Bring Back Broderick!

I've been rereading my BG issues and missing Broderick. Yes he only appeared in a three or four issues but he was interesting. One of the best things about him was the mixture of admiration and disgust he had for Booster. Something that gets a nice twist once he finds himself in the past.

JLGL #22 and Supergirl #62

Supergirl #62:

Like with the Teen Titans I only bought this issue because of a character I like. Well two: Damian and Jaime. I wasn't interested in the Supergirl stuff although it's always nice to see her and Lois on good terms. My favorite bit was actually when all of them were out of uniform. Although I have to ask why Damian is flaunting his face in front of a guy that doesn't know who Batman is. At least wear glasses like Kara. The interaction with the boys was nice with Damian being slightly less mean than usual and Jaime being one of the few people that can deal with him in a calm manner. Well he IS a big brother. Which reminds me, I still want to read Damian meeting her, Rani, and (some way some how) little Rip. Make it happen DC.

Justice League Generation Lost #22:

Like with Bea, Tora and Nate all gathering around to make sure Booster was okay in #1 I love the opening pages that show how much these characters care for each other. I have to make the second page into something or icon Cap lifting up Jaime. Gavril was cute with his odd rendering of Wonder Woman and slip into his native tongue. The one thing that bugged me about this issue was Batman coming in and basically taking over. If he takes the leadership role it's horrible storytelling because a.) Batman (Bruce) is just showing up for the first time near the end of the series with no prior build up in this title (I know he joined in Power Girl) and b.) last issue literally had the team rallying to support Booster as their leader. Now Batman comes and they all gladly follow him?

Happily this was addressed in a recent interview with Winick:

Nrama: Is Booster's leadership role threatened by Batman coming into the picture?

Winick: Not really, because Batman's a dude who looked to Booster Gold a couple years ago and said that he knows that Booster's a hero, that he's not some moron.

Way back when we were coming up with the ideas behind Infinite Crisis, me, Geoff Johns, [Greg] Rucka, Dan DiDio and Eddie Berganza were all coming up with ideas for that event, brainstorming. And we were putting cards up on the wall for things we felt were important, and there was a card up on the wall that said, "Batman knows Booster Gold is a superhero." We put that up there. And moments came later where everyone thought he was an idiot, but Batman knows he's not. Batman knows he's got the stuff. And that's something I've always hung onto.

And Booster knows he's not an idiot. I had him talk about it last issue. He's aware that he's good at this, that he can help.

But Batman takes them all seriously. He knows this team, and he knows how good they are. And he knows that Booster is a hero.

But even still Booster is taking a backseat in this issue although he's not hiding with the rest when they meet WW. Can't wait for the last two issues and hope there is an ongoing.

Rips' more like his dad than we thought

Yes, this is actually Rip Hunter in a story written by Dan Jurgens to show how he became a Linear Man. Rip messes up a lot acting far more like Booster than he acts like himself. He even has a friendship with his computer like Booster has with Skeets. It's hilarious to see how much he acts like him given future stories. At least we finally got an answer the question Daniel posed in 52 about time spheres having bathrooms.

Why Superman doesn't like Time Travelers

Someday I'll get back to the bios and I'm going to do more reviews soon. Or at least I should. Anyway, Superman hasn't had the best relationship with time travelers since post-crisis. There's a good reason for that under Dan Jurgens Superman run. The Linear Men make their first appearance within that run when one of their members (Travis O'Connell) rebels against the others to bring Booster back to the future by force. Superman only really gets involved because of a misunderstanding (he didn't think he should stop Booster from being taken against his will) and after many time jumps O'Connell confronts him directly. The moon was supposed to explode but didn't because of Superman. The Linear Man causes it to blow up killing millions.

Since then he has witnessed Waverider change destiny and admitted that such people frighten him because they can command fate. Although Superman does like Liri Lee (he likes LLs) because she was always willing to bend the rules to help him out. Clark comes off jerky but I have to admit it amuses me.

Rip's had enough of your crap Hal

Hal Jordan was pretty jerky to Booster Gold during their trip together in Time Masters Vanishing Point. On the brink of Vanishing Point collapsing around them Hal thinks it's a good time to get on Boosters' case for the millionth time and Rip Hunter finally reaches his breaking point with putting up with it.



A couple of things stand out about Rips' reaction:

1.) He basically spells out the secret of Booster working with him. Like in TMVP all clues and in this case stating it outright go completely over Hal and Supermans' heads.

2.) Hals' ring is the only thing keeping Rip alive at the point and Rip still shows no fear telling Hal what's what. I think I love Rip more all the time. Don't diss his dad Hal, Rip don't play that.

Justice League Generation Lost #21

I loved this issue because the character piece just work so well. The team is paired up like they were in issue #5, the issue where Jaime agreed to stay on the team and fully formed with the new Rocket Red. Tora is sweet even if their still sticking her with the belly flaunting outfit. Remember Cap questioned why Bea brought Tora along. He's the one who she talked to about her fear of dying and they had a little fight over her wanting to leave. Booster may of stopped him from his mission to murder Max but Tora gets him to see that despite how he's seen he's a hero and always will be.

