MAJOR DISASTER (Paul Booker)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Paul Booker
Aliases: Joe Smith; Bennett Brodsky; Mr. Palmer
Occupation: Former Professional Criminal
Status: Deceased
Homeworld: Earth
Space Sector: 2814
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Divorced
Known Relatives: Trish (ex-wife), unnamed brother, unnamed father
Base of Operation: Mobile
Group Affiliation(s): Army of Crime, Injustice League II, Justice League Elite (all former)
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #43 (March 1966): "Catastrophic Crimes of Major Disaster!"
Creators: Gardner Fox and Gil Kane

HISTORY

Instead of following in his father's footsteps by going into dental school, Paul Booker fell into a life of petty crime. He was on the run from the Coast City police department when he broke into Tom Kalmaku's apartment. The criminal was not there to steal, rather he was trying to evade the police in the Coast City apartment. Making his way through the dark, Booker stumbled upon a valuable secret. He accidentally touched a secret sliding panel activator which opened a secret compartment in Kalmaku's desk. Intrigued by what was so important as to be kept hidden from prying eyes, Booker read the item in the desk. Booker learned he had discovered Kalmaku's Green Lantern Casebook. In the pages of Kalmaku's journal of Green Lantern was the secret identity of not only Green Lantern Hal Jordan, but that of Barry Allen.

Booker thought if he could defeat both the Flash and Green Lantern, he would make a name for himself that would further his criminal career. To this end, he hired a number of scientists to help create the identity of "Major Disaster."

His scientists could not find a way to cancel out the Flash's super-speed or Green Lantern's power ring but they did discover the "stress-null-ray" which could transfer one of the heroes' powers to the other. In the confusion, Disaster could strike at his foes.

The two heroes found it impossible to get near Disaster's men to combat them. The Flash was repelled while Green Lantern's power ring constructs swerved away. Finally, the heroes found themselves without any power at all. When Green Lantern attempted to charge his power ring, the Flash found his aura now had an emerald glow. Green Lantern discovered he had gained the Flash's super-speed. Together, the heroes decided to keep each others powers temporarily to use in a surprise attack on their mutual foe.

Disasters such as storms and a meteor shower were thrown in their paths but the heroes overcame every obstacle. Finally, the Flash used the emerald energy to will their powers to return to each other. They quickly mopped up Disaster's gang of criminals while Major Disaster himself reached for one final weapon.

In his haste, Major Disaster forgot to wear the specially insulated gloves which would have protected himself from the powerful weapon. The resulting explosion was believed to have killed him. The Flash and Green Lantern found their identities had remained a secret as everyone who was in Coast City during the meteor shower had suffered a strange form of amnesia and had forgotten all that occurred. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #43

Over a few weeks, the "anti-disaster" device he was wearing at the time of the explosion brought his atoms into vibrational rhythm and Major Disaster, slowly, unconsciously and invisibly returned to human form. When he had recovered, Disaster went straight back to work on his career of crime.

By sheer coincidence, Paul "Major Disaster" Booker was in High City at the same time Hal Jordan was. Jordan had become an insurance salesman since the last time they met in their costumed alter egos.

As Paul Booker, he bugged the insurance company offices and learned which customers Jordan had sold certain policies to. He would then use his device which endued a target with either "disaster" or "anti-disaster" energy. He then bombarded the contract holders with "anti-disaster" energy, making them practically invulnerable to harm from disasters which were covered on their insurance policies.

Disaster secretly used his device on Green Lantern's costume and ring, and then appeared in costume in the Evergreen Insurance Company's offices to challenge Hal Jordan. True to his plan, Jordan changed to Green Lantern but could not stop the villain. The major left his foe to suffer helplessly while he went on a crime spree. Green Lantern found the disaster energy made it impossible to charge his tainted power ring on the invisible power battery. Though he could not use the ring, Lantern had another idea involving his invisible battery.

Major Disaster later goaded Green Lantern into a confrontation at the High City Bank. Humoring his foe, he allowed the powerless ring wielder to throw a punch which he knew would never hit him. It did not, but the invisible power battery Green Lantern was carrying did hit, knocking Disaster cold. As Green Lantern surmised, the "disaster power" had not been applied to the power battery.

