy blasts, and one of the most powerful force field generators ever created. Booster hopped into a Time Sphere and jumped back into history!

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Arrogant Hero

Booster Gold arrived in our modern day, ready to become a hero the likes of which had never been seen. After all, Skeets was a robot taken from a history museum. It had an encyclopedic knowledge of nearly everything in the past. That meant that Booster Gold could arrive at the scene even before the villains! He’d jump into action, using his futuristic tech to save the day. And where did he start saving the day? In Superman’s own town of Metropolis.

The town of Metropolis was extremely grateful for Booster’s heroics, just like they were grateful for Superman. However, there was one major difference: Superman fought for truth and justice, and he couldn’t be bribed or influenced by money. Booster Gold, on the other hand, gladly accepted the mayor’s generous donations and was graciously wined and dined. Booster accepted sponsorships plus any number of paid gigs. After all, Booster was determined to gain back the fame and fortune of a 25th-century football star.

Best Friend

Along the way, Booster joined a series of different teams, from the Justice League International to one-on-one adventures with his best friend, Ted Kord (AKA Blue Beetle.) Their bromance changed comics and history forever — after Ted’s death, Booster would go through some major life changes.

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Time Master

In his years getting sponsorships and endorsements and loads of wealth, Booster Gold also learned what kind of hero he was. He learned that his force field could withstand punches from Doomsday himself, he learned that he couldn’t change the past — only save it from the future — and he learned that he really did care about the people and his friends. So when Ted Kord died, he teamed up with legendary time master Rip Hunter.

While he couldn’t change the events of the past and save his most dear companion’s life, he did learn that he could still save entire worlds and timelines. Except, of course, there was a cost. Booster gold could only save the day if he was the most unexpected hero. In other words, he could only travel across the Multiverse and through countless timelines if everyone believed that he wasn’t a threat. He had to play the fool. By sacrificing himself and his own happiness or reputation, he could help an unsuspecting world.

Just like Bruce Wayne pretends to be a playboy so Batman can save the day, Michael Carter pretends to be Booster Gold. This way, all the other heroes can still shine in that golden spotlight another day.

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It’s difficult to truly capture Booster Gold’s story. After all, so many of his stories are just a cover for his heroics behind the scenes. He never takes credit, and he never backs down from a challenge. Instead, here are some fun facts:

In the Death of Superman comic arc, Booster Gold was actually the hero who coined the name Doomsday. He has a twin sister that he was able to save by jumping through timelines. For reinforcement, he has the ability to grab countless versions of himself throughout multiple timelines in order to team up with himself. His force field is practically impenetrable, and can even be used on others, sealing them or crushing them without any difficulty. And finally, it’s revealed the Booster Gold is actually Rip Hunter’s father.

Are you excited for Booster Gold’s series on HBO Max? What do you want to see most? Speculate with other DC Comics fans in Let Your Spoiler Sideshow: DC, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!