Blue Beetle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This articles lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (May 2010) Blue Beetle Dan Garrett, Ted Kord, and Jaime Reyes. Art from the Blue Beetle Companion, by Tom Feister. Publisher Fox Comics Holyoke Publishing Charlton Comics Americomics DC Comics First appearance Mystery Men Comics #1 (August 1939) Created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski Characters Dan Garret (a.k.a. Dan Garrett) Ted Kord Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle Blue Beetle #4 (October 1940). Cover artist unknown; possibly Edd Ashe. Publication information Publisher Vol. 1: Fox Comics (except #12-30: Holyoke Publishing) Vols. 2-5: Charlton Comics Vols. 6-8: DC Comics Schedule Vol. 1: Bi-monthly #1-13, #41-44 Monthly #17-36, #45-60 Quarterly #37-40 Vols. 2, 5-8: Monthly Vol. 3: Monthly #1-4 Bi-monthly #5 Vol. 4: Monthly #1-53 Bi-monthly #54 Format All Standard U.S., 4 color. When published, ongoing. Genre Publication date Vol. 1: 1939 – August 1950 Vol. 2: February – August 1955 Vol. 3: June 1964 – March/April 1965 Vol. 4: July 1965 – February/March 1966 Vol. 5: June 1967 – November 1968 Vol. 6: June 1986 – May 1988 Vol. 7: May 2006 – February 2009 Vol. 8: September 2011-January 2013 Number of issues Vol. 1: 59 (numbered 1-42; 44-60) Vol. 2: 4 (numbered 18-21) Vol. 3: 5 Vol. 4: 5 (numbered 50-54) Vol. 5: 5 Vol. 6: 24 Vol. 7: 36 Vol. 8: 17 (numbered 1-12; 0; 13-16) Main character(s) Vols. 1-4: Dan Garrett Vols. 5-6: Ted Kord Vol. 7-8: Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle is the name of four fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. Contents [hide] 1 Publication history 2 Dan Garret 2.1 Fox Feature Syndicate and Holyoke Publishing 2.2 Charlton Comics 2.3 AC Comics 2.4 DC Comics 2.5 Dynamite Entertainment 2.6 Legacy 3 Ted Kord 4 Jaime Reyes 5 The scarab 6 Enemies 7 Other versions 7.1 Kingdom Come 7.2 52 Multiverse 8 In other media 8.1 Radio 8.2 Audio 8.3 Television 8.3.1 Batman: The Brave and the Bold 8.3.1.1 Jaime Reyes 8.3.1.2 Ted Kord 8.3.1.3 Dan Garrett 8.3.2 Young Justice 8.3.3 The Electric Company 8.4 Watchmen: Under the Hood 8.5 Live action 8.5.1 Smallville 9 See also 10 References 11 External links Publication history[edit] The original Blue Beetle, Dan Garret, first appeared in Fox Comics Mystery Men Comics #1 (cover-dated August 1939), with art by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski (as Charles Nicholas); though the Grand Comics Database tentatively credits Will Eisner as the scripter.[1] A rookie police officer, he wore a special bulletproof costume and took Vitamin 2X which enabled him with super-energy, and he was assisted by a neighborhood pharmacist in his fight against crime. Blue Beetle starred in a comic book series, comic strip and radio serial, but like most Golden Age superheroes, he fell into obscurity in the 1950s. The comic book series saw a number of anomalies in publication: 19 issues, #12 through #30, were published through Holyoke Publishing; no issue #43 was published; publication frequency varied throughout the run; and there were gaps where issues were not published, with large ones occurring in early 1947 and between mid-1948 and early 1950. In the mid-1950s, Fox Comics went out of business and sold rights of the Blue Beetle to Charlton Comics.[2] That company published a few sporadic adventures of the Golden Age character before revamping the hero in 1964.[3] Charlton tried three times to use the character to carry a self-titled series. Two of the attempts retained the numbering of a previous title. These also were eventually replaced with new titles that carried on the numbering. The new series was short-lived, and in the pages of Captain Atom #83 (cover-dated November 1966) through #86,[4] Charlton introduced Ted Kord, a student of Dan Garrets who took on the role when Garret died. Kord was an inventor hero, using a variety of gadgets. This Beetle received his own series in 1967, but the entire Charlton Action Heroes line of comic books ceased publication in 1968.[5][6][7] With the rest of the Charlton line-up, he was sold to DC Comics in 1983 and appeared with several superhero groups, including the Justice League. In 2006, DC introduced a new Blue Beetle, teenager Jaime Reyes, whose powers are derived from the scarab, now revealed as a piece of advanced alien technology. The series was initially written by Keith Giffen and John Rogers,[8] with artist Cully Hamner.