25 Days of Supporting Characters: Rani

#9 Rani

This is the one I debated the most on even putting on the list. As much as I like the idea of Rani the character didn't do much and at times I wondered if she was even necessary at all considering the fact we know Boosters' going to have an intelligent child he loves to death. Then the character was used as an excuse for Michelles' out of character behavior. But Rani did introduce a concept that wasn't used before and for that reason she's up here. 

Why she's important to Booster: Isn't unclear if Rani was destined to end up with Booster or not. She's not in the flashbacks Rip has growing up with his parents. But she does provide a new struggle for the hero. For the first time in his history Booster is forced to consider himself in a role as a parent. While I don't agree with everyone from Michelle to Skeets pushing him towards this goal it does bring some good insight towards his character. In canon Booster does like children, but this is the first we hear of his uncertainty as a father figure. Something that does make sense when you consider his own father but he also sees his flaws as a person as reasons he wouldn't make a good parent. 

Suggested Reading: Booster Gold #38 Vol.2  Ignoring the teeth grating depiction of Michelle this issue shows Boosters' parent-like concern when he finds the lost Rani. It's a very real reaction that comes across more like a guardian than any of his sisters' reactions after the girl gets into dangerous situations. When overwhelmed with concern Booster uses his head to move heaven and hell to find her. This in my opinion, is the best example of his concerns with not being a good father to her and proving he would make a good one. Of course we already knew that with Rip but this is the first time this was explored linearly. And since we'll likely never see Rip born on panel we still get to see this growth.