When you are a superhero, fame is just part of the game.
But here is one superhero who wanted fortune to go with that fame.
BG: Well, don't settle for anything less than the gold standard as in...
BG: BOOSTER GOLD!
Girls: Booster Gold...
Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origins of Booster Gold.
Kid: Can I have your autograph?
BG: Of course you can.
Kid: I thought you were Green Lantern...
As with most comic book characters...
...there are often imaginings and different versions to a character's past.
We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 1986's Booster Gold #1 and #6.
Which was expanded upon in 1989's Secret Origins #35...
...and 2008's Booster Gold #0 and #1,000,000.
Dr. Simmons: We're all gonna die.
BG: Hey, I'm not dressed for Halloween.
BG: Booster Gold is a bonafied superhero.
The dynamic figure of Booster Gold was introduced to readers in the first issue of his own comic book series.
Rather than meeting our hero in the mix of a deadly battle...
...readers was greeted with booster negotiating a highly remunerative film deal.
Narrator: Watch out, 21st century heroes!
There's a new gold standard in crime fighting!
A savior that's come all the way from the future to show you how it's done.
It's Booster Gold!
Clearly this Booster Gold was a celebrity.
But there was some rather odd things about him.
For example, he frequently stumbled over everyday expressions and idioms.
And he had a flight ring from the Legion of Superheroes...
...and his robotic sidekick Skeets made oblique references to the future.
BG: Skeets, old buddy... you know what I gotta do?
Skeets: I know what you should do, sir.
BG: I gotta team up with Batman!
All this was explained in the sixth issue when Booster met Superman.
The Man of Steel deduced that Booster and Skeets were from the future.
Skeets Confirmed that they were indeed from the 25th century...
...and that Booster's real name is Michael Jon Carter.
BG: Reveal yourself to the world, put that suit on display, and steal my thunder. What do you say?
Clark Kent: The suit doesn't make the hero.
The hero is made in the moment by the choices that he makes.
And the reasons that he makes them.
In his own time, Michael had been a college quarterback with a brilliant professional career awaiting him.
Unfortunately, before Micheal could embark on that career...
...it was revealed that he had been betting on his own football games.
His dreams of fame and fortune disappeared overnight.
And his personal life dive-bombed as well.
His father had become a compulsive gambler, who deserted his family.
And his distraught mother therefore disowned her son.
Michael was reduced to working as a night watchman at the space museum.
As luck would have it, one of the exhibits at the museum was a time machine...
...used by Rip Hunter: the pioneer time traveler.
Executive: You're really a hero from the future?
BG: That's a fact.
(Booster Gold snoring)
Michael devised a plan whereby he would steal several items including the Legion flight ring and other weapons...
...and then travel back to the 20th century to find his fame and fortune as a superhero.
BG: I created this flight suit and a time travel device to come here.
(glass shatters)
The twist, of course, was that Michael would use his knowledge of history to help amass a fortune.
And use his celebrity as a superhero to gain product endorsement and other opportunities that would increase his wealth even more.
Thus began Booster's career in the 20th century, which would earn him respect for his heroics...
...scorn for his avaricious goals, and suspicion about his true motives at the time.
BG: What kind of crime are we busting tonight, partner?
Batman: Trespassing.
Batman: How did you track me here?
Booster's origin story remain fairly stable over the years...
...but some new details were added over time.
The most significant edition came in 1989's Secret Origin #35.
Relating his origin to his buddy Blue Beetle...
...Booster revealed that the reason he began gambling on his football games wasn't because he was greedy.
It was because his mother was seriously sick and he needed money to get her a expensive treatment she direly needed.
In 2008, another element was added to Booster's origin.
In this retelling, Michael stopped his illegal football gambling after his mother received the treatment she needed.
However, Michael succumbed to pressure from his father to resume gambling...
...hoping it would gain the parental love he had never had.
Unfortunately, that didn't work out the way Booster had planned.
Yet another piece of information about Booster came about this time.
Over the years. Booste had come in contact with Rip Hunter...
...whose time machine he had used to travel back to the present time
Hunter had enlisted Booster's help in dealing with anomalies caused by time travel...
...and readers soon learned why.
Unbeknown to Booster, Rip Hunter was Boosters grown up son.
Booster Gold, with his striking blue and gold outfit, makes a stunning visual impression...
...and has been featured in several episodes of DC universe TV series.
Time alone will tell when he will turn up next.
But for a guy who bounces from one century to another, time really isn't much of an issue.
BG: You're right! It's not just about fame.
BG: What did you pull down last year? Before taxes.
Are you a fan of Booster Gold?
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BG: Here are your ants.
(kid gasps)
Kid: Thank you, Green Lantern.
BG: I'm not Green Lantern. I'm Booster Gold.
BG: If I were Green Lantern, my costume would be green, now wouldn't it?