Boomstick: I'd say buckle up, but where we're going, we don't need seatbelts. Wait, was that the right quote?
Wiz: Cable, the time-travelling warrior mutant from Marvel.
Boomstick: And Booster Gold, the greatest DC Comics hero you've never heard of.
While time travel and superhero fiction are well acquainted, the combatants of this season seven episode hail from the future to do battle in the past, bringing vastly different temperaments with them. With gadgets from the future and the wits to match, mutant genes and hyper-sophisticated technology become the cornerstones on which Cable and Booster Gold build their cases and prepare for a death battle.
The first of the episode's two temporally displaced heroes would be Cable, birth name Nathan Summers. Nathan's story begins with two of the X-Men's most infamous foes: the mutant eugenicist Mister Sinister and the immortal mutant Apocalypse. Sinister sought to create a living weapon with which to destroy Apocalypse; to that end, Sinister made plans for the heroes Cyclops and Jean Grey to produce a child who would fulfill his goals. Complicating these plans was the fact that Jean was dead at the time Sinister chose to take action. Instead, he cloned Jean and used the clone to produce Nathan. When the real Jean came back from the dead, she and Nathan raised the child, and for a time, he developed his share of mutant powers in peace. It was while he was still a child that he was kidnapped by Apocalypse, who infected Nathan with a techno-organic virus that would gradually replace his cells with machinery. Without a cure in their time, Jean and Cyclops allowed a strange figure to whisk their son away to the future where one already existed. By the time Nathan arrived, however, the world was already ruled by Apocalypse and his armies and the virus had progressed too far for any hope of a cure. Nathan remained undeterred even with this knowledge; he instead took up arms and led the charge in the fight against Apocalypse's regime, adopting the alias Cable. Circumstances would regularly lead Cable back to his parents and their contemporaries in the X-Men, and in between fighting his own war for a better world in the future, so too would he join the X-Men in their time for the same cause.
In the time spent in the future, Nathan has lived up to the legacy of his parents and pushed past their foes' influences; the numerous weapons and skills he has at his disposal help in that regard. The techno-organic virus constantly threatening Cable's life also gives him superhuman physique. It has transformed several other organs as well, giving him features such as a metal arm and optic modifications that allow him to view his surroundings in a number of methods. Should he suffer dismemberment, Cable can simply reattach the severed limbs none the worse off. Nathan's time spent fighting Apocalypse's future has gifted him with a wealth of combat experience to better hone his powers; the Summers son, gifted in tactics and unarmed combat, is equally proficient at wielding number of firearms and other military hardware. That said, the true strength of Cable lies in his mutant lineage. Thanks to the scope of his parents' powers, Cable, much like them, is classified as an Omega-level; a mutant whose powers function seemingly without limits. His specific powers are of a psychic nature, enabling him to manipulate matter on an atomic level and reads minds on a global level; his telekinesis, in fact, is how he keeps the techno-organic virus from fully consuming him. These powers are so advanced that Cable can even psychically displace his body through time and space, giving him a means to travel through time and teleport on his own accord.
Be it in the past or future, Cable is an adept warrior. Initially, Cable was strong enough to redirect the explosions several dozen missiles and lift islands out the ocean. After meeting with versions of himself from other timelines, the mutant was motivated to hone his telekinesis. His precision reached the point that he rewrite the numerous strands of DNA in his body, purging the virus from his every cell. Freed of its burdens, Cable's power both physical and psychic, have since escalated to the extent that he can move planets, control their atmosphere, and engage in combat with characters like the galaxy-crossing Silver Surfer. While his war continues in the future, Cable has since found a small modicum of happiness in the form of a young mutant raised as his own daughter. In this way, Cable has a reason to keep fighting even when all seems lost, and the power at his disposal guarantees that any who challenge him or the future he intends to forges face an uphill battle.
- Cable: Remember it, Apocalypse. The name's Cable!
