Monday, November 8, 2010

Goldstar 2: Michelle Carter

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Michelle Carter grew up in Gotham City in the 25 century with her twin brother Michael. Having been left with their fathers' gambling debts after he abandoned them the family grew up poor. More tragically was to follow as Michael was caught in a scandal that would ruin not just his career in football but the Carters' chances at a better life. With little to no options left Michael stole a time machine to make a better life for himself in another time, an offense punishable with death without a trail. Michelle and their mother would discover that Michael was following his destiny in becoming the hero Booster Gold. Something that gave them comfort. Mrs. Carter would die not long afterwards. When her brother returned Michelle assisted him in escaping the law and followed him into the past. When Boosters' friend Trixie Collins decided to give up her short career as a super hero Michelle took the Goldstar uniform without permission, curious to why super heroics appealed to her brother.

While testing the suit Michelle was attacked and captured. Booster went to her aid having to use his forcefield to keep their only escape route, a teleporter, from being destroyed in the resulting destruction. Michelle died after opening the portal--at least until Rip Hunter changed her fate. Occasionally joining her brothers' missions as a Time Master in the Goldstar uniform Michelle seemed oblivious to how much time had past since she last saw Booster. Something that came as a shock when Jason Goldstein revealed the truth of her past fate. Not taking it well and Michelle needed to get away from the people she claimed were "control freaks." (i.e. Booster, Rip Hunter and Skeets.) Going a few years into the past Michelle fell in love with a man named Drew and tried to live a normal life. Something that wouldn't last as long as she hoped. Since then she has decided to hang up the Goldstar suit and help take care of Rani.      


Friday, October 29, 2010

Waverider

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Waverider is Matthew Ryder from an altered timeline. In his own timeline Matthew lived under the rule of a dictator called the Monarch. Having been saved as a child by heroes Matthew became inspired by the superheroes of the past to fight back against Monarch. After discovering the villain used to be a hero Matthew built a time machine to travel back into the past to avert this timeline. Unlike other attempts by other travelers Matthew survived the ordeal. Although the process changed him by somehow merging him with the time streams' temporal energy. Physically changed Matthew dubbed himself Waverider. Eventually he came in contact with the Linear Men, who had just (depending on your linear POV) lost a member named Travis O'Connell. They asked Waverider to join their ranks.

Powers: Able to travel to any point in time by will. Waverider is also a seer that can see into a persons' future by touch alone. 

Waverider 2.0: In Zero Hour Waverider was killed by Extant, the evolved form of Monarch.Another Matthew Ryder was called upon to take on the role of Waverider in his place.

(Other) Deaths: During 52, time travelers were being hunted down by Mr. Mind and Waverider was unlucky enough to be discovered. Unable to reveal Rip Hunters' location (and boasting that Mind would never be able to outsmart Hunter) Waverider was murdered. According to the remaining Linear Men (New Earths' Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee), Rip Hunter argued with the group over Waveriders' paradoxical origins. They claim that he died during Infinite Crisis. How and why this differs from the events in 52 (which takes place during the year proceeding) are currently unknown.

First Appearance: Armageddon #1     


Sunday, October 10, 2010

Linear Men

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When he was a young boy Matthew Ryder was saved from a subway cave in by a time traveling hero named Waverider. An experience that would give Matthew a strong admiration for superheroes of the 20th century. A few days after his recuse the boy and his parents watched as Superman and the Metal Men attempted to move an unstable generator. Realizing that this was the event that would trigger an explosion that would kill the boys' (actually Waveriders' past self) parents Waverider transported the generator out of time. Although he succeeded in saving the Ryder family he found that he could not alter his own past. Thanks to the nature of his change into Waverider his own existence was not disrupted. As a result the version of Matthew Ryder he had saved did not become Waverider in the altered timeline but co-existed with him as the leader of the Linear Men. This version devoted his life to his passion in time travel forming a group in an attempt to protect the timeline from outside forces. They set up their base in an outpost at the end of time called the Vanishing Point


