DCU Comic Book Reviews

BOOSTER GOLD #9

Blue & Gold, Chapter 4:  Putting The Band Back Together

July 2008

Written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz

Layouts by Dan Jurgens

Inks by Norm Rapmund

Cover by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund

Synopsis

After Booster Gold uses Rip Hunter’s time sphere to save the life of Blue Beetle, the duo find the world has changed.  Max Lord, the leader of Checkmate, has taken over, systematically destroying all heroes with OMACs.  Now, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle use a Mother Box to locate Mister Miracle and help him escape from Belle Reve Prison.  Then they travel to Norway, where they team up Guy Gardner and Fire and Ice, or the old JLI.  At the Vanishing Point, Rip Hunter finds no trace of the Time Stealers which concerns him.  Meanwhile, the JLI rescue Martian Manhunter and confront Max Lord, who uses his telepathy to have Superman attack.  The Martian Manhunter counters, holding off Superman long enough for Booster to free Dr. Light, who then immediately kills Max Lord.  Before anyone can react to what has happened, the Time Stealers appear.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

OMAC = Observational Metahuman Activity Constructs

Let me just say that this title is one of the best currently being put out right now and this issue does not disappoint in any way.  This is good stuff, with plenty of humor with the banter between Booster ad Beetle and some decent action and even nostalgia, even for someone like me who wasn’t reading comics when the Justice League International was being published.  I liked the way Johns and Katz manage to capture the JLI’s heyday while at the same time presenting the heroes in this comic as if they had grown and change based on the events depicted in the alternative timeline. 

I really did not expect Max Lord to die in this issue.  It seemed like Booster and Beetle were heading for a showdown with Max Lord, with Booster righting the timestream and reverting back to the events as the occurred in the OMAC Project.  So when Dr. Light killed him, I was shocked, but then pleased when I saw the direction Johns was taking the story.  I still think Booster righting the timestream will be the end result of the story, but I like the fact that Johns and Katz are connecting that to the Time Stealers and Booster’s resolve to continue onward (his father’s goal) rather than give up. 

Is it just me or does Johns and Katz spent in inordinate amount of time trying to explain the backstory for a character they decided to kill anyway?  And in a story that is not really “in continuity” or is considered to be part of an alternative timeline.  Was it really necessary for this story?  Strangely enough, what Johns and Katz do for Max Lord and how they explain how he got to be the leader of Checkmate and his purpose, makes sense in the context of the events in Countdown to Infinite Crisis, almost as if Johns was trying to provide context for a story many thought was out of character for Max Lord.