Why Booster Gold Saved Batman's Parents, After Refusing to Save Superman's

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Batman #45 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel, and John Livesay, on sale now.

As everyone now knows, Batman and Catwoman are getting married. With their nuptials pending, one question stands out: what kind of gifts do superheroes give each other? Batman #45, by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel and John Livesay, gives a rather unique and unexpected answer to that question, at least when it comes to Booster Gold.

Part one of "The Gift" features not only a very different Batman, but also a very different world around him, as Booster's "gift" to Bruce Wayne is one that has had very severe world-altering consequences. That gift? One that only a time-traveler could provide: Go back in time and save the lives of Bruce's parents.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Of course, that could only lead to a changed reality where Bruce would never have the motivation to become Batman, creating a void that also created tremendous and troubling possibilities for his foes. This "Batpoint" world was certainly not was Booster intended – why would a self-professed time master guardian of the timeline so flagrantly tamper with history? Especially so soon after the events of the recent "Booster Shot" arc in Action Comics, where Booster Gold proactively attempted to prevent Superman from doing the same?

There's not only a very different Batman in Batman – there's also a seemingly very different Booster Gold. In "Booster Shot," Booster took an active and responsible role in allowing Krypton to self-destruct in the past, with a reluctantly understanding Superman watching it happen. After "ensuring" that Kal-El's parents died as intended – the Mr. Oz revelation notwithstanding – why would Booster essentially do exactly the opposite for Bruce Wayne's parents?

Why Is Booster Gold Such a Jerk?

Booster Gold has mostly always been a jerk, but when last seen in Action Comics, at least he was a responsible jerk. Here, well, Booster is the epitome of epic jerkitude. Booster watches with immature fascination as a frequent colleague and ally under The Joker's influence commits suicide. And that's just how the issue begins. Pages later, he's making flatulence jokes that would make an eight-year-old proud. All the while, he's searching for Bruce, the recipient of his so-called gift, to help him fix the very timeline that he himself broke. Pretty jerky behavior all around.

Why is Booster acting so differently? Is this an atypical writing gaffe on King's part, badly mischaracterizing Dan Jurgens' creation, after Jurgens himself handled Booster with far more reverence? Is this a surprising lapse on the part of DC Comics editorial, letting two such disparate treatments of the character appear within a few months of each other? Or is there perhaps a more tangible, in-context reason for this seeming disconnect? There is one possibility – one that King's script seems to go out of its way to communicate.

Namely, that this Booster Gold is a younger incarnation of himself.

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This Booster is a Doody-Head

Of course, that notion begs all kinds of other questions, but then, it's only the first part of King's new arc. But, the idea fits within the storyline's spaces – this Booster makes no mention of his recent involvement with Superman, for instance, which he wouldn't if it hasn't occurred yet in his timeframe. A young, irresponsible Booster just might go poking around in the timestream and learn Batman gets married in the future. This Booster might also try to impress the Dark Knight with a gift he thinks will be better than anything else he receives. And, who else would inflict such damage on the timestream, and still find it appropriate to make fart jokes?

However this far-reaching incident plays out, it's clear that a young Booster needs help to make it all better. If this in fact is a younger version of Booster, then there's a present-day version out there somewhere – even if it's some twisted, Joker-ized Batpoint version. There are also plenty of other heroes with time traveling capabilities – Batman figured prominently in Flashpoint, so an appearance of The Flash here would be fitting to set things right.

Is a World Without Batman Worse Than a World Without Superman?

In general, Superman has historically been seen as a bigger player in the DC Universe. His character is the template of virtually every superhero created since, and even served as the anti-template for Batman's creation. And overall, he's had a larger impact on continuity-altering, multiversal events. Recently, though, arcs like Flashpoint and Dark Nights: Metal have put forth that Batman is capable of being a much larger player than thought possible. While always popular, Batman's importance in the overall fabric of the DCU hasn't really been explored until relatively recently.

Perhaps this is something that Booster Gold, young or current, has yet to fully grasp. Part one of "The Gift" shows how critical the absence of the true Batman in the DCU can be. Booster clearly understood the importance of Superman's existence in "Booster Shot," but no such importance has ever been placed on Batman. While the survival of Superman's parents would create a void that Booster clearly understands, that void – mistakenly – might have been viewed as less important if it were Batman who's absent. Whereas Superman's parents had to die to preserve the fabric of really, perhaps Booster believes – again, mistakenly – that Bruce's could be spared without any real impact. Wrong.

Wedding? What Wedding?

Curiously, the marriage that's focused on this issue isn't that of Bruce and Selina, but rather Thomas and Martha, as the story takes place on their wedding anniversary. Selina, in fact, isn't even present, and other than from Booster, there's not even any mention of Bruce's own wedding.

Did Booster's machinations ultimately backfire? Are Bruce and Selina even getting married in this reality? Or worse yet – does Selina even exist as anything more than as a traditional villain, since she's not seen anywhere? Such a development would further marginalize Booster's intent if not only did his wedding gift usher in a dystopic reality, it also negated the very event that Booster was trying to commemorate.

Booster Gold, without any help from Bruce, continues to try and undo his deed in Batman #46, part two of "The Gift," on sale May 2.