[9] Giffen left in issue #10 and Rogers took over full writing duties, joined by a new artist, Rafael Albuquerque.[10] Rogers left the title with issue #25 in order to concentrate on his television series Leverage.[11] After three fill-in issues, Matt Sturges became the main writer in issue #29,[12] but the series was cancelled with issue #36.[13] Editor Dan DiDio put the cancellation down to poor sales and said that Blue Beetle was a book that we started with very high expectations, but it lost its audience along the way.[14] In June 2009, Blue Beetle was brought back as a co-feature of the more popular Booster Gold comic.[15] In September 2011, a new Blue Beetle comic was launched as part of The New 52 initiative, with Jaime Reyess history being rebooted with a new origin and without any apparent history of Kord or Garrett as prior Blue Beetles. The new book was written by Tony Bedard and drawn by Ig Guara.[16][17] Dan Garret[edit] Fox Feature Syndicate and Holyoke Publishing[edit] The first appearance of the Blue Beetle, Mystery Men Comics #1 (1939). Art by Charles Nicholas. The original Golden Age Blue Beetle was Dan Garret,[18] son of a police officer killed by a criminal. This Fox Feature Syndicate version of the character debuted in Mystery Men Comics #1 (August 1939), and began appearing in his own 60-issue series shortly thereafter. Fox Feature Syndicate sponsored a Blue Beetle Day at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair on August 7, 1940, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and including 300 children in relay-race finals at the Field of Special Events, following preliminaries in New York City parks. The race was broadcast over radio station WMCA.[19] Rookie patrolman Dan Garret originally fought crime as the Blue Beetle without the benefit of superhuman abilities.[20] Garret later donned a bulletproof blue costume (described by Garret as being chain-mail made of a cellulose material which was as thin and light as silk but stronger than steel) and temporarily gained superhuman strength and stamina by ingesting the mysterious Vitamin 2X.[21] Like the Green Hornet, the Blue Beetle would use his signature scarab symbol to bedevil criminals, leaving it to be easily found, hanging it down into a room on a string and even projecting its enlarged image onto a wall with a flashlight. The supporting cast remained fairly stable throughout this original run and included Joan Mason, a beautiful blond reporter for the Daily Blade who would ultimately star in her own backup stories, and Mike Mannigan, Dans stereotypically Irish partner on the force who believed despite all evidence to the contrary that the Blue Beetle was a criminal and was always trying to arrest him with little success. Dr. Franz, a local pharmacist and inventor of the bulletproof suit and 2-X formula (as well as many other handy gadgets, including a portable wireless telephone a good half century before they came into common use), played a large role in the early issues but eventually faded from the cast. The Beetle also had a short-lived spunky kid sidekick in the form of Sparkington J. Northrup (Sparky), who originally wore an abbreviated version of the Beetles costume but later went into action wearing his regular clothes.[22] During World War II, Dan Garret became a government agent who was often sent overseas on secret missions, but after peace was declared he returned to his old role of neighborhood cop. The Blue Beetles powers slowly increased over time with him eventually gaining the ability to fly and x-ray vision among other bizarre talents that changed from issue to issue at the whim of the writers. However, when superheroes fell out of vogue in the late 1940s, Fox started to downplay his superheroic aspects and his superhuman abilities were removed, and his now considerably darker adventures became full of sadistic violence and scantily-clad women until he was eventually relegated to hosting true crime stories before the character went on hiatus. A popular character in his era, the Blue Beetle had his own short-lived comic strip, drawn by a pseudonymous Jack Kirby and others, and a radio serial that ran for 48 thirteen-minute episodes. Charlton Comics[edit] Blue Beetle vol. 2, #1 (June 1964). Cover art by Frank McLaughlin. Charlton Comics obtained the rights to the Blue Beetle and reprinted some stories in its anthology titles and in a four-issue Blue Beetle reprint series numbered 18-21. In 1964, during the Silver Age of comics, Charlton would revise the character for a new Blue Beetle series. Charltons new Blue Beetle retained the originals name (adding a second t), but none of his powers or origin. This Beetle was archaeologist Dan Garrett, who obtained a number of superhuman powers (including super strength and vision, flight, and the ability to generate energy blasts) from a mystical scarab he found during a dig in Egypt, where it had been used to imprison an evil mummified Pharaoh.