Blue Beetle is breaking a long-standing trend in DC movies with its centralized role of Jaime Reyes. In Blue Beetle, recent college graduate Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) comes into possession of a mysterious blue artifact resembling a scarab. When the scarab bonds with him as an armored blue suit, Jaime discovers it is actually an alien exoskeleton suit granting him superpowers, leading Jaime to become the superhero known as Blue Beetle.
Originally intended to release on HBO Max, Blue Beetle will instead debut theatrically in August 2023. While not one of the better known heroes of the DC pantheon, the secondary status of Blue Beetle as well as the relatively recent creation of Jaime Reyes will actually make Blue Beetle a rather unique DC movie. By focusing on Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle is breaking the DC movie trend of sidekicks or up-and-coming heroes being on the bench. Instead, Jaime Reyes will begin Blue Beetle's story on the big screen.
Jaime Reyes Is DC Comics' Third Blue Beetle
In DC Comics lore, the first man to assume the mantle of Blue Beetle was Dan Garrett, created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and making his comic book debut in 1939. Garrett was later followed by Ted Kord, created by Steve Ditko as the second and most widely-known Blue Beetle, debuting in the late '60s. Jaime Reyes is by far the most recent Blue Beetle, being created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner and debuting in the comics in 2006.
With Jaime being the first Blue Beetle to appear on cinema screens, he stands apart from other DC heroes in the overall Blue Beetle history. Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash have all had movies with Arthur Curry, Diana Prince, and Barry Allen without sidekick characters like Aqualad, Donna Troy, or Wally West making appearances alongside them. Even Batman has only ever had Robin by his side cinematically in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, and largely worked alone in his solo movies (though The Brave and the Bold in James Gunn's DCU will finally break that trend.) Meanwhile, the trailer for Blue Beetle also hints to the larger history of the character in a subtle way.
The Blue Beetle Trailer Teased Tech From DC's Ted Kord
Though Ted Kord does not appear in Blue Beetle's trailer or has any confirmed role in the movie, his presence is still alluded to in a few key ways. To begin with, the Kord Industries building is seen in the trailer, with the possibility that the scarab was being analyzed by Kord Industries scientists. Additionally, both Victoria and Jenny Kord appear in Blue Beetle, respectively played by Susan Sarandon and Bruna Marquezine, which could allude to Ted Kord making at least a cameo in the film. Most importantly of all, however, is the presence of Ted Kord's advanced tech seen in the Blue Beetle trailer.
Specifically, Kord's Blue Beetle bug ship is prominently featured in the trailer, with Jaime's uncle Rudy (George Lopez) even piloting it at one point, while Kord's own Blue Beetle costume can be seen in the background in another scene. With all of this establishing Ted Kord having some kind of presence in Blue Beetle, the movie is nonetheless putting the spotlight on Jaime as the primary cinematic Blue Beetle. In taking such a different approach with Blue Beetle compared to most other DC heroes, Blue Beetle can do something that few other DC movies have even attempted.
Blue Beetle Engages More With The Broad History Of The Comics Character
While Blue Beetle does not seem to be a ing of the torch type of story per se, the movie is putting Jaime into the Blue Beetle mantle in a rather unique way. Put simply, the movie itself is also casting a wide net on the scope of the Blue Beetle mythos. Blue Beetle's entire history can factor into the movie through Jaime's story and the connections made to Ted Kord. While Blue Beetle is surely benefiting from Maridueña's popularity as Miguel Diaz on Netflix's Cobra Kai, looking back over DC's on film history, that has not happened too often, and it is a major advantage Blue Beetle brings.
1984's Supergirl only referenced Superman as being off-world (Christopher Reeve having declined to cameo), and movies like Shazam!, Bird of Prey, and others focusing on DC's B-level characters have not had them intermingle much with their connected A-listers. That has been a different story on DC TV shows like Justice League: Unlimited, Smallville, and the Arrowverse, but DC characters featured on film have seldom gotten to bring in sidekicks and secondary heroes to broaden the scope of a given hero's entire history. In starting Blue Beetle's big-screen career off with Jaime Reyes while referencing Ted Kord, Blue Beetle might be the first DC movie to really change that.
