A Brief History of Blue Beetle, From His DC Origins to the Big Screen
If you enjoy the occasional superhero flick, you’re probably aware of Blue Beetle, set for release on August 18, 2023. What you might not be aware of is Blue Beetle’s history, or in fact, which comic book company created the character in the first place. There are so many comics in the world (and so many Hollywood productions based on comics, too) that it can sometimes be hard to keep track of a character’s origins—but that’s what we’re here for.
Blue Beetle’s comic book origins
The Blue Beetle moniker doesn’t just belong to one character. Multiple characters have donned the Blue Beetle suit since its first comic book appearance in 1939, as originally published by Fox Feature Syndicate. Years later, in 1964, Blue Beetle was revised and revitalized under the Charlton Comics banner before most of the publisher’s library was acquired by DC in 1983. Since then, Blue Beetle has been a DC comics mainstay, both as a solo superhero adventurer and as a member of iconic teams like Teen Titans and the Justice League.
The first still-canon Blue Beetle, an archaeologist named Dan Garrett, discovered an ancient blue scarab in an Egyptian tomb. That scarab gave him unbelievable superpowers—powers he put to good use by fighting crime. The second Blue Beetle, a man named Ted Kord, sadly had no powers to speak of but carried on the legacy of Garrett’s Blue Beetle, fighting crime with his wits, fists, and a whole host of cool gadgets.
The third character known as Blue Beetle, and the one who is the focus of the upcoming DC superhero movie, is Jaime Reyes. In the comics, Reyes is a Mexican-American teenager from El Paso, Texas, who bonds with Garrett’s old scarab after discovering it accidentally. The scarab fused with Reyes’ spine, giving him (sometimes involuntary) access to high-tech alien armor, which he uses to defend his hometown. Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña is taking on the role in the Blue Beetle movie, making it the first DCU movie project to be led by a Latino superhero.
Blue Beetle’s future
The future of DC’s cinematic universe has been in flux since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the studio as co-CEOs. Henry Cavill’s Superman has been replaced with David Corenswet, Gal Gadot has recently stated she might still cling on to her role as Wonder Woman, and Matt Reeves is building an entirely separate Batman universe while Gunn also works on a different Batman project, The Brave and the Bold. Gunn has assured fans that this upcoming iteration of Blue Beetle will be the new DCU’s first official character, but he also stated that the DCU’s first official movie will be Superman: Legacy. Though this is all still somewhat confusing, it’s heartening to know that the new DCU is slowly starting to take shape and that this version of Blue Beetle will be part of it after all.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
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