[23] He would transform into the Blue Beetle by saying the words Kaji Dha! This version, by writer Joe Gill and artist Tony Tallarico, was played at least initially for camp, with stories like The Giant Mummy Who was Not Dead. The Charlton Dan Garrett version of the Blue Beetle ran only until 1966 before his replacement debuted.[24] AC Comics[edit] Both Blue Beetles (indeed, all three Blue Beetles) reappeared in the third issue of Americomics, a title published by AC Comics in 1983/1984. In the first story in this issue, Ted Kord fights a bogus Dan Garrett, but the second story is more significant. It reveals that the original 1940s Dan had been reincarnated as the Silver Age version (minus his memories of his earlier existence) by some unspecified gods, presumably the ones responsible for his mystic scarab. The gods subsequently resurrect Dan again and send him off to save Ted Kords life (leaving him a note saying simply, Try not to get killed this time), after which Kord turns the Blue Beetle name back over to Dan. Americomics was canceled after issue #6, and so far this story has never been referenced by any other publisher. DC Comics[edit] The Charlton version of Dan Garrett was spotlighted in the second issue of DCs 1980s Secret Origins series, in which his origin was retold along with that of Ted Kord. Subsequent appearances by Dan Garrett (in flashback stories) include guest spots or cameos in Infinity, Inc., Captain Atom, JLA: Year One, and Legends of the DC Universe. The character briefly returned in DC Comics first run of Blue Beetle,[25] resurrected by his mystical scarab to battle against his successor. He can also be seen in various flashback stories. His 1940s incarnation is briefly glimpsed in DCs 1993 limited series The Golden Age. Dynamite Entertainment[edit] In issue #0 of the Project Superpowers miniseries, the Fox Feature Syndicate version of the Blue Beetle appeared in flashbacks.[26] To avoid trademark conflicts with DC Comics, he is referred to in this series by the nickname Big Blue.[27] Legacy[edit] It was eventually established that the Charlton Comics incarnation of the Dan Garrett Blue Beetle made his debut on August 14, 1939.[28] The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle has met Daniels granddaughter, Danielle,[29] and has also met Dan himself.[30] Ted Kord[edit] Main article: Ted Kord Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle. Art by Dick Giordano. The replacement Blue Beetle created by Charlton Comics, and later published by Americomics and DC Comics, is Ted Kord, a former student of Dan Garrett, a genius-level inventor and a gifted athlete. Kord and Garrett were investigating Kords Uncle Jarvis when they learned Jarvis was working to create an army of androids to take over Earth. Garrett changed into Blue Beetle, but was killed in battle. As he died, he passed on to Kord the responsibility of being Blue Beetle, but was unable to pass on the mystical scarab.[31] Ted had the scarab for some time, but never used it. He carried it during the Crisis on Infinite Earths when he was chosen by the Monitor to protect the multiple Earths, but it only reacted when he was attacked; it did not give him superpowers. During the Death of Superman saga, the Blue Beetle and the other JLA members tried to stop Doomsdays path of destruction. Doomsday displayed his near-invulnerability and, while brutally defeating the League, put the Blue Beetle into a coma.[32] Upon recovery, he continued his tenure with the JLA as well as its offshoot, Extreme Justice. Blue Beetle discovered a renewed Checkmate organization led by Maxwell Lord, with a database containing information on every metahuman on Earth. He was captured and executed with a single gunshot to the head. Before dying, he had used the scarab in an attempt to contact Captain Marvel, but was forced to leave it with Shazam in the Rock of Eternity when the wizard sent him back to Earth.