Who Is DC Comics’ Blue Beetle, AKA Jaime Reyes?

This summer, DC’s Blue Beetle film will blast into theaters on August 18. Our titular hero, Jaime Reyes, is a Latino teen who gets tangled up in extraterrestrial tech, super heroes, and super-villains.

The twist? Jaime isn’t the first Blue Beetle. As confirmed by old costumes at the end of the trailer, he’s the third Blue Beetle hero! Watch the official trailer below and then stick around for an in-depth look at Jaime Reyes.

Al fin y al cabo, ¿quién es Jaime Reyes? Let’s dig up his DC Comics history and see how it might play into his live-action debut.

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Jaime Reyes, a Texan Teen

Every kid wishes that one day they would wake up special, amazing, gifted with super powers … right? Well, maybe not all of them. Jaime Reyes lives in El Paso, Texas. He has loyal best friends and a loving family (minus his little sister, Milagro). For Jaime, he’d just like to do well in school and maybe help out at his dad’s garage.

However, the events of Infinite Crisis propel Jaime into the world of alien armor and magical angry metahumans. What’s a bug to do?

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Who Is Blue Beetle?

Before Jaime, Ted Kord was Blue Beetle. Kord’s sudden demise during Infinite Crisis was an event that took the Justice League and their allies by surprise. His death left a painful hole in the DC super family, especially for Booster Gold. It was also a reminder that nobody was safe.

Years prior, Ted Kord ‘s archaeology teacher, Dan Garrett, tried to pass on his power. Garrett was the first Blue Beetle, deriving his powers from a blue scarab device uncovered in Bialya. However, the scarab didn’t work for Ted; instead, he invented his own super-powered suit. For a long time, the scarab was believed to be lost until Ted managed to recover it. But this was only the beginning of the scarab’s journey.

The Blue Beetle Scarab Resurfaces

Just before his murder, Ted misplaced Garrett’s scarab on the Rock of Infinity. During a battle between Shazam and the Spectre, the Rock was destroyed. Shards of the Rock blasted into all corners of the Omniverse … including a piece containing the Blue Beetle Scarab. It just so happened to land in El Paso.

As Jaime gained greater control of the Blue Beetle suit, he also uncovered the scarab’s origin. Peacemaker revealed that the scarab wasn’t an ancient relic but instead alien technology. When he returned to where he found it, a trail of clues led Jaime to discover the scarab was created by the Reach. This alien race travels the universe, seeking profit from the planets they conquer. Their favorite method is to leave behind devices that will turn locals into heroes — and later allow them to control said heroes through their super-powered device.

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Blue Beetle’s Teams, Allies, & Enemies

Over the years, Jaime has developed from a fledgling hero to an outright powerhouse. His suit gives him the power to conjure any sort of weapon or armor he can imagine, not to mention the standard superhuman attributes like flight and strength. Though the scarab is attached to his spine and can override Jaime’s control, the two have forged a close partnership. Thanks to years of observing humans and even absorbing some magic, the scarab, whose name is Khaji-Da, is independent unlike other scarabs from the Reach.

In addition to Khaji-Da, Jaime often works alongside his fellow heroes in various iterations of the Justice League as well as the Teen Titans. His membership was especially prominent in the DC animated series Young Justice. Besides ongoing clashes with the Reach and his own enemies like the energy-wielding La Dama, Jaime also inherited a lot of baggage from the previous Beetles.

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Blue Beetle in the DCU

Now that Blue Beetle is making his big-screen debut, the DC pantheon will continue to expand. As shown in the trailer, Jaime will be forced to adjust to new powers as well as confront those who seek to take them away.

Speaking of, the trailer gives us our first glimpse of Victoria Kord, presumably the sister of Ted Kord. In Jaime’s current comics run, Blue Beetle: Graduation Day by Josh Trujillo, he runs into plenty of problems with Victoria. After Ted’s death, she seeks the Blue Beetle power for herself and their family company, Kord Industries. Another Kord, Jenny, is the one who gives Jaime the scarab in the trailer. The DCU film will also feature Carapax, a comic book enemy of the first Beetle, Dan Garrett. Jaime’s life is about to get a whole lot crazier — and bluer.

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