Time Masters #1 (1990)

1990. Vandal Savage conspires with members of the Illuminati. They decide that Rip Hunter presents a threat to them and take measures to rid themselves of him. To this end, they bomb the building where Rip works, a robotics laboratory owned by Will Magnus. The explosion kills one of Rip's technicians, S. Hasan. Rip however, is not present during the explosion and survives the attack. He meets later with Magnus to discuss the incident. Later, Rip and his colleague Jeff Smith investigate the matter on their own, and Rip finds clues linking the attack to the Illuminati. He also decides to further his time travel research at a new laboratory he built in upstate New York. Jeff agrees to come with him as his assistant. At the Time Lab, Rip explores an experimental third option for traveling through time, but requires a volunteer test subject to try it out. Rip speaks with his old ally Booster Gold, who agrees to consult with his friends in the Justice League to help him out. Booster is personally vested in Rip's research, as it may provide the means for him to return to his own time line in the . Meanwhile at Vanderbilt University, research assistant Bonnie Baxter has an argument with her mentor and lover Doctor Carson. Carson breaks off the affair, citing that the board of regents is aware of their relationship and are concerned about potential scandal. Enraged, Bonnie storms out of Carson's office. Bonnie flies to New York where she meets up with Rip Hunter. She agrees to come to work for him in his Time Lab. While driving away from the airport, they see a dark sedan that begins tailing them. The vehicle picks up speed and blindsides Rip's Porsche.