Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Blue Beetle--From Garrett to Reyes

I didn't see any Blue Beetle threads--sorry if I missed it--but I think the John Rogers series is one of the best monthlies currently published by DC. It's pretty great.

I'm also a fan of most other Blue Beetle action, so let's talk about the old stuff too!

I have to catch up with the new Blue Beetle. I read the first 10 issues or so but haven't caught up. I read a friend's copies.

I'm a hardcore fan of Ted Kord! Doesn't mean I don't like the original or the latest.

I will try to catch up with Blue Beetle and post my thoughts when I do.

I've been extolling the virtues of the new BB series since it's launch. The writing has been impressive and the characters likable (even Peacemaker!) I'm particularly impressed with the nods given to Garrett and Kord throughout the series. Great care has been given to recognizing the improtance of their stints as Blue Beetles as well.

Glad to see that there are other fans around. I would hate to see this title dropped.

Legacy .

I've been enjoying it too. My comments are elsewhere on this board (pretty sure there's a thread for Blue Beetle somewhere around here), but I'll echo some previous thoughts: love the supporting cast, love the sense of fun, and I especially love the respect and homage show to Ted Kord. That last thing is something both Blue Beetle and Atom have gotten right, which they absolutely need to do in order to survive (opposed to the treatment of Hal to lead to Kyle).

This isn't a perfect title, but its continually improving and seems to be picking up steam. What it really needs now are some new and recurring antagonists (multiple ones, not just La Dama).

Loving what they've done with Peacemaker. Break-out supporting character of the year.

I came across this and realized that DC has quietly dropped Reyes and gone with Ted in the 31st century.

In my opinion, JLI was the worst thing that every happened to Ted. He went from a credible solo hero to a horny buffoon, and also got inextricably linked to Booster Gold, whom I consider the devil incarnate. Just my opinion.

Alas, poor Jaime. He was a worthy successor.

Beetle had his buffoonish moments, which sadly overshadowed his depth. He had his deep moments in the JLI days. When the JLI was revisited in I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League (or was it Formerly Known as the Justice League, I forgot which) he and Power Girl had a nice moment where she told him she missed working with him.

If he did have moments like that, they weren't enough to change the masses perception of him as an ineffectual clown. Which is a shame, because he would have been really cool as the team's clever non-superpowered character (he's much more likable than Batman, for one thing.)

Thank you for your thoughtful perspective.

As I said, just my opinion. And I elaborated in my next post.

Not disagreeing with you. Johns tried to re-imagine Booster Gold as a time-traveling super-hero who is secretly competent, but who is publicly perceived as an idiot. This version didn't work for me, either.

What I am curious about is, whatever happened to Sparky?

Just in case anyone is not aware of it, the Blue Beetle was one of the few super-heroes to have his own radio series!

Take that Batman!*


*Batman had a pilot, but it was never picked up!

That is so cool, EDE! I love how you keep up with the preservation of pop culture from that era and share it with us.

There was also Blue Beetle day at the Worlds Fair in the early 40's! With a free special handout comic exclusive to attendees!

No wonder Batman was so condescending to Ted at times. He was secretly jealous!

Wow! I didn't know that!

It's always easy to forget how prominent a lot of characters outside DC/Fawcett/Quality/Atlas actually were in those days.

Y'know what? The early issues of Len Wein's Blue Beetle solo run are underrated. I've been guilty myself of criticizing them more harshly than they deserve, just because Wein's 80s writing wasn't as brilliant as his 70s writing. After all, he was busy editing a ton of good books.

I seem to remember the Wein issues were a victim of the character being pulled in too many directions. He started out very Spider-man esque (Wise-cracking but competent hero), then they tried to make him more serious, then when JLI took off they tried to incorporate that characterization. It was just a little too all over the road.

That's pretty much what I think. The Spider-Man-esque Ted, as you described him, is my favorite take on him.

Didn't Ditko have a hand in his creation (as Ted) at Charlton comics?

Yep. The Ted Kord version was created by Ditko.

Aha. Further cementing the Spidey connection.

Beyond the first issue of crisis, my first look at Blue Beetle was his Who's Who entry.



Even as I read more of his comics, he always struck me as being:-

- A legacy hero before DC had Wally West as the Flash.
- Someone whose powers were nowhere near as super as his predecessor. Quite a switch from everything being bigger and better. So he would always be at a disadvantage trying to do the same work.
- Smart but full of nervous tension. I see that tension in Steve Rude's posing of Kord. It also comes across in his chaterbox style of crime fighting (a la Spidey)
-Ted is unorthodox, relying on his wits, acrobatics and his technology to give him an edge.

I really love Ted Kord, and it's because of his time in JLI as I'd never picked up his solo book. Same with Booster. As I recall in JLI, Booster was more of the clown of the two of them, and Ted often just kinda went along with him (sometimes kicking and screaming). Both were fun characters, and as the Giffen/Dematteis run waned, both began to blossom out and become more well-rounded (no pun intended on Ted's weight gain ) and competent. Both had genuine heroic moments with the Justice League, and Ted had an amazing supporting role in Birds of Prey for a while. (And I disagree with the comments about Booster's Johns-started series--I think from start to finish, it was simply fantastic! Particularly Giffen and Dematteis rocked it out during their run, even writing a take on Booster that was very much in line with his character growth since JLI. )

As much as I hate what happened to Ted, I do feel that his Countdown to Infinite Crisis story that killed him off was a pretty exceptional story for the character. The story had its problems, but overall his portrayal was very good and the story effective. I've gotten rid of all my other IC-related comics, but I've held on to that one.