Booster Gold #25

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

Warning: this post contains long-winded ranting.

A bit of background for the uninformed:

This issue has Booster sneaking back into the Batcave to once again try and retrieve the photos of him at the scene of the Joker shooting Barbara Gordon. Bruce!Batman was aware of what happened and of Booster's attempt at preventing the shooting, but now that Bruce is gone, Rip advises him to get them out of the Batcave so that no one else knows, lest it mess up the timeline somehow.

A couple issues back he tried to get them out, but was caught by Dick, and then Dick disappeared because Black Beetle messed with the timeline ensuring that Dick got killed off when he was still Robin and working with the Teen Titans. After fixing that situation, he tries again by arriving five minutes earlier than the last time he went there. This time, however, he's caught by Damian!Robin, who is quickly followed by Dick!Batman. Alfred is all "Oh hey Booster, s'up?*" and brings refreshments.

*Except, you know, in Alfred-speak.



It's bad enough that the issue where Booster tries to prevent Barbara's shooting just uses her as a prop for the story, and that present-day!Barbara has yet to be informed. (I like to think that Bruce would have told her what Booster did, right after he told Booster that he knew about it, but I doubt we'll actually see that as canon. And actually, this issue would have been perfect timing for Babs to catch Booster in the cave and confront him on what happened, given that she's set up shop there now. She could yell and tell him to not mess around in her past without her permission, then be sympathetic and say she was sorry he went to all that effort for her, and then they could have bonded over missing Ted.) But I find it especially irritating how the photos of the shooting keep getting thrown around so lightly.

Those photos hold such pain and humiliation for Barbara. Not only because of what the Joker did to her, but because their entire purpose was to cause pain to her loved ones.

Given that the photographs hold that kind of awful power, it would make sense that access to them would be severely restricted, and that only four people (excepting the Joker and his goons) would have ever seen them prior to Booster's encounter. (I would think that Bruce would have made them a little bit harder to find than just sitting in an unlocked filing cabinet out in the open in the cave.) Commissioner Gordon saw them because the Joker subjected him to them. I'm guessing that Barbara would have seen them at some point, but it's possible that she chose not to look at them. Harvey Bullock was the detective on the case so he would have seen them, and Bruce would have seen them as he was also on the case in theory, and he apparently elected to store and protect the photos so that they don't run the risk of ever falling into the wrong hands.

So, given all of that, it is logical to assume that Dick Grayson has never seen the photos before this time. Maybe Babs has described the experience in great detail to Dick in the past, but Babs would absolutely not want her friend (who cares a great deal about her and vice versa, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend/fiancé) to see those photos of her.

As I said above, the entire point of those photos was to cause pain and humiliation for Barbara and people who cared about her*. It would be horribly painful for Dick to see them, and the same goes for Babs, and she wouldn't want him to see that way either, for both their sakes.

*Although really, it was not about Babs in the first place, hence The Killing Joke being a classic case of fridging.

So, yeah. That bugs me. Anyways, onward:




Um, okay. Look, I like the idea of Dick and Booster bonding and becoming pals as much as the next gal ("they have the two best butts in the DCU: together, they fight crime!"), but that last panel? They are essentially smiling and toasting their glasses over the fact that nothing can be done to prevent all the horrible things that the Joker has done (not to mention all the deaths in WWII).

It's one thing to acknowledge the permanence of solidified time (i.e., "you can't change the past"), but it comes off as more than a little callous to be so light-hearted about it, considering the events they're discussing. The millions of people killed because of Hitler, the Joker beating and blowing up Jason Todd, shooting and paralysing Barbara Gordon, torturing her father, murdering Sarah Essen (not to mention all the random unnamed Gothamites who have also been his victims), and all the hell that the Joker has put Bruce and Dick and everyone in the extended Bat-family through over the years. That is kind of what you're toasting over, boys.

*sigh* If it weren't for the sheer awesomeness in the Blue Beetle story in the back, I would have been annoyed that I bought this issue.



Okay, nothing to really rant about this, I just didn't expect what we saw on the following page.



