Blue Beetle Trivia | 102 facts about the comic book character

Blue Beetle is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in a number of comic books.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the DC comic book character.

1. Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939
2. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics
3. DC Comics bought the rights to the character in 1983
4. Using the name for three distinct characters over the years
5. The original Blue Beetle was created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and Fox Comics and later owned by Charlton Comics
6. The first Beetle was Dan Garret (later spelled Dan Garrett)
7. He initially gained superpowers from a special vitamin
8. It was later changed to gaining powers from a “sacred scarab”
9. The original Blue Beetle was featured in not only his own comic
10. He was also featured in a weekly radio serial
11. The second Blue Beetle was created by Charlton
12. It was later taken over by DC Comics
13. He was the successor to Dan Garrett known as Ted Kord
14. Kord “jumped” to the DC Comics universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths alongside a number of other Charlton Comics characters
15. The second Blue Beetle later starred in his own 24-issue comic
16. Kord never had any super powers
17. He used science to create various devices to help him fight crime
18. He became a member of the Justice League of America
19. Kord was later killed during the prelude to DC Comics’ Infinite Crisis cross over
20. The third Blue Beetle, created by DC Comics, is Jaime Reyes
21. He is a teenager who discovers that the original Blue Beetle scarab morphs into a battle suit allowing him to fight crime and travel in space
22. Over the years, Reyes became a member of the Teen Titans
23. He starred in two Blue Beetle comic series
24. In DC Comics’ 2011 “New 52” reboot, Jaime Reyes was the primary Blue Beetle character, only occasionally referring to past versions
25. With the subsequent continuity revision “DC Rebirth”, the previous versions were restored
26. The original Blue Beetle, Dan Garret, first appeared in Fox Comics’ Mystery Men Comics #1
27. The series had art by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski (as Charles Nicholas)
28. Τhe Grand Comics Database tentatively credits Will Eisner as the scripter
29. A rookie police officer, he wore a special bulletproof costume and took “Vitamin 2X” which endowed him with super-energy, and he was assisted by a neighborhood pharmacist in his fight against crime
30. Blue Beetle starred in a comic book series, comic strip and radio serial
31. Like most Golden Age superheroes, he fell into obscurity in the 1950s
32. In the mid-1950s, Fox Comics went out of business and sold the printing plates for some stories featuring the Blue Beetle to Charlton Comics
33. Reprinted stories from the original Blue Beetle series were initially published in Charlton’s anthology comic Space Adventures #13-14
34. Charlton Comics then began publishing their own Blue Beetle series
35. The series was cancelled after four issues
36. In 1964, Charlton Comics began publishing a new series of Blue Beetle
37. The series substantially revamped the hero, reinventing him as a university professor and altering the spelling of his name to Dan Garrett
38. Later in 1966, Blue Beetle was reinvented again in a set of backup stories published in Captain Atom #83
39. The comics was plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko
40. They introduced Ted Kord, a student of Dan Garrett’s, who took on the role of Blue Beetle following Garrett’s apparent death
41. Kord was an inventor hero, using a variety of gadgets, with a day job of running his own research lab
42. This Beetle received his own series in 1967, also by Ditko
43. The series ran for five issues
44. This happened due to the entire Charlton “Action Heroes” line of comic books ceased publication in 1968
45. Both Blue Beetles reappeared in the third issue of Americomics, a title published by AC Comics in 1983–84
46. With the rest of the Charlton Comics superhero line-up, Blue Beetle was sold to DC Comics in 1983
47. A new Blue Beetle series starring Ted Kord began publication in 1986
48. Integrating the hero into the DC Comics shared universe
49. The series ran for 24 issues (Jun. 1986-May 1988), all written by Len Wein
50. Blue Beetle became a member of the Justice League upon the launch of a new series in 1987, beginning with Justice League #1 (May 1987)
51. Depicted with a more comedic tone than in the Blue Beetle solo comic
52. Ted Kord became best friends with team-mate Booster Gold
53. Blue Beetle remained as a main character on the series as it was re-titled Justice League International and then Justice League America
54. Following the event miniseries Zero Hour, both Blue Beetle and Booster Gold left the series
55. They began starring in the new team title Extreme Justice, which ran for issues #0-18
56. Ted Kord later became a recurring character in Birds of Prey
57. He starred in the 2003-04 miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League