With Cable covered, the fight moves on to Booster Gold, one of Metropolis's greatest heroes and a celebrity in his own right. Before all of that, however, Michael John Carter was born in the year 2442 and had a promising future ahead of him; the 25th century Gothamite pursued an interest in football in his college years and displayed the potential of going pro. His life would deviate from this path when his mother was stricken with a debilitating disease. Caught betting on his own games to afford her treatment, Michael was arrested, his career over before it started. After his sentence, Michael was hired as security for the Metropolis Space Museum, guarding relics of heroes from the 20th century. The Gothamite was inspired to join in their legacy and, after stealing the museum pieces, traveled back in time for a second chance. Originally, Michael was only interested in profiting from his venture; having knowledge of future events, he played the stock market to accumulate a large fortune and found his own business, Goldstar Incorporated. Carter had every intention of also using Goldstar as his superhero alias once he had the public's attention, but in a fit of nervousness after saving the life of then-president Ronald Reagan, proclaimed his identity as Booster Gold. The name stuck, much to Michael's chagrin, but he stayed the course and continued pushing his agenda as a hero wherever he could find profit from it.
To his credit, Michael has proven there is actual weight to his showmanship. Of the artifacts now under Gold's possession, the most important would be his signature power suit, which gives him strength on par with more conventional superheroes. This suit, courtesy of additional modifications, also enables control over time; Michael can travel through it, even interacting with other versions of himself from the past and future, or stop time outright. Gauntlets attached to the suit can fire unidirectional energy blasts; they also enable the suit to redirect incoming energy back towards an attacker or absorb it to increase Gold's power. For utility, the suit's visor has for infrared and X-ray vision modes, and Michael also has a ring which enables him to fly. In the way of defenses, the suit has one feature to its name, but it is a formidable one: a force field that can protect against physical, energy, and mental attacks; so dense is this barrier that not even bacteria can penetrate it. Its versatility is just as wide as its defensive capabilities, as it can be applied to another individual and made to contract around them. The force field also bears a secondary mode which absorbs physical matter and ejects it at Booster's command.
Booster Gold's exploits in the present day are numerous, but prove his reputation as more than just mere braggadocio. Gold has stood his ground against physical powerhouses like Doomsday and Maxima, and regularly does so as well. In speed, Gold is fast enough to reach the Speed Force, the energy field that has direct access to all momentum in the DC multiverse; other heroes like the Flash regularly draw energy from the Speed Force, suggesting Gold's mobility is equal to them. The suit's force field, however, provides some of the most impressive feats, befitting its quality. Being able to withstand mind control that covered the entire planet, attacks from extradimensional demon lords, and explosions that tear apart matter on a subatomic level all serve as testament to the suit's force field. However, a character as fanciful and bombastic as Booster Gold needs some shortcomings to balance them out. The energy gauntlets and force field share the same limited power source; using one depletes the other. Without the suit, Carter is an ordinary person, without any of the technology or powers he relies on. His arrogance and boisterous personality is something he never truly outgrew, taking any opportunity to showboat when he can find it. However, he was at least able to keep this facet of his character in check; turning down an offer to join the ranks of the Justice League, befriending other heroes like Blue Beetle, and traveling through time to fix its mistakes all serve as proof that his desire for heroism outshines his urge for fame, making his tenure as a hero all the greater.
- Booster Gold: I'm Booster Gold, the greatest hero you've never heard of... till now!
The two combatants, fully studied, are ready for action. One advertisement for the Blue Apron cooking service later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
In the early morning of Metropolis, an adoring crowd stands in awe as Booster Gold eagerly poses with a would-be bank robber. A bright flash takes the audience's attention away from Carter as a figure emerges from the street ahead. Nathan Summers, laser rifle in hand, assesses the situation before brusquely shrugging off Michael's attempts at banter. Cable prepares to leave the scene, but Gold follows his trail; he has since assumed that Cable intends to stir conflict between them as a publicity stunt. Eagerly, Gold plays along with the supposed ruse, accepting the pretend challenge offered before him. Cable, with little levity in mind, begrudgingly takes Carter up on his offer.
FIGHT!
