Skeets

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caption =Skeets, with Booster Gold/Supernova in the reflection.
Cover art for "52" Week Thirty-Seven, by J.G. Jones.
character_name = Skeets
publisher = DC Comics
debut = "Booster Gold" #1 (1986)
creators = Dan Jurgens
alter_ego =
full_name =Skeets
species = Artificial Intelligence
homeworld = 25th century Earth
alliances =
aliases =
supports=Booster Gold
powers = time travel resistant plating, flight;
weapons, surveillance, and knowledge of the future

Skeets is a fictional artificial intelligence robot from the future in the DC Comics Universe. Usually seen as a companion to Booster Gold, he co-stars in the limited series "52" and the subsequent "Booster Gold".

Character History

Booster Gold

A former BX9 security robot at the Space Museum, Skeets arrived from the 25th Century with Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) with news headlines for the next 500 years. Booster used this knowledge to become wealthy and to stop disasters before they happened. Their success led to Booster's induction into Maxwell Lord's incarnation of the Justice League. Skeets was apparently dismissed and kept in storage (where he killed time surfing the Internet) during Booster's tenure in the Justice League, then was reactivated when Doomsday badly mangled Booster's power suit to help with repairs. Although he was unable to fix the suit, Skeets revealed again his utility when Blue Beetle acquired the "Exorian Flesh Driver", an alien technology able to feed off of Booster's particular body energy. Willing to substitute the bulkier substitute armor he was forced to build for Booster, but lacking the proper software, Beetle downloaded Skeets' consciousness into the armor. As the Flesh Driver, Skeets could still counsel and help his owner, but he could also take control of Booster's body and motor functions when Booster was knocked unconscious. He was also in charge of the more advanced features of the suit, "rationing" them to force his owner to a more rational use of the Flesh Driver.

Apparently, when Professor Hamilton built Booster a new power suit, similar to his original 25th Century technology (briefly containing Skeets' consciousness in the same way the Flesh Driver did), Skeets was again rebuilt as a stand-alone robot.

Infinite Crisis

Skeets was destroyed in the "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" one-shot, by Maxwell Lord and used as surveillance technology that led to the death of Ted Kord. Following the events of "The OMAC Project" Booster disappeared, telling his friend Bea he was going home.

Booster reappeared inexplicably with Skeets on the moon in "Infinite Crisis" #2. They arrived after Superboy-Prime destroyed the Justice League Watchtower and went off in search of the Blue Beetle scarab. They found it with Jaime Reyes and, together with Batman and a team of heroes, they destroyed Brother Eye.

52

After the events of Infinite Crisis, Skeets attempts to help Booster rebuild his reputation, but incorrectly predicts several future events in the process. Skeets is later examined by Will Magnus, who says that nothing is wrong with him. Booster and Skeets later break into Rip Hunter's lab to question him about possible changes in time. Booster finds Rip has vanished and scrawled notes that indicate Booster is responsible for the changes in time. ["52": Week 6] Booster eventually loses his fame and fortune after a staged fight with a 'supervillain' back fires. A new superhero called Supernova appears and quickly eclipses Booster in popularity. Booster attempts to regain his popularity by preventing the meltdown of a nuclear submarine, but dies after it explodes. ["52": Week 15] Skeets recruits Booster's ancestor Daniel a week later in order to regain access to Rip's lab. Skeets leaves Daniel trapped in a repeating time loop after Daniel uncovers the scrawled notes, which indicate that Skeets is responsible for the changes in time. ["52": Week 16] Skeets' later stages an invasion of Metropolis in order to draw out Rip Hunter, which results in the slaughter of several civilians and amateur superheroes. When Firestorm's new Justice League try to stop him, Skeets kills the new Super-Chief and escapes. ["52": Week 24] Skeets then tortures Waverider and dispatches the Time Commander in order to discover Rip's location, while implying that Waverider's metal skin was melted down in order to construct Skeets itself. ["52": Week 27]

Skeets eventually locates Rip in the Bottle City of Kandor, along with Supernova. Supernova reveals himself to be a disguised Booster Gold, who faked his death with Rip's help in order to stop Skeets' plans. Rip uses a Phantom Zone projector built in an attempt to stop Skeets. Skeets absorbs the Phantom Zone itself forcing Rip and Booster to escape. ["52": Week 36] Booster reappears during World War III and steals a nanotech missile from John Henry Irons in order to stop Skeets. ["52": Week 50] Booster and Rip use T. O. Morrow and the severed head of the Red Tornado as bait to lure out Skeets, who takes the bait and attempts to extract the map from inside the Red Tornado's head when Booster and Rip reappear. Skeets' shell then breaks open to reveal a mutated Mister Mind who has used Skeets as a cocoon during a metamorphosis. Booster and Rip escape "back to where it all started". ["52": Week 51]

As Mister Mind ravages the 52 new universes spawned by the Infinite Crisis, Booster Gold and Rip Hunter, using Blue Beetle's scarab from the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Suspendium from Sivana's labs turn the malfunctioning, still conscious remains of Skeets into a time bomb, meant to contain Mister Mind enough to be hurled into the timestream from Booster and the new Supernova, Daniel Carter. Albeit utterly destroyed, he's later rebuilt from a salvaged responsometer holding a partial copy of his mem-self, combined with Doc Magnus backup from his first repair job. Housed in a new body, Skeets awakes unable to remember the last years events, with Booster happily filling the gaps in his memory. ["52": Week 52]

One Year Later

Skeets' empty shell becomes part of the Justice League's mementos in The Hall's trophy room in "Justice League of America" vol. 2 #7. He later appears in the 2007 "Booster Gold" series alongside the eponymous character, Rip Hunter and Daniel Carter, continuing their "52" adventures. Skeets now has a new, upgraded form, more boxy than his previous round form.

It is also revealed that Skeets is now a 2.0 model Security bot.

Powers and abilities

Skeets is a 25th century security robot (sometimes "valet unit") with artificial intelligence. He is capable of flight, cognitive thinking, and voice projection, which is all considered highly advanced for 21st century Earth. He also has historical records and headlines which give him a vast knowledge of what will happen between the 21st and 25th centuries, though its reliability has become questionable, as stated above. He possesses numerous miniature tools and weapons kept within his shell, and is also equipped with a powerful energy blaster. He is apparently immune to reality and temporal manipulation.

Currently housed in a new body, similar to the former one but manufactured by Will Magnus in the modern day, he may have lost several features, like the unique golden alloy surrounding his body that Mister Mind claimed to be Waverider's skin. He has retained his partial but extended knowledge of the future. Several time-travelling features, like the resistance to time travel ravages and a beacon meant to keep him always in contact with Rip Hunter's Time Sphere, were later restored by Rip Hunter, who upgraded Booster Gold costume with the same technology to employ the duo as temporal agents.

Other media

Skeets, along with Booster, appeared in an episode of "Justice League Unlimited", voiced by Billy West.

Two characters who look just like Skeets and Booster appear in the background during the first episode of the "Legion of Super Heroes" animated series.

Skeets will appear in the upcoming animated series "". Billy West will reprise the role. [ [http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0807/23/index.htm Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 ] ]

References