Comic Book Character Spotlight - Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

I kicked off my Comic Book Character Spotlights with last week's Sodam Yat profile. This week, I'll be taking a look at DC's young hero, Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle! He's currently starring in his own book, Blue Beetle, and recently joined the Teen Titans in issue #50. On top of that, he'll be playing a part in Booster Gold's attempts to save Ted Kord as well as having a tie-in with the incredible Sinestro Corps War in next week's Blue Beetle #19. Find out who this new hero is and why you should care about him in this week's spotlight.

Who Is Blue Beetle?

Name: Jaime Reyes
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Affiliations: The Posse, Teen Titans
Currently Appearing In: Blue Beetle, Teen Titans
First Appearance: Infinite Crisis #3 (cameo), Infinite Crisis #4 (as Jaime), Infinite Crisis #5 (in costume)
Required Reading: Infinite Crisis, Blue Beetle #1, 3, 7, 12-13, 18, & Teen Titans 50-54

Powers & Abilities: The Beetle armour can reconfigure to create energy cannons, blades, shields, wings and just about anything Jaime can imagine. It's AI weapons system allows him to lock onto and track any energy source - biological, technological or mystical in nature.

Origin

Jaime is a teenager living in El Paso, Texas, residing with his parents and younger sister. He is an honours student with an acute sense of responsibility, very similar in nature to Spider-man, and this is especially noticeable later in the series when he fails to save everyone in a town during an attack by the villain Typhoon.

During Infinite Crisis, the Blue Beetle scarab found young Jaime Reyes for its new champion and, with the scarab's help, he assisted Batman and the other superheroes in the destruction of the Brother Eye satellite and, thus, a new hero was born.

Why Should I Care About Him?

As I said in my Crisis of Faith - Blue Beetle review, the Blue Beetle book is one of the best comics coming out of DC today and the creative team has done an incredible job building up Jaime and his amazing supporting cast of characters. While many were upset with the death of Ted Kord, try not to hold this against the young Jaime Reyes. This series does not ignore the previous Blue Beetles nor does it stomp all over their memories. In fact, the book has numerous references to the previous Beetles and pays homage to them on several occasions.

On top of that, this book is just plain fun. It reminds me of the earlier, more simpler days of Amazing Spider-Man with its focus on the characters and how the burden and responsibility of the Blue Beetle affects Jaime, his friends and family.

The current focus of his own title has been on expanding the role and history of the Blue Beetle scarab. The team has done an excellent job with the introduction of The Reach, the intergalactic creators of the scarab, in issues #12 and 13 and their presence has been a major turning point in the quality of this book, giving it the focus and drama it lacked in its earlier issues.

On top of the introduction of The Reach, Jaime has recently joined the Teen Titans, as seen in the joint telling in Blue Beetle #18 and Teen Titans #50. This new role as a member of the Titans should give the fledgling Reyes the exposure his excellent solo title lacks and will give him an even larger role in the DC Universe at large.

Jaime has also been making cameos in Geoff Johns' Booster Gold series and with that book's focus on Booster trying to resurrect Ted, Jaime should appear or be mentioned again in the future.

What Does The Future Hold For Blue Beetle?

Blue Beetle #19 sees a Sinestro Corps War tie-in that has The Reach, long time enemies of the Guardians, activating a scarab on the newly recruited Sinestro Corps member, Peacemaker, who is a friend and confidante of Jaime. The previews of this issue look great and this should be far more than a generic or forced tie-in. Jaime and Guy Gardner previously met in the opening issues of the Blue Beetle series and again, later, in Blue Beetle #14, where they helped fight against The Reach.

As I mentioned earlier, he is a member of the Teen Titans and, with their popular Titans of Tomorrow storyline currently running in Teen Titans #50-54, Jaime should get even more exposure and spotlight.

Also, as seen in Booster Gold, Jaime will at least be appearing in Booster's attempt to save Ted Kord based on the brief glimpses of the future as Rip Hunter and Booster travel through time. Combined with his Sinestro Corps War tie-in and his new membership with the Titans, these roles in the various high profile books should cement Jaime's role in the DCU.

On top of these various appearances, his current trials and tribulations with The Reach in his own title should continue to escalate and provide a compelling story. Future solicits show a major change in Jaime's life and, if you aren't picking this book up now, you will surely be missing out on some great, fun and highly entertaining comics.

Conclusion

I cannot give Blue Beetle enough praise. His book is easily one of my favourite comics coming out of DC, or any publisher for that matter, and he rarely gets the recognition he deserves due to the negative connotations many have after the death Ted Kord, the previous Blue Beetle. The book is funny, smart and entertaining and this is more than a generic rehash or replacement for Ted. Jaime's his own man and one of the best new heroes of the past decade.

You all know my love for the character, but I'm curious to hear what others think of him. Will you be picking up the next issue for the Green Lantern tie-in? Does his joining the Teen Titans interest you in his current series at all? Can you Ted Kord fans look past his death and give the new and equally deserving character a chance or will your hatred of DC's and Dan DiDio's killing refrain you from picking up and enjoying this book? Looking forward to all your thoughts and comments.