We finally get Bea hooking up with Gavril! I love those two and hope they last. Although I knew this pairing would get some shippers mad I'm more than pleased. Before this series started I would have been worried that we'd get several pages of their first kiss turning into soft porn. Strange to think Winick wasn't the one who wrote page upon page of pervy things in one of my book. (He's also the reason I'm reading Power Girl when I held off during the last run. Shocking right?)

I am still amazed that Winick is writing one of the best Booster Golds' I ever read. All the writers have little things that don't work for the character voice and if I had to pick something that's off it's that Booster isn't joking. But for this series it's understandable, Booster has to be serious given the situation. He's the one that dragged the others along. Now he feels guilty for another Blue Beetles' death. His talk to Skeets is heartfelt and I like to think the others heard all of it from the moment Skeets asks him if he blames himself. I don't think Boosters' usually so self aware of the positive things he's capable of but the fact that he realized he was taking command is incredible. More so when the others confront him on wanting to give up.

I'm always annoyed when characters bash Booster but never more than when the people who worked with him do it. They should know better. That being said I was really peeved in #2 when Cap, Fire and Ice were so nasty to him. But having them ask him to lead them shows that they know he's more than what he appears. They see it, see that he's the one who kept them together and a trait I'm glad a writer finally put into print : Booster never gives up. Oh he'll try but it never takes. I don't think this one would either. It also shows that Gavril is deeper than people give him credit for too. I think Booster had it right on the nose when they first met Gavril gets what's right in front of them (well except for Bea but she spelled it out for him.) He sees that Skeets is part of their team and now he sees that Booster is the one who never gives up. And of course we get the ending half of us knew was coming.

Haven't read Booster Gold, I got the issue I just haven't felt any interest in reading it yet. Not just because I haven't really been enjoying the series lately, I think it has to do with reading Jurgens newest interviews. It made the difference a lot clearer and actually surprised me a little. Like the lastest one. I knew Booster was younger than Giffin and DeMatteis implied (or said in one issue) but he's two years younger that what I thought. Jurgens also has an interesting view on Boosters' relationship with Jaime I'd like to see more of.

The Start of the Silver Age Rip & Bonnie Romance

(Does Bonnie really want to put the moves on Rip in front of the rest of the crew plus a frowning robot? Yes, yes she does. Click on the image for the second panel.)

I've been going through a lot of Rip Hunter material and have found that (so far) he's only had one romantic interest: Bonnie Baxter. Bonnie was his research assistant that for some strange reason brought her baby brother to her job where he sort of helps out just because. Rips' solo series ran 29 issues, the first half showing the group in regular clothes dealing with historical figures, aliens and people that dress like monsters. Rip usually single handedly kicked most of their enemies asses although Jeff would lend a hand and Bonnie and Corky helped in less physical ways. Although both of the Baxters used the Time Sphere's guns to drive off enemies (just roll with it.) Anyway, the first half of the series surprised me because there seemed to be no romance with Bonnie and Rip. Jeff seemed more worried about her but they never had anyone seem compelled to have Bonnie as a love interest. In issue #16 a few things changed in the series.

The Time Masters started wearing their green and red uniforms that contained historical data and translator discs. The issue also has Corky kidnapped to operate the controls of the time sphere for some of times' greatest bad guys. What's interesting is that this issue also starts the Rip and Bonnie relationship although it's not presented as a major plot. Bonnie shows her interest when she gets jealous of another woman showing affection for Rip through their travels. He doesn't seem to notice either woman as he's focused on saving Corky and stopping the bad guys. During their search Rip and Jeff leave Bonnie to watch the time sphere as they close in on the villains. But while they saved Corky they realized that both Bonnie and their ride home are endangered. All seems lost until they figure out that Bonnie tricked the villains. That's right, Bonnie saved the day by capturing the bad guys (using those guns.)

When she explains that she didn't use the communicator to let them know for fear of tipping off their foes Rips' impressed. He let's her know this by telling her how amazing she was and kissing her on the cheek. (Sorry don't have pictures for this issue.) That's right, Rip falls for her because she used her brains and kicked ass. This is the start of their Silver Age romance that will be seen throughout the rest of the series.

How Geoff Johns recreated Rip Hunter

Just a brief explanation. The Geoff Johns Rip Hunter is different than the other versions of the character. The biggest difference is his identity, all other versions have "Rip Hunter" as his real name. One going so far as to show his family. Of course there are unintentional "hints" of future changes that we can see in the 90s' mini series.

The *ahem* post it note and who he's talking to. Which prove Rips' always known things about the future, in this case even before the writers did. So many things to love about this panel, even without the Carter stuff there's post-crisis Jeff putting the moves on Bonnie behind his back. And it's even funnier if you know who their talking about.

Anyway, Johns first wrote this change of Rips' history during his JSA run just before Infinite Crisis. This is also the first time we hear about the fate of his friends and teammates. Although this verison isn't as refined as it will be later. In 52 Rip is said to be the inventor of time travel (don't know how that work) while Jeff is credited here with helping him put the time sphere together. Some of Rips' skills are downplayed a little although he's seen as the one hope for time travelers here and in 52.



According to Dan Jurgens the idea of who Rip ends up being was Johns' as it never occurred to him. Next time I'll post about Rips' one on panel relationship, the other team he was on and why he's always been a badass.