The Generation Spanning Hero That is ‘Blue Beetle’

Originally, Blue Beetle appeared in the pages of Charlton Comics before the character made its way to DC Comics. However, the character of Blue Beetle seen in the film is represented by Jaime Reyes, an original character for DC. With ‘Blue Beetle’, we not only get to experience not just this current version that had its first appearance in the pages of the ‘Infinite Crisis’ comics, but we also get exposed to the rich origin of this character in cinemas.

From the opening credits, we already get a background of the Scarab that plays a central part in Blue Beetle’s story. You have to pay closs attention to it, otherwise you will miss bits of information on the Scarab, and the previous Blue Beetles before Jaime Reyes. For one, there is more than one Scarab that exists akin to the many Green Lantern rings that also exist. In fact, there is also an encounter between the Scarab and a mysterious green beam that shoots at it, revealed to be from aGreen Lantern, before it lands on Ancient Earth. Also in the opening credits are bits, and pieces of passing histories of Dan Garrett, the first Blue Beetle, and Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. These little easter eggs optimizes the storytelling elements of the film, and gets you jumpstarted on ‘Blue Beetle’ movie lore even before the opening scene begins.

Xolo Maraduena portrays a charismatic Jaime Reyes who becomes an unwanted hero thrust with the responsibility of the powers of the Scarab which chose him. The Scarab is a technological symbiote that grants its user powers of alien origin with its AI named Khaji Da. In DC Comics lore, Khaji Da is a Reach infiltrator that chose to bond with Jaime similar to Dan Garrett but unlike Ted Kord. Unlike the previous two Blue Beetles, Jaime initially wanted no part in the union with Khaji Da, but he eventually accedes to its will allowing Jaime to use the vast arsenal, and technology provided by the alien Scarab. Xolo shows this shift from unwanted hero to willing champion flawlessly, and somewhat playfully as he as Jaime eases his way into a symbiotic partnership with Khaji Da.

At the core of Jaime Reyes’s strength as a hero is his ties to his family, and to Jenny Kord, daughter of the ‘dead’ Ted Kord. This connection to Jenny Kord also allows Jaime to learn the history of the Scarab: from the Ted Kord to the Dan Garrett versions of Blue Beetle. With this knowledge of the Scarab, Jaime initlially rejects its choice of him even though it is revealed that the only way to remove the Scarab from his body is his own death. It is his connection to his family through his recently deceased father that completes the union between him and Khaji Da. He realizes that he can use the power that he now has to protect people, and prevent further loss to others like what he felt when he lost his father. With his reluctance overcome, Jaime Reyes becomes the hero that Blue Beetle can truly be.

‘Blue Beetle’ gives us a glimpse of the beginning of James Gunn‘s reign as the creative head of DC Studios. Of course it helps that his Co-CEO Peter Safran produced this film. Also, there is a mid credit scene that reveals Ted Kord is still alive, information that might be taken up as a crux of future DC films. So far, this is consistent with Gunn’s plans to create material for DC Studios that is rich in DC Comics lore thus connecting to various aspects of the DC Universe in the background which effectively indicates that these characters are part of a larger fictional world.

It is refreshing to see Xolo as Jaime Reyes. His work on Cobra Kai matches what is needed to portray an on-screen Jaime Reyes. The character is at an age that makes him relatable to younger audiences. It also caters to DC comic fans with a LOT of history on the Scarab. If you’re not a comic book fan, but a fan of action romps, this will appeal to you. I was entertained. I hope you will be too.

Young Justice Season 4 First Half: Phantoms of Future, Past and Present

Though the second part of season four will be coming this spring, there is a lot to talk about with the first thirteen episodes of ‘Young Justice: Phantoms’. Considering it’s been two years since ‘Young Justice: Outsiders’, fans (new and seasoned) have a lot to talk about, and rejoice in season four. And, ‘Phantoms’ is a very apt description so far as we will see with this recap review. Needless to say, this post has SPOILERS so proceed at your own risk. Thank you.

Superboy and Miss Marttian about to leave for Mars

Season four starts off with a revelation that M’gann and Conner are finally getting married. This is a great start to the story as the team’s first couple finally prep to tie the knot. Though the happy beginning just forebodes a series of problematic events as the season continues. It’s nice to see our group celebrate a little down time before the literal sh@t hits the fan. One of these problematic events is the discrimination shown once the couple reaches Mars, which is yet another socio-cultural reality tackled by this series. This leads to our first set of ‘phantoms’ from the future.

Chamelon Boy, Phantom Girl, and Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes

The end of season three hinted on the addition of the Legion of Super-Heroes to the series, and we get to see three members of this DC super team in the early story arc. Here we have Chamelion Boy, Phamtom Girl, and Saturn Girl shadowing M’gann and Conner along with Gar for an as of yet unknown reason. Though if you know your comic book references, they are probably there to protect Superboy aka Conner since he is the reason for the Legion forming. I can only assume that’s the rout the writers are taking since the series is Young Justice-centric and not Superman-centric.

