Blue Beetle

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Started a thread earlier about surprisingly good things... then this shows up.

 

Spoiler

So far, so Shazam. 

Superhero gets chosen at random.

Isn't ready or potentially even liking the idea.

Gets his family involved. Gets lots of toys, and a big responsibility.

 

But that's not such a bad thing. There seems to be decent chemistry in the cast and they seem a little more believable as a unit.

(And as a seasoned superrogue and world traveller, I recommend not messing with anyone's abuela because they will mess. You. UP.)

Not sure about Susan Sarandon as Bad Boss GIrl and they probably shouldn't have let on about that this early...but if she can carry it off let's do it.

 

If I have a vibe, it's both happy and sad - that there's another good popcorn flick coming out this summer...

...and that WBD killed the DC slate just on the exact day they figured out how to make a couple of properly entertaining popcorn flicks.

 

Edited April 3 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Ulysses Dare]

Is that Ted Kord's Bug I spy?

[Techwright]

On 4/3/2023 at 5:15 PM, Ulysses Dare said:

Is that Ted Kord's Bug I spy?

 

They say that Ted Kord will be acknowledged in the film.  That's good!

 

I'm getting the vibe of a cross between Shazam and Ant-Man, the latter due to an apparent wacky entourage for the hero.  While I'm not entirely sold on it yet, I did like the Jaime Reyes portrayal in Young Justice, so I do think this is worth giving a solid chance.  I'm puzzled why they gave a weapon of mass destruction a relatively soft, feminine voice.  I'm not opposed to the female part of that formula, it probably balances the cast a bit better, but I would have figured on a drill sergeant delivery, or at least a more bloodthirsty one.  Alex Kingston comes to mind as possibly able to deliver a more savage voice. Cate Blanchette, too.

 

By the way, Blue Beetle is supposed to be the first of the relaunched DC films, so it dodged the axe.  It's a one-shot, but with the understanding that if it does well, the characters will probably show up in the other DC films at some point.

[SeraphimKensai]

Always liked Blue Beetle, so I'll definitely give this one a watch.

[biostem]

I'm not too read-up on Blue Beetle.  My only gripe is I wish we could jump to a hero story "in progress" as it were, already.  Let one be a fully-realized and competent hero at the onset, and we can see some stuff of their origins in flashbacks or stuff, though only if well integrated into the story, and not contrived...

[Techwright]

2 hours ago, biostem said:

I'm not too read-up on Blue Beetle.  My only gripe is I wish we could jump to a hero story "in progress" as it were, already.  Let one be a fully-realized and competent hero at the onset, and we can see some stuff of their origins in flashbacks or stuff, though only if well integrated into the story, and not contrived...

Sounds like Sly Stallone's recent super-powered role in the Amazon movie, Samaritan.

 

To be honest, though, I'm sad to say you may be in the minority.  If a hero story begins in the middle, people these days will spend the next 10 years griping about the "shoddy" writing.  This despite the fact that one of the pillars of writing epics is that the story starts in the middle.   About the only heroes you can get away with in that technique would be the well-known heroes. 

[Ulysses Dare]

14 hours ago, biostem said:

I'm not too read-up on Blue Beetle.  My only gripe is I wish we could jump to a hero story "in progress" as it were, already.  Let one be a fully-realized and competent hero at the onset, and we can see some stuff of their origins in flashbacks or stuff, though only if well integrated into the story, and not contrived...

The CW took that approach with Black Lighting and I loved it.

[TheOtherTed]

Forgive my ignorance of all things super-hero-ish, but I never realized this was an actual thing.  I always thought it was a bit character created for a kid's show back in the 70's.

 

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

On 4/8/2023 at 4:43 PM, Ulysses Dare said:

The CW took that approach with Black Lighting and I loved it.

Also: the Keaton Batman had the tools, toys and talent - and a reputation - from 2 minutes in.

He was smacking down Skuls before Jack Napier ever touched chemicals.

(The opening sequence is also a bluff - it echoes the original Crime Alley setup, but ain't...)

 

 

Edited April 9 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Techwright]

7 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

Forgive my ignorance of all things super-hero-ish, but I never realized this was an actual thing.  I always thought it was a bit character created for a kid's show back in the 70's.

 

 

 

Blue Beetle has been around in one form or another since the late 1930s, but he's never been an A-lister, despite his importance within the comics.  The comic has changed ownership at least three times since its creation, with DC being the current owners.

