WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman Beyond #48, by Dan Jurgens, Paul Pelletier, Norm Raymond, Chris Sotomayor, and Travis Lanham, available now.
Booster Gold has never been afraid of messing with time, even in a post-Flashpoint world. This time, however, it may have terrible consequences for the entire Batman Beyond legacy. The world is putting itself back together from the Ice Age it was put through, thanks to the Zehro and the League of Assassins. Bruce and Damian are pulling their resources and technology to make the world a better place. Terry is back on patrol, keeping Neo-Gotham safe from crime.
But in Batman Beyond #48, Bruce Wayne suddenly snaps and sends attack drones after the McGinnis brothers. Booster Gold, a time-traveling Justice Leaguer, showed just in time to save Terry and get him to safety. His brother, however, wasn’t so lucky, and Booster informs Terry that Bruce killed Matt and they have to travel through time to save his life.
Booster Gold is a fast-talking time traveler from the 25th Century, but Terry isn’t convinced of his character. He feels heading back to the Bat-Suite, and confronting Bruce head-on is a simpler decision. Booster Gold tells Terry that he has to go into the past to save his brother because Bruce already killed Matt and going back to the Bat-Suite won’t accomplish anything. Terry doesn’t believe Booster and even sucker punches him a couple of times trying to prove his point. Finally, Booster traps Terry in his time machine and kidnaps him through time.
Booster Gold takes Terry back to Gotham in 2020. At this time, Batman came into contact with a sorcerer named Blanque who is a powerful telekinetic. He planted an evil seed into Batman’s head that would eventually sprout in his old age and make him hurt his loved ones. “Think of it as revenge by time bomb,” Booster Gold says. Booster and Terry have to make sure Blanque doesn’t infect Batman’s mind, but they have to do it without Batman meeting Terry in the past. Skeets reminds Booster that a meeting between Terry and Burce in the past will change the direction of their relationship and wreck the time stream in unforeseen ways.
While Booster is dealing with Blanque, Terry is flying a little boy to safety and he tells him his name is Warren McGinnis, the same name as Terry’s late father. Terry has an unrelenting suspicion that he just saved his own father as a child. Before he can ponder the situation too much further, he’s confronted in the flames by a young and strapping Bruce Wayne is full Batman attire.
Booster Gold's extensive time-traveling history has had complicated and lasting consequences on DC's timestream. In Tom King and Tony Daniel's Batman #45, Booster travels back in time to save Bruce's parents from being murdered. What started as a completely over the top wedding present ends up as a nightmarish pocket reality where Gotham is tormented by super-criminals like Selina Kyle who is a deranged serial killer. Booster also created fractures in the Multiverse with Blue Beattle in DC Cybernetic Summer story, "The Boys of Summer," by Heath Corson, Scott Koblish, Hi-Fi, and Carlos M. Mangual. Booster and Blue Beattle time-traveled to find a less populated beach, only to be met by several other Booster and Beatles from other times who had the same idea.
Booster failed to keep Batman Beyond from meeting his mentor in the past. It looks like Terry will have to fight his mentor in a ploy to save his and his brother’s life far in the future. Let’s just hope Bruce Wayne believes in time travelers faster than it took Terry to believe Booster Gold.