As the post-crisis means of time travel were severally limited the group had to frequently replace their human parts for machine replacements in order to survive. Ryders' team was comprised of archivist Liri Lee (his wife), a cyborg version of Rip Hunter, Travis O'Connell and later Waverider himself. O'Connells' last mission was to bring hero Booster Gold back to his point of origin but was intercepted by Superman who was mistakenly sent into the timestream during their struggle. Eventually O'Connell sacrificed his life during a confrontation with Superman in the 30 century. When Superman questioned the Linear Mens' methods and O'Connells' mission to return Booster to the 25th century the Linear Men claimed their teammates' actions went against their own. Hunter stating that although Booster didn't know it he was essential to the evolution of man and needed to stay in the past. At some point the Linear Men expanded their organization to become leaders of a force of temporal time enforcers called the Linear Authority.

Different Timelines?: The Linear Men have gone through a few changes over the years. In The Kingdom, a tie in from the main DCU timeline into the popular Kingdom Come series, Rip Hunter rebelled against his teammates to help the heroes and protect an aspect of time he had discovered called Hypertime. In Superman The Man of Steel #118 all the remaining Linear Men save Liri Lee were reduced to brains that communicated telepathically. (Yeah, I don't get it either.) Deemed insane all of them given new lives

Where are they now?: In the new Earth established after Infinite Crisis it isn't clear how much the Linear Men have been altered. Waverider was apparently murdered in the 52 series while refusing to give any information on Rip Hunter (he claimed he didn't know much anyway.) The cyborg version of Rip Hunter hasn't been seen and according to Black Beetle only Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee remain. They were said to have been locked away in a cell at Vanishing Point by Hunter for disagreements over the existence of people who should not or will not exist. This seems to go against past characterizations of Rip Hunter but given the speaker of such accusations it's likely that this is stretching the truth.

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First Appearance: Adventures of Superman #476

Friday, October 1, 2010

Lena Luthor

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Lex Luthor never expected his marriage to the mysterious Contessa Erica Del Portenza would give him the one greatest joy he never experienced: fatherhood. Taking advantage of his wifes' wishes to be unconscious during the birth Luthor tried to keep her in a coma and raise their daughter on his own. Named after his foster sister Lena Thorul, Lena represented the best of Luthor. Although he claimed to love her above all else (save himself) he traded the girl in a bargin with Brainaic to gain power. Playing it off as if he didn't care in front of Superman, privately Luthor regretted his actions.

More so when Brainaic 13 returned from the future with an apparently adult Lena by his side. She eventually sided with her father and was returned to her infant age though Superman hesitated in returning her after Luthors' previous actions. The girl has had a few hints at having a greater destiny although this was never fully explored. An assassin sent from the future to kill Luthor was startled to discover the man had a daughter as she had never been mentioned in the history books. Lena was last seen in the care of her new nanny, who unbeknown to Luthor was Linear Man Liri Lee.

Where is she now?: Unknown. New Earths' history has been altered thus it's uncertain if Lena still exists. Lex Luthor no longer has a foster sister but a biological sister of the same name.

Family connections: Her mother the Contessa is in fact an immortal/magic user that's lived through ancient Rome. Her linage inherits this gift, as her son from a previous marriage Luca shares such a long existence. Luca is a murderer who kills those he believes deserve to die. 

On her fathers' side she has a invalid aunt of the same name and a cousin named Lori. Thanks to a cloning experiment her father conducted with Superman and his own DNA Superboy Connor Kent, is also part of her family tree. 

First Appearance : Superman #131

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Supernova 3: Jon Carter

Jon Carter was nothing but a two bit con man and gambler. A small timer that left his wife and two young children with his enormous debt. He kept away from his family until his son Michael sought him out. Taking an interest in Michaels' skill as a college football player Jon used Michael to throw a game to cover his increasing debt. Jon's last loss cost him dearly. The people he did business with left him scarred and threatened him should he lose again. Sometime after pressuring his son Jon faced a ten year sentence for his various crimes when approached by the Time Stealers to join their ranks. After being "convinced" Jon traveled back in time to his ancestor Daniel Carters' home to take the Supernova costume from him by force.