[33] Some time later, Booster, along with Jaime, Dan, and the Black Beetle in the guise of a Blue Beetle from the future, travels back in time to rescue Kord moments before his death.[30] Jaime Reyes[edit] Main article: Jaime Reyes Jaime Reyes. Promotional art for Blue Beetle vol. 7, #2 (2006), by Cully Hamner. Jaime Reyes is a teenager who lives in El Paso, Texas, with his father, mother, and little sister; his father owns a garage and his mother is a nurse. Jaime has offered to help his father out at the garage, but his father has turned him down. He feels Jaime should enjoy his childhood for as long as he can, and should attempt to further his education. He finds the scarab in a vacant lot and it fuses with him while he sleeps.[34] After Booster Gold revealed Jaimes new powers to him, Jaime was swept up in the climactic battle with Brother Eye during Infinite Crisis. He later becomes a member of the Teen Titans,[35] and is good friends with Rose Wilson (Ravager), Robin, Static, and others. In Teen Titans vol. 3, #83, he takes a break from the team to be with his mother. Jaime has a girlfriend, the young sorceress Traci 13, who gets along well with Jaimes family. His large and loving family is a major source of strength and guidance for Jaime. Both Peacemaker and Doctor Mid-nite have been kind and wise mentors for the young Blue Beetle. Jaime co-starred along with the rest of the former Justice League International in Justice League: Generation Lost. Following DCs Flashpoint event, Blue Beetle was one of 52 monthly titles launched in September 2011, again starring Jaime Reyes.[36][37] The series was cancelled after 17 issues in January 2013. The scarab[edit] The Blue Beetle scarab, previously shown as an artifact of magic, is later retconned as a tool of war of the Reach, an ancient race of cosmic marauders. After being defeated by the Guardians of the Universe thousands of years ago and forced into a truce, the Reach poses as benevolent aliens lending their advanced technology to budding civilizations. The scarab is a gift for that worlds champion, giving him amazing powers and the knowledge of the Reach to protect his or her peers. Secretly, the scarab is part of an advanced hive mind, with its own artificial intelligence covertly supplanting the wearers own. The wearer is turned into the ultimate infiltrator, a covert agent intended to take over its own world.[25] In The New 52, the Reach foregoes the secrecy, and each wearer immediately becomes possessed by the scarab. It then uses its hosts knowledge to decimate the world and prepare it for a full invasion by Reach forces.[38] Enemies[edit] Main article: List of Blue Beetle enemies Other versions[edit] Kingdom Come[edit] Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) was seen in Alex Ross and Mark Waids limited series Kingdom Come. He is shown with the rest of the Charlton Action Heroes not as a member of Magogs Justice Battalion, but as part of Batmans group and later of the MLF (Mankind Liberation Front). He would be shown later in the title in a suit of armor powered by the then-mystic scarab, working with Batmans team. In the novelization of the series, Batman thinks of Blue Beetle, along with Green Arrow and Black Canary, as his closest (at the time) friends. Blue Beetle is killed with most of the other heroes by a nuclear explosion. 52 Multiverse[edit] The Earth-19 Blue Beetle. The final issue, #52, of DC Comics 2006/2007 year-long weekly series 52 revealed that a Multiverse system of 52 parallel universes, with each Earth being a different take on established DC Comics characters as featured in the mainstream continuity (designated as New Earth) had come into existence. The Multiverse acts as a storytelling device that allows writers to introduce alternate versions of fictional characters, hypothesize What if? scenarios, revisit popular Elseworlds stories and allow these characters to interact with the mainstream continuity. For example, the Ted Kord of the Kingdom Come limited series is said to reside on Earth-22. Spin-offs from the series Countdown to Final Crisis would introduce more alternate Blue Beetles in 2007. Earth-19 (the Gotham by Gaslight universe), set in a Victorian-like era, has its own version of Dan Garrett who in his secret identity is the leading Egyptologist at the Gotham Museum of Natural History and wears a monocle, appearing in The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight. The limited series Countdown: Arena depicted three more: Earth-26 Blue Beetle, a swarm of sentient insects that form a man-shaped body (calling themselves The Scarab), Ted of Earth-33, an anthropomorphic beetle, the pet of Mr. and Mrs. Kord, and Earth-39 Blue Beetle, a younger version of Dan Garrett, who has bonded with his scarab in the same way as Jaime Reyes.