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Blue Beetle - DC Comics

Blue Beetle - DC Comics: Encyclopedia II - Blue Beetle - DC Comics

DC acquired the Charlton heroes in the mid-1980s, and used the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event to integrate them all into the DC Universe. During this period Blue Beetle had his own series, written by Len Wein. Also published during this time was Secret Origins #2 (cover illustrated by Gil Kane), which explained the origins and careers of the Ted Kord and Dan Garrett Blue Beetles in the post-Crisis continuity. They would also follow up on the hinted android in stasis from the Charlton series, having this android pretend to ...

Blue Beetle: Encyclopedia II - Blue Beetle - DC Comics

Blue Beetle - DC Comics

DC acquired the Charlton heroes in the mid-1980s, and used the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event to integrate them all into the DC Universe. During this period Blue Beetle had his own series, written by Len Wein. Also published during this time was Secret Origins #2 (cover illustrated by Gil Kane), which explained the origins and careers of the Ted Kord and Dan Garrett Blue Beetles in the post-Crisis continuity. They would also follow up on the hinted android in stasis from the Charlton series, having this android pretend to be Dan Garrett, but Ted Kord stopped him.

Ted Kord is sometimes shown as an industrialist, the owner of Kord Industries; more often he is short on money, leading to his entering "get-rich-quick" schemes with Booster Gold.

A brief appearance in JLA: Year One showed the young Ted working in Kord Industries R&D, where he designed the JLA HQ security system. Upon meeting the heroes he thought, "Screw the family business. I want to be one of those guys", possibly explaining the company's fluctuating status since he took over. In recent comics, it has been implied that Kord Industries has become a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, headed by Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman.

Blue Beetle - The Justice League

BB is probably best known as the wisecracking member of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis's lighthearted, five-year run on various Justice League of America titles (notably Justice League International), where he was memorably partnered with fellow third-string hero Booster Gold, and the two quickly became best friends. After Giffen and DeMatteis left, Justice League America continued to run until #113. Dan Jurgens tied the "Death of Superman" storyline into JLA, in which Doomsday left Blue Beetle in a coma during his murderous rampage. Beetle and Booster both subsequently joined the short-lived Justice League offshoot known as Extreme Justice.

Blue Beetle then entered a period of relative obscurity. The miniseries The LAW (Living Assault Weapons) reunited Blue Beetle and the other heroes acquired from Charlton, but the series met with critical disfavor. Following this, Beetle appeared for a time in Birds of Prey.

In July 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and original JLI artist Kevin Maguire reunited for the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known As The Justice League, where many of the original JLI characters reteamed with a storefront office. Beetle, who has grown in maturity, was an important member of this new team, the "Super Buddies" (see Super Friends). A sequel story arc, "I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League", was initially slated as a second miniseries but instead ran, delayed, in JLA: Classified #4-9. This created the unfortunate circumstance of running after the devastating, companywide Identity Crisis: A running joke involving the possibility of Sue's pregnancy seems morbid given the Identity Crisis events.

Blue Beetle - Death

In the 80-page special Countdown to Infinite Crisis, published on March 30, 2005, Blue Beetle discovered a renewed Checkmate organization led by Maxwell Lord, former bankroller of the JLA. He attempted to escape after discovering Checkmate's database of superheroes, but was shot in the head and apparently killed by Lord.

That same story had earlier reiterated the origin of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle first given in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #2 (August 1967), specifically the fact that Kord had come into possession of the mystic scarab that powered the Dan Garrett Blue Beetle. The wizard Shazam took the scarab upon encountering Kord, fueling speculation about the possibility of the character's return during DC's Infinite Crisis series. This possibility was dashed when it was asked in the WizardWorld convention if Kord would ever return; DC's answer was no. "There was a breeze blowing through his brain, and he was incinerated," writer Greg Rucka stated. "How much clearer can it be?" [1]

Blue Beetle - The new Blue Beetle

In Day of Vengeance, after the wizard Shazam (see above) was killed by the Spectre, Kord's scarab landed in El Paso, Texas where it was picked up by a teenaged boy named Jaime Reyes in Infinite Crisis #3. In Infinite Crisis #4, Booster Gold appears at Jaime's house to retrieve the scarab from him, and it is revealed that the scarab is fused to Jaime's spine.

Writer Keith Giffen announced in a 2005 news article that he will be creating a new Blue Beetle, who is scheduled to star in his own series beginning March 2006 after the conclusion of Infinite Crisis. [2]