Aliases: Michael “Mike” Jon Carter
First Appearance: BOOSTER GOLD #1, 1986

 

 

 

When opportunity arises, you have to seize it! That’s an idea that has driven Mike Carter, a college football star of the 25^th century who earned the nickname “Booster” on the field. Even though people assured him a professional career of fame and fortune was in his future, he decided he couldn’t wait and wagered on his own games. The scandal halted his dreams of professional stardom and ruined his reputation. Taking a job as a security guard in the Metropolis Space Museum, Mike Carter saw another opportunity after studying the early age of super heroes. With future and alien technology stolen from the museum, and a time machine that was on display, he realized he could not only become a super hero himself in a past era where his criminal history was unknown, but he could also make his good deeds profitable.

 

With his robot pal Skeets at his side, Mike Carter time traveled to the modern age and debuted as Booster Gold. For years now, he’s fought evil alongside different versions of the Justice League and his good pal Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. Recently, Booster Gold has broadened his scope and acts as a protector of history itself. Though always eager to take credit for good deeds on social media or sign with a well-paying sponsor, Booster is a good guy at heart and will drop everything if he genuinely sees someone in need.

 

Michael “Mike” Jon Carter and his twin sister Michelle “Shel” Carter were born in the year 2442. They grew up in Gotham City in the 25^th century. When the children were only four years old, the father Jonar, a gambling addict, lost the family money on debts before then abandoning the family as well (BOOSTER GOLD #6, 1986). A later account revealed that he was also abusive to his wife Ellen Carter, and on more than one occasion she required hospital care as a result of injuries he caused her (ACTION COMICS #995, 2018).

 

Shel Carter went on to become a pilot. A gifted athlete and football player, Mike Carter earned a scholarship to Gotham University. Earning the nickname “Booster” on the field, Mike’s sports prowess got attention from professional teams. Impatient for financial success that could take his family out of poverty, Booster gambled on sporting events, including games he played in himself (BOOSTER GOLD #6, 1986). It was later said that he mainly did this because his mother Ellen was seriously ill and needed financial aid for immediate medical care (BOOSTER GOLD #1, 2006). Once her bills were settled, Booster was ready to stop gambling. But his father Jonar had returned to his life and convinced Booster to keep gambling so they could pay off his latest outstanding debts (ACTION COMICS #995, 2018).

 

When Mike Carter’s gambling was exposed, he was expelled from the university and lost all opportunity to play in professional sports. Seeing his mother and sister were ashamed, Booster left home at age twenty (Booster Gold Vol. 1 #6, 1986). Though the media and many assumed Mike had intentionally lost some of his games to win wagers, he insisted this was never the case (BOOSTER GOLD #13, 1987).

 

Booster moved to Metropolis and got a job as a security guard at the Space Museum, which celebrated and commemorated Earth’s exploration into space, meetings with alien life, and battles against alien threats. He enrolled in Metropolis University to continue his education, focusing his studies on the era of super heroes following Superman’s debut. Surprised that none of these costumed champions seemed to realize the commercial opportunities presented by their heroic fame, Booster concluded that he could find new fame and glory himself by journeying to this bygone era in the Space Museum’s time sphere (one of many time machines created by scientist Rip Hunter) and becoming a super hero.

 

So one night, in 2462, Booster kidnapped museum security robot Skeets and journeyed into the past via the time sphere. He also stole a variety of equipment from the museum to give himself super-powers, combining them (with Skeets’ help) into a power suit. Two of the items he stole were a flight ring and force field belt belonging to the Legion of Super-Heroes (BOOSTER GOLD #6, 1986).

 

Arriving in the modern day, Mike “Booster” Carter decided to quickly establish himself as a super hero by stopping an assassination attempt on the President of the United States that he knew about from historical records. During this case, he met three time traveling members of the Legion of Super-Heroes and they all joined forces to stop the assassin. In case their efforts failed, Brainiac 5 gave the President his force field belt and Legion flight ring as a last measure of protection (BOOSTER GOLD #8-9, 1986).