[39] A new version of the Blue Beetle known as Blue Scarab was shown as a member of the Justice League in the apocalyptic future depicted in Justice League: Generation Lost. He is stated as being the descendant of the Blue Beetle, and has a very alien-looking appearance.[40] An evil version has appeared in the antimatter universe of Qward, the universe of the Crime Syndicate of America, known as the Scarab. In other media[edit] Radio[edit] Blue Beetle radio.jpg The Blue Beetle had a short career on the radio, between May and September 1940. Motion picture and radio actor Frank Lovejoy was the Blue Beetle for the first 13 episodes, while for the rest of the shows, the voice was provided by a different, uncredited actor. The Blue Beetle was a young police officer who saw the need for extraordinary crime fighting. He took the task on himself by secretly donning a superhero costume to create fear in the criminals who were to learn to fear the Blue Beetles wrath. The 13-minute segments were usually only two-parters, so the stories were often simpler than other popular programs, such as the Superman radio serial. Audio[edit] The Kingdom Come story, in which the Blue Beetle took part, has been adapted as an audio drama by John Whitman, based on the story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross and the novelization by Elliot S. Maggin (Time Warner Audio Books, 1998).[41] Television[edit] Batman: The Brave and the Bold[edit] Jaime Reyes[edit] The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle has appeared in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by actor Will Friedle, who previously voiced the futuristic Batman, Terry McGinnis, in Batman Beyond.[42] In the shows pilot episode, The Rise of the Blue Beetle!, it is mentioned that a previous Blue Beetle existed before Jaime and was murdered by Kanjar Ro. Jaime makes another appearance in the episode Invasion of the Secret Santas!, assisting Batman in fighting the Sportsmaster and his henchmen and inviting Batman to his familys Christmas Eve dinner. Jaime appeared again fighting Planet Master alongside Aquaman in Aquamans Outrageous Adventure!. The Reyes Blue Beetle also appears in the episode Deep Cover for Batman! and its sequel, Game Over for Owlman! In the first part of the story, an alternate universe version of Jaime Reyes named Scarlet Scarab is shown as a member of the Injustice Syndicate, led by Batmans evil doppelganger, Owlman. The Scarlet Scarab mentions to his suit (which is sentient) that he has the heart of a true hero. This leads Batman (posing as Owlman) to believe that he can help the evil version of Reyes — before Scarlet Scarab finishes his statement with, I keep it in a jar in the back of my closet.[43] In the episode Night of the Huntress!, Blue Beetle, Batman, and the Huntress have to stop the gangster Baby-Face and his wife, Mrs. Manface. The Blue Beetle develops a crush on the Huntress in the episode. Reyes appeared again in The Fate of Equinox! where he, along with Doctor Fate, Aquaman, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Fire, the original Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Plastic Man, and Red Tornado temporarily gave their powers to Batman, turning him into Bat Monolith so he could battle the omnipotent Equinox. In Revenge of the Reach!, Jaime learns that his scarab is a part of the Reach. His suit temporarily takes control of him and has him shut down the defenses around Oa, allowing the Reach to invade. Fortunately, Jaime regains control of his suit, reminding it that what they did was of their will, not the Reachs. Channeling the energy of the Green Lanterns through his suit, Blue Beetle is able to free all those under the Reachs control. The Guardians of the Universe then ask Jaime for his scarab so it can be destroyed along with the others, but Guy Gardner convinces them that Jaime proved he was the suits master. Reyes friend Paco also appears several times, in the episodes The Rise of the Blue Beetle!, Fall of the Blue Beetle!, Night of the Huntress!, and Revenge of the Reach!, played by voice actor Jason Marsden. Ted Kord[edit] The Ted Kord version of the character appears in the episode Fall of the Blue Beetle!, voiced by actor Wil Wheaton.