Blue Beetle Appreciation 2023!!!

[signalman112]

Is there a collection of the Ditko era Blue Beetle?

DC came out with two ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES.

ActionHeroes.jpg

[Robotman]

DC came out with two ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES.

ActionHeroes.jpg

Ok, so adding that to my wishlist. Thanks!

What was "terrible" about the New 52 series?

I suggest new fans should check it out and make their own judgement.

Haven’t read the series since it came out but I just remember not liking it. Definitely had that New 52 angsty vibe and it was overly violent. Not really what makes Blue Beetle a great character.

Maybe I’ll read it again down the line.

[El_Gato]

What was "terrible" about the New 52 series?

I suggest new fans should check it out and make their own judgement.

I haven’t read it in a while but it’s not a terrible run, it just isn’t as good as the first run. I also found New 52 more interesting than the Rebirth run as that one had a really long, dragged out storyline.

New 52 basically made Jaime his own legacy as he was the first Blue Beetle. It also changed the lore by making the scarab land among the Mayans rather than the Egyptians. I remember the book being very angsty but also adding a lot of cool new villains that I wish would pop up again (Short-Timer being my favorite).

[Jekyll]

I've read the original series from the mid 00s and just finished graduation day in time for the first issue coming out this week. Can't wait!

I don't plan on reading the new 52 series , but I do want to hunt down the rebirth run.

[Adekis]

DC came out with two ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES.

ActionHeroes.jpg

Ok, so adding that to my wishlist. Thanks!

These collections are pretty awesome, but I do want to point out that all the Ted Kord material (as well as all of the Question) is in volume 2, not volume 1. No idea if volume 1 contains any Dan Garrett material or not - I only have the second book! But that second book is well worth owning, as a huge Ditko fan!






On a completely unrelated side note, I want DC to acknowledge Dan Garret. I know they don't actually "own" him; he's a public domain character, but he's really different from Dan Garrett in ways that I find compelling. Maybe Garret-with-one-T could be the Earth Two Blue Beetle or something, while Garrett lived on Earth 0 or 1 or whatever the main world is, haha...

[Robotman]

Well, Blue Beetle hit digital yesterday so I guess it’s ok to talk about the movie in more detail with spoilers.

If you haven't seen the movie just skip my post.

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Watching it again I’ve noticed that a few of the fun and heartfelt moments can actually be seen as rather dark if you know the mythology.

The “first flight” scene where Jaime first transforms into the Blue Beetle is played for laughs but knowing that the scarab is a world destroyer and the host human is just a tool for the Reach’s world domination it’s a lot more messed up. The scarab does refer to Jaime as the “host” when it’s doing its systems check. It doesn’t care that it’s tossing him around and putting him in danger as the human host is just a slave for the Reach infiltrator. The only reason why he’s conscious and has any ability to change back is because the Green Lantern hit the scarab on its way to earth and caused a malfunction.

The scene that made me tear up is when Jaime has the vision of his father and he tells him to let go. This allows Jaime to fully become one with the scarab and access its full power. A nice moment but was that just the scarab manipulating Jaime’s mind to get him to stop resisting? It’s designed to completely take over the host body. The Reach have shown that they are pretty darn manipulative and deceptive.

There are some JLI references like J’onn’s choco cookies in Bug ship. It was brought up in another threat that since Ted’s daughter is Brazilian, it’s a possibility that this version of Ted ended up with his Fire. Hopefully they explore more of the team’s history in the Booster Gold show.

[Last Son of Krypton]

[skyvolt2000]

When did Dan Garrett and BLue Beetle become public domain?

https://www.indyplanet.com/teen-beetle-1

Teenager Blake Northrup rediscovers the formula to Vitamin 2x, the potion that allowed Dan Garret to become the original Blue Beetle, and he goes into action as Teen Beetle

Teenager Blake Northrup rediscovers the formula to Vitamin 2x, the potion that allowed Dan Garret to become the original Blue Beetle, and he goes into action as Teen Beetle

[El_Gato]

When did Dan Garrett and BLue Beetle become public domain?

https://www.indyplanet.com/teen-beetle-1

Reddit told me that apparently the earlier elements of Blue Beetle and Shazam are public domain because of a lapse in copyright. They can’t sell a comic using those names but they can feature the earlier elements of a character in a comic. I wonder if DC cares though, Dan is the least popular of the three Beetles

[Robotman]

I believe the original Fox Comics version of the character, Dan Garret, is public domain. The police officer who ingested Vitamin 2X to get his powers.

When Charlton Comics got the rights they changed his name to Dan Garrett (with 2 t’s) and made him an archeologist who found the mystical scarab which gave him his Blue Beetle powers. That’s the version that DC acquired.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto breaks down the makings of Jaime Reyes' movie debut and his future DC Universe adventures: https://screenrant.com/blue-beetle-m...oto-interview/

[Digifiend]

Page from Animal Man #2 from the 90s. This kid's name is Jaime, and if you look at the autograph book he gives Animal Man to sign (thinking he's Aquaman!) you can see that Blue Beetle has already signed it. That's one heck of a coincidence, he meets a superhero fanboy called Jaime, and later on his successor is a kid called Jaime? Could this actually be the same kid, is this Jaime Reyes a decade before his official debut?

[Frontier]

Page from Animal Man #2 from the 90s. This kid's name is Jaime, and if you look at the autograph book he gives Animal Man to sign (thinking he's Aquaman!) you can see that Blue Beetle has already signed it. That's one heck of a coincidence, he meets a superhero fanboy called Jaime, and later on his successor is a kid called Jaime? Could this actually be the same kid, is this Jaime Reyes a decade before his official debut?

Ha! Probably a complete coincidence but fun to think about.

Poor Buddy.

[Riv86672]

Poor Buddy.

^^^Poor Ted.
That little runt took his job.

[Robotman]

Grant Morrison the shaman prophet!

Haha no that wasn’t him but it’s still pretty funny.