As Supernova Jon helped create chaos for the Time Masters and did his best to discourage Michael from his mission by filling him with doubt. Although Michael did his best to help his father this was not enough to change Jons' belief that Michael was a failure that always screwed up. 

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First Appearance: as Supernova in Booster Gold #1 Vol. 2 as Jon in BG #4 Vol. 2

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Being "Erased" and Anomalies

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Time Travelers who don't protect their identities find themselves at the mercy of assassins who would gladly remove those who would stand in their way. This could be done by two means. Killing a younger version of their foe or an ancestor to prevent their births. This is referred to as "erasing" someone from the timeline. Of course there are exceptions. Those that for some reason or another (usually due to something paradoxical in nature) continue to exist despite having no logical reason for still living. These anomalies might be created through a shift in events, diverged timelines, or other unusual temporal disturbance that affects the being.
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Friday, August 20, 2010

Supernova 2: Daniel Carter

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Daniel Jon Carter was a high school football player who's future prospects in professional football were dashed after a knee injury. Stuck in a dead end job as a life insurance salesman Daniel longed for a taste of the glory he had as a player out in the field. When it appeared that the hero Booster Gold died he was stuck with the impulse to go to the mans' funeral even though they never met. While there he met Boosters' robot sidekick Skeets who discovered that Daniel was Michael Jon Carters' present day ancestor. Unconvinced of the connection Daniel was visited by Skeets to try and get his assistance in finding clues in Rip Hunters' bunker. Reluctant to help Skeets revealed that he read Daniels' day planner and knew of his ambitions in becoming a hero. The robot offered to help him become one instead of trusting in Lex Luthors' Everyman project

While investigating Hunters' Time Lab the villain Hunter was hiding from emerged to trap Daniel one of Rip Hunters' defenses: a Time Loop. He was stuck there until Rip Hunter recused him and asked for his further assistance to save the Multiverse. Not thrilled with the prospects Daniel agreed donning the Supernova suit Booster Gold had previous wore to help with the endeavor. As Supernova he was an important part of the plan to trap the villain. Eight weeks after the incident Daniel made no effort to become a full fledge superhero and was robbed of the suit by the Time Stealers

Daniel has met his future wife Rose Levin and used a second black version of the Supernova suit that Rip Hunter has invented from time to time. The suit seems to have the same powers as the first. 

First Appearance: 52 #18 as Supernova 52 #52

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Rani

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Sent by Rip Hunter to pick up an artifact in the year 3082, a misunderstanding led to Booster Gold arriving a few days later than Hunter wanted. Instead he's found himself in the middle of the Great Darkness War. While there he made a valiant effort to save a group of tourists visiting Damax when the planet was overtaken by Darkseids' influence. Among the group was Rani, an orphaned child who just lost her foster parents in the disaster. With no other options left Booster managed to escape the planet with Rani in tow. Since then the girl has stayed at the Time Lab with the Carter twins and Rip Hunter. Although Booster himself has had little time to care for the child between missions. Currently Rip and Boosters' sister Michelle look after her in his absence. 

Unclear Future?: The rules of time travel have been a little hazy but Rip has claimed that the past is solid and the future is more flexible. As such it isn't clear if Rani was supposed to die or if her future has yet to be mapped out. 

First Appearance: Booster Gold #32 Vol. 2

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Black Beetle

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Not much is known about the man called the Black Beetle. Within the ranks of the Time Stealers he pretended to be a future Blue Beetle from the 27th century that offered Booster Gold a chance to save his friend Ted Kord. Whether the Time Stealers themselves were fooled by him is questionable as Mr. Mind assumed he was a man named Joshua. Whenever Black Beetle shows up deception can be assured as his supposed origin changes during each appearance, sometimes within a few minutes of the last telling. Even his goals are elusive as he mislead Rip Hunter and Booster Gold to gain more power with the mysterious Red Scarab

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Since then he seems to be searching for more scarabs to make himself a greater force to be reckoned with.