[44] In this episode, it is revealed that Ted Kord (who was unable to use the scarab) died two years ago in an explosion. Dan Garrett is also seen in a flashback to Kords origin, but does not speak. Garrett was seen lying dead. Kord makes a second appearance in the episode Menace of the Madniks! A melancholic Booster Gold travels back in time to see his old friend one more time and alters the Madniks and the time stream. Batman and Kord (unwittingly on his part) help Booster restore order. Wil Wheaton also voiced this appearance.[45] Dan Garrett[edit] Dan Garrett makes a brief, non-voiced appearance during the opening of Fall of the Blue Beetle!, as Batman narrates about the Blue Beetles and how Ted inherited a dying Dans mantle. Dans Blue Beetle suit is displayed in Ted Kords headquarters in the episode Menace of the Madniks!, next to Teds suit. Young Justice[edit] Jaime Reyes appears as the Blue Beetle in season 2, voiced by actor Eric Lopez. In a running gag, Jaime can often be seen rejecting the Scarabs (also voiced by Lopez) more violent and bloodthirsty suggestions (No, it would not have been easier to just vaporize him back in the diner!), which confuses those around him as it looks like hes talking to himself. Much of season 2s main story arc also revolves around Jaimes main antagonists, the Reach. Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle, appears in a non-speaking cameo in the episode Failsafe, in which several scenes depict the members of the Justice Society of America, in 1939. Dan appears among several of the most prominent members of the team, such as Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, and Flash. The episode Intervention later tells the full story of the scarab: ancient Bialyan mystics deactivated its reach control centuries ago, and it lay dormant until it was discovered by Dan Garrett, who fused with it to become the first Blue Beetle. His successor and protege, the technological genius Ted Kord, was able to recognise the Scarab as a potentially dangerous piece of alien technology, and thus made use of his own inventions as a hero. Kord later lost his life in a battle with Deathstroke and Sportsmaster upon discovering The Light planned to steal and reactivate the Scarab. Jaime came across the Scarab just after Ted Kords death, and became the third Blue Beetle believing it was Kords own invention. He was recruited into the Justice Leagues teenage strike team, where conflicts with the Reach led him to discover the Scarabs true origin and purpose, but his attempts to remove it only resulted him being completely controlled by it. Some of the Team made a separate discovery of a ritual that could remove the Reachs control over the Scarab, and then kept the knowledge quiet while Doctor Fate taught Zatanna the ritual, so the Team could once again deactivate the Scarab to allow Jaime to resume control. The Electric Company[edit] On the PBS childrens educational series The Electric Company, the Blue Beetle was a bumbling superhero (played by Jim Boyd) who would often make matters worse instead of better. He wore a mask, a hood with antennae, wings, tennis shoes, boxer shorts, and a t-shirt bearing the name Blue Beetle. Outside the name, the character is unrelated to any of the comic book versions. Watchmen: Under the Hood[edit] The Dan Garret Blue Beetle appears on the cover of a comic book in the Watchmen film tie-in Under the Hood. Live action[edit] Geoff Johns announced on his Twitter account that there is a live action screen test of Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle. This screen test is being used to trial the concept of a Blue Beetle television series.[46][47] Smallville[edit] At the San Diego Comic-Con 2010, it was announced that Jaime Reyes would appear in the episode Booster in the final season of Smallville, where the scarab bonds with Jaime who is saved by Booster Gold. It was confirmed that Ted Kord would make an appearance as well, searching for the lost, and apparently extremely dangerous Blue Beetle scarab. Dan Garrett is also mentioned, with Clark Kent stating he was a Kord Industries scientist who was killed after the Scarab bonded with him. See also[edit] List of Blue Beetle enemies
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 11:25:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015