I always picture the Graysons as living in a cozy little trailer at the circus, not living in a spacious suburban house, so I was kind of misdirected and assumed that we would see Dick as a kid at Wayne Manor (especially in light of feeling lost in training Damian and whatnot). Ah well, it was a nice thought, if somewhat awkwardly executed.

Comments

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

It's not about whether or not she was ultimately shot and paralysed, it's that that event did not originally involve Booster Gold, and now it does. Therefore, Booster Gold played a (albeit ineffectual) part in a life-altering event in Barbara's life. It involves her in a serious way, and the decent thing to do would be to tell her about it.

I can totally believe Booster not telling her, given his need for secrecy, but Batman is a close friend of Barbara and has enough respect for her that he should feel obligated to tell her.

[manofbats.insanejournal.com]

Yes, but the whole point of this series is that Booster's roles in past events have to be kept a secret.

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

Except that he told both Bruce and Dick, so clearly it's okay to tell friends who can be trusted to keep it a secret.

[(Anonymous)]

Well to nitpick Bruce already knew and what Booster did reveal--because denial was futile--wasn't much, We already learned that Bruce figured out the basics of Boosters' mission which Dick read from the file. My understanding of this reveal (which was mostly off panel) was that he chose to tell Dick because he trusted him, he needed a confident, and he figured it was easier than doing the time wrap 100 times to get rid of the photos.

With Babs, well how well does Booster really know her? As far as I know they only talked once on the phone before he tried to save her in the KJ. While we're led to assume him and Dick weren't tight before this there's a level of guilt with her that there wasn't with Dick. He failed her and neither of them saved Ted. Would Bruce have told her beforehand? He doesn't know but from that POV he'd likely assume that if anyone would have told her it would have been Bruce.

I suppose at the end you have to wonder would Bruce have kept it from her for the sake of Boosters' mission or revealed it? Though this is the same Bruce that while knowing what Booster would do treated him like crap before going, "you can stop looking. Blue Beetle is dead. See? Bloody goggles."

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

We already learned that Bruce figured out the basics of Boosters' mission which Dick read from the file.

Dick didn't learn about Booster's secret mission from Bruce's files, this comic is the first time Dick is learning about it.

he chose to tell Dick because he trusted him, he needed a confident

And within the context of this story, that confidant could just have easily been Barbara.

With Babs, well how well does Booster really know her?

He knows that his best friend in the whole world loved and trusted her, and he's encountered her twice in this series during his time travelling, and one of those times involved the most traumatic night of Barbara's life. At this point Booster knows Babs better than he knows Dick.

While we're led to assume him and Dick weren't tight before this there's a level of guilt with her that there wasn't with Dick

Which actually works in their favour, considering both Booster and Babs feel guilty about not being able to prevent Ted's death. Hence the potential for bonding and becoming friends.

I suppose at the end you have to wonder would Bruce have kept it from her for the sake of Boosters' mission or revealed it? Though this is the same Bruce that while knowing what Booster would do treated him like crap before going, "you can stop looking. Blue Beetle is dead. See? Bloody goggles."

Bruce was definitely being a jerk there, but he was also dealing with an Orwellian overlord partly of his own making taking over the world and waging war on metahumans.

Besides which, Bruce is closer to Barbara than he ever has been to Booster, and once it was okay to confront Booster about it without disrupting the timeline, there was no reason why he couldn't let Babs know what happened. I like to think that Bruce does occasionally do the right thing when it comes to people he cares about.

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't mean to imply that Dick read it beforehand but he is seen reading the file Booster got just before Damian comes back with Alfred. He says something like, "according to this your mission is to protect the time line."

Within this story? No, as Barbara didn't appear beforehand and this was about a world without Batman/Titans. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done it just didn't fit in with how this story was written. That story should be about Babs/Booster and maybe them having to confront the Joker.

I'd like to see them deal with Ted and be friends. I'm just saying that it wouldn't be as easy for Booster to open up to someone he feels he failed repeatedly.

I suppose what I'm saying is which writers' version of Bruce do you think won? The Bat God or the good friend? Because at present it's very unclear if she knows. If she does she's not going out of her way to mention it to Booster. What would make a better story: her knowing but not saying anything for her own reasons or her reaction when she does find out?

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

I'm just saying that it wouldn't be as easy for Booster to open up to someone he feels he failed repeatedly.

Well, it could also be argued that he wouldn't have been easy for Booster to open up to Bruce about it, but because Bruce confronted him with his knowledge of it, he did. The same scenario could have happened here with Babs.

I suppose what I'm saying is which writers' version of Bruce do you think won? The Bat God or the good friend?

I only read the "Bat God" story in part, and on the old scans_daily, so I'm not sure I fully grasp the concept when people talk about it. I think a well-written Bruce, who is considerate of his friends (and considering past conversations between him and Babs about the shooting, I think he would realize what the considerate thing to do here would be) would tell Babs.

What would make a better story: her knowing but not saying anything for her own reasons or her reaction when she does find out?

Definitely the latter option. There's not as much room for conflict or interesting character interaction in the former.

[(Anonymous)]

Exactly. Booster didn't decide to come to either Bruce or Dick with the information. He had two chances to tell Bruce before it was revealed that Bruce already knew. He never admitted what he was doing without the issue being forced by the proof Bruce had. With Dick he was caught red handed twice. Both times he confessed because of it. I don't see Booster flat out telling Barbara because of the guilt, his mission (which was why he didn't leap to tell Dick/Bruce) and because Bruce is closer to her hence it would seem logical that he'd be the one to tell her. If not then the only way I could see it happening is if they were forced into a situation together, likely with her already knowing.

The "Bat God" is pretty much how Bruce acted during the Omac Project. Booster tells Bruce he's in the wrong. Bruce goes off to get his spy satellite back never thinking that he is the one in the wrong. That his reasoning was justified. He puts the mission in front of friends. Shutting people out, that kinda thing. In a way he was the Bat God by how he treated Booster knowing what he did/would do.

I think so too. But like the "is Ted alive" plot I don't want it right away. But the question to me would be how to bring it about if she wasn't informed. How would she find out? If she's in the cave now (so I've heard) then would Dick leave the file down there? Would she have a reason to look for Boosters' file anyway? So many questions.

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

How would she find out?

It could be that she went to look back at the photos for whatever reason, and noticed some small detail indicating that there were photos missing. So she takes it upon herself to find the missing photos.

[(Anonymous)]

I assume there were more than one set. Doesn't the Gotham Police have copies for evidence? I'd think Barbara would be able to, if need be, find them on her computer. Unless she remembers Booster being there (and it was done in a way to leave doubt of that) I can't see her going to his file specifically.

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

I would think it's possible that they haven't been scanned or reproduced in any way, so as to avoid their being obtained by anyone else. I remember talking about this before, and someone speculated that Batman's copies might be the only ones. (But that would seem odd for the GCPD to agree to that. But then again, Babs being the commissioner's daughter, it would be understandable that those involved wouldn't want just anyone in the GCPD with access to case files to be able to go and look at them, you know?)

[(Anonymous)]

So the police didn't have any of the photos? I assumed Bruce made copies of all evidence he could in case it went "missing" at the station and/or he needed to see patterns in later cases.

Assuming there aren't copies: unless Barbara knew the exact amount of pictures Bruce had, whether he fibbed or not, she wouldn't know if any were missing. Not unless he left the negatives which would be very reckless of him. And if she did figure out there were pictures missing why would she look in Boosters' file of all places? Granted she might demand Alfred or Dick tell her where they went but I think she'd want to keep this to herself first. KJ has never been easy for her to talk about.

The only semi-connection I saw to this outside BG was Barbara having the camera in BOP Origins and Omens. She says that Bruce didn't want to give it to her. But that's all that was mentioned of it.

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

It's just speculation, when it comes down to it. I would think the police had to have had the photos at first, but it's possible it was then agreed that they should be stored more securely.

The only semi-connection I saw to this outside BG was Barbara having the camera in BOP Origins and Omens. She says that Bruce didn't want to give it to her. But that's all that was mentioned of it.

Uhg, yeah, not really a fan of that Origins and Omens bit, nor the ending of BoP.

[(Anonymous)]

True, and like most of this we can only speculate whether she knows or not.

It's the only connection to this I've seen. So unless Tim suddenly thinks they need a time traveller to save Bruce it doesn't seem likely that Booster will come into the picture anytime soon.