Your Guide To Booster Gold On DC's 'Legends of Tomorrow'

As the sun sets on DC’s crossover series Legends of Tomorrow on the CW — its season finale on May 19 — a few questions linger. Who will survive the fight with Vandal Savage? Will Rip Hunter successfully save his family and the future? Will Cisco find out about Kendra and Ray Palmer? (That one is super important, guys). But the bigger question fans are asking: Will Booster Gold appear?

Between rumblings from DC head honcho Geoff Johns saying there are “big plans” for Booster Gold and EW reporting awhile back that actor Patrick J. Adams has been tapped for a mystery role in the season finale, fans have put two and two together. Booster Gold might be the next superhero in Legends of Tomorrow, a show that welcomes new characters often. The show featured Jonah Hex just last week, as a matter of fact.

For those wishing to catch up on lore, here’s a brief primer on Booster Gold before he (maybe) shows up to fight alongside The Atom, Hawkgirl, White Canary, Captain Cold, and Firestorm, and… you get the idea.

Don’t settle for anything less than the gold standard.

Created by Dan Jurgens and debuting in 1986’s Booster Gold #1, Booster Gold is Michael Jon Carter, a member of the Justice League — even though Batman probably hates the guy. Booster is an arrogant showoff from the future, like a time-traveling Dolph Ziggler. Booster mucks around the past, flaunting his knowledge of future events while using super advanced tech to be a superhero.

But while he seems shallow and vapid with an ego that could easily turn him into a super-villain, Booster has evolved into a real hero burdened to out-do himself due to his self-made reputation. Behind a pearly veneer is a man way in over his head, taking on more than he’s actually capable of. But he would never tell you that.

Booster is also accompanied by a robotic companion, Skeets, a dry-witted, gold-plated drone who counteracts Booster’s massive ego.

Behind the smile

In his own time, Booster Gold was a promising football player (they have football in the future) about to embark on a hot career until he was caught gambling on his own performance. His career was tarnished, leaving him to work night security at a museum. He stumbles upon an artifact, a time machine used by the legendary Rip Hunter and yes Legends of Tomorrow fans, your heads should be buzzing now.

In the comics, Booster travels through time to steal his gadgetry, costume and the Legion of Flight Ring, though in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold he breaks a museum piece that is literally labeled “24th Century Superhero Suit.” That’s the kind of fun Booster Gold brings wherever he shows up.

Eventually Booster Gold qualifies as a member of the Justice League (not without resistance, particularly from Superman who questions his motive) and begins regularly teaming up with the Blue Beetle, another armored hero from DC Comics.

Should Booster Gold show up in Legends of Tomorrow, it wouldn’t be the first time the cocky hero has been on TV. Besides the aforementioned Batman: Brave and the Bold animated series (where he was voiced by Tom Everett Scott), he was also in Justice League Unlimited voiced by Billy West in a legitimately great episode titled “The Greatest Story Never Told.” While the Justice League fight off a massive threat, they assign Booster to crowd control, which pisses off the glory-seeking superhero until he finds himself saving the day in his own way.

In the final season of Smallville, Eric Martsolf portrayed Booster Gold showing up to challenge Clark Kent and his unwillingness to become a SUPER-hero, the way Booster himself tries to be. You can imagine how well that turned out.

Okay, but what can he do?

Oh, right, superpowers. Booster has super strength thanks to his suit, he can project energy blasts from his wrist bands, his belt can deflect physical and energy attacks, and his signature glasses (or goggles) have magnification and infrared vision.

Cool! So which Booster Gold books should I read?

Compared to heavy hitters like Batman and Wonder Woman, there aren’t that many Booster Gold comics you have to look for. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a few, but your head won’t be spinning.

You can start with Booster Gold Vol.1 that began with issue #1 released after the 1985-1986 crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. But if you’re looking for something a little more modern, check out Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz’s (and later replaced by Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens) All-New Booster Gold, later retitled Booster Gold in 2007. It starts with the first volume, 52 Pick-Up and continues all the way to Turbulence, which ties in with DC’s Flashpoint that set the stage for DC’s 2011 reboot, the New 52. While Booster has very much been a part of the New 52, he hasn’t had his own solo series, so the Johns and Katz books are your best bet.