Random Happenstance

I enjoy the CW's DC Comics shows, but a good 90% of the heroes problems--particularly on Flash--are probably caused by the hero themselves. Which might be why Booster Gold hasn't gotten a show or appeared yet, since he'd probably cause several times more problems than that! From 2008, Booster Gold #4, "He's Gonna Save Every One of Us!" Written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz, pencils by Dan Jurgens, finishes by Norm Rapmund.

On the trail of the villain Supernova, Rip Hunter and Booster have an unexpected "fender bender" in the timestream, running into Flash and Kid Flash on their cosmic treadmill! Although Rip doesn't want to mess with the Flashes' timeline, they are headed to Central City...just a few years before the Flash Museum was built, Barry notices. Booster realizes too late the bad guys wouldn't get tracked unless they wanted to be found, and he's right; as Supernova and Rex Hunter reveal themselves!

Although he wears a costume like the Silver Age Time Master did, Rip knows "Rex" is really Jason Goldstein, who had wanted to join Rip's team but also wanted to change history as he saw fit. (Rex had tried to kill Lex Luthor as a child, but Rip points out without Lex, his clone Conner Kent wouldn't be around to save billions...) Rex and Supernova plan on erasing the history of the Justice League, so they can take their place as the heroes; and they just wiped out Flash and Kid Flash, who disappear into nothingness!

Meanwhile, in a couple of subplots, a reporter tracks down Booster's ancestor Daniel, who is forced to try and pass himself off as Booster; and classic Blue Beetle Dan Garrett is interrupted during a mummy fight (!) by someone resembling the modern Beetle...

Rip and Booster figure out the scheme: they're at the night the lightning bolt hit Barry Allen's lab, splashing him with chemicals and turning him into the Flash. By the simple expedient of putting a lightning rod on the roof, they've stopped the Flash and Kid Flash from ever happening. (And probably about four hundred super-villains, but keep that to yourself!) While Rip throws down with Rex, and Skeets battles Supernova's higher-end security droid Maximillion (Black Hole shout-out!) Booster fights the condescending Supernova, who seems to know everything about him. Grabbing his mask, Booster reveals him to be--his dad! Who has an evil-looking scar and dead eye...I think Booster's origin had always mentioned him shaving points for gambling; being pushed into it by his dad may have been a later addition.

Struck by lightning, Supernova disappears, thrown into another time period. Rip beats down Rex for mentioning the name Bonnie, who Rex murdered. A lightning bolt hits the lab, history is reset, and the Flashes return. Booster doesn't consider it a win, though; and wants to get to his real mission: saving Blue Beetle Ted Kord. Rip seems to back down and agree to help, except there's one more little thing they need to fix, another temporal anomaly: Black Canary shouldn't be the current leader of the Justice League. It should be Barbara Gordon. And not as Oracle...but as Batgirl!

A big premise of this series was Booster may no longer have been an incompetent, irresponsible, glory-hound goofball; he had to pretend he was to protect the timeline. Time-travelling villains might go after Superman or Batman's past, but Booster would've been beneath notice. Still, the time-travel shenanigans, a dramatic unmasking, subplots: Booster Gold really should hit the CW again sometime. (He appeared in an episode of Smallville some time back!)