Comic Book Character Spotlight - Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

I kicked off my Comic Book Character Spotlights with last week's Sodam Yat profile. This week, I'll be taking a look at DC's young hero, Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle! He's currently starring in his own book, Blue Beetle, and recently joined the Teen Titans in issue #50. On top of that, he'll be playing a part in Booster Gold's attempts to save Ted Kord as well as having a tie-in with the incredible Sinestro Corps War in next week's Blue Beetle #19. Find out who this new hero is and why you should care about him in this week's spotlight.

Who Is Blue Beetle?

Name: Jaime Reyes
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Affiliations: The Posse, Teen Titans
Currently Appearing In: Blue Beetle, Teen Titans
First Appearance: Infinite Crisis #3 (cameo), Infinite Crisis #4 (as Jaime), Infinite Crisis #5 (in costume)
Required Reading: Infinite Crisis, Blue Beetle #1, 3, 7, 12-13, 18, & Teen Titans 50-54

Powers & Abilities: The Beetle armour can reconfigure to create energy cannons, blades, shields, wings and just about anything Jaime can imagine. It's AI weapons system allows him to lock onto and track any energy source - biological, technological or mystical in nature.





Origin

Jaime is a teenager living in El Paso, Texas, residing with his parents and younger sister. He is an honours student with an acute sense of responsibility, very similar in nature to Spider-man, and this is especially noticeable later in the series when he fails to save everyone in a town during an attack by the villain Typhoon.


During Infinite Crisis, the Blue Beetle scarab found young Jaime Reyes for its new champion and, with the scarab's help, he assisted Batman and the other superheroes in the destruction of the Brother Eye satellite and, thus, a new hero was born.







Why Should I Care About Him?
 
As I said in my Crisis of Faith - Blue Beetle review, the Blue Beetle book is one of the best comics coming out of DC today and the creative team has done an incredible job building up Jaime and his amazing supporting cast of characters. While many were upset with the death of Ted Kord, try not to hold this against the young Jaime Reyes. This series does not ignore the previous Blue Beetles nor does it stomp all over their memories. In fact, the book has numerous references to the previous Beetles and pays homage to them on several occasions.

On top of that, this book is just plain fun. It reminds me of the earlier, more simpler days of Amazing Spider-Man with its focus on the characters and how the burden and responsibility of the Blue Beetle affects Jaime, his friends and family.


The current focus of his own title has been on expanding the role and history of the Blue Beetle scarab. The team has done an excellent job with the introduction of The Reach, the intergalactic creators of the scarab, in issues #12 and 13 and their presence has been a major turning point in the quality of this book, giving it the focus and drama it lacked in its earlier issues.


On top of the introduction of The Reach, Jaime has recently joined the Teen Titans, as seen in the joint telling in Blue Beetle #18 and Teen Titans #50. This new role as a member of the Titans should give the fledgling Reyes the exposure his excellent solo title lacks and will give him an even larger role in the DC Universe at large.


Jaime has also been making cameos in Geoff Johns' Booster Gold series and with that book's focus on Booster trying to resurrect Ted, Jaime should appear or be mentioned again in the future.

What Does The Future Hold For Blue Beetle?

Blue Beetle #19 sees a Sinestro Corps War tie-in that has The Reach, long time enemies of the Guardians, activating a scarab on the newly recruited Sinestro Corps member, Peacemaker, who is a friend and confidante of Jaime. The previews of this issue look great and this should be far more than a generic or forced tie-in. Jaime and Guy Gardner previously met in the opening issues of the Blue Beetle series and again, later, in Blue Beetle #14, where they helped fight against The Reach.


As I mentioned earlier, he is a member of the Teen Titans and, with their popular Titans of Tomorrow storyline currently running in Teen Titans #50-54, Jaime should get even more exposure and spotlight.


Also, as seen in Booster Gold, Jaime will at least be appearing in Booster's attempt to save Ted Kord based on the brief glimpses of the future as Rip Hunter and Booster travel through time. Combined with his Sinestro Corps War tie-in and his new membership with the Titans, these roles in the various high profile books should cement Jaime's role in the DCU.


On top of these various appearances, his current trials and tribulations with The Reach in his own title should continue to escalate and provide a compelling story. Future solicits show a major change in Jaime's life and, if you aren't picking this book up now, you will surely be missing out on some great, fun and highly entertaining comics.

Conclusion

I cannot give Blue Beetle enough praise. His book is easily one of my favourite comics coming out of DC, or any publisher for that matter, and he rarely gets the recognition he deserves due to the negative connotations many have after the death Ted Kord, the previous Blue Beetle. The book is funny, smart and entertaining and this is more than a generic rehash or replacement for Ted. Jaime's his own man and one of the best new heroes of the past decade.


You all know my love for the character, but I'm curious to hear what others think of him. Will you be picking up the next issue for the Green Lantern tie-in? Does his joining the Teen Titans interest you in his current series at all? Can you Ted Kord fans look past his death and give the new and equally deserving character a chance or will your hatred of DC's and Dan DiDio's killing refrain you from picking up and enjoying this book? Looking forward to all your thoughts and comments.

Interested in the new Blue Beetle? Check out these Blue Beetle trades from Amazon.com and help support The Weekly Crisis!

Blue Beetle

• Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Shellshocked
• Blue Beetle Vol. 2: Road Trip

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