The Scott Summers Awards for Top 5 Doomed Superhero (B)Romances: #3

#3: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle II
Began Courtship in Justice League #3, 1987
Written by: J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen

Summary:
Not your typical romance, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold first met when Maxwell Lord brought Booster into the Justice League in the late 80s. No longer focused on strictly American superheroics, the team eventually changed its name to the Justice League International, and “Blue and Gold,” as they’re frequently referred to, started partnering up, mostly in zany comic relief roles, most notably when they opened Club JLI, a gaming resort on the Pacific island Kooey Kooey Kooey.

Over the years, the duo became best friends and were practically inseparable fan favorites. During the Doomsday conflict (which inevitably led to the Death of Superman), Booster came up with the name for the superpowered bad guy, but both he and Beetle suffered severely in Doomsday’s warpath. Blue Beetle was left in a coma, and Booster’s suit (which he derives most of his powers from) took enough damage to the point where it was inoperable. Once he healed up, Blue Beetle (aka Ted Kord) used his fortune and technological genius to build Booster a new suit. What are friends for, right?

Eventually, Booster fell on hard times, financially, and started pimping out his superhero status to advertising agencies, making a few quick bucks on commercials and merchandising. During Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Blue Beetle found a big conspiracy and asked Booster for a hand, which he eventually lent, putting on his costume and deciding to try to be a hero again, even though no other heroes believed Ted when he said he was onto something big.

This didn’t work out, as the fates would have it, and an explosion designed to kill Blue Beetle hit Booster instead, leaving him hospitalized and unable to aid Ted in uncovering exactly what the big conspiracy was all about, in spite of his best efforts to continue the battle.

Once the Blue Beetle finally figured out the big mystery (the OMAC Project, a program designed by Brother Eye and Checkmate, spearheaded by former JLI beneficiary Maxwell Lord) the relationship between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle met its untimely close. . .

What Doomed It:
Because Maxwell Lord shot Blue Beetle through the skull when Ted refused to join forces with Max to take over the world. I mean, that’ll put a strain on any relationship.

It was this event, though, that led Booster to redouble his efforts at being a superhero. He helped bring down Brother Eye in the pages of Infinite Crisis, and he eventually went on to defeat Mister Mind in 52: Week 52, joining Rip Hunter to become the first of the Time Masters.

Booster was then given his own ongoing monthly series, and one of his first objectives was to return to the moment when his best friend was shot and killed. Upon rescuing Ted from Max, they returned to the future, only to find that the world had been enslaved by OMACs and most every superhero had been killed.

The justification for this is that Blue Beetle’s death had to take place, that it’s a part of what Rip Hunter calls, “solidified time.” So, in a heartfelt moment of self-sacrifice, Blue Beetle returned to his proper place in time in order to make sure the future survives the way it should.

At the end of that story-arc, however, it’s teased that Ted Kord might not be as dead as we all think, and there’s rampant speculation that we haven’t seen the last of Blue and Gold just yet. Here’s hoping, but, for now, it seems their bromance is as dead as can be.