Later we find out that Conner seemingly dies at the hands of kryptonite bomb planted by an unknown assailant. My money is that the phantom killer from the future is the Mordru (or connected to him) which links to the Lords of Chaos (more on that later). You can imagine the effect of Conner’s death is to poor M’gann (they weren’t even married yet), but Conner’s death seems to have hit hard on Gar as well. This leads to our next phantom which resonated throughout the entire series so far.

Superboy aka Conner Kent

With the death of Conner, Young Justice highlights the effects of depression through the eyes of Garfield Logan aka Beast Boy. Granted M’gann aka Miss Martian was gravely affected by Conner’s death, it is through Gar’s eyes that we get to see just how depression hits: no rhym or reason. It’s an important plot point of ‘Phantoms’, and you have to remember that Gar is one of the youngest members of the team. As such, we see varying degrees and manifestations of depression in Gar. Here’s hoping he snaps out of it somehow for his own good, and the good of the team.

Beast Boy, Superboy, and Miss Martian on Mars

Moving on to the present, the phantoms of the past rears their ugly heads through the eys of Cassandra Cain aka Orphan. I’m a huge Cassandra Cain comic book fan whether as Orphan or Batgirl, and I’m happy for her to have a story arc of her own in season four. This also connects with the history of both Artemis aka Tigress and Chessire, the sisters on opposite ends of the hero spectrum. Here, we see an opportunity for redemption for both Cassandra Cain, and Chessire in spite of their assassin pasts. The message here is resounding: you can move away from your dark past if you give yourself a chance. As to how this rehabilation of these two characters pan out, we’ll have to wait and see in the next episodes. Also, I’m happy that they had Barbara Gordon portrayed as Oracle. In my opinion, Oracle is one of the best modern characters in recent history in spite of, and because of her disability.

Lady Shiva with Cassandra Cain

Finally, we have the phantoms of the present with Zatanna taking center stage. If I’m happy with the Cassandra Cain story arc, I’m jubilant with the Zatanna story arc. She is one of my favorite comic book characters along with Raven, and Death of the Endless. This is the magic story arc with the Lords of Chaos as the time antagonists. Here we find out that Vandal Savage has an existing agreement with Klarion that now is put to the test. The presence of the Lords of Chaos just strenghtens my belief that Mordru is somehow the big baddie who will be revealed by season’s end.

Zatanna

In any case, the conflict between Klarion and The Child who are both agents of chaos draws in everybody. In the crossfire, we discover that Zatanna is training new magic weilders which include (Tracy) Thirteen, Kahlid Nassour, and Mary Bromfield (Marvel). With the resolution of Zatanna’s story arc, the balance of chaos and order is restored, and we find out that Zatanna has her reasons for having students. The decision was based on helping her fatther Zatara by providing alternate hosts for the Helmet of Faith. This includes herself, and her students minus Mary who was deemed unstable by Zatanna for the task.

The Child with Her Familiar

With that, the group’s run-in with chaos ends on a happy note. However, there are still some outstanding story hooks that remain unresovled. For one, Gar is still in depression, and we have yet to see him snap out of it. I expect that to be a huge part of the story for season four moving forward. Also, Zatanna had a vision of Conner’s soul at unrest. From episode thirteen, it appears that Conner is actually trapped in the Phantom Zone. Maybe he was placed there to protect him from the kryptonite bomb? That would explain why there is no body. With that, we end the first half of season four.

Young Justice Membes

Additionally, I would just like to mention one other story element incorporated from Young Justice: Outsiders. During the end credits of season three, we see Wolf as the star of the end credits. In ‘Phantoms’, the creators took this up a notch by providing short clips that enhance the story elements for the series. I find this to be a welcome addition to Young Justice. In effect, the end credits aren’t wasted on just credits, and these addtional story elements provide more layers to this beautiful series.

Young Justice cover Photo

So, what’s there to expect with the second half of season four? well, we don’t have stories that center on Aqualad aka Aquaman, Nightwing, and Rocket so I expect future episodes to center on them. If we are to believe the title image of season four, that should be the case. Then, there is the overarching story of depression through the eyes of Beast Boy, and , to a certain extent, Miss Martian. I suspect that how they overcome depression will be a salient point of the second half of the season. Next, we have the Legion, and the mysterious ‘killer’ of Superboy aka Conner. Let’s see if Mordru actually shows up. Finally, I’m hoping for the return of Wally West (Yeah!). Maybe he becomes the key to saving Conner from the Phantom Zone.

If you aren’t watching Young Justice yet, you should. This is one of the best comic book adaptations out there. Young Justice: Phantoms is streaming on HBO Max.