Interested in the new Blue Beetle? Check out these Blue Beetle trades from Amazon.com and help support The Weekly Crisis!

Blue Beetle

• Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Shellshocked
• Blue Beetle Vol. 2: Road Trip

Click Here to Read More!

Comic Book Crisis of Faith - Blue Beetle

I am back again for another round of Comic Book Crisis of Faith. For the uninitiated, this column is dedicated to more thorough reviews of series or creative runs than my weekly single-issue review column, the Weekly Crisis Comic Book Reviews. The Comic Book Crisis of Faith comes into play with the fact that you most likely are not picking these books up or feel like you are too late for the party or do not know how a certain creative team's run is playing out. For the time being, I am sticking to more recent books, like the previous volume's look back at the first six issues of Immortal Iron Fist or this volume's look at Blue Beetle. The goal is to hopefully persuade some people to take a chance on these books or possibly save themselves money by warning them about the pitfalls of picking up certain other books. Enjoy the column and, as usual, feel free to leave comments.

Blue Beetle - Written by Keith Giffen & John Rogers with Art by Cully Hamner & Rafael Albuquerque - I will come right out and state it now. This book is probably, hands down, one of the top five books being put out by DC, if not all comic companies. If you enjoy superhero comics in the slightest, you do yourself a great disservice by not giving this series a try. Giffen and Rogers have done an incredible job with this book. The characters they have created are some of the most realistic and believable individuals I have ever seen grace a comic page. The dialogue is incredibly witty and feels completely natural. If you are or have ever been a teenager, this book will have you hooked with its incredible charm. This is the type of book anyone, young or old, can enjoy, and it is a shame DC has failed to market it in any way, shape or form.



Jaime Reyes is a teenager living in El Paso, Texas, residing with his parents and younger sister. He is an honours student with an acute sense of responsibility, very similar in nature to Spider-man, and this is especially noticeable later in the series when he fails to save everyone in a town during an attack by the villain Typhoon and laments to his father afterwards. The scene was incredibly touching and showed how much Jaime cares about the people around him. The interactions with his father are beautifully handled and show the deep bound Jaime has with his family. During Infinite Crisis, the Blue Beetle scarab found young Jaime for its new champion and, with the scarab's help, he assisted Batman and the other superheroes. Blue Beetle picks up immediately where Infinite Crisis left off.

The main draw of this book, and as should be the goal of all books, is the characters. Jaime is instantly likable and reminds me of a more modern rendition of Peter Parker as he is sort of an everyman type of character. Anyone should be able to see themselves reacting similarly to Jaime and his friends. Speaking of which, the team manages to build one of the best supporting cast of characters in comics today, in most likelihood rivaling Spider-man's of years gone by. Each character is unique and believable and the true joy of reading each issue is seeing Jaime's interactions with his friends and family. As stated earlier, the dialogue, handled by Rogers, is incredibly well done and some of the most believable dialogue in comics. Both witty and charming, it captures the youth and spirit of these characters while making each character's voice unique and instantly recognizable. One of the best things about the Blue Beetle character is that Jaime does not hide his secret identity from his friends and family. It seems natural and the reactions between the characters is that much stronger with no need for the cliched hero dumping his friends and family and other responsibilities in favour of hiding his secret identity. Hiding the identity always came off a bit corny in other books and makes the other characters seem rather dense for not being able to figure it out, especially when they live under the same roof.

Despite my high praise at the start of this column, I will be the first to admit that Blue Beetle, over the course of its first eleven issues, has had little focus or direction. In fact, not until issue twelve, when Rogers took over as the only writer, did the book finally gain the one thing it was lacking. Basically, throughout the first half a dozen issues, the series meanders about, unable to really do anything but introduce the supporting cast as it ties into Infinite Crisis and One Year Later. The transition to OYL continuity in issue three was handled especially well. Jaime's family's reaction to his missing for one year in OYL is a realistic reaction that is a true testament to the writers' abilities. Issue seven explains fully what happened during Infinite Crisis, and the reason for his missing for one year, when Jaime disappeared aboard the Brother Eye satellite. Among these first handful of issues, Giffen and Rogers manage to introduce us to the Posse, a street gang made up of magic users who's abilities were unlocked due to the destruction of the Rock of Eternity in Infinite Crisis. The events and execution of the Posse storyline is fairly average fare, but they serve to introduce us to the many characters in Jaime's life and allow the team to explore Jaime's new powers and abilities as the Blue Beetle. If you originally gave the book a shot, I can see why you may have been leery of sticking around or possibly dropped the book during this shaky starting period.