 

After saving the President’s life, the Legion of Super-Heroes let Michael Jon Carter remain in the modern day. Likewise, they left behind Brainiac 5’s flight ring and force field belt, which is how those items eventually wound up in the Space Museum in the 25^th century. Booster was then invited to a White House press conference to be officially thanked. When asked for his name, Booster meant to call himself “Goldstar” but got nervous and began introducing himself by his longtime nickname, saying, “Booster… No, Gold.” The President then introduced him as “Booster Gold,” and Michael Jon Carter decided to accept that as his super hero moniker (BOOSTER GOLD #9, 1986).

 

Due to his status as a time traveler, Booster has at times been able to perceive changes and dangers to the timeline. Beyond this, he has no natural super powers and is simply a well trained, natural athlete in good health and his mid-twenties.

 

Booster Gold’s power suit was built with “fiberweave microcircuits” that boost the wearer’s strength so they can lift several tons. Booster and Skeets then integrated other technology into the suit, such as Brainiac 5’s force field belt, as well as alien wristband blasters capable of delivering energy that can stun an adult without injury or become strong enough to shatter two square feet of solid concrete. The wristbands were altered to regulate and monitor power for the suit and its added technology. The suit’s power source, alien created “power rods,” are housed inside the bands. The bands also act as communication equipment and allowed Booster to monitor various frequencies.

 

By “reversing the polarity” on his force field, Boosted could absorb the mass of an object striking him and melt it down. Later versions of the suit don’t seem to have this melting ability.

 

Booster wears a goggled hood that grants telescopic vision, enhances his hearing, and allows him to see different parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum normally invisible to humans.

 

This original power suit was destroyed during a battle with the creature Doomsday. Afterward, Booster wore bulkier, less powerful suits of high-tech armor designed by Ted Kord and incorporating alien technology, one of which also acted as a life support suit. Later still, he got a sleek power suit much like his original one. This version was created by Professor Emil Hamilton, based on recovered technology from the Ted Kord suits, schematics of the original costume, and a containment suit designed to aid Superman when he had energy-based abilities. Due to different reboots and changes to the timeline, its uncertain at this point if Booster ever wore these alternate suits in the current version of history.

 

During the INFINITE CRISIS and 52 events, Booster Gold’s suit displayed limited time travel abilities.

 

The Early Days (BOOSTER GOLD #1-7, 1986)

Less than two months after arriving in the modern age of superheroes, Booster set up Goldstar, Inc. to represent his interests and help his fame and fortune. His manager Dirk Davis ran the operations, while Trixie Collins acted as his assistant and was (for the first months) the only person at Goldstar to know that Booster Gold was a time traveler. Booster’s earliest battles were against agents of the criminal organization the 1000 (formerly known as the 100), and while he had victories he also suffered some very public defeats (BOOSTER GOLD #1-5, 1986).

 

Soon after making a deal with Blaze Comics to publish a comic book based on his exploits, Booster met Superman for the first time. The Man of Steel was troubled by Booster’s attitude and grew more concerned when he learned about the man’s criminal past. The two then had a brief fight over how to handle a situation involving an alien society. Booster was humbled when he realized later that he’d acted in the wrong and had nearly helped a violent coup.

 

Superman learned from Skeets that Booster was meant to exist in the modern day and that history recorded him as a hero during that era. Skeets had known this before leaving the 25^th century and had allowed Booster to steal the time sphere so that the young man could fulfill his role in history. Superman left Booster to continue his activities, but warned Skeets to keep him in line (BOOSTER GOLD #6-7, 1986).

 

 

 

Back to the Future (BOOSTER GOLD #13-15, 1987)

Thinking Booster Gold needed a woman sidekick to enhance his public image, Dirk Davis hired S.T.A.R. Labs research scientist Dr. Jack Soo to provide one. Dr. Soo created a second power suit for such a sidekick to wear, this one operating on the principles of magnetism. Trixie Collins then donned the suit in order to save Booster from an angry mob, calling herself Goldstar (BOOSTER GOLD #13, 1987).