There've been 3 characters to don the title.  I'm actually surprised the Ted Kord version hadn't been used over the years in team animations like 1970s' Superfriends, but the Jaime Reyes version, which was more or less a complete re-imagining of the concept, has been gaining steam in some animation this past decade or so, especially in Young Justice.  Perhaps this film will push Blue Beetle into the A-list like the movies did for Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

The Electric Company find was great!  I was a first-gen viewer and I don't remember BB.  Spidey was a constant presence.  I remember Morgan Freeman quite well, too.

[Mr. Vee]

47 minutes ago, Techwright said:

I'm actually surprised the Ted Kord version hadn't been used over the years in team animations like 1970s' Superfriends

DC didn't own him until the early 80s and didn't start using him 'til Crisis. 

[Techwright]

14 hours ago, Mr. Vee said:

DC didn't own him until the early 80s and didn't start using him 'til Crisis. 

Thanks!  Crisis was when?  Some of these big comic events I get confused by, especially when they keep using the successful name for additional events.

[Mr. Vee]

1986 if i iirc correctly. With seemingly years of tedious appearances of the monitor preparing for it. They were probably kinda cool if you were reading at the time but if you read the full books with them all together cuz you're following a reading order it's quite painful.

[TheOtherTed]

On 4/9/2023 at 7:57 PM, Techwright said:

I remember Morgan Freeman quite well, too.

Easy Reader!  I think he was my favorite character on the show.  Just do yourself a favor - if you remember the character fondly, don't look him up on youtube.

[biostem]

So if my understanding is correct, the original, or at least an earlier iteration of Blue Beetle, discovered the eponymous scarab, but couldn't activate/unlock it, but was able to derive some technology from it, that they used, while the modern incarnation did manage to trigger/activate it, and it bonded/connected to them.  If so, I wonder if there will be any explanation for this, or will it be handwaved as either the scarab liking Jaimie better or it being the right time to activate?

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

If I was going to handwave this a little, I’d think the Scarab might have chosen Jaime… wisely. He’s probably the first human to possess it that doesn’t want to either exploit it or destroy it, and therefore a relatively safe pair of hands.
 

And assuming the AI is smart enough to be self-aware that it’s an armageddon weapon, it might also be smart enough to work out it would be destroyed in the process and doesn’t fancy that (unlike the Smart Bomb in Dark Star).

[Techwright]

On 4/11/2023 at 4:26 PM, biostem said:

So if my understanding is correct, the original, or at least an earlier iteration of Blue Beetle, discovered the eponymous scarab, but couldn't activate/unlock it, but was able to derive some technology from it, that they used, while the modern incarnation did manage to trigger/activate it, and it bonded/connected to them.  If so, I wonder if there will be any explanation for this, or will it be handwaved as either the scarab liking Jaimie better or it being the right time to activate?

I've only animation to go on, I've not read the comic books, but in animation the former Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, is killed in an explosion involving the scarab.  I think he was trying to activate it.  Anyway, the scarab did become active, but damaged.  It's why Jaime was initially able to control it, when, as you find out in the story, scarabs were meant to be parasites, completely compromising a host, rather than being a sometimes uncooperative symbiote.

[Coin]

On 4/13/2023 at 7:55 AM, Techwright said:

I've only animation to go on, I've not read the comic books, but in animation the former Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, is killed in an explosion involving the scarab.  I think he was trying to activate it.  Anyway, the scarab did become active, but damaged.  It's why Jaime was initially able to control it, when, as you find out in the story, scarabs were meant to be parasites, completely compromising a host, rather than being a sometimes uncooperative symbiote.

 

If you go by the DC history, the original, Dan Garrett, found the scarab and got magical mystical super-powers that he used to fight crime.

 

The scarab then went to Ted Kord, who got from it.....absolutely nothing 😄

He did go on to be inspired by the original Blue Beetle and became a costumed hero himself, basically a more fun version of Batman, not as good at fighting but arguably better as a scientist, inventing the famous Bug and  his own weaponry. He grew in popularity from the original Crisis, mostly from his run as a member of the hilarious Justice League International where he became part of the famous Blue and Gold duo with Booster Gold. Cue much wacky, zany comedy antics. He was always a popular b-lister in the DC Universe, eventually being killed by Maxwell Lord during another Crisis (the Infinite one, this time)

 

The scarab then ended up with Jaime Reyes who unlocked it's real identity and became the version that is most well known from Young Justice and Batman: Brave and the Bold and that's the version we look like we are getting in the movie.

 

I've always been a fan of all of the Blue Beetles, but he's never been a major hit in any incarnation, but I am looking forward to this movie, partly because the casting for Jaime is excellent, especially after the excellent Cobra Kai 🙂