Blue Beetle #24 Review

BLUE BEETLE #24
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Dan Garret fans must buy this issue for that last page alone. This story is impressive on so many levels. It's hard to believe so much happens in so few pages.

Let's recap, since it's a good chance most aren't reading this book based on its sales numbers. Jaime decides to take down the Reach, the creators of the Blue Beetle scarab and general baddies. This results in some awesome ingenuity in finding their phase shifted ship, but results in his being captured as his attention faulters when he sees his home Independance Day'd with a giant freaking laser. Oh, and his scarab? It was ripped from his spine, leaving him powerless and with a gash in his back where it used to be. Captured, powerless and his family assumed dead. Makes for great drama, or so television has lead me to believe.

The issue picks up right where we left off. Jaime is carted off to a cell while they examine how he circumvented the scarab's original programming. His parents and friends are also revealed to be alive. Traci 13, Jaime's wouldbe girlfriend who also brought cookies, was on hand to toss up a magic bubble. This was one of my favourite scenes, as Brenda, who likes Jaime, comments on how unbelievably good looking Traci is. Jaime's sister saying she likes Traci after she mentions cookies was cute, too.

Moving on, the Reach don't take too kindly to anti-laser beam magic bubbles, so they send a hit squad down to finish the job, resulting in an awesome car chase that ends with just about everyone that's ever appeared in the series coming to lend a hand. The Posse, Brenda's aunt's gang, along with their Intergang weapons, Peacemaker and Traci, who is already there. Even in all the chaos of this fight, there's some great lines, such as one of the Posse asking if he could touch Traci's magic staff.

Meanwhile, back on the Reach ship, Jaime apparently has some scarab programming implanted in his head as he starts speaking scarab language and opens the door on command. This entire escape is quite intense and shows how much he's grown as a character over the past 24 issues. While it's not quite a 'Wolverine in the sewers vs. the Hellfire Club', it's still a pretty damn cool beaten, outgunned and no chance in hell of success type sequence. I loved his new 'Blue Beetle' costume and, as I said above, the ending is made of pure win. As Jaime is held at gunpoint on his knees after implanting an unknown computer virus, which looks like his scarab's 'in Jaime's head' lettering, all he has in response before he's killed is, "KHAJI DA!".

Verdict - Must Read. Not sure what's going to happen with this ending, whether he gets a Dan Garret costume or it's some new way to access his Blue Beetle powers or what, but I honestly don't know how I'll last the whole month before next issue.

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