With the initial story arc wrapped up and the crossover nonsense done with, the book really starts to find its groove and the second arc is a huge improvement over the original offering. At the same time, it somehow manages to actually improve upon the characters and dialogue of the first six or seven issues, making these issues that much better. While much of the first few issues deal with the new Beetle's powers and abilities, with this arc, we learn more about previous Beetle's and the history of the scarab itself and how it is an alien artifact. All of this culminates with issue twelve and thirteen's introduction of The Reach, an alien race that once warred with the Guardians, of Green Lantern fame, when the universe was younger and are currently engaged in a peace treaty with them. Apparently, The Reach created the scarab's to seed young worlds. The scarab was designed to activate at a certain time and take over a host to use in order to prepare the planet for The Reach to take over. Somehow, through the use of magic, most likely from the first Beetle, Dan Garrett's usage, the scarab became damaged and this has allowed Jaime to oppose The Reach and the scarab's desires. Initially they tried to trick Jaime into helping them, but with his refusal, they were forced to try and terminate him.

Throughout the next half a dozen issues, the book focuses primarily on Jaime's dealings with The Reach and is home to several excellent issues. His team up with Guy Gardner in issue fourteen is one of my favourite issues. Jaime is initially terrified of Guy, as his first issue had Guy attacking Jaime due to some misunderstandings and the later revealed natures of The Reach scarab and Oan GL rings. After the hilarious chase scene, Guy meets up with Jaime's family and a great scene, which accompanies this paragraph, takes place with Jaime's mother chastising Guy's hiding the giant green fist behind his back. It is scenes like this one, which there are many throughout the series, that make the book a joy to read. This issue also takes the time to address the relationship between The Reach and the Green Lantern Corps and how the GLC can do nothing to stop The Reach at this time, as they are under treaty unless The Reach does something drastic. A few issues later comes another great issue with a confrontation with Eclipso. It builds upon the earlier Posse developments and, as a self contained issue, is incredibly well done, with excellent pacing and probably one of the funniest moments in the entire series. As Eclipso tries to use one of the Posse's babies as a new host, Jaime, his non powered friend Paco and Traci 13 attempt to stop her. The magic ceremony prevents magic intervention and as Paco enters the magic circle to stop Eclipso, he must face Eclipso's champion. For this, she summons Jaime's greatest, darkest desires for ultimate power. What she gets is a Jaime, clad in full dentist uniform, shouting, "I am a dentist!". It is a testament to the type of character Jaime is, just a normal guy with no desire for super powers or the strange life thrust upon him and the scene is played to fantastic comical effect. The final issue of my overview was last weeks team up with the Teen Titans in issue eighteen. It was another excellent issue and probably the best the Titans have been handled in months. Rogers dialogue and story made this issue work and I would love to see him handling Teen Titans if it does not detract from his work with Blue Beetle. Hopefully this crossover and his eventual involvement with the Titan's own book will lead to more fan interest and better sales for the low selling Blue Beetle book.






To my knowledge, it appears the main complaint with this series is Ted Kord, and this book's lack thereof. Many long time fans gave up on this book in disgust over DC's killing off of the previous Blue Beetle during Infinite Crisis and refuse to give this book a chance. The redefining of the Blue Beetle mythos is another common train of thought coming from this group of detractors. I just want to state right now that this book, and its creators, hold the previous Beetle's in high regard. Most of the first dozen or so issues are littered with Blue Beetle lore and the book builds and expands upon all that came before it. It does not ignore or tear down or detract in any way from the previous Blue Beetles. The image accompanying this paragraph is a prime example of this. Issue eight has Jaime and company visiting the first Blue Beetle's granddaughter for more information and history on the scarab. There are several scenes throughout the series of Jaime researching Ted Kord and commenting on how great a character he was. Guy Gardner shows up in one issue and tells Jaime that he considers Ted to be smarter than Batman and that despite not having powers, Ted was one of the best heroes he ever knew. Small touches like these show the respect the creators have for the old guard and are really nice touches. If you are one of the people holding off on this book simply because it is not the Blue Beetle you know and love, please give it a try, as I am sure you will love it just as much, if not more than the previous Beetles.

Blue Beetle is currently available in two trades, Blue Beetle: Shell Shocked and Blue Beetle: Road Trip, collecting issues one to six and seven to twelve respectively. Many of the issues can probably still be found in back issue bins and I highly recommend seeking out either the trades or back issues, as they are more than worth the effort. The series starts off on a shaky foot, but quickly finds its way about half way through and is currently firing on all cylinders. It is smart, funny and highly entertaining and I, honestly, cannot wait for each issue to come out. Issue eighteen, which you can read more about here, is a great stand alone issue that anyone could enjoy and would make an excellent jumping on point for anyone interested in this series or looking for a great superhero book. This is one of the best comics on the market today and I would hate to see it go the way of the dodo simply because people were too afraid to give a new book about a former B-list hero, no offense to Ted Kord, a chance. If you enjoy books like Spider-man, back when he was care free and he had an actual supporting cast to care about, or Runaways or are tired of the angst ridden, cynical, super depressing realistic takes many new comics take on characters, this book is definitely for you. I cannot give this book enough praise and the prognosis for future issues in this series is extremely positive in my eyes. Pick up an issue today, you will not regret it.

Like this review? Interested in this book? Purchase Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Shellshocked or Blue Beetle Vol. 2: Road Trip from Amazon.com and help support The Weekly Crisis!

Click Here to Read More!