Fall of the Blue Beetle! - Recap

[I]Two Years Ago[/I]

Batman teams up with the Silver Age Blue Beetle break into a high-tech company and subdue the security guards. After escaping a laser-beam death trap, they break through the floor and find themselves forced to fight more security guards.



[I]The Present[/I]

Paco and Jaime Reyes are on a camping trip in the desert and discussing superhero origins. Jaime insists that heroes are chosen because they’re worthy, but Paco believes it’s simply dumb luck. Jaime activates his Blue Beetle armor and goes to talk to Batman. The Caped Crusader is busy fighting Doctor Polaris, a magnetic villain stealing gold bullion. Jaime asks about his predecessor, but all Batman will say is that Jaime is nothing like the prior Blue Beetle. Batman finally defeats the villain by letting him magnetically pull in Batman’s utility belt (set to explode), and tells Jaime he won’t discuss the matter with him.



Jaime has his scarab access the Internet and locate information on the Silver Age Blue Beetle. It turns out the superhero operated out of Hub City near Kord Industries. Blue Beetle flies there and his scarab armor locates an underground facility and takes Jaime through the ground. The facility is the Silver Age Blue Beetle’s secret lair, complete with the flying Bug, a high-tech beetle-shaped vehicle. Jaime goes inside and accesses its travel log to find his predecessor’s last destination. Jaime figures the Silver Age Blue Beetle may have been hurt and the Bug returned automatically, so he ignores his scarab’s warning and flies the Bug back along its last route.

The Bug arrives at Science Island, hidden by a cloaking field. Batman contacts Jaime to apologize for being short with him earlier, but warns that there is some things that Jaime isn’t ready to learn. Jaime tells him that he’s on the trail of his predecessor and cuts off the radio. Jaime touches down and beetle-like blue robots emerge from the ground. Jaime takes out one or two but a bearded man emerges and tells him to stop, then introduces himself as Ted Kord: the previous Blue Beetle.



As Batman flies to Science Island, he remembers how Ted Kord used to also get him in trouble.

[I]Two Years Ago[/I]

After disposing of the security guards, Batman and Blue Beetle invade an advanced laboratory and Ted apologizes for loaning out his scarab. The scientist, wearing a welding mask, activates hidden robots throughout the lab and sends them to attack the heroes. He runs for the door but Blue Beetle manages to snag the scarab with a line and pull it back before the villain can make his escape.



[I]The Present[/I]

Ted shows Jaime his headquarters and explains that his goal is to help mankind, with all its flaws, by utilizing the power of a scarab. He has an army of beetle robots that he’ll use to take over all the menial tasks, letting Earth become a utopia. However, he needs the power of the scarab to power all of the robots. Ted sent the beetle scarab out to find a predecessor and he’s pleased that it chose someone of great virtue. Jaime agrees to help and Ted hooks him into the power circuits. The scarab energy activates the robots, bringing them to life. Jaime notes that Batman contacted him and is in a foul mood, and Ted admits that he knows all about it. Jaime goes to get some rest and Ted tells his robots to go on alert against Batman. When the Batplane arrives, flying drones shoot it down but Batman secretly manages to escape before it explodes.

Jaime trips over a smaller drone robot and discovers that it contains bullets. His armor activates and he investigates the facility further. He finds an army of robots equipping themselves with heavy artillery and entering launch missiles. Jaime prepares to alert Batman but Ted arrives in a suit of power armor and cuts off the scarab armor’s power spikes, knocking it out. He thanks Jaime for warning him about Batman. However, Batman slips in and disables Ted’s power armor. Ted takes Jaime hostage and forces Batman to surrender. He ties them up and says that now that they’re incapacitated, he will take over the world with his robot army and bring peace and prosperity to mankind. Once he goes to oversee the operation, Batman explains that “Ted” is actually Jarvis Kord, Ted’s uncle. Ted inherited the beetle scarab from his predecessor, Dan Garrett, but it wouldn’t work for him. Instead he used his incredible genius and athletic training to fight rime as the Silver Age Blue Beetle. However, he loaned the scarab to his scientist uncle Jarvis to try and figure out.



[I]Two Years Ago[/I]

Batman and Blue Beetle try to stop the launch of Jarvis’ first robot army. With time running out, Ted put the scarab in the rocket’s nosecone so that it would seek out a successor. Unable to override the controls, Ted climbed up the rocket and hang on as it launched. Once in the air, Ted sabotages the controls, destroying the missile in mid-air and sacrificing his life.

[I]The Present[/I]

Batman admits he didn’t believe that Jaime was ready to learn that sometimes heroism can mean the hero’s death. Inspired, Jaime regenerates his armor and frees them. Jarvis sends his robots to attack them but they fight clear of them and capture Jarvis. They discover they’re unable to stop the launch of the missiles containing the robot army. Jaime uses the scarab armor to access the reactor and set it to blow up. They escape on foot but more robots attack them. Batman, falling behind, tells Jaime to take Jarvis and go ahead. The robots come after Batman, overwhelming him despite his best efforts. However, Jaime flies back in the Bug and rescues the Caped Crusader just in time. They fly clear of the island as it blows up in a massive explosion. Jaime apologizes for ignoring Batman’s warning but Batman points out that the scarab activated for him, not Ted, and he must be worthy. Jaime promises that as a hero he’ll always do the right thing.



Share this article with your friends