#18 Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fellow time traveler although he came from the past to the future. His tragic nature stems from being an outcast and used as a fall guy so an enemy he didn't even know he had could steal his family from him.
Why he's important to Booster: Captain was more of the play by the rules sort of guy, leading JLE and then (sigh) Extreme Justice. He often comes off as more mature than Blue and Gold, closer to the ideal hero. In JLGL Cap was struggling with his humanity and what was morally right when dealing with a person like Max Lord. This made a great comparison to Booster who took leadership over the group and often acted as their conscience when the team was unsure of what course of action they should taken. Taking to heart the lessons he learned Booster explains why you shouldn't believe the future is written in stone and helps Nate make an important choice at the last issue that's ironic give BGs' time master status.
Suggested Reading: Justice League: Generation Lost #15 Out of all of Boosters' speeches I have to admit this one's written the weakest but the sentiment is still pretty strong. This is the issue where Nate tells the others everything he's seen and dramatically reveals his plans to kill Max off for good. ...Only to be told to grow up by Booster Gold. Stunned by this dismissal Nate asks for clarification to be told off for his desire to end this by lethal means. Just the fact that Booster Gold is giving a lesson on how to be a hero and leading Captain Atom is amazing. But the fact that he still wants to bring Max in alive after all he's been through because of him is really a giant mark of his maturity and growth as a hero.
Heh. I loved it when Booster told Captain Shinypants to grow up. I usually can't STAND Captain Shinypants, although I do have to grudgingly admit, that Winick didn't do a bad job with him in Generation Lost.
ReplyDeleteBut Booster is definitely more appealing.
There are certain moments where Booster puts other heroes in their places that's so satisfying even if you love the character he's talking to. I'd love for him to do it to Superman. I think it really helped that Winick made Nate want his humanity despite having godly powers. He doesn't seem as stern.
ReplyDeleteTrue. :D