58. The character of Ted Kord was killed off in the one-shot comic Countdown to Infinite Crisis (May 2005)
59. In 2006, DC introduced a new Blue Beetle, teenager Jaime Reyes, whose powers are derived from the scarab, now revealed as a piece of advanced alien technology
60. The series was initially written by Keith Giffen and John Rogers, with artist Cully Hamner
61. The series was cancelled with issue #36
62. All three incarnations of Blue Beetle were depicted in Booster Gold (vol. 2) #6
63. A new Blue Beetle comic was launched as part of The New 52 initiative in September 2011
64. Jaime Reyes’ history was rebooted with a new origin and without any apparent history of Kord or Garrett as prior Blue Beetles
65. Blue Beetle was cancelled after issue #16
66. Jaime Reyes’s story was then continued in the new title Threshold, written by Keith Giffen
67. The 2016 publishing initiative DC Rebirth restored the history of Dan Garrett and Ted Kord as previous Blue Beetles
68. A new Blue Beetle series was launched that year
69. With a one-shot special Blue Beetle: Rebirth (Oct. 2016) preceding Blue Beetle #1 (Nov. 2016)
70. Once again the series was written by Keith Giffen
71. The series starred Jaime Reyes
72. It also featuring Ted Kord as an ex-superhero who acts as his mentor
73. The series ran until issue #18 (Apr. 2018)
74. Ted Kord, once again as Blue Beetle, co-starred alongside Booster Gold in the 2021-22 limited series Blue & Gold by Dan Jurgens
75. Jaime Reyes remains the primary Blue Beetle for DC Comics
76. Starring in the 2022-23 limited series Blue Beetle: Graduation Day written by Josh Trujillo and illustrated by Adrián Gutiérrez
77. In DC Universe: Rebirth, Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes believe the scarab is an alien device that bonded to Jaime’s spine
78. Kord is fascinated by this scarab and wants to investigate the potential of it while Jaime fears it
79. When Jaime leaves Kord’s lab to get to school, Dr. Fate appears in the lab to warn Kord that the scarab is not an alien device, but it is instead magic
80. This further sparks Kord’s interest in the potential of the scarab
81. The Jaime Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle and Ted Kord appear in the Smallville episode “Booster”
82. They are portrayed by Jaren Brandt Bartlett and Sebastian Spence respectively
83. Dan Garrett is seen in archival footage as a Kord scientist who was attached to the Scarab
84. The Jaime Reyes, Ted Kord, and Dan Garrett incarnations of the Blue Beetle appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with Reyes and Kord voiced by Will Friedle and Wil Wheaton respectively
85. Garrett is silent
86. Additionally, Kanjar Ro (voiced by Marc Worden) briefly uses the scarab in the episode “The Rise of the Blue Beetle!”
87. While an evil alternate universe version of Reyes called the Scarlet Scarab appears in the episode “Deep Cover for Batman!” as a member of the Injustice Syndicate.
88. In 2010, Geoff Johns announced a live-action TV series featuring the Jamie Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle, with Garrett Plotkin in the title role
89. However, no further announcements were made
90. The Jaime Reyes, Ted Kord, and Dan Garrett incarnations of the Blue Beetle appear in Young Justice, with Reyes voiced by Eric Lopez while Kord and Garrett are silent
91. The Jaime Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle appears in Justice League Action, voiced again by Jake T. Austin
92. Ted Kord/Blue Beetle appears in the second season of DC Super Hero Girls (2019), voiced by Max Mittelman
93. Dan Garrett/Blue Beetle appears on the cover of a comic book in the Watchmen tie-in Under the Hood
94. An evil, unidentified, alternate universe incarnation of the Blue Beetle appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths as a minor member of the Crime Syndicate
95. Ted Kord/Blue Beetle appears in The Death and Return of Superman, portrayed by Luke Barats
96. The Jaime Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle appears in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie (DCUAOM) Justice League vs. Teen Titans, voiced by Jake T. Austin
97. Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle appears in the DCUAOM Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, voiced again by Jake T. Austin
98. Ted Kord/Blue Beetle makes a cameo appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
99. Jamie Reyes/Blue Beetle appears in the DCUAOM Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
100. Ted Kord/Blue Beetle appears in DC Showcase: Blue Beetle, voiced by Matt Lanter
101. Ted Kord/Blue Beetle appears in Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, voiced again by an uncredited Max Mittelman
102. A self-titled film centered around Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle was released in August 2023, with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer serving as screenwriter, Angel Manuel Soto directing, and Xolo Maridueña cast in the title role

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