Before he turned Major Disaster over to the police, Green Lantern's power ring scanned Disaster's mind to learn the frequencies which would cure those struck by Major Disaster's disaster energies. Green Lantern then erased the knowledge of the Flash's identity from Disaster's mind but in a bit of ironic revenge, he allowed Booker to remember the Hal Jordan identity.

Angered by his capture by Green Lantern, Booker attempted to blurt out his foe's secret identity but found he could not say the name "Hal Jordan." Green Lantern had used the power ring to place a mental block, making it impossible for Disaster to reveal the secret of Jordan's dual identity in anyway whatsoever. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #57

Years later, Major Disaster joined General Scarr's so-called "Army of Crime." Under the leadership of General Scarr, villains Major Disaster, Colonel Sulphur, and Captain Cutlass were part of a plan to kidnap wealthy Gotham City residents and use the ransom money to purchase powerful super weapons. General Scarr believed the weapons would enable his Army of Crime to take over the country. The villains were eventually defeated by the world's finest team of Batman and Superman. - World's Finest Comics #279-281

Over time, Major Disaster had found a way to internalize his power. Unfortunately, it appeared to affect his mental balance. Major Disaster threatened to destroy the Baldwin Hills Dam and the surrounding community unless Green Lantern appeared. Tawny Young of K.L.A.Q. News covered the story live on television. Fortunately for Los Angeles, the report was seen by Green Lantern.

In the time since Disaster had last fought his emerald nemesis, Hal Jordan had left the Green Lantern Corps and John Stewart was chosen to be the new Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. It would be Stewart, not Jordan, that would have to save Los Angeles.

Though the ring wielder arrived as Major Disaster demanded, it was not the person he was looking for. Booker knew Green Lantern was Hal Jordan, but the mental block placed in his mind still prevented him from telling anyone. He wanted revenge on Jordan, but was frustrated when he could not convey his wishes. Green Lantern found the power ring was ineffective against Major Disaster's force field. Believing this new Green Lantern was mocking him, Disaster tore the dam apart.

The rushing water was held back by a power ring created dam, but this did not last long. The ring wielder lost his concentration and the water rushed free. Green Lantern created a giant viaduct to divert the resulting flood. Major Disaster was later apprehended in Los Angeles. Stewart had made everyone appear as though they were Green Lantern, and the confused villain was easily captured. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #182-183

Major Disaster spent a stretch of time in prison, kept company by his lone cellmate. Known as "The Amazing Bruce," Disaster's cellmate robbed businesses and gave the loot to charity. Bruce was a wizard with any kind of technology and Disaster believed he would be a valuable member of a criminal organization he was forming. - Justice League International Vol. 1 #23, Who's Who '90

Years passed and Hal Jordan, became Green Lantern once again. The Green Lantern Corps had been disbanded and the balance of power shifted in the universe. Many hostile races feared the strength of Earth's meta-human community. Led by the Dominators, an Alien Alliance laid siege to Earth but was eventually defeated. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #200, 224, Invasion! #1-#3

The surrender and subsequent rapid withdrawal of the occupying forces left alien weapons scattered across the Earth. Led by Major Disaster, a new Injustice League gained possession of a Thanagarian warship.

Unfortunately for the fledgling Injustice League, the Justice League was removing a Khund warship on a nearby island and Green Lantern Guy Gardner overheard the villains' radio transmissions. Their ship was quickly torn apart around them by Gardner. The Justice League took them into custody. - Justice League International Vol. 1 #23

By a strange coincidence, the members of Injustice League as well as the European division of the Justice League later attended the same night school. As usual, the two teams fought, disrupting the French-as-a-second-language class. - Justice League Europe #6

To Be Continued...

Major Force was one of a number of super-humans killed by Superboy-Prime. - Infinite Crisis #7

BLACK LANTERN: MAJOR DISASTER

During the event known as the Blackest Night, Major Disaster rose from the grave as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. He was one of a number of Black Lanterns that sought out Superboy-Prime. - Adventure Comics Vol. 3 #4

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Major Disaster in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #14 (April 1986)