Secret Origins: Booster Gold
Written By: Dan Jurgens
Art By: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: January 10, 2018
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
Where this story about Superman going back to Krypton before it exploded so he could find out about who's manipulating time and whether or not Jor-El survived the destruction started really interesting and then became even more interesting in my mind when Booster Gold was added has quickly become a bit lackluster since we had to throw in wonky time travel nonsense that's been running rampant in the DCU lately. Don't get me wrong though, I'm a huge fan of time travel, but when every book it seems is using it and coming up with new ideas of how time works and the ever convoluted element of Hypertime is included........ Well, it just loses its fun and while I hope that this story concludes on a positive note, it seems so far removed from where we started now, what with going to an alternate Krypton and now heading to Gotham City in the 25th Century, that I just can't see it righting its course. Let's check this out though and see if I'm wrong.
Explain It!:
Our issue begins in the 25th Century in Gotham, where Booster Gold and Superman have themselves an Eradicator problem. Don't worry though because this goes to the wayside as soon as Booster Gold has enough narration time within the fight for the authorities to show up and destroy the robot monster before arresting Booster for stealing all the stuff that made him a hero in the 21st Century. While that's going on, Skeets and Superman hightail it with the Eradictor body and the Time Sphere so that they can preserve time and also get the necessary items to repair the Time Sphere so that they can get the hell back in time without any ramifications.
While Booster is arrested, Superman is given a crash course by Skeets into the Secret Origins of Booster Gold, where Clark discovers that Booster's father was an abusive piece of shit, who made him throw his football games so that he could repay debts owed to mobsters....... you know, when he wasn't busy beating the shit out of Booster's mother. All in all, just a piece of shit. We get more of this on Booster's end, when for some reason the authorities lock Michael in a cell with his incarcerated father. Really though, this just seems like a forced bit that never really goes anywhere just so Booster can confirm that his father is still a piece of shit and is willing to sell him out in order to escape.
In the end, after Superman finds out that Booster is better off being a hero in the past than a convict in the future, he saves our time traveling hero, while also knocking his father out and the two head off back to the past. Too bad that that Eradicator comes to just at this moment and destroys the controls to the Time Sphere again, stranding our two heroes on a planet controlled by Zod, which if you remember makes sense in our current continuity because the last time we saw Zod, he his wife Ursa and their son Lor-Zod went off to find their own planet to conquer........ and it looks like Superman and Booster have found it.
That's it for this issue of Action Comics and while I like Booster and the fact that his Canadian origins of the New 52 have been retconned back to Gotham City, this issue doesn't do much to add to the character and really, just keeps the reader informed on Booster's origins with his piece of shit father, but even that aspect seemed forced and put in here for no real reason other than making sure that people know. From where we started with a really cool Superman story that seemed to be dealing with everything that we've wanted to know about in Rebirth, we've now just moved into what feels like a Booster Gold story that's only real purpose is to keep him in the reader's minds....... and even with that, it's not that interesting. The art team here is one of my favorites at DC, but for some reason, where I love them in the Titans book, here I wasn't too impressed with what we got....... not saying it doesn't still look great, just not as good as I'm used to or I'm just not used to these characters portrayed in this style. All in all, this was a lackluster issue to a story that's been treading water.
Bits and Pieces:
Where this arc started out really cool, it has quickly become just a retelling of Booster Gold's origin and if you're not that familiar with the character than maybe you could dig this, but if you are....... Well, there really isn't much going on here. Just Booster Gold and Superman taking jaunts around time.
Explain It!:
Our issue begins in the 25th Century in Gotham, where Booster Gold and Superman have themselves an Eradicator problem. Don't worry though because this goes to the wayside as soon as Booster Gold has enough narration time within the fight for the authorities to show up and destroy the robot monster before arresting Booster for stealing all the stuff that made him a hero in the 21st Century. While that's going on, Skeets and Superman hightail it with the Eradictor body and the Time Sphere so that they can preserve time and also get the necessary items to repair the Time Sphere so that they can get the hell back in time without any ramifications.
While Booster is arrested, Superman is given a crash course by Skeets into the Secret Origins of Booster Gold, where Clark discovers that Booster's father was an abusive piece of shit, who made him throw his football games so that he could repay debts owed to mobsters....... you know, when he wasn't busy beating the shit out of Booster's mother. All in all, just a piece of shit. We get more of this on Booster's end, when for some reason the authorities lock Michael in a cell with his incarcerated father. Really though, this just seems like a forced bit that never really goes anywhere just so Booster can confirm that his father is still a piece of shit and is willing to sell him out in order to escape.
In the end, after Superman finds out that Booster is better off being a hero in the past than a convict in the future, he saves our time traveling hero, while also knocking his father out and the two head off back to the past. Too bad that that Eradicator comes to just at this moment and destroys the controls to the Time Sphere again, stranding our two heroes on a planet controlled by Zod, which if you remember makes sense in our current continuity because the last time we saw Zod, he his wife Ursa and their son Lor-Zod went off to find their own planet to conquer........ and it looks like Superman and Booster have found it.
That's it for this issue of Action Comics and while I like Booster and the fact that his Canadian origins of the New 52 have been retconned back to Gotham City, this issue doesn't do much to add to the character and really, just keeps the reader informed on Booster's origins with his piece of shit father, but even that aspect seemed forced and put in here for no real reason other than making sure that people know. From where we started with a really cool Superman story that seemed to be dealing with everything that we've wanted to know about in Rebirth, we've now just moved into what feels like a Booster Gold story that's only real purpose is to keep him in the reader's minds....... and even with that, it's not that interesting. The art team here is one of my favorites at DC, but for some reason, where I love them in the Titans book, here I wasn't too impressed with what we got....... not saying it doesn't still look great, just not as good as I'm used to or I'm just not used to these characters portrayed in this style. All in all, this was a lackluster issue to a story that's been treading water.
Bits and Pieces:
Where this arc started out really cool, it has quickly become just a retelling of Booster Gold's origin and if you're not that familiar with the character than maybe you could dig this, but if you are....... Well, there really isn't much going on here. Just Booster Gold and Superman taking jaunts around time.
5.8/10
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