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Powers: Since the Black Beetles' origins aren't known whether he actually has a scarab from the Reach like the one Jaime Reyes has isn't clear. In one of the tales he spins he states that he murdered Hector, a former tech support friend of Jaimes' who had taken such a scarab named "Djo Zha." When Hector said that was his name a woman mistakenly referred to him as "Joshua." As Black Beetle was known to Mind by this name it suggest he knows the origin and perhaps has the scarab. So far he's only been shown flying, time traveling and blasting energy. It should be noted that the energy was enough to fry Beatriz da Costa (Fire) in one timeline. Without the Red Scarab he needs to leech constant chronal energy for time travel jumps. With it he claims that he won't have difficulties anymore.     

Identities Black Beetle has claimed: That he was a future Blue Beetle from the 27th century. "Joshua." "Jaime Reyes' greatest enemy" who vowed vengeance after Jaime took her away from him. Hector. Jaime' future self.

Allies: He has used associates he has worked with such as the Time Stealers, T.O. Morrow, Trigon and Lex Luthor to get what he wants. Black Beetle has shown loyalty to no one.

Enemies: Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle 3) and Booster Gold have fought against him. Neither one faired well as he managed to outmaneuver both of them. Although he blindsided Rip Hunter as well Hunter was the only one who was able to catch Black Beetle by surprise and stopped him from killing his intended victims. 

First Appearance: Booster Gold #4 Vol.2 (In silhouette) and BG #5 Vol. 2 (full view.)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Supernova 1

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During a period when Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman were out of action for a year other heroes filled the void to protect the world in their absence. The greatest threat during this time was discovered by Rip Hunter and Booster Gold. In order to get off of the masterminds' radar Hunter suggested a means to work freely by having Booster take on the identity of the new hero they created called Supernova. Pieces of advance technology were taken from different sources like Supermans' Phantom Zone Projector and Ray Palmers' White Dwarfstar belt, to give the wearer an edge. Booster Gold used the cover the costume provided to get the parts Hunter needed for their mission and (through time travel) create a false rivalry with his past self to keep any lingering suspicions of his identity off. The suit was then given to Boosters' ancestor Daniel Carter in hopes that he would be inspired to do heroic deeds with it. Daniel has yet to meet those standards.

What does the suit do?:

Thanks to the technology Rip Hunter has installed in it teleportation via the Phantom Zone is possible. Lights from the display tend to blind viewers acting as a cover for the suits' abilities. The Atoms' size changing belt makes it possible for the wearer to shrink. While not all the components were revealed it can also shoot laser beams, perform image displays to blend the wearer into the crowd, fly and travel through time. Hunter specially designed the Supernova uniform to only be able to operate for someone with Carter DNA. 
First Appearance: 52 # 10

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Konstanin Vyronis

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Konstanin Vyronis was one of the original twelve chosen to be part of a group of time travelers that would become the Goodfellows' Troupe. When his ambition and greed lead to the death of three of their members he was to be exiled and his only method of travel (his Keystone) broken. Vyronis however escaped his punishment to continue to work on his own plans. He employed Walker Gabriel to acquire various items he needed and in doing so caught the unwanted attention of the Linear Authority. Luckily for him Walker received the blunt of that attention. With his goal of power in sight he found a woman named Fiorella de Ravenna that shared his passions. Together they schemed to make his vision a reality. He told her much of the future promising to take her there once he obtained the power he desired.  

Not caring for morals he tried to appeal to Walkers' selfish nature. But much like his former teammates Vyronis was curious with how Walker could use any of the Goodfellows' Troupes' keystones. His actions proved to be a major motivator for the hero and unintentionally changed the mans' already chaotic life further.  

