There are heroes and there are wannabe heroes. James Gunn, the titular head of the new DCU has proven his love for the wannabes. To keep up this trend, one of the first projects he’s announced inthe new DCU isBooster Gold.
Booster Gold is the superhero alias of Michael Jon Carter. Booster hails from the 25th century, where he lives in Gotham City and was once a star athlete.
Because of some major daddy issues, he spends his time in a menial position as a night watchman in the Space Museum. He dreams of bigger things and loves to read about the heroes of his past. He’s just a guy with no future dreaming about the past. These dreams end up getting him into trouble when he steals a suit that gives him powers and a ring that lets him fly. He then grabs a bunch of technology and jumps into a time machine, sending him back to the 21st century. He also brings a small, floating, robotic best friend named Skeets. Booster’s goal is to use all of this future tech to become a superhero in the age when superheroeswere looked at as near-gods.
Along the way, he meets and works alongside some of his heroes, but he’s not really the hero type. He tries hard, but he’s a bit of a showboat and prone to a few mistakes here and there. His biggest trait is marketing himself. He is the king of self-promotion and relishes the attention. Booster ends up very wealthy and eventually figures out most of the hero stuff, though not all of it.
Storylines We’d Like to See Covered
Booster has had many storylines within the DC universe, but he’s been most effective when part of a team. He’s been best friendswith Jaime Reyes aka Blue Beetle, and they have had quite a number of team-ups. It would be fun to see the two of them together.
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The first thing to cover would be his origin story. Because this will be a television show, there is more time to cover the character, especially if he will eventually appear in upcoming films (a fact that Gunn has voiced), and needs to be fleshed out. It would be great to see this guy who can’t make it in his own time find his way to ours and the culture shock it brings. Also, in a world where superheroes are known for doing things in a way that should make things easier for the little guys, Booster may not realize the consequences of his actions. He’s the kind of guy who saves people by throwing a bus at a bad guy but then leaves the bus on fire to block traffic in order to give a soundbite to a cute reporter.
Booster Gold is alsoa member of multiple teams. He has been a part of the Justice League at different points but often doesn’t quite measure up to the others in the group. That being said, he has started his own teams and been in Justice League International. This could be a great spinoff group as either a show or a movie with lesser-known characters who are still needed around the world.
In the comics, Booster eventually develops a more profound story arc where his time-traveling is noticed by Time Masters, and he is pursued for his crimes of stealing the time machine and using it illegally. Eventually, he is told that he must be protected because he will be a part of the groupthat saves the multiverse. This could hugely impact the DC movies if they head towards an overarching multiverse concept such as the well-known Flashpoint Paradox storyline. Should DC decide to work towards the Identity Crisis/Infinite Crisis storylines, Booster could play a larger role as well.
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However, the series itself should focus on the character attempting to be the hero he wants to be in the shadows of the more well-known heroes of the DC universe. His celebrityin the time of social mediacould be explored as his fame may be more of a brand than an earned title. Most people do not realize he is from the future and that without his technology he is just another fanboy. The show could even take a meta look at what it would be like if a DC fan actually got hold of something that would put them into that universe and just how inept they would probably be.
What Direction Will the Series Take?
James Gunn has described the upcoming series as being “about a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero. It’s basically Imposter Syndrome as a superhero.”
This has the makings of a different type of show. In the DC world there have always been big-time superheroes who rarely make mistakes. Batman is smart, Superman is virtuous, and Wonder Woman is the expert warrior. But in a world populated with more heroes, there are going to be those who have no idea. The ones who think it looks easy.
Spider-Man’s uncle is famous for saying “with great power comes great responsibility” but in the DC universe it may be more like “with great power comes nothing but potential mistakes.” And that is Booster Gold.
