Booster Gold #45 review

Booster's in trouble. Stranded in an altered world, with no friends, facing the beast that once maimed him ... it's not good. But he manages to escape Doomsday, and save an innocent bystander. As it turns out, the bystander is his first heroic ally in the world of Flashpoint, though the hero doesn't learn this yet. For Alexandra Gianopoulos only displays her powers when he leaves her to follow up on a clue that might help him rescue reality. What those powers are, I'm not sure: she flies, and has a familiar aura, so I'm thinking she has links to the Green Lanterns. She does mention that her father was killed while fighting Emperor Aquaman.

I love a mystery. I love this issue, it's a typically well-crafted tale from writer Dan Jurgens which shows that Booster Gold isn't lost without robotic advisor Skeets, disabled last issue. Nope, he uses his '25th century computer skills', a knowledge of time anomolies gained from Rip Hunter and his naturally sharp mind to work out that the timestream has been changed by Professor Zoom.

The clue doesn't do Booster a lot of good yet, as the military traces him to Wayne Manor, and again sics Doomsday - mind-controlled by General Nathaniel Adam, in Booster's world the hero known as Captain Atom - on him. Meanwhile, Alex has caught up to the military plane and she blasts it. Hard, causing Adam to lose control of Doomsday. Booster gave him the slip earlier, but can he possibly beat Doomsday in full-on beast mode?

Jurgens' layouts are as great as ever, telling the story clearly and dynamically. The fight scenes are top notch, with Doomsday every bit the unstoppable hulk, but it's the quieter moments with Alex that really got my attention. Away from Coast City, Booster and Alex take refuge in a rural retreat, and it's refreshing to be away from the bombast of battle. 

And in Alex we have a character who shows, well, character. She's pretty without being va-va-voom, her intelligence and heart shining through; I do hope she makes it out the other side of Flashpoint. She obviously likes Booster, and he has to meet that mysterious wife we've almost seen in son Rip Hunter's memories eventually.

Finishing the artwork, Norm Rapmund is Jurgens' rock, giving the layouts weight and dramatic polish. Hi-Fi Designs colour, adding such helpful flourishes as computer screen glow and hazy sunsets. And Carlos M Manguel allows some personality to show through in the lettering, rather than using some super-neat computer font. All this, and a splendid montage cover from Jurgens, Rampmund and, I think, Hi-Fi (there's no credit, but I believe the asterisk is the company's signifier). 

Just two more issues to go before Booster becomes leader of the post-Flashpoint JLI. I hope he remains the Booster we know, perhaps working to restore the proper timestream. Seeing him lose his special knowledge would be like watching a friend have an enforced lobotomy. And Booster deserves better.