WORD OF THE DAY! 12/10/11

dark horse [dahrk-hawrs]
noun
1. an unexpected and relatively unknown combatant, who is usually chosen as part of a compromise, for a contest.
2. an unlikely contestant or winner in a struggle; underdog.

Ex. Booster Gold is one of the most underestimated, underplayed, underutilized heroes of the DC Universe. He is often depicted as a doofus dark horse, a real out-of-towner from the future, and a hapless underdog. But really, who is Booster Gold?

Born in 25th Century Gotham City, Michael Jon Carter was born in a poor neighborhood where he found his talent in football. In fact, he became a star quarterback, nicknamed "Booster", for the Gotham University and a had a bright future--that is until he gambling addicted father reentered his life and convinced him to throw some games for his benefit. Unfortunately, Carter was caught and disgraced, his future falling by the wayside. So, Carter ended up working at the Metropolis Space Museum, as a security guard, alongside a security drone, Skeets. It was in the museum that Carter was inspired to become a super hero.

After becoming obsessed with the Super Heroes of the 20th Century displays in the museum he developed a dubious plan; he stole several super hero inventions and uses a time machine to go back to the past, become a super hero and, by making a fortune through a company he would start, live comfortably.The artifact he stole gave him the powers of flight, power blasts, nearly indestructible energy shields, enhanced strength, agility, and dozens of other useful technology based abilities.

His first outing was to save the President from being assassinated, along with his robot sidekick Skeets, as "Goldstar". A mix up happened in the press of the event and from that moment on he became Booster Gold. Booster gained a reputation as a glory hound and wannabe celebrity, because he used his name and identity for advertising. He has a bad reputation amongst other heroes, some even calling him "Buster" and often treating him like an idiot. Is Booster a bad hero?

Dozens of times, Booster has been written as a glory hound, but this is not a fair interpretation. Most of the time, Booster comes through as a true-blue hero who has saved the world on multiple occasions, sacrificed his own life/safety for others, and shown great generosity. He is actually a powerhouse in the DC Universe thanks to his knowledge of future events and super technology borrowed from other heroes.Superman is nearly defeated by an ANDROID (pictured above) of Booster Gold and is only saved by the help of Booster Gold. He won me over in DC's 52 (2006-2007) run where he not only proves to be a competent scientist, time traveler and hero, but also saves Metropolis and the world several times. It is in fact, implied through several stories, that Booster is destined to do more great deeds in the near future. And yet...

And yet, the New 52 resets a lot of characters, including Booster who is portrayed as his old glory hound self. It's frustrating, but I remain optimistic that this character has a bright future, some might even say "golden".


Here is a link to his Justice League episode. Did I mention Billy West plays Skeets?

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED-THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD

Next week? Booster's best friend, The Blue Beetle.