What Happened to him?: His story does take different twists and turns. One timeline has him receiving ultimate power much to Walkers' regret. Another has the attention he shifted onto Walker with the Linear Authority falling back on him. 
First Appearance: Chronos #1

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sondra Crain

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Seventy-Three years after the Blackest Night event the United State government initiated Project Slipshift. Sondra Crain was chosen to go back in time to stop Hank Henshaw from becoming the villainous Cyborg Superman in order to save countless lives that would be lost at his hands. Her first trip landed her on the space shuttle Excalibur before Henshaws' fateful trip took place. Due to the imprecise understanding of time travel the minds behind Project Slipshift had Crain was transported away before she had a chance to prevent Henshaws' transformation. 

Having failed her first mission she was charged with evacuating Coast City days before it's destruction. In theory the programming would have allowed for her to be bought home but the Time Facility used to bring her to the past was destroyed when she launched her mission. Worse of all Crain hadn't arrived as early as she thought. She wasn't days early, merely arriving an hour prior to the destruction. Crain tried to get Booster Gold to help her save Coast City and directly go against historic records. In doing so they recused Gracey Greene.

First Appearance: Booster Gold Vol. 2 #28 

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Memory Suppression

Sometimes a time traveler meets up with a person they will know personally in the future or someone of great importance. This can lead to the person in question knowing a little too much about their own future and the traveler. That being the case Rip Hunter has planned ahead for such an occasion. Both Skeets and his Time Spheres have a limited Chronal Wave function that can "erase" a certain amount of time from a persons' recent memories. If they do remember anything at all it will be nothing more than a vague dream.  

Mind Wipe

Friday, April 30, 2010

Where I've been and Boosters' JLA Certificate

My scanner went wonky awhile back so I haven't been able to get all the pics I wanted for updates. I do have a few extras put away, which hopefully means I can do this until I get a new scanner. Anyway...

After his battle with Mr. Mind Booster Gold wanted to make an effort at becoming a legitimate hero like he always dreamed about. The first step was to join the Justice League of America again. Rejecting Rip Hunters' request for his assistance at tackling temporal anomalies full time Booster successfully earned his place in the JLA again. Unfortunately fate intervened. Having been in the time stream a great deal Booster picked up traces of chronal residue which contaminated his membership certificate. Now it registered possible alternations in the time stream that only those affected by the chronal energy (i.e. time travelers) could see. Rip Hunter and Booster found it very useful at helping them find temporal wormholes. 

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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Mr. Mind

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The sole survivor of his race of Venus mind-worms Mr. Mind set his sight on Earth. Extremely intelligent the two inch alien usually was able to carry out his nefarious plans through his aptly named origination the Monster Society of Evil. Usually he is underestimated because of his small stature a trait that he capitalizes on. A small electronic device Mind uses makes it possible for his voice to be heard.

Through a series of experiments done by Dr. Sivana Minds' body began to change, a year long process that evolved him into a Hyperfly with the intent to feed off the 52 alternate Earths. Though he was stopped Mind harbored a grudge against those that defeated him forming a new band of allies to fight against his newest foes.

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Abilities: Able to spin very fast and strong silk. Controls minds by entering a persons' ear. In his cocoon state he was able to absorb the Phantom Zone. As a Hyperfly he could feed off of time it's self. Can asexually reproduce in both forms. 

Enemies: Formally his greatest rivals were the Marvel Family, and Dr. Sivana. He's fought his fair share of heroes including the JSA. Now he fights against the Time Masters, specially Booster Gold.  

Where is he now?: Let's just say another bug didn't agree with him. Most of his childrens' status is uncertain at present. One of them showed it's self to Lex Luthor while trying to control him, explaining why it is and isn't Mr. Mind.

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The Borstein Time Platform

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The Time Platform was invented by Reinhold Borstein in the 21st century to return the temporally displaced 19th century mercenary Jonah Hex to his proper time. Since then it's been used by other travelers. Booster Gold and his friends found one in the 25th Century to transport them home. Currently Rip Hunter uses a model mainly for emergency escapes. 

How it works: Usually the platform only works for one way trips since the traveler needs access to the control console. Rip Hunter has development a way to control the device via remote no matter where or when he is in time. Like most of his lab his platform only allows for the jumpers to enter if they are given clearance to be based on their genetic coding or one of his team gives their permission for the uninvited guests to enter.