Superhero Origins Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle

Superhero Origins: Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle

Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll explore the comic book origin of the third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes.

For this video we’ll be diving into how this kid became a hero and saved people with armor that figuratively and literally has his back.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you had Blue Beetle’s suit? Tell us in the comments down below!

During the turbulent events of the“Infinite Crisis” storyline, Jaime Reyes was thrown into the superhero mix when he stumbled upon a strange Scarab in El Paso, Texas. This Scarab was key to locating a sinister satellite called “Brother Eye''. But Jaime had no idea that he was holding such a precious item until strange things started to happen around him. While walking on the street, he encountered a metahuman without eyes. It turned out that she was a member of a villainous metahuman group called the Posse. When the beetle accidentally hurt her during a conversation, Jaime became a huge target for the group. They eventually chased him into an alley and prepared to teach him a lesson. Fortunately, the blue beetle armor activated and helped him defeat every one of his enemies.

Jaime didn’t have too much time to adjust to his new arrangement thanks to another hero. Originally, a man codenamed Booster Gold was tasked with retrieving the scarab. However, by the time he found it, the item had implanted itself onto Jaime’s spine. This meant Booster kinda had to insist the kid came along for the journey. Now, Jaime had to face a world-ending threat.

Once Brother Eye was destroyed, the Scarab and Jaime took a complicated shortcut back home. Due to some dimensional teleportation complications, what was almost instantaneous for him was a whole year for everyone else. Jaime was fortunately met with open arms when he finally returned after a yearlong absence. And they rightfully had a lot of questions too. In a move that made Jaime’s family more confused, he busted out his Blue Beetle Armor right in front of them too.

While he might be a regular ol’ human, his suit is anything but. The Scarab, named “Khaji Da”, was created to be a living weapon for an alien race called the “Reach”. It’s able to morph itself into a variety of weapons ranging from energy canons to giant blades. It was even revealed that the suit is capable of damaging the near god-like character, “Spectre”. He’s akin to the physical embodiment of God’s anger in the DC universe.

Apart from dealing damage, the Blue Beetle suit acts like armor. It’s tough enough to withstand re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Additionally, it is smart enough to defend Jaime whenever he’s in danger. Since It was built to protect its host from almost everything, it can even heal Jaime and sustain his body. The suit has an answer for unconventional threats as well. It even has ways of releasing kryptonite radiation, you know, just in case. Whether the suit is active or not, Khaji Da can allow Jaime to see extra-dimensional objects. That definitely came in handy against the AI satellite Brother Eye.

While the Scarab might sound unbeatable, it has its fair share of weaknesses. It’s not a fan of fighting beings from Mother nature. Additionally, the Scarab can be quite hostile towards Green Lanterns. It also has a vulnerability to other Reach weapons and isn’t great at understanding magical energy. Outside of those weak points, enemies will have a pretty tough time subduing Jaime and his scarab if his guard is up.

In Jaime’s “New 52” run, his origin was slightly altered. This version saw Jaime come into contact with the Scarab while it was in a backpack. He was driving around with his friend Paco when the “Brotherhood of Evil” ran into them. In the middle of the skirmish, Jaime grabbed the backpack to draw their attention away from his friend. He would’ve taken a dagger to the back if it weren’t for the scarab.

After Jaime was secured within the suit, the scarab wanted him to kill two approaching enemies. Although he wasn’t eager to be so violent, the suit automatically made him severely wound his foes. Jaime was able to rein the suit in to just hurt enemies instead of straight up eliminating them as he adjusted to the powers. In this version of the story, the writers hinted that the scarab’s origin was solely connected to alien technology. But Doctor Fate recently revealed that the Scarab is actually magical. Although trying to figure out where the blue bug came from can get confusing, it’s always a powerful asset to the young hero from the very beginning.

When Jaime is not flying through comic pages, he makes appearances in everything from television shows to video games to movies. In every medium, the story usually dives into the hero’s struggles to maintain his normal family life while accepting the bug as a part of him. His attempt to balance all his responsibilities usually makes for compelling and emotional plots. After years of being compelling in animated projects, he’ll get to finally soar in the DCEU in live-action. Jaime Reyes will be played by “Cobra Kai” actor Xolo Maridueña. Since the actor is great in action scenes on the popular martial arts show, he’s definitely ready to fight evil as the blue hero.

Donning the “Blue Beetle” mantle is demanding, especially for a high schooler. But luckily, Jaime has a loving family and a battle-ready bug behind him. We’re sure that Jaime Reyes will become an even greater hero as time goes on.