An alien scarab chooses a teenager as its symbiotic host, granting him armor with extraordinary powers. A film by Ángel Manuel Soto, starring Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, George Lopez, Harvey Guillén, and Susan Sarandon.
Blue Beetle
Ángel Manuel Soto
(2023)
A film based on the DC Mexican-American superhero Jaime Reyes also known as Blue Beetle, created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner. Blue Beetle made his first appearance in INFINITE CRISIS No.3, February 2006 issue.
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who have appeared in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. DC Comics currently owns the rights to the character, having acquired them in 1983. Over the years, DC has used the Blue Beetle name for three distinct characters. Jaime Reyes, the third character to assume the mantle of Blue Beetle, differs substantially from his predecessors. The original Blue Beetle created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and Fox Comics, Dan Garret, was a police officer who gained superpowers by ingesting Vitamin 2X. Charlton Comics introduced a revamped version of archaeologist Dan Garrett in 1964, granting him mystical abilities from an ancient Egyptian scarab. The second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, created by Charlton Comics, was the successor to Dan Garrett. Unlike his predecessor, Ted Kord did not have superpowers, but instead used his scientific expertise to create a variety of devices to help him fight crime.
Kord Industries, led by co-founder and CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), uncovers an ancient alien artifact known as the Scarab in the remote Antarctic tundra. After a fifteen-year search, Kord aims to harness the Scarab’s power for the One Man Army Corps (O.M.A.C.) project, which she intends to sell to the government.
Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña — why does he look like Mexican version of younger Cole Sprouse? — in a good way, of course.) returns to his Palmera City home after graduation, brimming with aspirations for the future. But he soon discovers that his family is losing their home due to a tripled rent, their auto shop is gone, and his father has survived a heart attack that they kept hidden from him so as not to distract him from school.
Milagro Reyes (Belissa Escobedo), Jaime’s sister, secures him a position in Victoria Kord’s mansion where Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) confronts her aunt Victoria about the reopening of the O.M.A.C. military project, which was shut down years ago. As their argument escalates and their voices rise, Jaime overhears and intervenes to prevent them from becoming physical. His intervention results in both himself and his sister being fired. Jenny, feeling obligated to help Jaime, invites him to Kord Tower the next day, where she may be able to find him a job.
Inside Kord Tower’s top-secret laboratory, Jenny discovers that Victoria has finally recovered the Scarab, an alien biotechnological artifact. Jenny steals the Scarab by hiding it in a burger box, but before she can escape, Dr. Sanchez (Harvey Guillén) notices the Scarab’s disappearance and alerts security to lock down the building. With no other option, Jenny gives the burger box to Jaime, instructing him to guard it with his life and warning him not to open the box.
Jaime brings the burger box home, where his family convinces him to open it. (This scene evokes memories of DEVIL WEARS PRADA.) Jaime initially hesitates to break his promise to Jenny, but he eventually relents. Inside, he finds a beetle-shaped artifact with a metallic body. When he touches it, the Scarab activates and fuses with him, encasing him in a sleek exoskeleton.
Blue Beetle is the first Latino superhero film. It features the backdrop of Mexican-American hardship in a futuristic city where an evil corporation exploits the poor. The screenplay is well-written, but some scenes resemble those from previous films such as IRON MAN and SPIDER-MAN. Moreover, the computerized voice is quite annoying compared to those of JARVIS and E.D.I.T.H. At one point, it gives off a SHAZAM! vibe, which is understandable since they are both DC intellectual property.
One of DC’s weaknesses is its inability to create villains as memorable as Marvel’s. In Blue Beetle, my most favorite character is neither the protagonist nor the antagonist, but Nana Reyes, portrayed by Adriana Barraza.
Blue Beetle, the 14th film in the DC Extended Universe, premiered in El Paso, Texas on August 15, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on August 18. It has grossed $121 million worldwide against a production budget of $104 million, making it the lowest-grossing film in the DCEU to date.
