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Blue Beetle's Cinematic Legacy Is Confirmed - And It Changes Everything
BY
TIMOTHY DONOHOO
PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO
The Blue Beetle movie will finally utilize the concept of superhero legacies on film, and this could help it be included in the new DC Universe.

The cast of Blue Beetle
The upcoming Blue Beetle movie is in a strange spot due to its place in DC cinematic universe. It's effectively in the DC Extended Universe, though the cast could return in the rebooted DC Universe movies. Making this more of a likelihood is the way in which the movie is planned to handle the concept of legacy.

Jaime Reyes isn't the first Blue Beetle in the comics, with the mantle's legacy going all the way back to the Golden Age. That seems to also be the case in the movie, with the film's director recently stating as such. This not only fixes a mistake of other DC movies, but also helps Blue Beetle's chances of being grandfathered into the DCU.

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Blue Beetle's Title Hero Isn't the First Person to Take Up the Mantle
Jaime Reyes stands in front of Ted Kord's and Dan Garrett's Blue Beetle costumes.
In the comics, Jaime Reyes is the third Blue Beetle, debuting after his predecessors Dan Garrett and Ted Kord. The former also wielded the Scarab that Jaime now wears, though he used it in a much different way. Conversely, Ted Kord was completely powerless, lacking the Scarab of his predecessor and successor. These other heroes had their own veritable niches that connected them to several major DC properties. For instance, Dan Garrett operated during the Golden Age, which was also when such classic heroes like the Justice Society of America were active.

Conversely, Ted Kord is many times allied with other heroes formerly owned by Charlton Comics, including Vic Sage aka The Question. He was also a member of Justice League International, where he and his friend Booster Gold were frequent sources of comic relief. This role made Kord a fan-favorite, which is why so many DC aficionados were wondering about his potential presence in the new Blue Beetle movie. The first Blue Beetle trailer for the film showcased a lot of Ted Kord's technology at Kord Industries, including his gigantic vehicle The Bug and the costumes that he and Dan Garrett wore. Two characters introduced in the movie are even related to Ted Kord, making his presence even more questionable.

Now, the director of the movie has confirmed that the Blue Beetle legacy and mantle indeed already exist, with some in Palmera City knowing about and being fans of his. This puts a lot on Jaime's shoulders, though it will make his superhero journey even more relatable. For instance, Jaime only gains the Scarab by accident and doesn't actively want to be a superhero, and everything he does is mainly to protect and care for his family. This is why he's so unsure of himself, with the director even noting that he's not ready to save the world yet. Given how relatable and down to Earth Jaime usually is, this fits his character perfectly.

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Blue Beetle Will Introduce an Element Sorely Missing from Superhero Movies
Blue Beetle in his upcoming DC Universe film.
Legacy and passing the torch are a big part of superhero comics, especially those set within the DC Universe. Many prominent DC heroes are simply one in a line of individuals who've taken up their respective mantles. As mentioned, Blue Beetle is one of these, though he's actually one of the less mainstream examples. He vastly overshadows his predecessors, which is different from the adjacent popularity of the many Robins, Flashes and Green Lanterns. Nevertheless, their legacy hasn't really been portrayed on the big screen, with even the Golden Age Jay Garrick Flash absent from The Flash movie beyond a cameo.

Speaking of the Justice Society, the team's role in the movie Black Adam never addressed their longstanding history. For all intents and purposes, they were a completely modern team that had no ties to World War II. In fact, Atom Smasher is the only one who hints at something more beyond their current iteration, with his predecessor Al Pratt, the original Atom. Likewise, despite Wonder Woman coming to Man's World during WW1, she remained a secret until the present day. This all robbed the DC Extended Universe of a sense of legacy, though this was mostly a consequence of how haphazard the shared universe was planned. When Zack Snyder made 2013's Man of Steel, there were obviously no plans to do anything beyond Superman and his mythology for the time being.

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Eventually, several other DC characters were added to the mix, even though their respective stories sometimes contradicted the universe that Snyder envisioned with the DCEU's first entry. The Marvel Universe hasn't focused on legacies nearly as much as DC until recently, though some sidekicks and replacements have been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite this, there hasn't been a sense of urgency afforded to these mantle swaps, which has made them feel hollowed and unearned. Thus, a major selling point of mainstream comic book superheroes has yet to be handled properly on the big screen.

Blue Beetle can change that by making the DC Extended Universe finally feel lived in. Not only will there be predecessors for Jaime, but they'll be outright acknowledged by the average Joe. This is different from how previous movies have handled the concept, and it will likely inform what later DC movies do. The first official entry in the new DC Universe movies is 2025's Superman: Legacy, which already has several DC heroes making an appearance. It's incorporating these unrelated characters in a way similar to what Blue Beetle is doing to its titular hero by making them simply a part of the world in which the movie takes place.

With all the movie has going for it, Blue Beetle can be seen as preparing audiences for the kind of world-building that will be on display in the DCU. It also might help the movie's chances of being incorporated into the new shared universe, and that's especially the case with James Gunn being fond of Blue Beetle. Given the lack of marketing, it has an uphill battle at the box office, but if nothing else, the movie will succeed in making superhero heritage a celebrated component in the film genre.

Blue Beetle hits theaters on Aug. 18, 2023.