 

When Booster contracted an illness that threatened his life, it was clear that only 25^th century medicine could help. Booster met time travel scientist and adventurer Rip Hunter, who used a time sphere to take Booster back to 2462, just months after he’d left. Although Booster’s health was restored, he was saddened to learn that his mother had passed away by this point. He was then arrested as a terrorist for endangering history by traveling in time and taken into custody by Agent Broderick.

 

Booster was rescued thanks in part to his sister Michelle. He then discovered that Skeets had known all along he would become a hero called Booster Gold and had sent evidence of this to his mother and sister so that they would know he wasn’t just a criminal who had stolen a time ship. When Booster returned to the past, Shel joined (BOOSTER GOLD #15, 1987).

 

 

 

Joining the Justice League (BOOSTER GOLD #16, JUSTICE LEAGUE #4-6, and JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8-10,1987-1988)

Back in the modern day, Booster restructured Goldstar, Inc. into Booster Gold International, now determined to be a leader in scientific research and to show the public that he was now a responsible hero, one willing to compensate companies and citizens for damage caused by his battles. Soon afterward, he was invited by Maxwell Lord to join the newly reformed Justice League (BOOSTER GOLD #16,1987). In the meantime, Shel decided to travel the world and borrowed the Goldstar costume.

 

 

 

Losing Shel and the Company (BOOSTER GOLD #20-25, 1988)

Booster later discovered that his Shel had been captured by alien invaders of Dimension X. After he and the Justice League dealt with a “Destructo Agent” from Dimension X, Booster then went to the alien invaders’ base to retrieve his twin. But as they attempted to escape the crumbling base, an explosion seemingly killed Shel. Booster blamed himself for putting his sister in harm’s way (BOOSTER GOLD #20-22, 1988).

 

During 1988's MILLENNIUM event, Earth’s heroes became aware that the robot villains known as Manhunters had hidden a number of sleeper agents and spies on Earth. Booster discovered that his own publicist Dirk Davis was a Manhunter agent and had wiped out his fortune and his companies assets. During these events, Earth’s heroes also learned that the Guardians of the Universe (the same aliens who created the Green Lantern Corps) had designated certain individuals on Earth as “the Chosen,” believing they could be instrumental to the future evolution of humanity. Booster Gold was designated as one of the Chosen, but decided not to accept the role (BOOSTER GOLD #24, 1988).

 

Following the defeat of the Manhunters, the Justice League offered Booster a new home at their headquarters. Booster accepted the offer and told Trixie goodbye, thanking her for all she’d done and sharing a kiss before flying away (BOOSTER GOLD #25, 1988).

 

 

 

Blue and Gold

As a full-time member of the Justice League, Booster Gold grew strong familiar bonds with several of his teammates. In particular, Ted Kord, the second hero to be called Blue Beetle, became his best friend. Together, the two were known as the jokers and pranksters of the team, occasionally combining their efforts to either impress the other heroes or make money. One of their most notorious schemes involved opening up a casino called Club JLI on the South Pacific island of Kooey Kooey Kooey, an island which turned out to be a sentient creature (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #34-35, 1990).

 

Some time later, the League fought a creature that was so powerful and fearsome, Booster Gold could only describe it as “Doomsday.” The name stuck and Doomsday hospitalized Blue Beetle and destroyed much of Booster’s power suit before then unleashing destruction across several states, only stopping when he and Superman seemingly killed each other (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #69, SUPERMAN #74-75, 1992-1993).

 

Much of Booster’s later adventures with the team no longer applies to current DC history due to reboots and alterations to the timeline. Some of these adventures involved Booster losing his right arm during a battle against the alien Overmaster and his team the Cadre (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #89, 1994), joining the team Extreme Justice with Ted Kord and eventually regaining his arm (EXTREME JUSTICE #0, 1995), and wearing bulky armored suits designed by Ted Kord for a time before Professor Emil Hamilton made him a new power suit similar to his original one (SUPERMAN #124, 1997).

