Barring Ezra Miller’s Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg, you’ll notice there aren’t many young heroes in the DC Universe (DCU). It’s populated chiefly with established heroes like Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Black Adam. They at best look like they’re in their mid-30s. Where are the youngbloods up in here? Well, good news mate because next year, the DCU is about to see a new hero take centre stage. Introducing…the Blue Beetle? Those who have never heard of the guy might be thinking he’s just some rip-off from Marvel’s Ant-Man. That’s what we thought in the past before we got a chance to learn more about the Blue Beetle’s origins in the second season of “Young Justice”. Blue Beetle is anything but small fries and if this hero’s finally making his way into the DCU, then there could be some major shake-ups to come.
Strap in and get ready because we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the DCU’s “Blue Beetle” film. It’s about to get buggy!
The Plot and History of the Blue Beetle
Okay, so the first thing you need to know is that in DC Comics, there were actually three Blue Beetles. The first one was a World War II hero named Daniel Garrett who discovered an ancient alien in the shape of a blue beetle scarab named Khaji Da that bonded with him. Think Eddie Brock and Venom, except this alien grants its users the ability to create organic tech weapons and blades. After Garrett retired, the scarab was passed to his apprentice, a billionaire genius scientist named Ted Kord. Kord swore to take up the mantle of Blue Beetle and to fight crime but there was just one problem…the scarab wouldn’t bond with him. Yet in spite of never gaining the scarab’s powers, Ted would go on to use it as a symbol of truth and justice. He basically wore a bright blue suit and went around beating bad guys with gadgets while being a total goofball.
This brings us to the latest version of the Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. Unlike Kord, the scarab chose to bond with the teenager from El Paso and turn him into a living weapon. Over time, Jaime and the scarab would bond and become an inseparable duo, fighting crime and occasionally helping out teams like the Teen Titans and the Justice League. Unfortunately, there’s more to Khaji Da than meets the eye, those who watched “Young Justice: Invasion” will definitely know what we’re talking about.
The scarab that bonded with human hosts isn’t just randomly travelling the galaxy to give locals superpowers for fun. It’s actually a member of an enslaved, modified species controlled by one of the deadliest alien races in DC, so deadly that the Green Lantern Corps went to war with them. They are the Reach. In an effort to avoid open war with the Green Lanterns, the Reach used the scarabs as a tool of infiltration, sending them to different planets to bond with different hosts. Fun fact: there’s a Green Beetle whose host is Martian and there’s a menacing Black Beetle joined with a psychopathic Reach warrior (watch out for that one).
As for the plot of 2023’s “Blue Beetle” film, it has been confirmed that at least one of the antagonists will be a lesser-known villain called Carapax the Indestructible Man. Carapax, also known as Conrad, is a rival of the first Blue Beetle whose mind was then transferred into a giant robot. Once a man, now a vengeful ghost in a machine looking to destroy the Blue Beetle. While the Reach and Carapax have never formally met in the comics, it’s possible that we could see the alien conquerors use Carapax for their own ends. One thing is for sure, both of them are out there in the DCU.
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Cast and Characters
Personally, we think the choice to have Xolo Maridueña, who plays Miguel on Netflix’s “Cobra Kai”, in the role of Jaime Reyes is a brilliant one! Maridueña has clearly shown that he’s more than capable of doing his own stunts and he has just the right amount of nerdiness and charisma to bring the teenage Jaime to life. We can’t wait to see him bring the first Latino hero to the DCU. The role of Carapax will be played by Raoul Trujillo, who is best known for his role as the menacing Che “Taza” Romero in the series “Mayans M.C.”. We expect to see a less goofy rendition of the character in the film seeing that Trujilo will be playing him.
The film is set to feature other famous Latino actors such as comedian George Lopez, Adriana Barraza González who played Abuelita Valerie in “Dora and the Lost City of Gold”, Elpidia Carrillo from “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” and the glorious Damián Alcázar who played Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela in Netflix’s “Narcos”. All of them will be playing members of Jaime’s family. Susan Sarandon has also been confirmed to appear in the film as Victoria Kord, Ted’s wife. The actor playing Ted Kord though has yet to be revealed. The film will be directed by Puerto Rican Director Angel Manuel Soto.
How will Blue Beetle affect the DCU?
As much as we love seeing DC’s lesser-known heroes being given some love, we can’t help but feel that there’s more going on behind the scenes with “Blue Beetle”. With Billy Batson’s Shazam and Jaime Reyes’ Blue Beetle making their way into the DCU, it seems like Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to expand its superhero ensembles roster beyond the Justice League and Suicide Squad. We’re calling it here, at the end of the film we’ll get a post-credit scene setting up the possibility for either a future Teen Titans or Young Justice live-action film in the DCU!
We’re leaning more towards Teen Titans, seeing that the name has a bit more brand recognition than the Young Justice team. Furthermore, Shazam is also a member there. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) expanding its universe with younger heroes like Spider-Man, Ms Marvel, Kate Bishop and Riri Williams, it makes sense that the DCU would try to keep up with some youngbloods of their own.
Are you excited about Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Blue Beetle” film? Well come August 2023, everybody will be buzzing about it!
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