After all, who is the Blue Beetle?

This Monday, the 3rd, “Besouro Azul” received its first official trailer, featuring the actor Xolo Maridueña assuming the hero’s costume, in addition to having the first images of the Brazilian Bruna Marquezine giving life to the character Jenny, the main love interest of the hero. Watch!

The latest film dc comics in production, should be released in theaters on August 18, 2023, where the public will be able to follow the story of Jaime Reys (Xolo Maridueña), the third holder of the mantle of the hero.

However, it is worth remembering that this is the most recent version of the character that has even deeper roots, since two other figures have already embodied the hero’s codename over the years, where they received several changes in their origins when going through completely different publishers .

So, for you to discover the path taken to the arrival of young Latinos in comics before watching the film on the big screen, we have selected below the main information about its emergence. Check out!

First apparition

The Blue Beetle appeared in 1939 after being inserted in the comic books “Mystery Men Comics 1”, from the publisher Fox Comics, where it became a great success, even winning a radio series with 13 episodes in the year following its release.

The plot of the work followed Dan Garrett, a classic man who faced a double life: by day he was just a common policeman, while at night he embodied his alter-ego and solved crimes outside the parameters of the law.

In this first story, the hero appeared without powers and characterized only as a mysterious detective, wearing a simple hat, a long overcoat and a mask to disguise himself while solving the city’s problems.

However, moments later he adhered to the blue uniform and began to develop new abilities by consuming vitamin 2-X, responsible for bringing agility, super strength, resistance and even resurrecting the dead, as seen in one of the HQ moments.

The second holder of the mantle

Years later, in the 50s, the comic book market went through a crisis, leading to the closure of several publishers, causing Fox Comics to leave the market and the story of the Blue Beetle to gain new air.

Becoming part of Charlton Comics, the character resurfaced in the magazine “Captain Atom” in 1966 as Ted Kord, a genius and wealthy young inventor who developed a flying machine in the shape of a beetle. However, his story is more complex than it seems.

In 1967, Ted’s origin was published, revealing that, in fact, the character was partnered with Dan Garrett, who in this version stops being a policeman and becomes an archaeologist.

In the plot, Dan dies in a fight against Ted’s uncle, but first reveals himself to be the Blue Beetle and asks the boy to assume the hero’s mantle.

In addition, Dan revealed that his powers come from a mysterious scarab found during an expedition to Egypt, but this powerful artifact never reached Ted’s hands, causing him to use only technology to solve crimes and mysteries.

entrance to dc

In the 1980s, the character became part of DC Comics, where he won a solo series, participated in the Justice League and also appeared in the Crisis on Infinite Earths narrative, released in 1985.

Ted’s origin was established at DC a year later, where the hero appears as a student of Dan Garrett. In addition, new explanations about the scarab are made, saying that the artifact belonged to an ancient Egyptian god and that for Garrett to make use of the object, it was necessary for him to shout the phrase “Khaji Da!”.

The third Blue Beetle

In 2005, Ted ended up dying, but it didn’t take long for a new holder of the mantle to emerge, since, the following year, Jaime Reyes, a young man of Mexican descent who lived in El Paso, on the border of the state of Texas with Mexico appeared in comics.

In the plot, Jaime finds the ancient scarab in the streets of his city and takes him home. On the night of that same day, the artifact comes to life and joins the boy’s spine, causing him to become the Blue Beetle.

After getting involved in several confusions, Jaime discovers that the scarab is, in fact, an artifact created by the Reach, an alien civilization that receives the name of Khaji Dha.

The object was sent to Earth with the intention of conquering it, but the plans were frustrated after the item came into contact with magic, causing the communication between the planets to be interrupted and the domination ended.

Even so, the scarab made Jaime harbor powers such as super strength, X-ray vision, flight capacity, in addition to becoming a super armor with various powers, including protection against mind control powers, as Khaji Dha can take control of the armor.

Finally, Jaime ends up allying himself with several other heroes after assuming the mantle of Blue Beetle, among them the Peacemaker, who in the plot of the comics ends up becoming the mentor of the young man for a while, in addition to Gladiator Gold and the Teen Titans.