Barely a second passes before Cable drives a fist straight into Michael's visage. Rocketing into a skyscraper, Gold realizes that Nathan is intent on an actual fight. He soon recomposes himself, however, and activates his suit's force field in time to soak up a volley of laser fire; he rushes in afterwards, focused not on Cable, but on the cheers of the spectators still present. With his foe preoccupied, the Summers child telekinetically slams a pair of tractor trailers between Gold, only for the time traveling hero to free himself. Cable pushes the attack even then, charging at both trucks and pushing them through the building. What follows is a display of precise, efficient brutality on Cable's part, with quick melee strikes to knock Michael into the air and a laser shot to blast him back into the pavement. His attempted finishing shot fares worse, though, as the blast harmlessly bounces off the force field even at point-blank. With an energy blast, Cable is pushed back, giving Gold some time to recompose himself. Nathan, meanwhile, stays on the offensive. With his telekinesis, Cable's cybernetic arm enlarges and aims for Booster with a second punch. Carter is unphased by this and stands in the way of the attack before freezing Cable in time.
With Cable at his mercy, Booster sees the opportunity to turn the fight around, hammering the frozen mutant with a brief, yet intense barrage of punches. Eager as to the results of his handiwork, the time-traveling businessman unfreeze Cable, only to see Nathan barely staggering. The next punch thrown by Cable is more successful as Carter is launched across the street and into a glowing portal of energy. His screams echo into the void as the portal spits Gold out into the path of a flying car. Cable follows a second later, hoisting a larger laser cannon from atop another car. After some brief shock at being sent into the far future, Booster leaps away from the car as Cable's laser instead atomizes the vehicle. Michael returns fire with a blast from the energy gauntlets, only for Cable to summon a force field of his own to block the attack. Encased in a protective barrier, Cable directs the surrounding traffic to descend upon Gold in a massive swarm. The flying vehicles are quick to reach Gold, but he is quicker still to react, vaulting off the cars as they approach and closing the distance. A diving kick dissipates the barrier, but Goldstar's CEO is caught mid-punch. With another flash of light, Cable whisks himself and Gold away to prehistoria.
A small clearing surrounding by thickets on all sides is where the two rematerialize as Cable hurls Gold away. The former athlete hits a small beacon jutting from out the ground when a series of massive stomps interrupts his confusion. A tyrannosaurus, with Cable standing atop its snout, threatens Gold with a deafening screech, much to his exasperation. The dinosaur's jaws slam shut on Gold, but his force field pushes them back open. While the tyrannosaurus growls with perplexity, Summers takes the time to brag about his preparations to his foe nestled comfortably within the force field. Hearing Cable prattle on about his own time travel exploits gives Gold a spark of inspiration; he phases out of existence a second later, only for dozens of Booster Gold copies to reappear a second after that. Having called every version of himself from every prior moment in the fight, the Booster Gold army lunges towards their shared foe; the dinosaur collapses under their sheer numbers while Cable is launched off.
Touching back onto solid ground, Cable primes the cannon and fires a stream of magenta light towards a squadron of airborne Michaels. Golden energy surrounds their palms as they retaliate with blasts of their own. The Golds' beams converge into a single laser that collides against Cable's dead on. With the lasers at a stalemate, the built-up energy between them results in an explosion that blankets the jungle. The clones are scattered, but a scant few are lucky enough to get within striking distance of Cable. After a few punches and kicks to his person, the Omega-level mutant unleashes an order to the Golds to disable their force fields. They struggle to resist, but comply, the golden auras around each Carter vanishing. Summer primes his cannon for a final shot, but the laser vanishes without ever reaching its intended target. Gold, it turns out, was feigning his vulnerability to Cable's telepathy; the force field itself is, however, off his person. Instead, the bright yellow glow envelops Cable and begins contracting. Barely able to stand against the intense pressure, Cable continues throwing threats at Gold before the force field crushes him into a thick slurry. With a nauseating crunch, the paste that was once Cable is condensed into nothing, while Booster Gold returns to the present to admire his fans once more.
K.O.!
In the wake of Boomstick's disdain for the outcome, Wiz clarifies the results make sense. On paper, a grizzled soldier like Cable should make quick work of the more comedic Booster Gold, but their reputations matter only in their own series; on this show, comparisons against characters from different series with different mindsets will often yield unexpected results, such as the case with this match. While Cable had a much wider array of abilities and his time fighting against Apocalypse's future gave him more experience and better refined skills, Gold was able to keep pace thanks to his own array of devices, the force field being chief among them. At his known strongest, Cable's telekinesis is strong enough to move planets and precise enough to affect objects on an atomic level; impressive, true, but Gold's force field can withstand total planetary destruction on a subatomic level. To put it another way, Cable's offensive output would be a hundred thousand times weaker than Booster's defenses. Similarly, Nathan is immensely outclassed in speed; his fight with the Silver Surfer was only brief once the Surfer chose to fight back, while Michael easily matches speed-centric superheroes like the Flash. Even the mutant's telepathy is a moot point thanks to the force field; Maxwell Lord, like Cable, is a telepath with planetary reach to his power, and even his mind control was negated by the barrier, suggesting Cable's would as well. In short, there was no real method Cable had for putting down Michael that he hadn't already seen before, whereas everything in Michael's kit would be more than enough to finish the fight.