 

 

 

INFINITE CRISIS and 52 (2006-2008)

Following the murder of Ted Kord, Booster Gold became more somber and returned to the future for a while. He then came back to Earth to aid its heroes in preserving all of reality during the crossover Infinite Crisis (INFINITE CRISIS #1-7, 2006-2007). After this, he temporarily operated in Metropolis as a new hero called Supernova, encountered Rip Hunter again, and witnessed the birth of a new multiverse (52 #1-52, 2007-2008).

 

Rip Hunter then recruited Booster to be a “Time Master,” a guardian of history. This meant that to he needed to keep his reputation as an immature show-off, so that no one would realize his significance as a protector against time travel villains and similar threats, and thus no villain would think it worth the effort to remove him from history. Rip Hunter explained that he himself took a similar precaution by using an alias and keeping his real name a secret from everyone so that time villains couldn’t track his history and kill him as a baby.

 

Though reluctant to be “the greatest hero you’ve never heard of,” Booster accepted this role and began regularly protecting the time stream against alteration. When the Justice League asked him to rejoin, he declined and convinced them that he was still an immature brat only interested in fame (BOOSTER GOLD #1, 2007). Batman, however, realized the ruse and later learned about Booster’s true agenda (BOOSTER GOLD #1 Million, 2008).

 

After several adventures as a Time Master working against a group of villains known as the Time Stealers (the roster of which included Jonar Carter), Booster fought Peter Platinum, a self-obsessed hero whose power suit incorporated parts of Booster’s own suit and Rip Hunter’s time sphere. After defeating Peter Platinum, Booster was reunited with his sister Michelle, who was alive thanks to Rip Hunter going back in time and transporting her away from the explosion that one second later would have ended her life (BOOSTER GOLD #1 Million, 2008). This same story revealed to the readers that Rip Hunter was actually Booster Gold’s future son.

 

A later comic revealed that Rip Hunter was acting on orders of an older Booster Gold who acted completely anonymously to protect history and the multiverse (BOOSTER GOLD #30, 2010).

 

 

New 52

In 2011, DC Comics history was reimagined following the FLASHPOINT event with the release of the New 52 comics. In the New 52 reality, Booster traveled from the 25^th century and into the modern day under presumably similar circumstances. Rather than joining the Justice League after being recruited by Maxwell Lord, the New 52 Booster Gold was recruited as leader of a new Justice League International that answered to the United Nations. Booster proved himself to be an effective leader, but then lost colleagues and teammate Rocket Red in a deadly explosion. Later on, Booster met a future version of himself who worked alongside Rip Hunter. This version of Booster and his history, however, do not apply to the current DC Continuity.

 

 

 

Rebirth

Following the events of 2016's DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1, parts of the Pre-New 52 reality have been restored to DC history. It is not certain how much of Booster’s original history is now restored, as well as whether or not he joined the Justice League in this version of history.

 

Booster Gold was recently seen piloting a time sphere with Skeets and still acting as a Time Master, this time making sure that Superman didn’t inadvertently alter history. However, he seems to now be rebelling slightly against Rip Hunter’s instruction that he fade into history as a showboat who didn’t amount to much. With Skeets as his social media moderator, Booster now makes sure that the public will see him as a hero worthy of respect even if they aren’t told that he regularly travels in time (Action Comics Vol. 1 #992-994, 2017).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• • Justice League
• • Justice League America
• • Extreme Justice
• • Time Masters

Television

Guest Appearances/Cameos

 

Live-Action:

• • Smallville

 

Animation:

• • Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• • Justice League Action
• • Justice League Unlimited
• • Legion of Super-Heroes

 

 

Film

Guest Appearances/Cameos

 

Animation:

• • Batman and Harley Quinn

 

 

Video Games

• • Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• • DC Universe Online
• • Injustice 2
• • LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham