Mastering Time Masters

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1

Time Masters: Vanishing Point is the lesser-known companion piece to the concurrently released Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series.  However, unlike the latter, the six-issue Time Masters: Vanishing Point mini-series was much better written and contained a more interesting (and easier to follow) storyline.  

In Time Masters, time-traveling Rip Hunter, along with his father Booster Gold, Superman, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan journey back and forth in time in search of Batman who has been lost in time since the events of the  Final Crisis/Batman R.I.P. storyline.  Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold, wrote and drew Time Masters, and you can see that even after all these years, he hasn't lost his touch.  His characterizations of Booster, Rip, and Skeets were fantastic, as usual.  There were, however, some off-putting characterizations of Hal Jordan and Superman.  Hal criticizes Booster throughout the series, as if he's the self-centered, self-serving narcissist that he was back in the 1980s.  And Superman wants to intervene in situations they encounter during their time travels, despite being told that they can't change events in time because it could negatively alter the time continuum.  I would think he'd be a bit more rational than that.  

Rip Hunter with his sexy scruff

Each issue of Time Masters started with a two-page back story of Rip Hunter's up 'til now unknown past, showing him as a child learning about the timestream from his father, Booster Gold.  This was something I looked forward to in every issue.  Rip Hunter's past has been very secretive, but now we've been given a few glimpses.  The mystery still remains, though:  Who is Rip Hunter's mother?  We catch a distant peek of the back of her in one scene, but she's dressed and looks like Michelle Carter (aka Goldstar), Booster's sister, and that's just wrong.  I sincerely hope that Rip wasn't the result of some Carter inbreeding. 

Starfire #1 (1976)

As the heroes travel through time, they encounter some DC Comics characters who haven't made appearances in a long time.  There's Claw The Unconquered, whom I remember having a short-lived series back in the 1970s.  More interestingly, there's also the appearance of the original Starfire (before Koriand'r made her appearance in the New Teen Titans), who also had a short-lived series back in the 1970s.  Booster even makes a joke about Starfire copyrighting her name.  I remember her well because I had a copy of her first issue in my earliest comic collection, so I was excited to see someone give her a chance at redemption. 

Time Masters' connection to Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne is somewhat questionable and probably only mentionable for the purpose of driving sales.  Even Superman comments on what readers are probably thinking: "I think we're supposed to be working to find Batman, yet all we've done is chase our own tails!"  So if you're buying this mini-series for Batman, forget it.  However, if you're buying it because you're interested in Booster Gold, Rip Hunter, and events leading up to Flashpoint (or even the return of Starfire!), then you're on the right track. 

The final issue of Time Master: Vanishing Point was released three months after the five first monthly released issues. The ending cleverly leads into Booster Gold #44 and Flashpoint #1, both of which aren't scheduled for release for another couple of months.  The final scene leaves you with Rip Hunter's mysterious chalkboard which, as always, gives readers clues to upcoming events in the DC Universe:

Before I end this posting, can I just shout, "Hooray for Amethyst!!"  I'm looking forward to seeing the Princess of Gemworld again, but I hope she's back as her original Alice-in-Wonderland-type self and not the [yawn] mystical Lord of Order.