- Boomstick: Booster didn't just win, he took home the Gold.
Wiz: The winner is Booster Gold!
Cable vs. Booster Gold contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: After Boomstick's finishing line seen above, Wiz gives his usual annoyed look. However, pausing after his eyeroll and right before the "Winner is..." moment, he's shown smiling.
- Bad "Bad Acting": When Cable commands Gold to remove his force field, Booster (already shown to be immune to high level mind control) decides to ham up the command. And Cable somehow buys it.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Booster's force-field turns the matchup completely one-sided in his favor, as it was capable of withstanding everything Cable could use on them and more, making Cable helpless against being crushed by it, let alone fighting back.
- Deadly Force Field: Booster wins the fight by wrapping his protective force-field (which is powerful enough to block his psychic powers) around Cable and crushes him to death with it.
- Defiant to the End: Even wrapped in a force field slowly crushing him to death, Cable still tries going in for a killing blow.
- Forgot About His Powers: For the half or so of the fight, Booster gets his shit kicked in courtesy of Cable and his time travel powers. It's only after Cable mentions them aloud that Booster gets the idea to weaponize his own time travel.
- Me's a Crowd: After realizing that, oh wait, he has time travel powers too, Booster decides to amass an army of hims from every second he and Cable's fight has been going on.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: If Cable didn't mention his use of time-travel, Booster wouldn't have remembered to use his time travel abilities to fight back.
- No-Sell: Booster Gold freezes Cable and tries giving him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, thinking that the combined inertia will send him flying. It does not.Booster Gold: Let's see. How far. YOU FLY! [Cable unfreezes, barely flinching from all the punches.]
Cable: You hit like a girl. [Cable grabs Booster Gold and throws him into a time-vortex.]' - Profane Last Words: "I'll...see you in Hell...you goddamn golden asshole!"
- The Scrappy: In-Universe, Booster Gold for Boomstick. Boomstick never misses a moment to rag on Booster, insulting his outfit, his attitude, and everything about him, basically. Which means that when Booster wins the Death Battle, Boomstick is helplessly enraged.
- Shout-Out:
- Boomstick, after learning the 25th century Booster got rich through knowledge of past events in the earlier time period he ended up in, keeps comparing him to the events of Back to the Future Part II, which featured much of the same.
- When Booster freezes Cable in time, he starts to beat on the mutant with the intention to "see how far he'll fly" from the accumulated kinetic energy. To top it off, Cable starts to blink with the same colour and sound as Stasis victims.
- Sliding Scale of Seriousness Versus Silliness: Lampshaded by the hosts this time, no less. Cable is a gritty and cynical badass from a war-torn Bad Future sent there by his superpowered parents in the hope he could be cured of his horrific condition, while Booster Gold is something of an arrogant goof who, after life dealt him a bad hand in the idealistic future when he cheated to get money to help his ailing mother, decided to time-travel to the past in order to get rich and famous. Boomstick is utterly incredulous the otherwise normal and silly Booster proved himself the better of "Mutant Jesus" Cable, but Wiz reminds the audience that "seriousness vs silliness" only applies within the context of their own stories themselves, while shows like Death Battle are what happens when those characters are plucked directly out to clash directly, and sometimes the silly character's abilities when looked at objectively just have the edge and more on their more "serious" counterpart.
- Wham Line: Cable thinks he has Booster in his sights after forcing him to remove his force field. But then:Booster: Oh wait, did you think you made me turn my force field off? No, it's too strong for that. I gave it to you!
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
- When Cable attacks Booster with a T-Rex, Booster exclaims, "Oh, come on!"
- This is Boomstick's reaction over who the winner turned out to be.
