Just because you've only got twelve days left to live doesn't mean you can't run into some funny moments, as The Human Target (2021) can attest:
- When Chance establishes that he ended up taking poison meant for Lex Luthor and is now on the track to find out who dun it, Lex spares no time establishing just how hard it's going to be.
- Booster Gold makes an appearance in issue #3 with his latest ill-advised name-trading scheme: a bagel shop in a suburban strip mall called "Boo$ter's Bagels". Let the hijinx ensue!
- For starters, Chance's internal monologue during Booster's introduction perfectly sums up the character:People see Booster as a joke because he makes a lot of mistakes.
But a lot of super-people make a lot of mistakes. Booster is Booster is Booster.
So yeah, he's a joke. But aren't they all?
At least this one's funny. - As Booster hams up the grand opening to his restaurant before a crowd of what has to be two dozen people at max, he realizes he didn't get scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon, and decides to use his laser on it despite Skeets' protests. He ends up breaking a window in the process.Booster: Meh. Same thing would've happened if I used the scissors.
Skeets: Sad but true. - Booster's insistence that he doesn't pre-toast his bagels, which he parades around as some kind of selling point.Skeets: Booster, again, that's not a selling point. Pre-toasting isn't a thing.
Booster: It's not a thing at Booster's Bagels, that's for sure!
Skeets: Kill me. - Booster tries to intellectually one-up private detective Christopher Chance:Booster: You said you guys had a big old murder mystery and you've decided to bring in the Man of Gold. Smart move. Let me ask you this. You're Christopher Chance, right? The Human Target, Master of Disguise, right?
Chance: Right.
Booster: Right. But. If you're the Master of Disguise... Dot dot dot. How do I know you're Christopher Chance?! Boom.
Skeets: The Man of Gold? - Booster recollecting where he's been for the past few days: time-travelling to get resources to start up the bagel shop. This includes getting sesame seeds from ancient Babylon, poppy seeds from "even ancienter" Sumer, and onions from "even more ancienter" China and getting stuff chucked at them all the way through. Skeets says with full confidence that they probably broke the timeline somewhere.
- For starters, Chance's internal monologue during Booster's introduction perfectly sums up the character:
- The end of issue #3 sees Chance dropping Ice off back at her home, just like in the previous issue. Unlike the previous night, Chance finds himself getting a little too absorbed by her charms.Chance's Monologue: Don't get out of the car.
Ice: You could come inside while I call [Ted Kord]. We could see how he answers together — go over the next steps and all that.
Chance's Monologue: Stay in the $%#@$%€ car.
Chance: No, I told Luigi I'd do something for him. Wish I could.
Chance's Monologue: Good. Well done. Go home.
Ice: I understand. Goodnight.
Chance: But let me walk you to your door.
Chance's Monologue: %@%@. - From issue #6:
- Chance is monologuing to himself his plan to return to his office to do his research on Fire, casing the potential location for an interrogation, options on potential disguises, and overall very tightly considering his options as he only has 6 days left to find his killer. During all of this narration, he's instead shown going to Ice's place and bonking.
- At the end of the issue, by a stroke of luck, Fire is at his office already waiting for him. Chance sums it up aptly.Chance: Twelve days. That's all I get to find who murdered me. And I just spent today fighting, drinking, screwing, and killing. I am a #%@%€€ idiot.
- Issue #12 sees Ice — weeks after Chance's death — still grieving and figuring out how to scatter his ashes, having never asked him how he would've wanted to go out. While out on the water contemplating her options, who else but Guy Gardner to show up and attempt to make the moves on her one last time. She ends up smashing the glass bottle containing Chance's ashes on Guy's head, knocking him out cold and sending the ashes flying in the breeze.Ice: Yeah, this'll do.
